CIVIL LIBERTIES DOCKET
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HOW TO USE THIS DOCKET 1. If you know the name of the case in which you are interested, look for it in the Table of Cases on pages 191-209. You can look under the name of the plaintiff or the defendant. (Some cases have had different names at different stages.)
2. If you do not know the name of the case, or do not find it in the Table of Cases, or if you are interested in a category of cases, look under the subject matter of the case in the Index on pages 210-213.
3. If you do not find the subject matter of the case in the Index, or if you think conceptually, look for the subject matter in the Classification Scheme on pages xvi-xviii. All cases are grouped under three broad categories: civil liberties (10-299), due process (300-499), and civil rights (500-605).
4. If you still cannot find the case or subject matter, please send a note to the editor. The case may not have been reported. Or information may have been inadequate so the case was placed in the wrong category.
Sometimes it helps just to thumb through the book a little. You may find your case or category that way. Do not be surprised if you find a case under a different category from the one you expected. Almost every constitutional law case contains several issues, and it is impossible to know which issue will be decisive until the court writes an opinion.
5. If you cannot understand the words used in writing up a case, look in the Abbreviations on page xiv. If that doesn't help, call a law librarian, law school, or lawyer. The law is not intended to use a secret language beyond the understanding of citizens in a democracy.
In an area of constitutional law that is new to you, the DOCKET should provide easy access to reports of cases pending in state and federal courts and selected administrative agencies. Each report includes all available information on: the title of the case; the name of the court where it is now pending and the docket number in that court; citations to all reported opinions in the case; a short chronological statement of the facts; a description of the legal questions raised; constitutional and statutory provisions or regulations at issue; the present status of the case; names and addresses of counsel* for the party raising the constitutional issues; names and addresses of counsel filing briefs as friends of the court; citations to law review and Congressional materials on the subject, and cross-references to cases and categories with similar facts or issues.*
You may decide to seek additional information by writing to an attorney listed in the DOCKET for copies of his pleadings or briefs, or for more recent information on the status of his case. Most constitutional lawyers are extremely cooperative.
In an area of law with which you are very familiar, you may nonetheless discover in this DOCKET the names and addresses of some attorneys unknown to you who are handling cases similar to yours. You may see a new point they are raising, or a citation to an article you haven't seen.
This volume will not be helpful to any lawyer who knows everything about all developments in every field of constitutional law. To such a person, it will be disappointing in its inexactness, omissions, and failure to include the very latest status of each case reported. Presumably there are very few such paragons in the profession. This should leave quite a large readership. Each of them is warned, however, that he may be disappointed in the inadequate coverage of the particular field he knows thoroughly from daily practice.
Due to the tremendous expansion in constitutional litigation, it has taken the editor and a large number of part-time students over a year to complete this volume. As a result, this DOCKET reports developments in cases concerning the draft, poverty law, suits against the police, and United States Supreme Court opinions through December 1967, and covers developments in all other fields through September 1967.