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September 2009
Words and Phrases: A more direct route
For years, you have been able to retrieve an official judicial or statutory definition by accessing a case law or statutes database and restricting your query to the words-phrases field (wp). You retrieve the full-text case or statute that defines the term.
The words-phrases field is still available, but now there's an alternative: Now you can use Words and Phrases (WORDS-PHRASES)—the stand-alone database.
WORDS-PHRASES contains more than 1 million judicial definitions and references from published and unpublished opinions of state and federal courts, including almost 70,000 historical references that have not previously been available on Westlaw. New judicial constructions and interpretations will be promptly added as they become available from the courts.
The new user-friendly template makes it easy to run a search: Just type a term in the text box and, if desired, use one or more check boxes to restrict your search by jurisdiction. (In the alternative, you can use the Terms and Connectors or Natural Language search method.)
A definition from WORDS-PHRASES is classified under the West Key Number System® and includes a West headnote and a citation and link to the applicable full-text opinion. When available, a link is provided to KeyCite citing references for the headnote.
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