Glossary

blue H
The KeyCite status flag that indicates that a case or administrative decision has some history. See KeyCite Status Flags for details.

brief
A written statement prepared by the counsel arguing a case in court or on appeal. Appellate briefs typically contain a statement of issues presented for review, a statement of the case, an argument (with authorities), and a conclusion stating the precise relief sought.

In this service, you can retrieve briefs that were written for cases in several appellate courts. See Finding a Brief by Title (Party Names) and Finding a Brief by Docket Number for details.

citation
A reference to a legal precedent or authority (such as a case, statute, or treatise) that supports or contradicts a given position.

In this service, you can retrieve a document or access KeyCite information for a document by typing the document's citation. See Finding a Document and Checking a Document in KeyCite for details.

citing references
A list of documents that cite another document. From a KeyCite result, you can retrieve a list of references that cite your case, statute, administrative decision, or federal regulation by clicking Citing References. For cases, depth of treatment stars show the extent to which citing cases discuss your case, and a quotation mark () indicates that a citing case directly quotes the cited case. See Viewing References That Cite Your Case or Statute for details.

client ID
You type a client identifier (ID) at the Sign-On page to identify your research. A client ID helps keep track of how much research is done for each client, providing greater control over billable time. A client ID can consist of any character, except a semicolon, up to a maximum of 32 characters.

cookie
A message given to a Web browser by a Web server. The browser stores the message in a text file and sends it back to the server when it's needed. Cookies are used in this service to save your username and password and establish and maintain a path to a particular server during the research session. See Enabling Cookies in Your Web Browser for details.

credits
In the history of a statute in a KeyCite result, this category lists in chronological order the citations to session laws that have enacted, amended, or renumbered the section. See Viewing the History of Your Case or Statute for details.

depth of treatment stars
Graphical symbols in a KeyCite result that indicate the extent to which a citing case discusses a cited case. See KeyCite Depth of Treatment Stars for details.

direct history
In viewing the history of a case in a KeyCite result, this category traces your case through the appellate process and includes both prior and subsequent history. See Viewing the History of Your Case or Statute for details.

docket number
The number assigned to a particular case on a court's docket. In this service, you can retrieve a case using its docket number. See Finding a Case by Docket Number for details.

document
A case, statute, or other authority that you can retrieve using this service.

green C
The KeyCite status flag that indicates that a case or administrative decision has citing references but no direct or negative indirect history. See KeyCite Status Flags for details.

headnote
An editorial description of a legal rule or principle discussed in a case.

historical and statutory notes
In the history of a statute in a KeyCite result, this category describes the legislative changes affecting the section. See Viewing the History of Your Case or Statute for details.

KeyCite
The citation research service from West. It allows you to trace the history of a case, statute, administrative decision, or federal regulation and retrieve citing references, including cases, secondary sources, and administrative materials.

KeyCite includes graphics such as status flags, depth of treatment stars, and quotation marks that enable you to focus your research on the citing references that are important to you. See Checking a Document in KeyCite for details.

KeyCite this headnote
A feature that enables you to quickly retrieve a KeyCite result for the case you are viewing limited to references that cite the case for the legal issue summarized in a specific headnote. To use this feature, click KeyCite this headnote by a headnote in a displayed case. See Viewing Citing References from a Case Headnote for details.

negative only
While viewing the history of a case or administrative decision in a KeyCite result, you can select this option to display only negative history, both direct and indirect. See Viewing the History of Your Case or Statute for details.

negative indirect history
In the history of a case in a KeyCite result, this category lists cases outside the direct appellate line that may have a negative impact on the precedential value of your case. See Viewing the History of Your Case or Statute for details.

party
An individual or business that is the plaintiff or defendant in a court proceeding. In this service, you can retrieve a case using the names of parties in the case title. See Finding a Case by Title (Party Names) for details.

pending legislation
In the history of a statute in a KeyCite result, this category lists citations to pending bills that reference the section. Pending legislation is available for federal statutes and New York and California statutes. See Viewing the History of Your Case or Statute for details.

publication
A legal resource from which you can retrieve a document. See also publications list.

publications list
A complete list of the publications (and their abbreviations) that are available to you in this service. You can access the publications list by clicking View Available Publications at the Home page. See Viewing Available Publications for details.

red flag
The KeyCite status flag that warns that a case or administrative decision is no longer good law for at least one of the points it contains or that a statute has been amended or repealed by a session law or declared unconstitutional or preempted. See KeyCite Status Flags for details.

related references
In the history of a case in a KeyCite result, this category lists cases that involve the same parties and facts as your case, whether or not the legal issues are the same. See Viewing the History of Your Case or Statute for details.

secure connection
An option available when you access this service that provides you with a fully secure session as you research on the Internet. (Your username and password are always encrypted by default.) See Signing On to Westlaw by Credit Card for details.

sign off
The command to end your research session in this service.

status flags
The KeyCite feature that warns you that the document you are viewing has information in KeyCite that should be investigated. See KeyCite Status Flags for details.

strong password
Passwords that are created in a way that enhances security, making it difficult to guess the password and making dictionary attacks less likely to succeed. See Password Guidelines for details.

updating documents
In the history of a statute in a KeyCite result, this category lists citations to session laws that have amended or repealed the section. See Viewing the History of Your Case or Statute for details.

Westlaw
West's premier online research service for the legal community. Westlaw provides a vast library of databases containing legal and business materials. Westlaw is available by subscription only, whereas Westlaw by credit card is available to anyone with an Internet connection and either a credit card or a Westlaw subscription.

Westlaw by credit card
A document retrieval service from West. With either a credit card or a Westlaw subscription, you have instant access to an extensive array of materials on Westlaw, including state and federal case law, statutes, and appellate briefs. You can find a document by simply entering a citation, case title, or docket number.

This service also provides access to KeyCite, the citation research service from West. You can quickly determine whether a case, statute, administrative decision, or federal regulation is good law and retrieve citing references.

See About Westlaw by Credit Card for details.

yellow flag
The KeyCite status flag that warns that a case or administrative decision has some negative history but hasn't been reversed or overruled, that pending legislation affecting a statute is available (statutes merely referenced, i.e., mentioned in pending legislation, are not marked with a yellow flag), or that a statute was limited on constitutional or preemption grounds or its validity was otherwise called into doubt. See KeyCite Status Flags for details.