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This week in the Law Library we’re looking at more bar exam resources; reviewing additional basic legal research skills for summer; and learning more about disability legal issues and the history of the disability rights movement.

Bar Exam Study Resources

Congratulations! You have made it through law school but now the bar exam looms. Don’t worry, the Law Library’s got your back. When you’ve caught your breath and you’re ready to start your bar studying, we have resources that can help. Check out our Bar Exam Research Guide.

The July 2025 bar exam will be held in three locations: Cincinnati, Columbus, and Cleveland. 

Examinees will be tested at the following locations:

• Cincinnati: University of Cincinnati College of Law, 2925 Campus Green Dr., Cincinnati, OH 45221
• Columbus: Ohio Union, 1739 N. High St., Columbus, OH 43210
• Cleveland: Cleveland State University College of Law, 1801 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, OH 44115

Accommodations testing will be located at OSU Moritz College of Law (Drinko Hall, 55 W. 12th Ave., Columbus, OH 43210).

Learn more: Ohio Bar Exam

5 More Resources to Help You Study for the Bar Exam

The Bar Exam is not a sprint, it’s a marathon so pace yourself! Check out this week’s Bar Exam Resource highlights below.

• The Final Weeks of Bar Prep - How to Get Yourself Ready to Pass, CriticalPass
• Helix Bar Review, Lifestyle Tips for Bar Prep: Week Before the Bar
• JD Advising, What to Do the Week Before the Bar Exam (And What NOT to do…)
• Zoila Sanchez, One Week Before the Bar Exam, Bar Exam Toolbox (July 17, 2023)
• The Week Before the Bar Exam: Top Tips, Kaplan Bar Review

Be sure and take a look at our previous July 14, July 7, June 30, June 23, June 16, June 9,  June 2, May 27 and May 19 posts on Bar Exam Resources.

Summer Legal Research Tips

Previously we covered:

• Basic tips to think about before starting a research project 
• Initial steps to take:
  • Identify the resources available to you at your place of summer employment and ask questions.
  • Develop a research plan. Read more about developing a research plan on our Research Strategy & Documentation Guide.    
• Using secondary sources to jump start your research. Learn more about secondary sources with our Researching Secondary Sources Guide or watch our videos on finding and searching within the various secondary source types.
• The structure and organization of annotated codes.
• Using Statutory finding tools.like indexes, tables of contents, parallel reference tables, and the popular names table to find the statutory sections you need.
• Checking the currency of your code and making sure your statutes are still good law.
• Effective dates of statutes and historical codes.
• Statutory Surveys
• Using One Case to Find More Cases

This week we will look at using citators for case law research and validation.

What Is a Citator?

A citator is list of sources that have cited a particular document. Citators are used to make sure cases are still good law and to help you find more cases.There are two main case law citators to verify the status of your case – on LexisNexis, it is Shepards™ and on Westlaw it is Keycite™. Other legal databases such as Bloomberg Law, Decisis, and VLex also have citators but we will focus on Shepards and KeyCite.

Citator Symbols

Most citators use symbols to help you figure out at a glance if there are issues with your case. There are differences between the citator symbols used by Westlaw and Lexis, but as a general rule, in either Westlaw or Lexis cases with a red flag or red stop sign may no longer be good law and should not be relied upon without doing further research. Similarly, cases with a yellow flag or yellow triangle should be used with caution because they may have been distinguished by other court rulings or have other negative impacts on your case.

You will need to take into account the jurisdiction of your case and the cases citing your case in order to determine if your case is still good law. Do not rely on the symbols completely. There have been many instances where KeyCite and Shepards will give you different symbols for a case. Read the cases to make your own determination as to the citing case’s impact on your case.

When looking at a Shepard’s™ or KeyCite™ report, the most relevant symbol is the one before the case name/citation that you are Shepardizing or KeyCiting. The symbols before the other cases retrieved in the report indicate whether the cases that relied on your decision are still good law but they are not the symbol for your case.

Lexis Shepard's™ Symbols

Red Octagon: Warning Strong Negative Treatment Indicated

The red Shepard’s Signal™ indicator indicates that citing references in the Shepard’s® Citations Service contain strong negative history or treatment of your case (for example, overruled by or reversed).

Circle with an exclamation point: Warning Strong Negative Treatment Indicated

The red Shepard’s Signal™ indicator indicates that citing references in the Shepard’s® Citations Service contain strong negative treatment of a statutory section (for example, the section may have been found to be unconstitutional or void).

