,Solution manual for Legal Research, Analysis, and
Writing, 5th Edition William H. Putman
Notes
1- The file is chapter after chapter.
2- We have shown you 10 or five pages.
3- The file contains all Appendix and Excel
sheet if it exists.
4- We have all what you need, we make
update at every time. There are many new
editions waiting you.
5- If you think you purchased the wrong file
You can contact us at every time, we can
replace it with true one.
Our email:
, Solution and Answer Guide: Putman/Albright, Legal Research, Analysis, & Writing, 5e, ©2024, 9780357619445;
Chapter 1: Introduction to Legal Principles and Authorities
Solution and Answer Guide
PUTMAN/ALBRIGHT, LEGAL RESEARCH, ANALYSIS, & WRITING, 5E, 9780357619445;
CHAPTER 1: : INTRODUCTION TO LEGAL PRINCIPLES AND AUTHORITIES.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Assignment 1 Answers ................................................................................................................................ 1
Assignment 2 Answers ................................................................................................................................ 2
Assignment 3 Answers ................................................................................................................................ 2
Assignment 4 Answers ................................................................................................................................ 4
Assignment 5 Answers ................................................................................................................................ 6
ASSIGNMENT 1 ANSWERS
Answer the following questions regarding the courts in your state:
1. Are there limited jurisdiction courts in your State?
Answer: The state considered here is, Texas in the United States. Federal courts are the courts that have
limited jurisdictions. They only hear the cases which are approved by the United States constitution. District
courts are the first level of federal courts where limited jurisdiction exists, followed by circuit courts and
supreme courts.
a. Name those courts:
Answer: There are four federal district courts in the State of Texas. They are divided into United States
District Courts of the Northern District, Eastern District, Southern District, and Western District of Texas.
There are 14 courts of appeals in Texas which have intermediate jurisdiction in civil and criminal cases
which are appeals from the country courts. And lastly the Supreme court of Texas
b. What types of cases can each of those courts preside over?
Answer: The cases in the district court of Texas consist of criminal cases, divorce cases, election cases,
civil matters, and any other matters which are not placed in the trial court. The circuit court consists of the
civil and criminal case which is appealed by district courts. The Supreme Court of Texas is the resort of
civil matters in the US. Texas Court is the resort of criminal matters.
2. What is the general jurisdiction court in your State?
Answer: In the State Texas of United States, the general jurisdiction court is a district court.
a. How are those courts organized—by county, district, etc.?
© 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible 1
website, in whole or in part.
, Solution and Answer Guide: Putman/Albright, Legal Research, Analysis, & Writing, 5e, ©2024, 9780357619445;
Chapter 1: Introduction to Legal Principles and Authorities
Answer: The geographical area covered by each court is formulated by the Legislature of the United States;
however, each country is served by a minimum of one district court.
b. Does that court have appellate jurisdiction over cases from any limited jurisdiction
courts?
Answer: The district courts do have appellate jurisdiction in all the subordinate courts which are located in
the districts; it covers both civil and criminal cases.
3. What are the appellate jurisdiction courts in your state?
Answer: The appellant courts in States Texas consist of the Supreme Court, 14 intermediate courts of the
appellant, and a court of criminal appeals.
a. Is there an intermediate appellate court? What is it called and is it a single court or
are there multiple divisions?
Answer: There are 14 intermediate courts of appeals. They have jurisdiction in civil and criminal matters
from the district courts in each of their geographical court of appeals of district state. They have limited
writ jurisdiction.
b. What is the highest appellate court?
Answer: The court of Criminal appeals is the highest appellate court in the state Texas of The United States.
ASSIGNMENT 2 ANSWERS
Question:
Access the website for your state’s legislature. How many groups of statutes are there (these may be called
titles, sections, codes, etc.)? Does the state legislature website provide a link to the state constitution?
Answer:
The State of Texas is considered here.
The Texas legislature is a legislature of the United States state of Texas. It consists of 31 senate members
and 150 house of representatives. The state legislature of Texas is met every two odd-numbered years.
During the session, bills are introduced by the legislators for approval. The bills which are approved by the
law are arranged into codes referred to as Texas Statues. These statutes are online published and printed.
