UMUC American Law Reports Paper

Now we’re going to look for an article in American Law Reports that pertains to your research issue (entering into a sham marriage to avoid immigration laws);

Type “sham marriage” (include the quotation marks) into the Global Search Bar (GSB), click “enter” on your keyboard click the orange magnifying glass icon to search;

Review the first 5 entries that appear;

Find the annotation most relevant to the topic of knowingly entering into a sham marriage to avoid immigration laws;

Open the annotation by clicking on the title.

Respond to each of the following questions. Label each answer with the correct letter,

a. Who is the author of the annotation? (Do not include “J.D.” or other academic credentials after the author’s name.)

• b. What is the full title of the annotation?  

c. What is the volume number of the annotation? 

• d. What is the name of A.L.R. series where this annotation is located? Tip: the abbreviated name of the series appears between the volume number and the start page.
• e. What is the start page number of the annotation? 
• f. Scroll down a bit to see the Table of Contents. Under the Table of Contents, click on Index. In the Index, find the subject Payment for marriage. What is the section number associated with this subject?  Note: This is the number that follows the section symbol, which looks like this: §. In your answer, include both the number and letter within brackets that follow the section symbol. 

g.  Go to the section number listed in your answer to 1f, above. (Tip: In Westlaw, that section number is a hyperlink.) In both the main text and the Cumulative Supplement at the end of the section, you will see case citations in hyperlinked in blue. What happens when you click on a blue case citation?   

h. Go back to the Table of Contents and click on Statutory Text.  What is the maximum amount of imprisonment a person could receive for entering a sham marriage to avoid immigration laws? 

i.  Go back to the Table of Contents and click the Table of Cases, Laws, and Rules. Here you will find cases broken down by jurisdiction. What is the name and year of the case you see under Supreme Court? (Do not provide the citation.)

j. Go back to the Table of Contents and click on Table of Cases, Laws, and Rules. Scroll through this portion of the annotation. How are the listed materials organized, e.g. are they shown in alphabetical order or organized in some other way? 

QUESTION 2

This question involves research in American Jurisprudence, Second Series (Am. Jur. 2d). 

Follow these steps:

Return to the Secondary Sources main page.

Under the heading, By Type, click on Jurisprudence & Encyclopedias.

On the next page, under the heading Filtered Publications, click the hyperlink for American Jurisprudence 2d.

Type “sham marriage” (include the quotation marks) into the GSB and search. 

Respond to each of the following (label each response with the correct letter to show which question you’re answering):

a.  Scroll down the results, find the section named, Sham marriage—What is sham marriage. What is the section number, i.e. the number that follows the section symbol, which looks like this: §?

b. Click on the section in found in 2a, above. What is the name of the court case shown under Footnote 2 in that section? (Do not provide the citation.)

QUESTION 3

This question involves researching state-specific secondary authority. 

Follow these steps:

Return to the Secondary Sources main page.

Under By State, select Maryland.

On a computer, look at the left side of the screen, scroll down to Publication Type and click on the expander ( + ) to its right. 

Select the check box next to Jurisprudence & Encyclopedias, then click on the blue box that contains the word Apply.

The screen now should list only one filtered publication to be searched, Maryland Law Encyclopedia. Select the check box next to Maryland Law Encyclopedia.

Type “sham marriage” (include the quotation marks) into the GSB.

Click on the item in the results list that includes § 16. Read the article. 

On the Westlaw App, click on Texts & Treatises, them select Maryland Law Encyclopedia. 

Enter “sham marriage” (include the quotation marks) in the search bar. Click on the item in the results list that includes § 16. Read the article. 

Respond to the following questions. Write your answers in your own words using complete sentences. Don’t just copy and paste a block of text from the source. 

a. According to the author, what is the purpose of the “spousal adverse testimony privilege”? 

b. According to the author, why does the witness spouse, not the defendant spouse, get to choose whether to invoke the “spousal adverse testimony privilege”?