BU211

Chattanooga State Community College
Augusta R. Kolwyck Library Amnicola Campus, 697-4436

BU211

Library Web Page: http://library.chattanoogastate.edu

Find at least five references to support your approved topic and write a paper following the instructions of your teacher. Include a source from the Tennessee Code for applicable Tennessee law (if you do not find any, ask a librarian or search federal law); a pertinent court case; and appropriate government, legal, or business websites.

Black's Law Dictionary (Ref KF156 .B53) has basic definitions. It can give citations to important court cases.

Tennessee Jurisprudence (Ref KFT 65 .T46) has very detailed discussion of law topics. The Index volume is essential to use. Also the "Words and Phrases" volume should be checked.

Use the General Index. Then locate the title, chapter, and section within the Tennessee Code.

Example: Tenn. Code Ann. 24-7-106 would be in this volume:

Example: Use the General Index to find Personal Property - Action to recover personal property. Then find the code number in the TCA.

Example: Find Civil remedies in contract law. Scan of General Index page. Scan of TCA 47-2-701.

If you need more help in using the Tennessee Code:
Video on how to find Tennessee law -- • see scanned pages & summary

Find the Tennessee Code - One way is click the Legal tab and Federal & State Codes on the left. In the "Sources" box, click the drop-down arrow and type the letter t. Press the enter key.

Example to type in the search terms box: mortgage w/p fraud.

Example: (personal property) and (action to recover personal property).

   Terms and connectors: and        both words must be anywhere in the same document.
                                        w/p        within the same paragraph.
                                       Parenthesis groups terms together.

Use Next Steps to go Edit Search.

    If you need more help using LexisNexis Academic:

        Video on how to find Tennessee law
        Video on how to use Terms and Connectors

    Law Topics has a variety. For example, Mediation and ADR; Worker's Comp; Commercial Law; Constitutional Law has a link to the Tennessee Constitution.

    There are other topics, like Consumer Protection which has a section on Consumer Laws (including Tennessee Consumer Protection Act) from the Consumer Affairs Division, Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance. In the same Consumer Protection topic there is a section on "fraud."

     When searching    Google or bing, check the sources. Are they from a government, education, or other trustworthy site?

4. Tennessee court cases?

     Look for court cases in the annotations in the Tennessee Code.

     Use West's Tennessee Digest (Ref KFT 57 .T4). Best to start with the "Descriptive Word Index." Also check the "Words and Phrases" volumes.

     Find Federal and state case law using LexisNexis Academic. In the Sources drop-down box, type the letter T and highlight Tennessee. Press enter. This will search for Tennessee federal and state cases.

Video page has more videos on how to find court cases in books and in LexisNexis Academic.

5. Journals? Off-campus access needs password.

     First check for law reviews in the annotations in the Tennessee Code.

     MasterFILE Premier. Note: and between keywords. Adjacent terms can use quotes: "product liability"

       Example: liability and claims and tennessee

    LexisNexis Academic. Has lengthy, legal journals. Click the Legal tab to search for topics in legal journals.
       We can also search the Tennessee Bar Journal and the Tennessee Law Review.

6. Help with MLA?

Choose the style you want at "Cite Your Research with ..." from our library web page. Examples of style for legal material:

Tenn. Code Ann. 40-31-107(a) (2008)

       State v. Bough, 152 S.W.3d 453 (Tenn. 2004)
       Shoemake v. Omniquip Intern, Inc., 152 S.W.3d 567 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2003)
       Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson, 477 U.S. 57 (1986)