© 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible 2
website, in whole or in part.
, Solution and Answer Guide: Putman/Albright, Legal Research, Analysis, & Writing, 5e, ©2024, 9780357619445;
Chapter 1: Introduction to Legal Principles and Authorities
There are 31 statutes codes available in the Texas statutes. The statutes available on the Texas Legislature
website are updated as per the 87th 3rd Legislative session held in 2021.
The Texas Statues are as follows:
Agriculture code
Alcoholic beverage code
Auxiliary water laws
Business and commerce code
Business organization code
Civil practice and remedies code
Code of criminal procedure
Education code
Election code
Estates code
Family code
Finance code
Government code
Health and safety code
Human resource code
Insurance code
Insurance code-Not codified
Labor code
Local government code
Natural resources code
Occupations code
Park and wildlife code
Penal code
Property code
Special district local laws code
Tax code
Transportation code
Utilities code
Water code
Vernon’s civil code
The state legislature webiste of Texas, United States provides a direct link to Texas Constitution. It consists
of all the articles and chapers of the Texas Constitution. It consist of 17 articles inclduingt the appendixes.
Each article respecttive sections are acweesible online.
ASSIGNMENT 3 ANSWERS
© 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible 3
website, in whole or in part.
, Solution and Answer Guide: Putman/Albright, Legal Research, Analysis, & Writing, 5e, ©2024, 9780357619445;
Chapter 1: Introduction to Legal Principles and Authorities
Question: Access your state Supreme Court website. Does the website include published opinions of the
Supreme Court? If so, in what ways can you search those opinions?
Answer:
The state considered here is Texas, United States. The opinions of the United States Supreme Court are
published in the United States Reports. They are 800-1200 pages long. The US reports are complied with
and published for the Court. The page proofs
are reproduced printed and bound by the private companies under the US Government Publishing Office
contract.
These materials of opinions are disseminated to the public electronically as well as in print. On the Texas
courts website under the supreme orders column, all the Supreme Court of Texas opinions can be
accessed.
They have been starting to release after October 2014 till the present. They can also be accessed through
CaseSearch.
The webpages, orders, and opinions released before October 1, 2014, are not converted to the new format,
although their archives are fully available on the Texas court website.
ASSIGNMENT 4 ANSWERS
The researcher is analyzing a problem involving the sale of goods on credit in state A.
Authority
The following authority has been located concerning the problem:
1. State A’s Uniform Commercial Code Act
2. State A’s Consumer Credit Act
3. State B’s Uniform Commercial Code Act
4. A federal statute—Consumer Credit Act
5. Iron v. Supply Co.—a decision of the highest
The court in state A
6. Milk v. Best Buy, Inc.—a decision of the highest Court in state B
7. Control Co. v. Martin—a decision of an intermediary Court of appeals in state A
8. Lesley v. Karl Co.—a decision of a trial court in State A
9. Irene v. City Co.—a federal case involving the Federal Consumer Credit Act
10. Regulations adopted by state A’s Corporation
A commission that applies to consumer credit and the sale of goods
11. Restatements of the Law defining sales, Consumer Credit, and other terms related to the problem
12. An ALR reference that directly addresses the Issues in the case
© 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible 4
website, in whole or in part.
, Solution and Answer Guide: Putman/Albright, Legal Research, Analysis, & Writing, 5e, ©2024, 9780357619445;
Chapter 1: Introduction to Legal Principles and Authorities
Assume that all the cases are on point, that is, they are sufficiently similar to the facts and issues involved
in the problem to apply as precedent.
Questions
a. Which authority is the primary authority, and which is the secondary authority?
Answer: Every law is a primary authority, whereas the sources which are not law and on which the court
depends are the secondary authorities.
The primary authority consists of:
1. State A’s Uniform Commercial Code Act.
2. State A's Consumer Credit Act.
3. State B’s Uniform Commercial Code Act
4. Federal Statute Consumer credit Act
5. All the regulations adopted and case laws.
The secondary authority consists of:
1. Restatements of law.
2. American Law Reports references
b. Which authority can be a mandatory authority? Why? What would be required for any of the sources to
be a mandatory authority?
