Catchwords
Filed Under: Legal Research and Writing
1 definition found for this term.
Definitions are presented in the order source books were published (most recent first).
Source:
Legal publishers sometimes add headnotes or summaries of facts and law to court cases that they publish. Above the headnote and usually after the style of cause (the names of the parties to the lawsuit), the publisher may add “catchwords” (often in italics) that are the keywords by which the publisher has “tagged” or identified a particular case. Browsing through the catchwords can be a quick way of getting an idea of the relevancy of the case.