As one who loathed legal research—despite enjoying the
benefit of Lexis and Westlaw—throughout much of law school, I am always seeking
ways to make learning how to look up statutes and caselaw more entertaining.
Were I teaching legal research now, I’d suggest students be sure to pull up a
copy of 5 U.S.C. § 6103.
That statutory provision, as those who’ve found it know, designates,
among other things, the last Monday in May as Memorial Day. Were I to give an
assignment over the three-day weekend, I’d ask students to locate some
secondary sources discussing this little provision. If I really wanted to get
intense, I’d have students look into this provision’s impact on statute of
limitation computation periods or have them determine whether state governments
must observe federal holidays. For me, that would beat looking up caselaw about motor
vehicle accidents, which was the sort of problem my legal research assignments in
law school focused on.
Today, if I were really having fun, I’d have students look
up caselaw where hot dogs were discussed. Legal research doesn’t have to be dry—and
neither do hot dogs.
—Lori Tripoli
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