Answer: A mandatory authority source is a source upon which the court depends while deciding on a case
issue, for instance, case laws. It consists of legal authority which has to be followed. All the primary
authority is mandatory authorities which a court is required to put into consideration while making a
decision for a case.
An authority becomes compulsory or mandatory when the authority is associated with the legality question
or the issue is to be decided by the court only.
c. Which authority can be a persuasive authority? Why?
Answer: A persuasive authority is a source that may or may not be abided by the court. The court is not
compelled to follow the persuasive authority. On the other hand, the court could consider persuasive
authority while solving a case when they have to make a decision. Primary as well as a secondary authority
can be considered persuasive authority.
If the primary authority is not associated with the situation of the case, then it would be considered
persuasive and not mandatory authority.
d. Assuming that all the primary authority applies to the issues raised by the facts of the client’s case, list
the authority in the hierarchical order of its value as precedent; that is, the authority with the greatest
© 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible 5
website, in whole or in part.
, Solution and Answer Guide: Putman/Albright, Legal Research, Analysis, & Writing, 5e, ©2024, 9780357619445;
Chapter 1: Introduction to Legal Principles and Authorities
authoritative value will be listed first, followed by the other authority in the order it will be looked to by
the court.
Answer: The order of authorities in hierarchical order is as follows:
1. Statues.
2. Cases and
3. Regulations.
ASSIGNMENT 5 ANSWERS
Facts
Your client is the plaintiff in a workers’ compensation case. The client was injured in 2021 in state A.
In 2022, the employer destroyed all the business records relating to the client. The destruction of the records
was apparently accidental, not intentional. They were destroyed, however, while the client’s workers’
compensation claim was pending.
Authority
You have located the following authority, all of which is directly related to the issues raised by the facts of
the client’s case:
1. Idle v. City Co.—a 2005 decision by the highest court of state A in which the court created a cause of
action in tort for the wrongful destruction of business records. The court ruled that a cause of action exists
if the records were destroyed in anticipation of or while a workers’ compensation claim was pending. The
court also held that a cause of action exists if the destruction was intentional or negligent.
2. A 2014 state A statute—a law passed by the legislature of state A that created a cause of action in tort
for the intentional destruction of business records. The statute provides that a cause of action exists if the
destruction occurs in anticipation of or while a workers’ compensation claim is pending.
3. Merrick v. Taylor—a 2015 decision of the court of appeals of state A. The court of appeals is a lower
court than the state’s highest court. The court held that the term intentional, within the meaning of the 2004
statute, includes either the intentional destruction of records or the destruction of records as a result of gross
negligence.
4. Davees v. Contractor—a decision of the highest court of state B interpreting a state B statute identical to
the 2014 state A statute. The court held that the term intentional, as used in the statute, includes gross
negligence only when gross negligence is accompanied by a “reckless and wanton” disregard for the
preservation of the business records.
5. A 2016 federal statute—the statute is identical to the 2014 state statute but applies only to contractors
with federal contracts.
© 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible 6
website, in whole or in part.
, Solution and Answer Guide: Putman/Albright, Legal Research, Analysis, & Writing, 5e, ©2024, 9780357619445;
Chapter 1: Introduction to Legal Principles and Authorities
6. An ALR reference—addresses specific questions similar to those raised in the client’s case.
Questions
a. Which authority is the primary authority, and which is the secondary authority? Why?
Answer: All the laws are primary authorities; on the other hand, the non-law authorities on whom the court
depends for their decision are secondary authorities.
Primary Authorities:
1. 2014 state statue
2. Idle v. City Co. case
3. Merrick v. Taylor case
Secondary Authorities:
1. 2016 Federal statue
2. ALR reference
3. Davies v. Contractor case
b. Which authority can be mandatory? Why? What would be required for any of the sources to be a
mandatory authority?
Answer: A mandatory authority is an authority on which the court depends while making a decision.’ All
primary authorities are mandatory authorities as per the case. A primary authority becomes mandatory when
the source is a legal question, as decided by the court.
c. Which authority can be a persuasive authority? Why?
