Shepardizing is a crucial process for lawyers, judges, and law students to confirm the validity of cited cases and legal authorities. By Shepardizing a case, one examines how courts have treated the case over time and how it has been interpreted or applied in subsequent decisions. This process can be essential in legal research, as it ensures that you rely on good law and helps you uncover other relevant authorities. Here are 13 steps to help you Shepardize a case effectively:

1. Identify the case you want to Shepardize

Select the case whose precedential value you want to validate or whose legal history interests you.

2. Locate the appropriate citation

Ensure that you have an accurate citation for the case because incorrect citations may result in inconsistencies in the Shepardizing process.

3. Access a Shepard’s citation tool

Choose the most appropriate Shepard’s tool based on your preference or available resources, such as LexisNexis’ “Shepard’s Citations Service” or free online alternatives like Fastcase.

4. Enter the citation into your citation tool

Input the case citation in your chosen tool’s search bar and verify that it matches your target case before proceeding.

5. Review the summary report

Examine the provided summary report concerning your target case’s precedential status, which may include warnings about potential issues with its validity.

6. Analyze case treatment symbols

Understand treatment symbols or codes in the report that denote how subsequent decisions have treated the target case (e.g., “followed,” “distinguished,” “overruled”).

7. Pay attention to negative treatment signals

Ensure you take note of negative treatment signals (e.g., “overruled” or “superseded”), which indicate that your target case may no longer be good law.

8. Filter results based on jurisdiction

If your legal research is specific to a jurisdiction, apply filters in your citation tool to display only the relevant cases for that jurisdiction.

9. Sort cases by relevance

Arrange the list of citing cases according to your research needs – for example, by recency or relevance to your legal issue.

10. Read and analyze citing cases

Carefully read the citing cases to understand the context in which they were decided and how they applied or interpreted the target case.

11. Take note of reoccurring patterns

As you read citing cases, look for patterns in arguments or how courts have applied your target case, as this may be insightful in building your own legal arguments.

12. Keep track of secondary sources

Monitor secondary sources like law review articles or treatises that discuss your target case, as they can provide valuable insights and perspectives.

13. Update regularly

Regularly Shepardize your target case and monitor its treatment by courts, as this will ensure that you are up-to-date on its standing and any new legal developments related to it.

In conclusion, Shepardizing is an essential process in ensuring that you rely on good law and discover further relevant authorities. By following these 13 steps, you can conduct legal research with confidence and build well-supported arguments for your case.