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Westlaw Edge Article
Westlaw tips for associates
May/June 2009

Agency decisions: The searchless method

To gather federal agency decisions that cite a relevant CFR section, one little link is all you need.

Suppose you find a CFR section that squarely addresses your issue, and you want to retrieve IRS decisions that discuss the CFR section in detail. One way is to run a search (e.g., using the CFR citation as a search term) in various federal administrative databases.

Agency Opinions and Decisions linkBut why bother?

Instead, click the Links tab of the CFR section you are viewing. Then click a link under Agency Opinions and Decisions on the Links tab. (For IRS decisions citing a CFR section, click IRS Decisions, if available.) A list of agency decisions citing the CFR section is displayed in the right frame.

In addition, KeyCite® depth of treatment stars are available for the decisions of many agencies, including the IRS. Depth of treatment stars indicate the extent to which a citing decision discusses the regulation, with four stars indicating extended discussion and one star indicating a brief reference. This way, you can spot the "must reads" at a glance.


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