Answer: Authority can be persuasive which may or may not be abided by the court. The court is not
compelled to abide by persuasive authority; however, they may consider it while making a decision. If the
primary authority does not follow the section of a court case, then it will be persuasive and not mandatory.
The law passed in 2014 state statute of State A indicates the actions to destroy the evidence intentionally.
2016 federal law supports the law formed in 2014, and the ALR considered it as a mandatory authority.
d. Can Idle v. City Co. be an authority at all? Why or why not?
Answer: Yes, Idle vs City CO can be an authority as it is a case law that is decided by the court of State A.
e. If Idle v. City Co. is authority, to what extent?
Answer: It is an authority. Idle v City Co is a primary as well as mandatory authority. It is primary because
it is case law. It is mandatory as it is required for the case in question.
© 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible 7
website, in whole or in part.
, Solution and Answer Guide: Putman/Albright, Legal Research, Analysis, & Writing, 5e, ©2024, 9780357619445;
Chapter 1: Introduction to Legal Principles and Authorities
f. Discuss the impact of Merrick v. Taylor regarding the 2004 State A statute.
Answer: The statute passed in 2004 refers to the cause of actions that happened because of destructing the
employee records when their compensation was yet to be paid. The statutes state it as justified if the records
were intentionally destructed when the compensation was not paid. In the case of Merrick v Taylor, the
court considered the statute in State A in 2004 which focuses on the term intentional by stating the
destruction as an intentional act.
g. Discuss the authoritative value of Davees v. Contractor.
Answer: Davees V Contractor has a persuasive value as the Davees case was decided by the court located
in State B. This case is not binding on State A; instead, it has a persuasive value.
h. Assuming that all the primary authority applies to the issues raised by the facts of the client’s case, list
the authority in the hierarchical order of its value as precedent; that is, the authority with the greatest
authoritative value will be listed first, followed by other authority in the order it will be looked to and relied
on by the court.
Answer: Authorities, in hierarchal order, are stated as follows:
1. Statutes or state laws
2. Cases
3. Regulations
© 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible 8
website, in whole or in part.
Writing, 5th Edition William H. Putman
Notes
1- The file is chapter after chapter.
2- We have shown you 10 or five pages.
3- The file contains all Appendix and Excel
sheet if it exists.
4- We have all what you need, we make
update at every time. There are many new
editions waiting you.
5- If you think you purchased the wrong file
You can contact us at every time, we can
replace it with true one.
Our email:
, Solution and Answer Guide: Putman/Albright, Legal Research, Analysis, & Writing, 5e, ©2024, 9780357619445;
Chapter 1: Introduction to Legal Principles and Authorities
Solution and Answer Guide
PUTMAN/ALBRIGHT, LEGAL RESEARCH, ANALYSIS, & WRITING, 5E, 9780357619445;
CHAPTER 1: : INTRODUCTION TO LEGAL PRINCIPLES AND AUTHORITIES.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Assignment 1 Answers ................................................................................................................................ 1
Assignment 2 Answers ................................................................................................................................ 2
Assignment 3 Answers ................................................................................................................................ 2
Assignment 4 Answers ................................................................................................................................ 4
Assignment 5 Answers ................................................................................................................................ 6
ASSIGNMENT 1 ANSWERS
Answer the following questions regarding the courts in your state:
1. Are there limited jurisdiction courts in your State?
Answer: The state considered here is, Texas in the United States. Federal courts are the courts that have
limited jurisdictions. They only hear the cases which are approved by the United States constitution. District
courts are the first level of federal courts where limited jurisdiction exists, followed by circuit courts and
supreme courts.
a. Name those courts:
Answer: There are four federal district courts in the State of Texas. They are divided into United States
District Courts of the Northern District, Eastern District, Southern District, and Western District of Texas.
There are 14 courts of appeals in Texas which have intermediate jurisdiction in civil and criminal cases
which are appeals from the country courts. And lastly the Supreme court of Texas
b. What types of cases can each of those courts preside over?
