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 After
assessing and analysing the cases uncovered during your initial research, you need to
review your characterization of the issues again and refine your research strategy.
You do not have to follow every step in this strategy for every issue. For some issues,
you will discover the leading cases early on: the bulk of your time will be spent
analyzing those cases rather than trying to find more cases. However, often you will need
to continue searching for the most relevant cases using the next set of finding tools.
Most of the secondary sources described in the previous section are narrative sources,
which perform the dual function of providing summaries and analysis of the law, and
helping you to find other relevant primary and secondary sources. They are valuable as
finding tools, but often are neither comprehensive nor current.
 Case
databases, reporter indices, and digest services are tools for finding
relevant cases. You will usually need to continue your research using some of these
finding tools. These tools contain no commentary on or analysis of the law: they simply
help you locate relevant case law. As a result, they are usually not a good starting
point if you are researching an area of law that you are unfamiliar with.
When and why should you use the Abridgment Digests?
Many inexperienced researchers begin and end their research with the
Canadian
Abridgment Case Digests. In a typical
research project, most experienced researchers would not consult the Abridgment at the
beginning of their research. They tend to use the Abridgment after consulting narrative
secondary sources and in the following circumstances:
 | To find cases from a particular jurisdiction or court level. |
| To find cases with similar facts. |
| Where the topical sources for their subject area are poor. |
| To look for older cases or recent cases outside of the date range of the other resources
they have reviewed. |
| To ensure they have not missed anything. |
The Canadian Abridgment Case Digests can be searched in print, on
LawSource, or in Folioviews
format on CD ROM. The electronic versions are particularly useful in the following
circumstances:
| Your subject classification contains several pages of digests, and you want to quickly
look for digests containing a particular concept or fact pattern.
|
| You cannot figure out where the Abridgment has classified the cases on your topic.
|
| Your topic is covered under a number of different Abridgment classifications.
|
| You want to restrict your research to a particular jurisdiction or court level.
|
Searching the Abridgment Digests electronically
 When you use the
electronic version you can cut down the number of steps you must go through to make your
research current. You can conduct your electronic research by using keywords to search
through the text of the digests, by searching on the classification, or by a combination
of these techniques. You can also restrict your search to certain dates, jurisdictions, or
court levels.
LawSource contains
various entry points into the Abridgment digests.
| When viewing a case, an Abridgment Digest link will
appear in the left frame. This will display the digests for the case you are
viewing, and also allow you to link to all of the digests under the same
classification. |
|
| To find the appropriate classifications, either search within the Table of Contents for
the Canadian Abridgment
Digests, or browse the Table's subject headings and click on the +
signs to open up more detailed subheadings until you come to the appropriate
classification. Clicking on a blue link will generate
a list of all digests under the classification selected. |
|
| You can select one or more classifications and
search within them to find particular digests within the classifications.
|
|
| Alternatively, you can conduct a keyword search on all of the digests in the Abridgment
using the Canadian Abridgment Digests Search Template from the LawSource
home page. |
|
Finding relevant
Abridgment classifications using the print
version
 There are a
series of steps to be followed if you want to use the print version of the Abridgment
effectively. The first step is to identify the general subject areas in which your topic
may be covered. There are a variety of methods for doing this.
| The best tool for finding applicable subject
headings and classifications is the Key section of the Key
and Research Guide. Look up your topic in this guide. If the term you look up is not
used as a subject heading, the cross-references will usually direct you to the appropriate
subject heading. The Key and Research Guide also contains an Abridgment Overview section,
that indicates which subject headings fall within broad legal categories. This can be
helpful if you have no idea where to start. |
|
| Once you have identified the appropriate subject headings, review the table of
contents for those subject headings in the Key. Note the most relevant classifications, using the
subject heading and classification numbers and letters, and using the words comprising the
sub-headings. The Key will inform you of the steps you need to follow to make your
research under a particular subject heading complete. |
|
| If you already know a relevant case, there is a very fast way to locate the
classification scheme. Look up the case in the Consolidated Table of Cases, and note
the digest reference for the case. Go to the digest, and determine the classification
assigned to it. This method is quick, but it does not replace a thorough review of the Key. Cases on the same legal issue often
appear in more than one classification. Rather than relying on this method alone, use it
to augment your search through the Key for relevant classifications. |
|
Locating all digests under a classification using
the print version
| The next step is to follow the classification scheme through
from the hardcover Main Case Digest Volume, to the softcover Case Digest Supplement, to
the monthly softcover issues of Canadian
Current Law. Use the main subject heading, and the numbers and letters comprising
the classification scheme, to do this. |
Main Case Digest Volume |
 |
| Case Digest Supplement |
|
|
| Canadian Current Law |
Canadian Current Law contains a quarterly cumulative index that uses the words
comprising the classification, rather than the number and letter code. This index can save
you considerable time, so it is worth writing down these terms when you start your
research in the Abridgment.
