Westlaw

Use the following West editorial enhancements (search fields) to understand the significance of a case and improve retrieval:

• SYNOPSIS.
              Summarizes facts and mentions legal issue.
              To use, enter term in synopsis box in Advanced Search.
• HEADNOTES.
              Summarizes legal issue.
              To use, enter term in headnotes box in Advanced Search.
• WEST TOPIC & KEY NUMBERS.
              Provides subject access and classifies headnotes.
              To use, recycle West Topic or Key Number from a 
              previous search.  (See West Key Number System 
              box on this page for additional information.)         

Beware of red and yellow flags when looking for good law!

• Red indicates the inclusion of at least one negative point of law.
• Yellow indicates negative history.

Do not rely on case which includes this language:

• overruled by
• abrogated by
• distinguished by

For more cases, select or add:

• Negative Treatment tab,
• History tab,
• Citing References tab,
• KC:_ or Keycite:_ prefix to the legal citation.

Select Tools (menu bar) to access West Key Number System.

• Find a numerical key to incorporate in your search
• Use TITLE SEARCH box (on right) to locate where your search word appears in the West Key Number hierarchy
• Drill down through the hierarchy to find applicable cases