Practice Tips - Casemaker
Nine Casemaker tips to make research a breeze! (PDF file)
Weekly Casemaker® Tips - Casemaker® makes the case!
- Casemaker® has a new look! You will find the same functionality as the original, but with enhanced features. Now, users can execute searches either by clicking on the search button or by using the 'Enter' key on their keyboard. By clicking on the Casemaker logo located in the top left corner, users can view all available state and federal libraries. From there, users can also choose Multi-State Searches and will be able to search multiple states' case law simultaneously. Casemaker® has also added statutes for non-consortium states. Please click on the help button to access the Casemaker User Guide.
- Easy to login Even if you've never used Casemaker, you can start immediately! All active Bar members are automatically subscribed. All you need is your Bar number and the password. What's the password? Your name! Go to www.scbar.org/casemaker and click on the link to login. Enter your bar number and then enter the first initial of your first name combined with your last name. Be sure to use lowercase letters. If you happen to have a suffix, such as junior, add it too, but leave the period off the end. When in doubt, read the hint, located just above the login fields. Casemaker(R) is user-friendly - if you can use an Internet search engine, you can probably use Casemaker. For all your Casemaker questions, contact Courtney Kennaday at casemaker@scbar.org or 803 799-6653 ext. 183.
- Browse The ability to Browse through content is one of Casemaker’s more popular features. Users have the ability to view a table of contents for all to statutes, codes, rules, and other materials. By being able to view the titles, users can determine which item would be of most interest to them. While other online publishers actually charge their customers for this service, it is completely free to Casemaker members.
- Using the Thesaurus Function
Casemaker's Thesaurus function can provide users with expanded search capabilities. By placing a tilde (~) immediately before a word (no spaces allowed), users can find synonyms for keywords. Because the thesaurus allows for the expansion of the number of searchable cases with similar dialogue, this greatly increases the chance of finding case law that is most applicable to your challenges. For example, entering ~alcohol into the Full Document Search Query box will yield the case law containing the words, "liquor," "whiskey," "intoxicant," "spirits," and more. Entering the word ~car will yield the words "car," "automobile," "auto," "vehicle," "train," and others. But users need to be careful. Because the word "vehicle" can also mean "conveyance," this word may also appear in the search. When searching for ~animal the surnames "Hare" and "Hunter" may appear. The Thesaurus function can also be used in conjunction with other search parameters such as AND, OR, NOT, PHRASE, and SUFFIX EXPANSION searches. - Exclusion Function Casemaker's Exclusion Function can be used to prohibit undesired cases from being offered to the user.
By placing a hyphen (-) immediately before (no spaces allowed between the hyphen and the word to be excluded) the term to be eliminated from the search, Casemaker will display only those cases which have desired search terms. For example, property -commercial would most likely yield strictly private property cases. Users are able to insert multiple combinations. Entering the words gross sexual imposition -rape would eliminate all rape cases. Drown -swimming -pool would yield cases in which the word drown would appear, but swimming and pool would not. This useful feature and other search tools allow Casemaker users the flexibility to quickly discover the cases that accurately put them on point. - Printing Printing a clean copy of a Code section or opinion in Casemaker is easy! Just use Casemaker's "Print Doc" button, which sits between the "library contents" and the "help" buttons on the Casemaker toolbar above your results. With one click, you'll view your case in a format free of extraneous information. It will include the citations and the page breaks. To send the document to the printer, print as you would any other Web page, using File/Print or clicking the printer icon on your browser toolbar.
- Search for a phrase Finding a phrase in Casemaker is as easy as adding a set of quotation marks. For example, the individual words breach, of, and contract will yield too many results, but put quotation marks around it and you will narrow your results by 50 percent. Also, Casemaker will not search for terms less than three characters long, so words like "an" and "of" are ignored unless used inside a phrase with quotes.
- Using the SuperCODE feature Casemaker utilizes SuperCODE to identify changes to statutes and codes. In Casemaker, when you view a South Carolina Code section, you will see “SuperCODE†on the right-hand side of the screen. If there any current legislation is pending that would affect that section, SuperCODE will display hyperlinks. Just click on the link to be transported to the proposed or current legislation for that Code section. Users can then make their own determination as to whether the new law will affect the Code section being researched.
- How current is this? Did you know that a link to the state or federal Currency Page is located on each individual library's main page? The link is just above the Case Law link and says "Currency." By clicking on the link, users are directed to a new page, listing the specific materials available and how current they are. Since not all of Casemaker's states' case law begins in the same year, you will need to check this information in each state library.
- Page numbering Did you know that you can see page breaks when you view South Carolina cases on Casemaker? The page numbers reflect the pagination of the South Carolina Reports, which is the official reporter for South Carolina cases. You can look up cases by their South Eastern Reporter®, 2d citation, although the page numbers throughout the case won't appear.
- Suffix expansion Casemaker's search engine finds only the exact search terms entered into the Full Document Search Query box. However, you can perform a more inclusive search by using the Suffix Expansion feature. You may find all word forms of a single word by attaching an asterisk (*) to the end of the word (no spaces allowed). By doing so, you activate the Suffix Expansion feature. If the term stalk* is typed into the Search box, present tense (stalk), plurals (stalks), past tense (stalked), nouns (stalker), and progressive tense verbs (stalking) can all be found in a single search.
- Proximity searches Casemaker’s Proximity Function, users can choose how closely multiple search terms appear within a document? By going to the drop-down menu at the bottom of the Search page, the user can readily select how close in proximity they would like the search terms to be. This feature allows users to rapidly narrow their searches thereby reducing search times.
- Casemaker® 2.0 is now available to members Changes that are apparent to users include the new “start†page. Bar members now begin their search in the South Carolina Library. To get to the other states’ or federal libraries, click on “Full Library Menu.†Another new feature: when you click the “search†button, you go directly to the Advanced Search feature. Also, if you type in the “Full Document Search Query†field, you can hit the enter key to run your search. Stay tuned: more Casemaker improvements are on the way!