INTRODUCTION
What are treatises, hornbooks and nutshells?
Treatises, hornbooks and nutshells are secondary sources that cover
specific areas of the law. Unlike the casebooks used in most first year
law classes, these three sources provide explanations, analyses,
criticisms and overviews of legal topics in narrative form. Students can
use treatises, hornbooks, and nutshells to obtain a solid overview of
legal topics and to review concepts learned in Civil Procedure,
Constitutional Law, Contracts, Criminal Law, Legal Research, Property and
Torts. You can view a list of selected resources by scrolling
through the list below or click on one of the links above for resources on
a specific legal subject.
How do treatises, hornbooks and nutshells differ?
Treatises, hornbooks and nutshells differ in their levels of detail,
with treatises providing the most detail and nutshells the least.
Treatises are works written by legal scholar(s) that cover a
specific area of law in great detail. Treatises provide the highest level
of analysis and detail and provide extensive references to related sources
in footnotes and appendices. Indeed, treatises are often multi-volume
works. Authors' names are often included in the title, for example,
Farnsworth on Contracts. Depending on the reputation of the work
and the author, treatises can be persuasive authority to cite to a court.
Treatises are primarily geared towards legal scholars and practitioners,
but can be helpful to law students.
Hornbooks are legal texts written expressly for law students by
law professors using plain prose. They condense an area of law into a
single volume and give a clear overview of the law's evolution, a
discussion of courts' interpretation of the law and an explanation of the
application of the law today. This presentation of "Black letter law"
makes hornbooks an attractive study aid. A hornbook published by West
Group identifies itself as such on its cover. West's "Black Letter"
series, Aspen's "Examples and Explanations" series and Lexis'
"Understanding the Law" legal text series are similar to hornbooks. There
is no clear line of demarcation between treatises and hornbooks but as a
general rule a hornbook is not as detailed as a treatise and provides
fewer references to other sources. Accordingly, hornbooks are not
considered persuasive by courts and should be used only for background
purposes.
Nutshells are short, paperback volumes that present simple,
no-frills overviews of areas of law. Nutshells provide few, if any,
references to other sources and are considered the most basic secondary
source on a legal topic. They are quite helpful for non-lawyers and law
students. All nutshells published by West include the word "nutshell" in
the title. Never cite a nutshell in a legal document.
LIST OF SELECTED RESOURCES ON RESERVE
Materials are arranged alphabetically by author's name and are
identified as either treatises or hornbooks. Nutshells are apparent from
their titles.
Civil Procedure
- Clermont, Kevin M. Civil Procedure. 5th ed. (Hornbook/Black
Letter Series). KF 8841 .C56 1999
- Friedenthal, Jack H., Kane, Mary Kay, and Miller, Arthur R. Civil
Procedure. 3d ed. (Hornbook). KF 8840 .F89 C5 1999
- Glannon, Joseph W. Civil Procedure: Examples and
Explanations. (Hornbook). KF 8840 .G58x 1997
- James, Fleming, Hazard, Geoffrey C., and Leubsdorf, John. Civil
Procedure. 4th ed. (Treatise). KF 8840 .J27 1992
- Kane, Mary Kay. Civil Procedure in a Nutshell. 4th ed. KF
8841 .K16 1996
- Shreve, Gene R. and Raven-Hansen, Peter. Understanding Civil
Procedure. 2d ed. (Hornbook) KF 8840 .S56 1994
Constitutional Law
- Barron, Jerome A. and Dienes, C. Thomas. Constitutional Law in a
Nutshell. 4th ed. KF 4550 .Z9 B27 1999
- Barron, Jerome A. and Dienes, C. Thomas. Constitutional Law.
5th ed. (Hornbook/Black Letter Series). KF 4550 .B27 1999
- Chemerinsky, Erwin. Constitutional Law: Principles and
Policies. (Hornbook). KF 4550 .C51 1997
- May, Christopher N. and Ides, Allan. Constitutional
Law—Individual Rights: Examples and Explanations. (Hornbook). KF
4749 .I34x 1998
- May, Christopher N. and Ides, Allan. Constitutional Law--
National Power and Federalism: Examples and Explanations.
(Hornbook). KF 4550 .M29x 1998
- Nowak, John E. and Rotunda, Ronald D. Constitutional Law. 6th
ed. (Hornbook). KF 4550 .N94 2000
- Redlich, Norman, Attanasio, John, and Goldstein, Joel K.
