KeyCite
KeyCite is a case citator used in United States legal research that provides a list of all the authorities citing a particular case, statute, or other legal authority.
Verification of citations is necessary, because lawyers must determine whether a case has been reversed, overruled, or modified by a subsequent case before citing it in court. Further, when interpreting a statute it is necessary to examine previous judicial interpretations. The United States judiciary operates under the principle of stare decisis – a system of legal precedents – to ensure the courts deliver consistent rulings on similar legal issues, regardless of the political or social status of the parties involved. As such, legal professionals must be certain that the legal citations they use to reinforce their arguments are accurate and still "good law."
KeyCite leverages Westlaw technologies, West's attorney-authored case law headnotes and the West Key Number System to determine and immediately alert legal professionals that case law they are reviewing has been either overturned, or may have history that deems the precedential value of the opinion invalid.
KeyCite was introduced to Westlaw in 1997 and was the first citator to seriously challenge Shepard's Citations, on which American legal professionals had relied for generations.[15] Shepard's had become such a necessary part of American legal research that the process of citation checking is still informally referred to as "Shepardizing."[15]
In 2004, KeyCite was the most-used citation checking service in an annual survey of law firm technology use conducted by the American Bar Association.
Associated software and websites
WestCheck is software that extracts citations from a word processing document and submits them to KeyCite or to Westlaw for retrieval of full text documents. The software consists of a standalone program and word processor add-in, either of which may be used, and a web site with the same functionality.
West also provides BriefTools, which replaces West CiteLink,[16] and provides citation checking and file retrieval services within a word processing document.[17] Another version only inserts Westlaw links into documents.[18]
West CiteAdvisor formats citations and creates a table of authorities. Like WestCheck, it is available online at citeadvisor.westlaw.com, or as software for a word processor.[19]
Westlaw CourtExpress allows searching of court docket information.
Key Number System
The West Key Number System is a master classification system of U.S. law, and is claimed to be "the only recognized legal taxonomy."[23] The West Key Number System was created by West Publishing Company and can be described as a highly detailed index of over 110,000 legal topics and sub-topics. The index serves as the backbone for legal information published by West, which appears in the company's print publications, and now on Westlaw.
The West Education Network (TWEN)
TWEN is Westlaw's online courseware that is specifically tailored for law schools. It is used as an online extension of the classroom. Teachers use it to post syllabi, PowerPoint presentations, class materials and announcements. TWEN is also used for emailing, forum posting, live chats, polling, linking to CALI Lessons[24] and posting/submitting assignments.[25] (In terms of this range of functionality, TWEN is similar to other educational systems such as Blackboard, marketed by Blackboard Inc.).
Law school professors occasionally use it for their classes, and it is used by librarians and career services offices. Students can also create and manage their own courses for law reviews, journals and any student organization.
