Oregon Legal Research Blog
People new to legal research don’t know that legal histories can be found in judicial opinions and not just in books, articles, or legislative history compilations. There is a reason some judicial opinions are so long.
(New legal researchers also don’t know that one needs to verify any legal history by reading the cases and statutes cited by the judge(s) AND update everything one reads using current sources and citators.)
I read about Judge Matthew Cooper’ canine jurisprudence exposition in a November 22, 2021, New Yorker article, “The Bench: Cats and Dogs,” page 18 (print edition):
“.… In an opinion dotted with reference to Homer, Lassie, and the Jetsons’ dog, Astro, he [Judge Cooper] laid out the history of canine jurisprudence in New York….”
(New Yorker article URL, subscription required or find the article through your public library: )
Your public librarian or public law librarian may also be able to help you find the full text of case law and show you how to research subjects, case names, and judge names and how to update your legal research using judicial, legislative, and administrative databases.