Orange Square with a Q: Questioned: Validity questioned by citing reference

The orange Shepard’s Signal™ indicator indicates that the citing references in the Shepard’s® Citations Service contain treatment that questions the continuing validity or precedential value of your case because of intervening circumstances, including judicial or legislative overruling

Yellow Triangle: Possible negative treatment indicated

The yellow Shepard’s Signal™ indicator indicates that citing references in the Shepard’s® Citations Service contain history or treatment that may have a significant negative impact on your case (for example, limited or criticized by).

Green Diamond with Plus Sign: Positive treatment indicated

The green Shepard’s Signal™ indicator indicates that citing references in the Shepard’s® Citations Service contain history or treatment that has a positive impact on your case (for example, affirmed or followed by).

Blue Octagon with an A: Citing references with analysis available

The blue “A” Shepard’s Signal™ indicator indicates that citing references in the Shepard’s® Citations Service contain treatment of your case that is neither positive nor negative (for example, explained).

Blue Octagon with an I: Citation information available

The blue “I” Shepard’s Signal™ indicator indicates that citing references are available in the Shepard’s® Citations Service for your case, but the references do not have history or treatment analysis (for example, the references are law review citations).

KeyCite™ Symbols

Red flag: Severe negative treatment

Indicates a document is no longer good law for at least one point of law.

Flag with Red Stripe: Overruled in part

Indicates a document has been overruled in part but not completely.

Yellow flag: Negative treatment

Indicates a document has some negative treatment

Blue-Striped flag

Indicates a document has been appealed to the US Courts of Appeals or the U.S. Supreme Court (excluding appeals originating from agencies).

Overruling Risk warning: Negative treatment

Indicates a document may no longer be good for at least one point of law based on its reliance on an overruled or otherwise invalid prior decision.

Where to Find More Information on Researching Cases

Don’t forget that you can always find out more about researching cases in our Researching Cases Guide or watch our videos on cases.

July Is Disability Pride Month!

Ann Magill, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

About Disability Pride Month.

Disability Pride Month is an annual worldwide observance holiday during the month of July. It promotes awareness of disability as an identity, a community, a culture & the positive pride felt by disabled people. President George H.W. Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) into law in 1990 and in July of that same year, the first Disability Pride Day was celebrated in Boston.  This month, the American Bar Association’s Commission on Disability Rights invites you to take part in the #BeCounted campaign. The #BeCounted campaign encourages lawyers with disabilities across the country to add themselves to the ABA’s U.S. map

5 More Resources to Promote Learning & Reaching Your Own Conclusions About Disability Legal Issues and History

• Peter Blanck, Disability Law and Policy (Concepts & Insights)
  • Online via the West Academic study aid subscription (Law students, faculty & staff only)
  • The second edition of Disability Law and Policy provides an updated overview of the major themes and insights in disability law and serves as a compelling compendium of stories about how our legal system has responded to the needs of impacted individuals. It also charts significant concerns about the welfare of people with disabilities that have been raised by the turbulent years of the pandemic and the rapid developments of technologies that are not always accessible to all who need to use them. 
• Ruth Colker, Federal Disability Law in a Nutshell
  • Online via the West Academic study aid subscription  (Law students, faculty & staff only)
  • This Nutshell presents an overview of the major federal disability laws with emphasis on the statutes, regulations, and significant points of substantive and procedural law. The sixth edition includes significant focus on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), including its 2008 Amendment and accompanying regulations. Features coverage on constitutional rights; the definition of "disabled"; Rehabilitation Act of 1973; employment discrimination; programs and services; and housing, education, and transportation. Also reviews the many relevant areas of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), including the 2004 Amendments and two recent Supreme Court cases under the IDEA. 
• Guide to Federal Employment Nondiscrimination Laws
  • Online via Bloomberg Law  (Law students, faculty & staff only)
  • A comprehensive source for guidance in Americans with Disabilities Act provisions. Includes extensive primary source documents and appendices.
• Gary S. Marx, Disability Law Compliance Manual
  • Online via Westlaw (Law students, faculty & staff only)
  • Disability Law Compliance Manual offers a definitive treatment of all legal and compliance issues related to the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).
• Mark C. Weber, Understanding Disability Law
  • Online via the LexisNexis Digital Library study aid subscription & Law Study Aids KF480 .W433 2024 (Law students, faculty & staff only)
  • Understanding Disability Law discusses important statutory and constitutional issues relating to disability discrimination. It includes an analysis of the Fourteenth Amendment, the Americans with Disabilities Act, section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the Fair Housing Act Amendments, and other laws, as they relate to controversial issues of disability rights. The book discusses the leading cases on each of the major topics of disability law, and suggests ways of thinking about unresolved questions and debates over legal policy. 

Posted July 22, 2025 by Susan Boland

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