Brief case superseded by statute Forum

[TheVishual]

How screwed am I? Overall I think I did a good job making my points and I write fairly well. Apparently my problem was trusting Shepherd on Lexis. When I Shepherdized one of my main cases in part of my argument the history came up with a few out of jurisdiction cases that distinguished the case. It said absolutely nothing about the case being superseded by statute. Later, I found myself looking at the case on WestLaw and right there at the top it says "case superseded by statute".

Does the case still have any weight in an argument even though it is superseded by statute and/or how screwed am I grade-wise for putting that case in my brief? (My LRW prof. was miserable and taught very little on anything useful.)

[MinEMorris]

are you sure that the part of the case that is superseded by statute was the part that you were citing? If the part you were relying on was superseded by statute, I would be far more concerned about the fact that you failed to discuss that statute than I would be that the case was superseded. See if westlaw indicates which portion or headnote of the case was superseded by statute, and look at the statute itself to make sure it pertains to your issue. My guess is that it doesn't.

I don't think you have that much to be worried about in any case since at most schools your grade is far more determined by your writing and the logical flow of your analysis, rather than the authority that you rely on. I've heard of people basing their entire analysis on the wrong standard of review and still getting good grades. I wouldn't fret.

[dietcoke0]

Yeah, unless it was a case that was obviously overturned by Statute, or a landmark case people know by name, doubt your prof going to go and use a Citator on everyone's case, and double checked every point in the case. Now if you did something and use Plessy v. Ferguson or something, and centered your argument around it, you might be fucked.

Just don't do this in real life.

[Pokemon]

Your LRW professor probably has a list of cases you are supposed to cite and will go through your paper counting how many of those you have cited, and give you appropriate points. This list was probably compiled by research assistants during the summer. He is not going to check your wrong case and notice your mistake because he probably has better things to do with his life and absolutely hates reading your brief. He will just give you no points for it if you were not meant to use it.

[stillwater]

Briefs/LRW don't even matter bro. Waste of time. Not worth it. No one is gonna shepardize that shit.

[NotMyRealName09]

If I were a LWR prof and I found a student citing a case that had been superceded by statute for the proposition for which it was cited, I'd ding the hell out of them. Sucks to be you, but theres a good chance it won't be discovered.

[eaper]

How recent is the statute? It may be too recent and your prof may not even want to consider it.