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Westlaw uses KeyCite warnings to provide context about point of law authority. Legal standing and authority can change over time, and it is important to verify that the points of law within cases are still valid, or "good law."
KeyCite Flags and Meanings
Red Flag 
Indicates that the case is no longer good law for at least one of the points of law addressed within the case. For example, the decision may have been reversed on appeal or overturned by a decision of the same court.
Yellow Flag 
Indicates that the case has negative history, but has not been reversed or overruled. The reasoning of the decision may have been criticized or its holding may have been limited to a specific set of facts.
Blue-striped Flag 
Indicates that the case has been appealed to the U.S Court of Appeals or the U.S. Supreme Court.
KeyCite Overruling Risk Icon 
Indicates that the case may have been implicitly undermined due its reliance on another case that has been overruled.
To view the negative treatment of a case, click on the Negative Treatment tab on the case dashboard bar. This will list all negative direct history and negative citing references and indicate the documents that have the Most Negative Treatment.
KeyCite is Westlaw's citation research service that determines whether a case is good law. It provides a report on the case that includes all citing documents (cases, administrative decisions, secondary sources, etc.). KeyCite reviews every case in West's National Reporter System and more than 1 million unpublished (unreported) cases.
To view the KeyCite information for a case:
Viewing Negative Treatment
To view the Negative Treatment of a case, click on the Negative Treatment tab. This will provide a table listing all negative direct history and negative citing references. The Depth column indicates the extent of the discussion within the citing cases. The Headnote(s) column indicates which Headnotes contain the discussed points of law within the citing cases.
Viewing Direct History
Click on the History tab to view the direct history and related references of a case. The Direct History is displayed in a graphical view in the right center panel while the list of linked documents appears within the left panel.
Viewing Citing References
To view the list of citing references for a case, click on the Citing References tab. This list includes cases, administrative materials, secondary sources, briefs, and other court documents. This list is searchable and can be narrowed down by using the filters located in the left panel.
