Legal Research

Some of SCOTUS candidate Sotomayor's judicial opinions have been analyzed in a Congressional Research Service report, "Judge Sonia Sotomayor: Analysis of Selected Opinions."  The 59-page report includes a detailed table of contents that helpfully breaks down the discussion by legal subject (Criminal Law, First Amendment: Free Speech, Securities Law, etc.).  The report concludes that "[p]erhaps the most consistent characteristic of Judge Sotomayor?s approach as an appellate judge has been an adherence to the doctrine of stare decisis." 

We've blogged before about the research utility of CRS reports here - they really are extraordinarily useful resources that every lawyer and would-be lawyer should know about.  USF students, faculty, and staff can access CRS reports through the LexisNexis Congressional Service.  You can also find a growing number of searchable CRS repositories through Internet searches, such as the University of North Texas repository.  For a complete guide to finding CRS reports on the web, see Stephen Young's report on LLRX, "Guide to CRS Reports on the Web."