What do lawyers do if they can’t find case law to support the case at hand?
I think what you’re asking is what lawyers do if they cannot find statutes, rules, case law, or compelling reasoning that support their clients’ positions.
Usually when this occurs it means that the client has a bad case, a legal position that is weak or clearly in the wrong.
Some times (rarely) when this occurs it means that the governing laws, rules, and previous appellate decisions (decisions of the courts of appeals are what case law is) violate a client’s constitutional rights and thus cannot govern the client’s situation and must be disregarded.
Notwithstanding and when all else fails, there is an old adage among some lawyers: “If you have the facts on your side, hammer the facts; if you have the law on your side, hammer the law; if you have neither the facts nor the law, hammer the table.” It’s a humorous saying, but not terribly effective legal advocacy.
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