Research Safety

Research Safety Guide

Good legal research means knowing not just where to look, but how much to trust what you find. This guide covers the habits that keep your research reliable.

Before You Rely on Anything

Verify before you rely

Do not rely on an AI summary, search result, or single case without reviewing the full legal source and checking whether it is current and applicable to your jurisdiction.

What to Keep in Mind

Eleven habits that protect you from acting on outdated, incomplete, or inapplicable information.

AI Can Make Mistakes

AI tools, including CaseCompass, can misstate the law or miss important details. Always verify what you're told against a real legal source.

Legal Rules Change

Statutes get amended and court decisions get overturned. A rule that was accurate last year may not be accurate today.

Jurisdictions Differ

The same legal question can have different answers depending on the state, court, or system involved.

Summaries Can Miss Context

A short summary can leave out exceptions, conditions, or nuances that change how a rule applies to your situation.

Read the Full Source

Summaries are a starting point, not a substitute for reading the actual statute, regulation, or opinion.

Verify Citations

Confirm that a citation is accurate and actually says what it's claimed to say before relying on it.

Publication Status Matters

Some opinions are unpublished and may carry different precedential weight depending on the court's rules.

Later History Matters

Check whether a case has been limited, questioned, or overruled by a later decision before relying on it.

Deadlines May Apply

Many legal actions have strict time limits. Missing a deadline can permanently affect your rights, so confirm deadlines with an official source.

Procedure vs. Substance

The procedural rules for how to bring a claim can be just as important, and just as different, as the substantive law itself.

Use Multiple Sources

Cross-checking information across more than one authoritative source is safer than relying on a single summary.

Education, Information, Guidance, and Advice

These four terms sound similar but mean very different things.

Legal Education

General teaching about how the legal system works, such as explaining what a statute is or how an appeal works.

Legal Information

Factual information about the law, like the text of a statute or the outcome of a case, without applying it to a specific situation.

Legal Research Guidance

Help identifying what to research and where to look, based on the facts you provide, without telling you what to do.

Legal Advice

A licensed attorney's recommendation about what action you specifically should take, based on their professional judgment. CaseCompass does not provide this.

Frequently Asked Questions

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CaseCompass provides general legal education and research guidance. Laws and procedures may differ by jurisdiction. This information is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship.