What is the function of 'shepardizing' or checking authorities?

• A. Verifying that authorities are still good law and determining treatment of cited authorities.
• B. Writing citations in Bluebook format.
• C. Summarizing cases for a memo.
• D. Drafting pleadings.

Answer: (A)

Shepardizing is the process of checking legal authorities to make sure they are still good law and to see how they have been treated by later decisions. When you run a citational check, you look at subsequent cases and authorities to determine whether the cited authority has been followed, distinguished, overruled, questioned, or otherwise treated, and you note any changes in its authority status. This ensures your arguments are built on current, authoritative support and signals when a source may need to be replaced or used with caution.

This isn’t about formatting citations in Bluebook style, nor about summarizing cases for a memo, nor about drafting pleadings. Those tasks involve presentation, synthesis, or drafting, not verifying whether authorities remain valid or how they have been treated in later jurisprudence.