Casebook
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Eastlaw
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added detail about other content
{{for|the compilation of Sherlock Holmes novels|The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes}}
[[Image:Casebooks.jpg|right|thumb|300 px|Casebooks for a course on [[Criminal procedure|Criminal Procedure]]. The [[Westlaw|West Group]] book (from its American Casebook Series imprint) is on the left, and the [[Aspen Publishing]] book is on the right.]]
A '''casebook''' is a type of [[textbook]] used primarily by students in [[law school]]s.<ref name="ah83">Wayne L. Anderson and Marilyn J. Headrick, ''The Legal Profession: Is it for you?'' (Cincinnati: Thomson Executive Press, 1996), 83.</ref> Rather than simply laying out the [[legal doctrine]] in a particular area of study, a casebook contains excerpts from [[legal case]]s in which the law of that area was applied.<ref name="ah83" /> It is then up to the student to analyze the language of the case in order to determine what rule was applied and how the [[court]] applied it.<ref name="ah83" /> Casebooks sometimes also contain excerpts from [[law review]] articles, historical notes, editorial commentary, and other related materials to provide background for the cases. The teaching style based on casebooks is known as the [[casebook method]] and is supposed to instill in law students how to "think like a lawyer."<ref name="ah83" />
Most casebooks are authored by law professors, usually with two, three, or four authors, at least one of whom will be a professor at the top of his or her field in the area under discussion. New editions of casebooks often retain the names of famous professors on their covers decades after those professors are dead and the updating of the books has fallen on the shoulders of a younger generation of their colleagues. Such casebooks are often known by the name of that leading professor, such as ''[[William Prosser|Prosser]] on [[Torts]]''.
The leading publishers of casebooks in the United States are [[Westlaw|West Group]] (publisher of the Foundation Press and American Casebook Series imprints), [[Aspen Publishing]], and [[LexisNexis]]. Each of these publishers uses a quickly identifiable color and pattern for their book covers across all subjects. Traditionally, the covers of casebooks come in the colors red, blue, or brown.<ref name="ah83" />
The prevalence of the casebook method in American law schools has given rise to a market for commercial study aids "keyed" to a particular casebook edition.<ref>''Ibid.'', 84.</ref> These study aids are generally summaries ("[[Brief (law)|briefs]]") of the cases from the casebook to which it is "keyed," presenting them in the same order as the casebook. Often written by the same author who wrote the associated casebook, and published by the same company, "keyed" study aids are useful in distilling cases down to [[Black letter law|black-letter law]]. Popular study aid product lines include Legalines, High Court Case Summaries, and Gilbert Law Summaries published by West Group, and Casenotes Legal Briefs by Aspen.
==Other meanings==
A '''casebook''' can also be the comprehensive research notebook compiled by a [[dramaturge]]. This theatrical casebook gathers information about the setting, period, and social implications of a particular play, and is used by actors and directors as an aid in their interpretation of the script.
==References==
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[[Category:Legal research]]
[[Category:Legal literature]]
[[Category:Legal education]]
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