Answer: The cases in the district court of Texas consist of criminal cases, divorce cases, election cases,
civil matters, and any other matters which are not placed in the trial court. The circuit court consists of the
civil and criminal case which is appealed by district courts. The Supreme Court of Texas is the resort of
civil matters in the US. Texas Court is the resort of criminal matters.
2. What is the general jurisdiction court in your State?
Answer: In the State Texas of United States, the general jurisdiction court is a district court.
a. How are those courts organized—by county, district, etc.?
© 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible 1
website, in whole or in part.
, Solution and Answer Guide: Putman/Albright, Legal Research, Analysis, & Writing, 5e, ©2024, 9780357619445;
Chapter 1: Introduction to Legal Principles and Authorities
Answer: The geographical area covered by each court is formulated by the Legislature of the United States;
however, each country is served by a minimum of one district court.
b. Does that court have appellate jurisdiction over cases from any limited jurisdiction
courts?
Answer: The district courts do have appellate jurisdiction in all the subordinate courts which are located in
the districts; it covers both civil and criminal cases.
3. What are the appellate jurisdiction courts in your state?
Answer: The appellant courts in States Texas consist of the Supreme Court, 14 intermediate courts of the
appellant, and a court of criminal appeals.
a. Is there an intermediate appellate court? What is it called and is it a single court or
are there multiple divisions?
Answer: There are 14 intermediate courts of appeals. They have jurisdiction in civil and criminal matters
from the district courts in each of their geographical court of appeals of district state. They have limited
writ jurisdiction.
b. What is the highest appellate court?
Answer: The court of Criminal appeals is the highest appellate court in the state Texas of The United States.
ASSIGNMENT 2 ANSWERS
Question:
Access the website for your state’s legislature. How many groups of statutes are there (these may be called
titles, sections, codes, etc.)? Does the state legislature website provide a link to the state constitution?
Answer:
The State of Texas is considered here.
The Texas legislature is a legislature of the United States state of Texas. It consists of 31 senate members
and 150 house of representatives. The state legislature of Texas is met every two odd-numbered years.
During the session, bills are introduced by the legislators for approval. The bills which are approved by the
law are arranged into codes referred to as Texas Statues. These statutes are online published and printed.
© 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible 2
website, in whole or in part.
, Solution and Answer Guide: Putman/Albright, Legal Research, Analysis, & Writing, 5e, ©2024, 9780357619445;
Chapter 1: Introduction to Legal Principles and Authorities
There are 31 statutes codes available in the Texas statutes. The statutes available on the Texas Legislature
website are updated as per the 87th 3rd Legislative session held in 2021.
The Texas Statues are as follows:
Agriculture code
Alcoholic beverage code
Auxiliary water laws
Business and commerce code
Business organization code
Civil practice and remedies code
Code of criminal procedure
Education code
Election code
Estates code
Family code
Finance code
Government code
Health and safety code
Human resource code
Insurance code
Insurance code-Not codified
Labor code
Local government code
Natural resources code
Occupations code
Park and wildlife code
Penal code
Property code
Special district local laws code
Tax code
Transportation code
Utilities code
Water code
Vernon’s civil code
The state legislature webiste of Texas, United States provides a direct link to Texas Constitution. It consists
of all the articles and chapers of the Texas Constitution. It consist of 17 articles inclduingt the appendixes.
Each article respecttive sections are acweesible online.
ASSIGNMENT 3 ANSWERS
© 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible 3
website, in whole or in part.
, Solution and Answer Guide: Putman/Albright, Legal Research, Analysis, & Writing, 5e, ©2024, 9780357619445;
Chapter 1: Introduction to Legal Principles and Authorities
Question: Access your state Supreme Court website. Does the website include published opinions of the
Supreme Court? If so, in what ways can you search those opinions?
Answer:
The state considered here is Texas, United States. The opinions of the United States Supreme Court are
published in the United States Reports. They are 800-1200 pages long. The US reports are complied with
and published for the Court. The page proofs
are reproduced printed and bound by the private companies under the US Government Publishing Office
contract.
These materials of opinions are disseminated to the public electronically as well as in print. On the Texas
courts website under the supreme orders column, all the Supreme Court of Texas opinions can be
accessed.
