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Search Tips
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General information about using the search engine is provided by its owner and can be accessed by clicking the HELP link next to the search box. The following tips, prepared by S. Finz, are specifically related to searching for material at this website.
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In this set of tips, I will put quotation marks around letters, words, or phrases being used as letters, words, or phrases. I will use the marks < > to denote search terms.
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The search engine ignores case, so it is not necessary to capitalize anything in searching. It will find plurals of search words made by adding "s" or "es," or when the plural requires changing the spelling of a word ending in "y" to make it end in "ies." It will also find words that have an added apostrophe. For example, searching for < worker > will bring up summaries containing the words "worker," "workers," worker's" and "workers'." Searching for < summary > will bring up material containing the word "summaries." More exotic spelling changes might not be found, so use the tips given below.
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Otherwise, the search engine is very literal. It does not ignore punctuation and will search for any period or comma that you inadvertently type into the search box. It does not accept wild cards and will not search for word parts. For example, if you attempt to search for < neglig > or < neg! > or <neg*> it will not find anything, although there are hundreds of entries containing the word "negligence" or "negligent."
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Under the search box is a menu offering three choices: Find ANY word; Find ALL words; Find EXACT PHRASE. (When doing an ANY word or ALL word search, it is not necessary to use connectors such as "or" or "and.") The default choice is Find ANY word. The other choices are sometimes useful, but they are risky, because a relevant summary might not contain all the words or the exact phrase you are looking for. So the ANY word search is safest. For example, if you are looking for cases on negligence, you should do an ANY word search for < negligence negligent negligently > . Bear in mind that a summary that includes words like "reasonable" might relate to negligence. For example, in looking for cases on negligence, a safer approach would be an ANY word search for < negligence negligent negligently reasonable reasonably unreasonable unreasonably >.
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Some words are likely to appear only as part of particular phrases. For example, if you are looking for information on "res ipsa loquitur," it is probably sufficient to do an ANY word search for < loquitur > or < ipsa > . It would be less efficient to do an ANY word search for < res > since that word also appears in phrases like "res judicata" and "res gestae."
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A drawback to an ANY word search is that it may bring up a large number of cases. Each will appear with a phrase containing the search term, but you will have to click on the link to see the entire summary, and that might take more time than you'd care to spend. For example, a search for < summary > will bring up more than 6,000 hits, because almost every page at the website contains the phrase "Case Summaries."
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You can narrow your search without risk by searching within the results of your initial search. To do this, check the box marked "within results" that appears to the right of the search box. You will then be performing a search only on material brought up by your previous search. For example, if I vaguely remember a case concerning the statute of limitations as an affirmative defense in a negligence action, I would do an ANY word search for < negligence negligent negligently reasonable reasonably unreasonable unreasonably > . When I wrote this, doing so brought up 968 summaries. I then performed an ANY word search within results for < defense > . That reduced the number of summaries to 34. Another within results ANY word search for < affirmative > further reduced the number of summaries to a more manageable 3. Among them was the case I remembered, Samuels v Mix. An ALL words search for < negligence affirmative defense > would have found only one summary, and it would not have been the case I was seeking.
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When I created the material posted at this website I tried to include in each summary words and phrases that an attorney using the search engine would be likely to use as search terms. Sometimes, I added alternative words in parentheses just for that purpose. For example, when including the phrase "Fair Employment and Housing Act" in a summary, I usually add "(FEHA)." But I can't promise that I always did so. Play it safe and do an ANY word search for all forms of the phrase you seek. For example, when discussing res judicata or collateral estoppel, I sometimes use the generic term "issue preclusion." But just in case I failed to do so in the very summary you are trying to find, it would be safer to do an ANY word search for < judicata collateral preclude preclusion > and then narrow it by searching within results.
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To save space, I sometimes use easily recognizable, but unconventional, abbreviations for Code names. For example, "CivC" stands for "Civil Code." When I am citing several sections of the same Code, I only list the Code name once. I usually cite sections generally, without specifying the particular subsection that might be involved. So if you are looking for cases citing a particular statute, I would suggest an ANY word search for the section number only. For example, if you are looking for summaries of cases involving the Litigation Privilege, which is codified at Civil Code section 47(b)(3), do an ANY word search for < 47 > . You can then do an ANY word search within results for < CivC litigation privilege > . Abbreviations commonly used in case citations are "CA" for "Cal.App."; "C" for "Cal."; USSC for U.S.S.C. I usually cite the United States Code as USC, not U.S.C., or U.S.C.A. I usually use"etseq" instead of "et seq.".
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More advanced users of search engines might want to use a Boolean approach. Boolean searches are available in ALL words mode, but are somewhat limited. For information about simple Boolean searches click on the HELP link next to the search box.
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