You probably know about
Arkansas VersusLaw, at least at some subconscious level.
"How interesting," you were just thinking,
"I'll have to learn about that one of these days."
Let this be the day. Set aside half an hour and fire
up that computer. Get yourself on the internet, double
click upon the desktop icon for your internet browser
program (for most of us that will be Microsoft Internet
Explorer) and read on. We are going to play with our
new toy. WARNING! This article is ADULT RATED.
Children (i.e., anyone under about 35) will suffer intelligence
insult here.
Those of you who know
how to find the Arkansas Bar Association's website,
do so now. The rest of us will follow these instructions:
(1) click in the "Address" box near
the top of the Internet Browser Screen; (2) Type (or
hunt-and-peck) "www.arkbar.com"
and (3) Press the enter key. Depending upon the
speed of your internet connection, you have either arrived
at the Association's website or will get there as soon
as your computer catches up with us. However, if you
did not succeed, you need to CALL RANDO, the
Association's resident computer whiz. Dial 800-609-5668.
Your party's name is Rando Hicks. Just ask for
Rando.
Next you should log on
to Arkansas VersusLaw as follows: See the bright red
text just left of the center of your screen on the Association's
website? Click upon the words "Arkansas VersusLaw"
just above that red text. Now, unless you have already
done so, you must obtain a password. Scroll down the
page a little bit until you see a button ("button"
means word(s) in-a-box) labeled "Register."
Click that button. Then type your Supreme Court number
and last name in the boxes provided. You will immediately
receive a password by email. If you do not receive the
password within five minutes, do not panic or give up.
Instead, simply CALL RANDO.
Next, follow the simple
onscreen directions to change your password to something
you can remember (e.g., the name of your firstborn child).
There is a trick to that. Your new password must contain
no less than six, nor more than eight characters. If
the kid's name is too short or long, there might be
some issues with changing it. Do you have a dog?
Now, scroll up the screen
until you see the "Login" button. Type
your Supreme Court number and new password in the boxes
provided and click "login." Do you
see "Login Successful?" If not, you
know who to call. Right?
At the bottom of the next
screen is a "Continue" button. Click
it. You should then be offered a vast array of "Library
Selections" on the left side of the screen.
You may research in any of these libraries, absolutely
for free. However, right now, select "AR State
Content." (You may have to scroll down the
page or, better still, see what happens when you press
the F11 key on your computer.)
Now, you should be looking
at a whole bunch of little boxes. You will need to select
each of those which you wish to search (one, some, or
all at the same time). For purposes of this lesson select
each of the following: 8th Federal Circuit, ED Ark,
WD Ark, Appellate Opinions and Statutes.
Now type your "search
text" (query) in the box provided. Pretend
you have reason to wonder whether evidence of failure
to wear a seat belt (or is that "seatbelt?")
can be used to show comparative negligence. Type the
following, exactly, including parentheses, but not quotation
marks: "(seatbelt or seat belt) w/15 evidence
and arkansas." Now click the "Submit"
button.
You just told the computer
to find every document where either "seatbelt"
or "seat belt" occurs within fifteen words
of "evidence," and "arkansas" (you
do not need to capitalize) occurs somewhere within the
document. The reason for "arkansas" was to
limit your 8th Circuit results to Arkansas cases.
You should soon be looking
at the results of your search. Be patient, we are looking
in five libraries all at once. Done? You found thirteen
documents. One, ASA § 27-37-703, is an Arkansas
statute directly on point. Several of the others are
cases construing that statute. Together, they include
all Arkansas law relevant to our question. The other
cases are not on point at all. That cannot easily be
avoided. If you examine them you will see that they
coincidentally also satisfy our search criteria.
Now, let's do another
search. We will "annotate" the statute
which we just found. Click the "Edit Search"
button at the top of any results screen. Replace your
previous search text with: "27-37-703"
and click the "Submit" button. SHAZAM!!!
Now you found just six documents. The first was the
statute itself. The other five are, guess what, the
only five cases which construe that statute. Pay
dirt.
One final exercise. Click
the name of any document on the results screen. That
will bring up the document, itself. Now click "SaveAs/Print"
at the top of the page. Up will come a version of your
document, all ready to print or to email to a friend.
You are going to do the latter. At the very top left
corner of your screen select "File."
Then, on the drop-down menu, select "Send"
and then "Page by Email." An outgoing email
message should appear. Address it to "tdaily@dailywoods.com"
and click send.
All received emails will
be printed and placed in a fish bowl. One lucky winner's
message will be drawn, and he or she will receive a
valuable piece of VersusLaw paraphernalia.
Until then, remember the
Old Dog's Motto: When in doubt, CALL RANDO. |