They have been starting to release after October 2014 till the present. They can also be accessed through
CaseSearch.
The webpages, orders, and opinions released before October 1, 2014, are not converted to the new format,
although their archives are fully available on the Texas court website.
ASSIGNMENT 4 ANSWERS
The researcher is analyzing a problem involving the sale of goods on credit in state A.
Authority
The following authority has been located concerning the problem:
1. State A’s Uniform Commercial Code Act
2. State A’s Consumer Credit Act
3. State B’s Uniform Commercial Code Act
4. A federal statute—Consumer Credit Act
5. Iron v. Supply Co.—a decision of the highest
The court in state A
6. Milk v. Best Buy, Inc.—a decision of the highest Court in state B
7. Control Co. v. Martin—a decision of an intermediary Court of appeals in state A
8. Lesley v. Karl Co.—a decision of a trial court in State A
9. Irene v. City Co.—a federal case involving the Federal Consumer Credit Act
10. Regulations adopted by state A’s Corporation
A commission that applies to consumer credit and the sale of goods
11. Restatements of the Law defining sales, Consumer Credit, and other terms related to the problem
12. An ALR reference that directly addresses the Issues in the case
© 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible 4
website, in whole or in part.
, Solution and Answer Guide: Putman/Albright, Legal Research, Analysis, & Writing, 5e, ©2024, 9780357619445;
Chapter 1: Introduction to Legal Principles and Authorities
Assume that all the cases are on point, that is, they are sufficiently similar to the facts and issues involved
in the problem to apply as precedent.
Questions
a. Which authority is the primary authority, and which is the secondary authority?
Answer: Every law is a primary authority, whereas the sources which are not law and on which the court
depends are the secondary authorities.
The primary authority consists of:
1. State A’s Uniform Commercial Code Act.
2. State A's Consumer Credit Act.
3. State B’s Uniform Commercial Code Act
4. Federal Statute Consumer credit Act
5. All the regulations adopted and case laws.
The secondary authority consists of:
1. Restatements of law.
2. American Law Reports references
b. Which authority can be a mandatory authority? Why? What would be required for any of the sources to
be a mandatory authority?
Answer: A mandatory authority source is a source upon which the court depends while deciding on a case
issue, for instance, case laws. It consists of legal authority which has to be followed. All the primary
authority is mandatory authorities which a court is required to put into consideration while making a
decision for a case.
An authority becomes compulsory or mandatory when the authority is associated with the legality question
or the issue is to be decided by the court only.
c. Which authority can be a persuasive authority? Why?
Answer: A persuasive authority is a source that may or may not be abided by the court. The court is not
compelled to follow the persuasive authority. On the other hand, the court could consider persuasive
authority while solving a case when they have to make a decision. Primary as well as a secondary authority
can be considered persuasive authority.
If the primary authority is not associated with the situation of the case, then it would be considered
persuasive and not mandatory authority.
d. Assuming that all the primary authority applies to the issues raised by the facts of the client’s case, list
the authority in the hierarchical order of its value as precedent; that is, the authority with the greatest
© 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible 5
website, in whole or in part.
, Solution and Answer Guide: Putman/Albright, Legal Research, Analysis, & Writing, 5e, ©2024, 9780357619445;
Chapter 1: Introduction to Legal Principles and Authorities
authoritative value will be listed first, followed by the other authority in the order it will be looked to by
the court.
Answer: The order of authorities in hierarchical order is as follows:
1. Statues.
2. Cases and
3. Regulations.
ASSIGNMENT 5 ANSWERS
Facts
Your client is the plaintiff in a workers’ compensation case. The client was injured in 2021 in state A.
In 2022, the employer destroyed all the business records relating to the client. The destruction of the records
was apparently accidental, not intentional. They were destroyed, however, while the client’s workers’
compensation claim was pending.
Authority
You have located the following authority, all of which is directly related to the issues raised by the facts of
the client’s case:
1. Idle v. City Co.—a 2005 decision by the highest court of state A in which the court created a cause of
action in tort for the wrongful destruction of business records. The court ruled that a cause of action exists
if the records were destroyed in anticipation of or while a workers’ compensation claim was pending. The
court also held that a cause of action exists if the destruction was intentional or negligent.
