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Scope of Content is Confounding
Lack of Standard Search Parameters
Track and Bill Back Search Costs
Topics in Part II of This Review
- Research (archives)
- Search Engine
- Boolean Connectors
- Keyword Searching
- Save Results
- Current DAR
- DAR Archives
- Search Engine
- Search by Topic
- California Cases (back to 1934)
- Search Engine
- Currency
- No "All Courts" Search Option
- Features Common to News, DAR & Opinions Databases
- Printer Friendly or E-mail Results
- Boolean Operators
- Help Screens
- Keywords Highlighted
- Refine, Expand, Save
- Part II: The Online Los Angeles Daily Journal:
- A Review of News and California Case Law Sections
View and print selective current stories free: Although subscribers cannot view or print a story free of charge in the “Research” section (News Publications Archives), they can view and print selective current stories free by scanning the “Newswire” section. Click on one of the Newswire topics listed on the sidebar located on the left-hand side of the page. Topics range from “Top Stories” to “Real Estate Law” to “Firm Watch” to “California Lawyer”, to name a few.
The “Research” section includes a search engine for the archives to all News Publications: To access the archives, click on “Research” at the top of the home page. “News Publications” include: the Daily Journal Newspapers (Los Angeles and San Francisco), Law Firm Articles, California Law Business, California Lawyer, House Counsel and Cyber Esq., all back to 1999 and Settlements & Verdicts (back to January 1998). (I was particularly thrilled to see Cyber Esq. listed because Internet For Lawyers was just profiled in the Dec. 8th issue, page 20. Remember though, you have to pay $2 to read it online.) And, note, as discussed in Part I, the archives are NOT comprehensive (they are not a mirror image of the print publications).
Search individually, or search “All”. A specific publication, such as “Cyber Esq.”, can be searched individually, or search “All News Publications” simultaneously. I particularly like this feature.
Search by keyword and boolean connectors in the “Research” section and use the date restrictors of “all”, “previous year”, “6 months”, “3 months”, or “1 month”.
Save results: You may also “save” searches for an extended period of time and you may also view your results free for 24 hours.
Read the last 3 days of opinions online or request a daily e-email: Note: If you read the DAR online on Dec. 12, it will be dated “Dec. 11”, but don't assume it's a day behind the print edition. The online site posts the DAR a day earlier than the print edition. Subscribers can receive a daily DAR table of contents e-mailed to their in-box and can link to the full text of the opinion. While subscribers can forward the DAR table of contents e-mail to non-subscribers (with the Daily Journal's permission only), recipients cannot link to the full text of the case from the email. According to the online agreement, subscribers are not allowed to transmit anything from the DJ site to others, even including others in the same firm, without the express prior written consent of Daily Journal.
The DAR has a fairly robust search engine (in contrast to the California case law database –see below). The DAR search engine permits searching by case name, number, citation, topic (and sub-topic), court, keyword(s), attorney and judge. Curiously enough, there is no way to search the DAR by the DAR citation. I tried to search a DAR cite in the “number” field, the “citation” field and finally in the “keyword(s)” field. No luck.
Search by Topic: If searching the DAR by topic, don't click on “sub topic” until you have first clicked on “topic”. The sub-topics relating to each “topic” do not get loaded into the drop down menu box until you first select the “topic”.
