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Law - Case Citations  

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    Welcome!

    What is a Citation?

    A legal citation is a reference to a legal authority where particular information, such as a case or statute, can be located.  Legal citations are often confusing to the uninitiated because they differ from references used in other types of research. 

     

    CITATIONS

    A case citation is most often made up of three parts: a VOLUME number, an ABBREVIATION, and a PAGE number. Case citations are interpreted as follows:

    95
    Volume number where
    the case appears

    U.S.
    Abbreviation for the title set
    of books reporting the case

    714
    Page number on which
    the case begins

     

    Examples of Citations

    Parallel Citations

    Often a case will be reported in several different reporters. These additional cites are known as parallel citations. Two examples of parallel citation are given below.

    United States Supreme Court Case

    491 U.S. 397
    109 S. Ct 2533
    105 L.Ed.2d 342



    U.S. Supreme Court decisions are reported in the three reporters listed above: United States Supreme Court Reports (U.S. - the official government publication); Supreme Court Reporter by West Publishing (S.Ct. - an unofficial reporter); and, United States Supreme Court Reporter, Lawyer's Edition published by the Lawyers Cooperative Publishing Company (L.Ed.2d - another unofficial reporter). They are also published electronically in US Law Week, available in the law library via our BNA ALL subscription. You only need to look at one of the four sources, however, since each one reports the same US Supreme Court decisions.

    Michigan Supreme Court Case

    416 Mich. 63
    330 N.W.2d 366



    Michigan's official reporter for Michigan Supreme Court cases is (Michigan Reports abbreviated Mich) the corresponding regional reporter (or parallel reporter) is (Northwestern Reporter Second). Regional reporters also contain court of appeals' decisions. Sometimes the regional reporter is preferred by legal researchers because they often include research cross references.

     

    Reporter Location

    Law Reporters

    The most frequently requested law reporters, including the parallel citations given above, are listed in alphabetical order by abbreviation in the following table. If you have a citation, compare the abbreviation in it to the Reporter Location Table to find the WSU Law Library shelf location.

    Reporter Location Table

    ABBREVIATION

    REPORTER TITLE

    SHELF RANGE NUMBERS

    A. or A.2d or Atl. or Atl.2d

    Atlantic Reporter
    (1st and 2nd Series)

    157-158
    (First Level, South Side)

    Cal. Rptr.

    California Reporter

    102
    (First Level, North Side)

    F., F2d, F3d

    Federal Reporter

    143-146
    (First Level, South Side)

    F.Supp., F.Supp.2d

    Federal Supplement
    (1st and 2nd Series)

    146-149
    (First Level, South Side)

    L.Ed., L.Ed.2d

    Lawyer's Edition
    (Supreme Court)

    150-151
    (First Level, South Side)

    Mich.

    Michigan Reports
    (Supreme Court)

    172 (First Level, South Side)
    9-10 (Lower Level)

    Mich. App.

    Michigan Court of
    Appeals Reports

    173 (First Level, South Side)
    10 (Lower Level)

    N.E., N.E.2d

    Northeastern Reporter
    (1st and 2nd Series)

    159-160
    (First Level, South Side)

    N.W., N.W.2nd

    Northwestern Reporter
    (1st and 2nd Series)

    160-161
    (First Level, South Side)

    N.Y. Supp.

    New York Supplement

    108-109
    (First Level, North Side)

    P., P.2d

    Pacific Reporter
    (1st and 2nd Series)

    162-164
    (First Level, South Side)

    S., S.2d

    Southern Reporter

    166-168
    (First Level, South Side)

    S.C. or S.Ct.

    Supreme Court Reporter
    (Supreme Court)

    149
    (First Level, South Side)

    S.E. or S.E.2d

    Southeastern Reporter

    164-165
    (First Level, South Side)

    S.W., S.W.2d, S.W.3d

    Southwestern Reporter
    (1st, 2nd and 3d Series)

    168-170
    (First Level, South Side)

    U.S.

    United States Supreme
    Ct. Reports
    (Supreme Court)

    149-150 (First Level, South Side)
    41-42 (Lower Level)

     

    For More Information

    Association of Legal Writing Directors. ALWD Citation Manual
    Citation manual
    Law Library Reserves, KF 245 .A45 2006

    Interactive Citation Workbook for The Bluebook: A Uniform Systems of Citation
    Features practice excercises for correct citation of case names, locations, court and date; parallell citations; legislative resources, electronic and nonprint sources.
    Law Library Course Reserves KF 245 .M38 (2007)

    The Redbook: A Manual
    West's citation manual, includes instruction on legal writing and style.
    Law Library Course Reserves KF 250 .G375 (2006).

    Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citations
    Citation manual
    Law Library Reserves, KF 245 .U5 18th 2005

    Bieber's Dictionary of Legal Abbreviations
    Dictionary of legal abbreviations
    Law Library Reserves, KF 246 .B46 2001

    Basic Legal Research: Tools and Strategies
    Legal Research Textbook
    Law Library Reserves, KF 240 .S585 2006

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