Understanding Constitutional Law. 2d ed. (Hornbook.) KF 4550 .R31
1999
- Tribe, Laurence H. American Constitutional Law. 3d ed.
(Treatise). KF 4550 .T82 2000
- Williams, Jerre Stockton. Constitutional Analysis in a
Nutshell. KF 4550 .Z9 W72 1979
Contracts
- Blum, Brian A. Contracts: Examples and Explanations.
(Hornbook) KF 801 .B58x 1998
- Calamari, John D. and Perillo, Joseph M. Contracts. 3d ed.
(Hornbook/Black Letter Series). KF 801 .Z9 C14 1999
- Calamari, John D. and Perillo, Joseph M. Law of Contracts.
4th ed. (Hornbook). KF 801 .C14 1998
- Farnsworth, E. Allan. Farnsworth on Contracts. (Treatise). KF
801 .F231 1990
- Friedman, Jane M. Contract Remedies in a Nutshell. KF836 .Z9
F1 1981
- Murray, John Edward. Murray on Contracts. 3d ed. (Treatise).
KF 801 .M98 1990
- Rohwer, Claude D. and Skrocki, Anthony M. Contracts
in a Nutshell. 5th ed. KF 801 .S29 2000
Criminal Law
- Dressler, Joshua. Understanding Criminal Law. 2d ed.
(Hornbook). KF 9219 .D77 1995
- LaFave, Wayne R. Criminal Law. 3d ed. (Hornbook). KF 9219
.L16 2000
- Loewy, Arnold H. Criminal Law in a Nutshell. 3d ed. KF 9219.3
L82 2000
- Low, Peter W. Criminal Law. (Hornbook/Black Letter Series).
KF 9219 .3 L91 1990
- Singer, Richard G. and La Fond, John Q. Criminal Law: Examples
and Explanations. (Hornbook). KF 9219 .3 S56x 1997
Legal Research
Legal Writing
Property
- Bernhardt, Roger. Real Property in a Nutshell. 3d ed. KF 570
.Z9 B47 1993
- Boyer, Ralph E., Hovenkamp, Herbert, and Kurtz, Sheldon F. The
Law of Property: An Introduction Survey. 4th ed. (Hornbook).
KF 570 .S64 1991
- Burke, Barlow D. Personal Property in a Nutshell. 2d ed. KF
705 .Z9 B83 1993
- Casner, A. James, ed. American Law of Property. (Treatise).
KF 561 .A51
- Hill, David S. Landlord and Tenant Law in a Nutshell. 3d ed.
KF 590 .Z9 H45 1995
- Moynihan, Cornelius J. Introduction to the Law of Real
Property. 2d ed. (Hornbook). KF 570 .M93 1988
- Powell, Richard R. and Rohan, Patrick J. Powell on Real
Property. Abr. ed. (Hornbook version of multivolume treatise). KF
570 .P88 .P6
- Sprankling, John G. Understanding Property Law. (Hornbook).
KF 582 .S67x 2000
- Stoebuck, William B. and Whitman, Dale A. The Law of
Property. 3d ed. (Hornbook). KF 570 .C97 2000
- Waggoner, Lawrence W. Estates in Land and Future Interests in a
Nutshell. 2d ed. KF 605 .W13 1993.
Torts
- Diamond, John L., Levine, Lawrence C. and Madden, M. Stuart.
Understanding Torts. (Hornbook). KF 1250 .D53 1996
- Dobbs, Dan B. The Law of Torts. (Treatise). KF 1250 .D56
2001
- Fowler, Harper V., Fleming, James J., and Gray, Oscar S. The Law
of Torts. 3d ed. (Treatise). KF 1250 .H29 1996
- Glannon, Joseph W. The Law of Torts: Examples and
Explanations. (Hornbook). KF 1250 .Z9 G58x 1995
- Keeton, Page W. and Prosser, William L. Prosser and Keeton on the
Law of Torts. 5th ed. (Hornbook). KF 250 .P76 1984
- Kionka, Edward J. Torts in a Nutshell. 3d ed. KF 1250 .Z9 K56
1999.
- Shapo, Marshall S. Basic Principles of Tort Law. (Hornbook).
KF 1250 .S53x 1999
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