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Fullerton College Library

Paralegal Studies Research Guide

Library materials and services supporting the Paralegal Studies program at Fullerton College

Presentation Files

Solution to Scenario from 9/17/25

Below is the scenario that Prof. Moore presented to his students during the lecture titled "The Intersection of Legal Research and Writing"

A 60-year-old librarian at a public library feels discriminated against due to her age. Even though she has demonstrated competence using research technologies like databases and electronic books, her co-workers refer to her as "grandma" and only allow her to work with older library materials and patrons. 

  • What is the main issue in this case?
  • What sub-issues do you think there are?
  • What area of law would you start your research in (state vs. federal; civil vs. criminal; procedural vs. substantive)?
  • What kind of authority should you start with if you don’t know anything about this area of law?

Step 1: Strategize and develop a list of keywords and concepts to search in Nexis Uni (and other systems if necessary).

Keywords: age discrimination, employment, libraries, work duties, assignments, "grandma", public sector, government

Step 2: Locate background information using secondary sources.

For this case, we will use American Jurisprudence from Nexis Uni to find background information on age discrimination and employment. Remember, a resource like American Jurisprudence summarizes and describes federal law. It is not the law itself. 

a. Open Nexis Uni and locate American Jurisprudence, or select American Jurisprudence from the list of Secondary Sources from our Paralegal Studies LibGuide.

b. Search the Table of Contents of American Jurisprudence using the terms age discrimination AND employment

c. Select the first result and open the link to the section on the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA)

d. Read over the backround information about the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA).

Step 3: Researching the Actual Law (ADEA)

a. One section of the summary in American Jurisprudence describes some of the main provisions of the ADEA. Click on the associated reference link (in green) so that we can see the actual ADEA. Remember: we are currently only reading a summary of the law. We still need to take a look at the law itself. 

b. You will be taken to the References section on the page that contains a link to the codified version of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA). Click on the blue link.

c. You will now see the codified version of the ADEA. There is a section of this page titled "Notes to Decisions." This is where you can find very helpful links to case law related to different aspects of the ADEA. Since the ADEA is so expansive, there are actually multiple pages of "Notes to Decisions." Use the navigation menu on the right-hand side of your screen to go to page 2 of the "Notes to Decisions."

d. Use the navigation menu at the top of the page to take your directly to the "Notes to Decisions."

e. Browse through the "Notes to Decisions." You will notice that section 95 references "grandma" related comments. Click on this section to review associated case law.

Step 4: Read and Interpret the Relevant Case Law

a. There is a description of a case that looks similar to the scenario presented during the "Intersection of Legal Research and Writing" lecture. Click on the (blue) link associated with the case citation.

b. Read through the case summary and headnotes related to the case of Blank v. Insul-8 Corp. Along with the background information that you retrived on the ADEA from American Jurisprudence, you now have at least one major case to help you understand the main laws and issues involved in the scenario.