Researching Case Collections
General Case Collections and Digest Services
 At
the finding tools stage of
your research you will have a good understanding of the terminology
for your issue, and should be able to
use your key words to construct an effective subject query for
electronic research. You can search in the full text of
judgments and in digest
databases.
General Case Collections
Most general reporters have subject indices. However, this type of searching can
usually be done more efficiently electronically.
| A full text search of cases from across Canada can be
done in the LexisNexis Canadian Judgments database on
Quicklaw. For wider coverage but
with some duplication, use the All Canadian Court Cases database. This will
include comprehensive coverage of case law from 1986, and a significant body
of earlier material. Quicklaw is committed to including in its collection
all cases reported in print since 1970, and all earlier cases that have been
cited by the courts since 1970. |
| A full text search of an extensive collection of Canadian cases
with excellent historical depth can be done using
LawSource.
This will include comprehensive coverage of case law from 1986, all reported
cases from 1977, all cases in reporters published by Carswell (including the
BCLRs, the WWRs and topical reporters), and a collection of other key cases. |
| Searches can also be done using websites maintained by
other
publishers, such as BestCase for the
Dominion Law Reports
and the Canadian Criminal Cases, or
Maritime Law Books for its reporter
collection. |
 An excellent
alternative for recent case law is the free case law collection on
CanLII. You may find it most cost-effective to start with CanLII and then
fill any gaps in coverage with a commercial service.
Digest Services
Try searching in general digest databases available
electronically such as
For criminal law, try the Weekly
Criminal Bulletin (BestCase). For
older unreported civil
and criminal decisions from British Columbia, try searching the
BC Decisions (BestCase).
Topical Case Collections
You can search many topical collections of cases in
full text electronically, using either a specialized topical
product, or a Quicklaw topical database.
Searches in Quicklaw can be restricted by topic. In addition or alternatively, if there is a topical reporter covering your subject,
you can restrict your electronic search to that reporter or
search through the cumulative print indices for the reporter.
However, the latter method will not retrieve the most recent cases or locate
those cases not selected for publication.
Topical searches can also be done using the Canadian
Abridgment Case Digests or a topical digest service.
 This site
includes a list of the many Canadian topical case collections and
services available. Each entry includes information concerning
electronic access through Quicklaw, WestlaweCarswell
or Canada Law Book.
Jurisdictional Case
Collections and Digest Services
Cover the case collections and digest services for your jurisdiction and for the Supreme Court
of Canada. This can be done on-line or manually.
| The official reporter for decisions of the Supreme Court of Canada is the Supreme
Court Reports. The cumulative indices for this reporter can be
used as a finding tool. |
| If researching Supreme Court of Canada decisions on Quicklaw,
use the Supreme Court of Canada, Group Source database. It
contains decisions from 1876 to the present, as well as
leave to appeal information. On WestlaweCARSWELL,
restrict your case law research to Supreme Court and Privy Council using the
drop-down menu. |
| A full-text searchable version of
SCC decisions since 1985 is
mounted on the Internet and is also available through
CanLII. Historical
decisions are in the process of being added. Information about the
progress of cases on appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada is available at the
SCC website. |
| The best digest coverage of Supreme Court of Canada decisions is in the Supreme Court of Canada
Reports Service. |
British Columbia case law can be searched using
All of the print publications have subject indices,
and most are available electronically. Older British Columbia case law is reported in the British Columbia Reports series,
freely available on the Internet. There
is a large gap between when the British Columbia Reports ceased publication and the
British Columbia Law Reports commenced. During this period, the Western Weekly Reports
and the Dominion
Law Reports are the most likely
source for British Columbia case law.
Bora Laskin
Law Library Guide to Legal Research, Canadian Legal Resources.
Queen's University Faculty of Law, Legal Research Materials, Secondary
Materials.
Tjaden, Doing Legal
Research in Canada.
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