Assessing the Influence of Computer-Asssisted Legal Research: A Study of California Supreme Court Opinions

Paul Hellyer, San Jose State University, School of Library and Information Science

Abstract

Mr. Hellyer reviews the literature regarding CALR and identifies several hypotheses regarding quantitative differences in the results of print-based research and CALR. He then analyzes California Supreme Court opinions to determine CALR’s effect on the quantity, recency, and types of legal authority cited by the court. The data fail to support the commentators’ hypotheses.