Digests and case reporters

Best Guide to Canadian Legal Research
Copyright © 1995-2008 Catherine P. Best
Conditions and terms of use

After assessing and analysing the cases uncovered during your initial research, you need to review your characterization of the issues again and refine your research strategy.

You do not have to follow every step in this strategy for every issue. For some issues, you will discover the leading cases early on: the bulk of your time will be spent analyzing those cases rather than trying to find more cases. However, often you will need to continue searching for the most relevant cases using the next set of finding tools.

	What are pure finding tools
	Canadian Abridgment Case Digests

	Other digest services
	Reporters and indices

References

What are Pure Finding Tools?

Most of the secondary sources described in the previous section are narrative sources, which perform the dual function of providing summaries and analysis of the law, and helping you to find other relevant primary and secondary sources. They are valuable as finding tools, but often are neither comprehensive nor current.

Reporter indices, digest services, case citators and words and phrases sources are additional tools for finding relevant cases. After reviewing commentary and conducting full text research in the case law, you may need to continue your research using some of these finding tools. These tools contain no commentary on or analysis of the law: they simply help you locate relevant case law.

Canadian Abridgment Case Digests

	When and why should you use the Abridgment Digests
	Searching the Abridgment Digests electronically
	Finding relevant Abridgment classifications using the print version
	Locating all digests under a classification using the print version

When and why should you use the Abridgment Digests?

The Abridgment Case Digests are best used after consulting commentary and performing some full text searches of the case law. They are particularly useful in the following circumstances:

	To find cases with similar facts or dealing with a similar issue.
	Where the topical sources for the subject area are poor.
	To look for cases outside of the date range of the other resources reviewed.
	To ensure nothing is missed.

Searching the Abridgment Digests electronically

In LawSource, you can search the Abridgment Digests by using keywords to search through the text of the digests, by searching on the classification, or by a combination of these techniques. You can also restrict your search to certain dates, jurisdictions, or court levels.

Finding relevant Abridgment classifications using the print version

There are a series of steps to be followed if you want to use the print version of the Abridgment effectively. The first step is to identify the general subject areas in which your topic may be covered.

The best tool for finding applicable subject headings and classifications is the Key section of the Key and Research Guide. Look up your topic in this guide. If the term you look up is not used as a subject heading, the cross-references will usually direct you to the appropriate subject heading. The Key and Research Guide also contains an Abridgment Overview section, that indicates which subject headings fall within broad legal categories. This can be helpful if you have no idea where to start.

Once you have identified the appropriate subject headings, review the table of contents for those subject headings in the Key. Note the most relevant classifications, using the subject heading and classification numbers and letters, and using the words comprising the sub-headings. The Key will inform you of the steps you need to follow to make your research under a particular subject heading complete.

If you already know a relevant case, there is a very fast way to locate the classification scheme. Look up the case in the Consolidated Table of Cases, and note the digest reference for the case. Go to the digest, and determine the classification assigned to it. This method is quick, but it does not replace a thorough review of the Key. Cases on the same legal issue often appear in more than one classification. Rather than relying on this method alone, use it to augment your search through the Key for relevant classifications.

Locating all digests under a classification using the print version

The next step is to follow the classification scheme through from the hardcover Main Case Digest Volume, to the softcover Case Digest Supplement, to the monthly softcover issues of Canadian Current Law. Use the main subject heading, and the numbers and letters comprising the classification scheme, to do this.	Main Case Digest Volume

	Case Digest Supplement

	Canadian Current Law

Canadian Current Law contains a quarterly cumulative index that uses the words comprising the classification, rather than the number and letter code. This index can save you considerable time, so it is worth writing down these terms when you start your research in the Abridgment.

Other digest services

In addition to the Abridgment Case Digests, there are several other important digests of case law. Many are published electronically. Digest services are often used as a current awareness tool, but can also be used to augment your full text research.

Digest Name	Source
All Canada Weekly Summaries	BestCase
BC Decisions (Civil and Criminal)	BestCase
BC Weekly Law Digest	Print, Thomson Carswell
The Canada Digest	Quicklaw
Canadian Case Summaries	Quicklaw
Canadian Labour Arbitration Summaries	BestCase
CLE Society of BC Case Digests	CLE Online
Lawyer's Weekly Digests	Quicklaw
Supreme Court of Canada Reports Service	Print, Lexis Nexis
Weekly Criminal Bulletin	BestCase

Reporters and indices

Reporter indices can be a useful research tool, although they have been largely supplanted by full text electronic databases. You may want to review the subject index for a case reporter series where your electronic research has not yielded good results, or if you do not have electronic access to the cases covered by the reporter series. The standardized index terms can sometimes lead you to cases that are missed in a keyword search. They tend to be broader, and may take you to cases dealing with the same point of law but in a different factual context. The indices also have useful value-added features such as words and phrases references. Particularly useful are the subject indices for topical reporters.

For British Columbia cases, the most important reporter is the British Columbia Law Reports. Older British Columbia case law is reported in the British Columbia Reports series, freely available on the Internet. There is a large gap between when the British Columbia Reports ceased publication in 1947 and the British Columbia Law Reports commenced in 1976. During this period, the Western Weekly Reports and the Dominion Law Reports are the most likely source for British Columbia case law.

The Supreme Court Reports is the official reporter for the Supreme Court of Canada, and the Federal Court Reports is the official reporter for the Federal Court of Canada. The Dominion Law Reports is the leading reporter series for national coverage of Canadian case law. BestCase is the only electronic service to publish a complete collection of cases reported in the Dominion Law Reports. However, LawSource has coverage of all reported cases from 1977, and Quicklaw from 1970.

Maritime Law Books publishes cases from all Canadian jurisdictions, using a detailed "point of law" classification scheme. As with the classification schemes in the Abridgment Case Digests and The Canada Digest, the MLB classification scheme can be used to find cases dealing with the same legal issue.

References

Bora Laskin Law Library Guide to Legal Research, Canadian Legal Resources.

Queen's University Faculty of Law, Legal Research Materials, Secondary Materials.

Tjaden, Doing Legal Research in Canada.