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I'm sure this topic has already been discussed in this forum so I am sorry about bringing it up again, but I just cant find anything on it. So, in my constant search of ways to save money, I started wondering if anyone has relied on westlaw or lexis for their reading to avoid having to purchase casebooks as a means to save money. I know there are more to read in these casebooks than the cases, but as far as I can tell(only half a semester in) its nothing that cant be gained from supplement books, which I am going to buy anyway. So, because we get to print from westlaw and lexis for free, its seems like the money saved far outweighs the little bit of added pain in the ass from printing. Or if no one has done this, does anyone recommend against it? I am just trying to think of a way to save some $$$! Thanks for any advice

War Eagle *facepalm*

Gotta be honest, I like the idea. Can only think of a few classes that would have been a problem in, too.

The cases in your casebook are heavily edited down. You'll spend a lot of time either figuring out which prt of the case isn't necessary to read, or just reading parts that are not necessary.

Buy used on Amazon, and sell back to Amazon. It's pretty cheap that way.

What DF said.

Plus, most of my professors like to talk about the excerpts from treatises and other cases in the notes between major cases in the casebooks.

Desert Fox wrote:The cases in your casebook are heavily edited down.

Oh yeah. Forgot about that.

I stopped buying books this semester. I'll let you know if it was a foolish idea after I get my grades, lol

Preciate it guys. And yeah I was concerned about not having the edited down version, but I just wanted to throw the idea out there and see if anybody has attempted it.
Because I was an idiot and scared about buying the wrong books, I wanted to make sure I bought exactly what I needed to buy so I used the bookstore, and of course only new books were available. So, I've been planning on using amazon since the minute I stormed out of there after spending a summers worth of savings on books.

gusbus12 wrote:Preciate it guys. And yeah I was concerned about not having the edited down version, but I just wanted to throw the idea out there and see if anybody has attempted it.
Because I was an idiot and scared about buying the wrong books, I wanted to make sure I bought exactly what I needed to buy so I used the bookstore, and of course only new books were available. So, I've been planning on using amazon since the minute I stormed out of there after spending a summers worth of savings on books.

Your school should give you the ISBNs. It is not hard to get the right books.

rinkrat19 wrote:

gusbus12 wrote:Preciate it guys. And yeah I was concerned about not having the edited down version, but I just wanted to throw the idea out there and see if anybody has attempted it.
Because I was an idiot and scared about buying the wrong books, I wanted to make sure I bought exactly what I needed to buy so I used the bookstore, and of course only new books were available. So, I've been planning on using amazon since the minute I stormed out of there after spending a summers worth of savings on books.

Your school should give you the ISBNs. It is not hard to get the right books.

or scan them shits with a bar-code scanning app and find the best deals on the net

Best idea is buying the old edition. Unless there was a major rewrite, you get 95% of the same cases for a fraction of the cost. And then just pull the other cases up on westlaw.

Desert Fox wrote:Best idea is buying the old edition. Unless there was a major rewrite, you get 95% of the same cases for a fraction of the cost. And then just pull the other cases up on westlaw.

This. Just make sure nothing major has happened in that area of law (i.e., Rules of Evidence just got restyled, so it probably would be a bad idea to get an older version of a casebook).

AVBucks4239 wrote:

Desert Fox wrote:Best idea is buying the old edition. Unless there was a major rewrite, you get 95% of the same cases for a fraction of the cost. And then just pull the other cases up on westlaw.

This. Just make sure nothing major has happened in that area of law (i.e., Rules of Evidence just got restyled, so it probably would be a bad idea to get an older version of a casebook).

Eh, the rules were written but functionally are the exact same.

rinkrat19 wrote:other cases in the notes between major cases in the casebooks.

I've had more than a few professors who used a fact pattern from a note case as the basis for an exam. If you spotted it, you were gold.

kalvano wrote:

rinkrat19 wrote:other cases in the notes between major cases in the casebooks.

I've had more than a few professors who used a fact pattern from a note case as the basis for an exam. If you spotted it, you were gold.

People always say this but I'm skeptical. The professor is going to want you to argue multiple potential arguments. Knowing which one actually happened, isn't that huge of an advantage. Unless the professor hands out tons of points for saying Penis v. MicroPeen says X.

Desert Fox wrote:

kalvano wrote:

rinkrat19 wrote:other cases in the notes between major cases in the casebooks.

I've had more than a few professors who used a fact pattern from a note case as the basis for an exam. If you spotted it, you were gold.

People always say this but I'm skeptical. The professor is going to want you to argue multiple potential arguments. Knowing which one actually happened, isn't that huge of an advantage. Unless the professor hands out tons of points for saying Penis v. MicroPeen says X.

It's worked for me. Not necessarily because I could cite to the case and not argue the issues, but because knowing the case meant I already knew most, if not all, of the issues to talk about.

On my Crim Pro final, I figured out which case it was from and found a few more issues to talk about.

Just buy the old edition. Use Westlaw for any new cases. You're welcome.