2. A 2014 state A statute—a law passed by the legislature of state A that created a cause of action in tort
for the intentional destruction of business records. The statute provides that a cause of action exists if the
destruction occurs in anticipation of or while a workers’ compensation claim is pending.
3. Merrick v. Taylor—a 2015 decision of the court of appeals of state A. The court of appeals is a lower
court than the state’s highest court. The court held that the term intentional, within the meaning of the 2004
statute, includes either the intentional destruction of records or the destruction of records as a result of gross
negligence.
4. Davees v. Contractor—a decision of the highest court of state B interpreting a state B statute identical to
the 2014 state A statute. The court held that the term intentional, as used in the statute, includes gross
negligence only when gross negligence is accompanied by a “reckless and wanton” disregard for the
preservation of the business records.
5. A 2016 federal statute—the statute is identical to the 2014 state statute but applies only to contractors
with federal contracts.
© 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible 6
website, in whole or in part.
, Solution and Answer Guide: Putman/Albright, Legal Research, Analysis, & Writing, 5e, ©2024, 9780357619445;
Chapter 1: Introduction to Legal Principles and Authorities
6. An ALR reference—addresses specific questions similar to those raised in the client’s case.
Questions
a. Which authority is the primary authority, and which is the secondary authority? Why?
Answer: All the laws are primary authorities; on the other hand, the non-law authorities on whom the court
depends for their decision are secondary authorities.
Primary Authorities:
1. 2014 state statue
2. Idle v. City Co. case
3. Merrick v. Taylor case
Secondary Authorities:
1. 2016 Federal statue
2. ALR reference
3. Davies v. Contractor case
b. Which authority can be mandatory? Why? What would be required for any of the sources to be a
mandatory authority?
Answer: A mandatory authority is an authority on which the court depends while making a decision.’ All
primary authorities are mandatory authorities as per the case. A primary authority becomes mandatory when
the source is a legal question, as decided by the court.
c. Which authority can be a persuasive authority? Why?
Answer: Authority can be persuasive which may or may not be abided by the court. The court is not
compelled to abide by persuasive authority; however, they may consider it while making a decision. If the
primary authority does not follow the section of a court case, then it will be persuasive and not mandatory.
The law passed in 2014 state statute of State A indicates the actions to destroy the evidence intentionally.
2016 federal law supports the law formed in 2014, and the ALR considered it as a mandatory authority.
d. Can Idle v. City Co. be an authority at all? Why or why not?
Answer: Yes, Idle vs City CO can be an authority as it is a case law that is decided by the court of State A.
e. If Idle v. City Co. is authority, to what extent?
Answer: It is an authority. Idle v City Co is a primary as well as mandatory authority. It is primary because
it is case law. It is mandatory as it is required for the case in question.
© 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible 7
website, in whole or in part.
, Solution and Answer Guide: Putman/Albright, Legal Research, Analysis, & Writing, 5e, ©2024, 9780357619445;
Chapter 1: Introduction to Legal Principles and Authorities
f. Discuss the impact of Merrick v. Taylor regarding the 2004 State A statute.
Answer: The statute passed in 2004 refers to the cause of actions that happened because of destructing the
employee records when their compensation was yet to be paid. The statutes state it as justified if the records
were intentionally destructed when the compensation was not paid. In the case of Merrick v Taylor, the
court considered the statute in State A in 2004 which focuses on the term intentional by stating the
destruction as an intentional act.
g. Discuss the authoritative value of Davees v. Contractor.
Answer: Davees V Contractor has a persuasive value as the Davees case was decided by the court located
in State B. This case is not binding on State A; instead, it has a persuasive value.
h. Assuming that all the primary authority applies to the issues raised by the facts of the client’s case, list
the authority in the hierarchical order of its value as precedent; that is, the authority with the greatest
authoritative value will be listed first, followed by other authority in the order it will be looked to and relied
on by the court.
Answer: Authorities, in hierarchal order, are stated as follows:
1. Statutes or state laws
2. Cases
3. Regulations
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website, in whole or in part.
