Westlaw is a legal and business research tool on the Internet. It provides access to more than 13,000 databases covering federal and state laws; federal and state regulations; opinions from federal and state cases; legal encyclopedias; and law journals and reviews.
Remote Access is restricted to the specific faculty and students involved in designated courses. A Password is required. Passwords are provided by legal studies faculty as needed.
The Westlaw login page can be accessed from the Articles & Databases page of the UCF Libraries website, < http://www.library.ucf.edu/Databases/TitlesMZ.asp>, or by going directly the Westlaw homepage, <http://www.westlaw.com>. Each time you use Westlaw, you must accept a terms of use agreement verifying that you are currently enrolled student of an academic institution that subscribes to Westlaw.
To find a document when you know its citation, type the citation in the Find this document by citation text box. Select the “and Print” check box to print the document as soon as it is retrieved.
To view the entire list of Westlaw databases, click View Westlaw Directory. To have a wizard help you select relevant databases for your search, click Find a Database Wizard.
KeyCite, the citation research service from West, helps you determine whether a case, statute, administrative decision, or regulation is still good law and retrieves citing references. To check a case or statute in KeyCite, type a citation in the KeyCite this citation text box.
A KeyCite status flag indicates that information for a document is available in KeyCite:
Red flag — warns that the case or administrative decision is no longer good law for at least one of the points of law it contains. In statutes and regulations, a red flag warns that the statute or regulation has been amended by a recent session law or rule, repealed, superseded, or held unconstitutional or preempted in whole or in part.
Yellow flag — warns that the case or administrative decision has some negative history, but has not been reversed or overruled.
Blue H — indicates that the case or administrative decision has some history.
Green C — indicates that the case or administrative decision has citing references but no direct or negative indirect history.
On screen help is available at all stages when using Westlaw. Click on Help at the top right hand corner of the screen.
When you are finished, be sure to sign off from Westlaw. Click Sign Off at the top of any page. The time spent on Westlaw and the number of transactions will be displayed.
You may want to consult (or print) the How to Search Westlaw handout <http://library.ucf.edu/brevard/guides/howtosearchwestlaw.pdf>.