Research Guides: What are the most basic secondary sources?: California

What are secondary sources?

Secondary sources are analysis or commentary on the law. Unlike primary sources, secondary sources can never be cited as authority in court.

What are some examples?

There are LOTS of different types of secondary sources? These include treatises (Chisum on Patents, Farnsworth on Contracts, etc.), legal scholarship (law journals and reviews), encyclopedias (AmJur, CJS, CalJur), jury instructions, formbooks, nutshells, practice materials, checklists, etc., etc.

I'm just starting my research. What is the easiest secondary source to start with?

Start with broad sources first that are easy to read. Practice materials are the most difficult to read as they are intended for legal practitioners. The easiest secondary materials to read and use include encyclopedias, Witkins (for CA law), ALR (mainly for federal), and jury instructions. Jury instructions are designed to be easy to read and understand as they are intended to be read to jurors.

Witkins Treatises

Summary of California Law
Call Number: KFC 80W.58
Covers all civil actions in California. It presents expert analysis and an extensive, integrated treatment of all major California substantive law topics, and it gives detailed references to major practice works, treatises, and law reviews.
California Criminal Law
Call Number: KFC 1100.W582
From arrest through trial, appeal, and post-conviction review, California Criminal Law offers an effective method for approaching all aspects of criminal law and procedure in California.
California Evidence
Call Number: KFC 1030.W57
Both the law of evidence and the discovery, production, and presentation of evidence in civil and criminal practice are covered in this text. Rules of evidence and discovery procedures are concisely stated and explained, and their application to varying fact situations is extensively illustrated by case briefs and comments.
California Procedure
Call Number: KFC 995.W58
California Procedure efficiently organizes and clearly presents this vast area of practice. It covers every major topic of procedure.

State Encyclopedias

California Jurisprudence
Call Number: KFC 80.C323
These volumes are devoted exclusively to the examination of California law. "Scope of topic" notes carefully describe material covered. Includes comprehensive collateral references to major authorities on California law, editorial summaries of each topic covered in each division, and treatment of relevant federal law. Analysis integrates constitutional, statutory, judicial, and administrative law. Highlights areas where California law and federal law interact.

Jury Instructions

Jury instructions are a little complex in California because of their history. There are two publishers of jury instructions in California:

Judicial Council of California
- CACI (civil)
- CALCRIM (criminal)
West's Committee on California Jury Instructions
- BAJI (civil)
- CALJIC (criminal)

The instructions from the judicial council are somewhat "official". The ones published by West are the instructions that were once published by the council but have since been superseded. For your research purposes, using either one is fine. Remember that jury instructions are designed to accurately reflect the law but are not the law itself.