when does a lawyer have to cite a case

Why do lawyers cite cases?

Case citation is a system used by legal professionals to identify past court case decisions, either in series of books called reporters or law reports, or in a neutral style that identifies a decision regardless of where it is reported.

Do you have to cite case law?

Since cases prior to 2001 usually don't have a neutral citation, use only the law report citation: case name | [year] OR (year) | volume | report abbreviation | first page | (court).Apr 11, 2022

How do lawyers cite cases?

To cite to a case in the United States Reports, list the following five elements in order:Name of the case (italicized or underlined - assuming you are writing a brief or memo);Volume of the United States Reports;Reporter abbreviation ("U.S.");More items...•Aug 30, 2021

What is the legal citation of a case?

A citation (or cite) in legal terminology is a reference to a specific legal source, such as a constitution, a statute, a reported case, a treatise, or a law review article. A standard citation includes first the volume number, then the title of the source, (usually abbreviated) and lastly, a page or section number.Oct 20, 2021

Does F Supp have a space?

Do not use spaces within any part of the reporter citation (e.g. F. Supp. 2d, not F. Supp.Sep 7, 2021

What is the purpose of legal citation?

What is "legal citation"? It is a standard language that allows one writer to refer to legal authorities with sufficient precision and generality that others can follow the references. Because writing by lawyers and judges is so dependent on such references, it is a language of abbreviations and special terms.

Why are legal citations important?

Citing or documenting the sources used in your research serves three purposes: It gives proper credit to the authors of the words or ideas that you incorporated into your paper. It allows those who are reading your work to locate your sources, in order to learn more about the ideas that you include in your paper.Jun 9, 2020

Why is citation important in legal writing?

First, it must be possible for the reader to accurately and efficiently locate and verify the information that is offered in support of legal arguments and theories. Second, a citation system provides visual clues to the reader as to the authority of the referenced legal material.Aug 19, 2016

What must a citation include?

Answer. Generally, a citation will include: the name of the book, article, or other resource; the name of its author; information (if applicable) about the journal it came from; the date it was published; and when it was accessed if it was read online.Jul 19, 2017

How do you read case law citations?

Understanding Case CitationCase Name.Volume No.Name of Reporter.Beginning Page.Year of Decision.

How do I find a citation for a case?

Reading a Case Citation the names of the parties involved in the lawsuit. the volume number of the reporter containing the full text of the case. the abbreviated name of that case reporter. the page number on which the case begins the year the case was decided; and sometimes.

What is the rule for citing an unpublished case?

Many more cases are available from Westlaw Edge, Lexis or other databases. When citing an unpublished case, refer to rule 10.8.1 (or B10.1.4)

Which court has different rules for citations?

Specialized federal courts, such as the U.S. Bankruptcy Court or the U.S. Tax Court, have slightly different citation rules. Check the Table T.1 for guidance on how to cite to materials from such courts.

What is Bluebook Rule 10?

Bluebook Rule 10 covers how cases should be cited in legal documents. Table T.1 includes the official names and legal citation abbreviations for federal and state reporters, and federal and state statutory compilations.

What are citation conventions?

Citation conventions for cases from general federal litigation courts, including U.S. Supreme Court, Courts of Appeal and District Courts are listed, as well as the rest of federal courts (such as specialized federal courts, including the U.S. Bankruptcy Court and the U.S. Tax Court).

What is the Bluebook?

The Bluebook lists a regional reporter as each state's official reporter. These opinions are often issued from a state's highest court. A state's high court opinions are also published in the state's official reporter if the state publishes an official reporter.

Neutral Citation

A neutral citation permits identification of a case independent of a printed reporter. Courts assign the neutral citation when they render a decision. The date of implementation for the neutral citation standard varies for British Columbia courts.

Neutral Citation ONLY

The court assigns the neutral citation when the decision is rendered, so a very recent case will have only a neutral citation until it is included in a printed reporter. If only the neutral citation is available, it may be used alone:

Neutral Citation AND Printed Reporter

A neutral citation should always be followed by a citation to a printed reporter, whenever one is available. This is called a parallel citation.

When did the Utah Supreme Court stop publishing?

Until 1974, Utah Supreme Court opinions appeared in both the Utah Reports (the “official” reporter) and the Pacific Reporter (then the “unofficial” reporter). After 1974, Utah ceased publication of Utah Reports and the Pacific Reporter became the “official” reporter for the State of Utah. See examples below:

When was the Utah Supreme Court founded?

The above rule applies only to Utah Supreme Court opinons as the Utah Court of Appeals was founded in 1987, after the Pacific Reporter had been designated the official reporter for the State of Utah. Therefore, all Utah Appellate Court opinions can be found in the Pacific Reporter. See example below:

Where are Supreme Court opinions located?

Citing Federal Cases. Federal case reporters are court-specific. Therefore, all United States Supreme Court opinions are located in their own reporters, as are all United States Court of Appeals opinions and any published United States District Court opinions.

What is a case citation?

A case citation is generally made up of the following parts: the names of the parties involved in the lawsuit. the volume number of the reporter containing the full text of the case. the abbreviated name of that case reporter. the page number on which the case begins the year the case was decided; and sometimes.

What is a citation in law?

A citation is a reference to a legal authority. It is essential that citations to legal materials follow a standard format so that anyone using a law library may find the resources cited. Citation formats exist for many different types of legal sources including cases, statutes and secondary legal materials. Understanding the basic format ...

What is statutory citation?

Reading a Statutory Citation. Unlike case law which is made by judges in specific court cases, statutory law is made by the federal and state legislative branches of the government. Statutory law is published in codes. The United States Code contains statutes that have been passed by Congress.

What is the abbreviation for the United States Code?

U.S.C. is the abbreviation for the United States Code. § is the section symbol. 1983 is the section of title 42 of the code where the statute can be found. 2006 is the year of the code.

What is the role of an attorney in a controlling case?

An attorney researches a legal question and finds a controlling case that is adverse to her client’s position. Surprisingly, the opposing counsel neglects to cite the case to the court in her pleadings.

Why is disclosure of adverse authority important?

The duty to disclose adverse authority is considered an important one to help judges decide on cases based on precedent —serving the principle of stare decisis.”. The rule is part of the profession’s commitment that attorneys must follow the duty of candor to help the system find the truth.

Is an attorney an officer of the court?

Lawyers are often viewed primarily as advocates unilaterally pursuing their client’s positions in court, but they are also officers of the court. “As an officer of the court, the attorney has the duty of candor,” says Susan Saab Fortney, a professor and director of the Program for the Advancement of Legal Ethics at Texas A&M University School ...

Legal Citation

Legal citations are very specifically formatted and include many abbreviations, and they can be a challenge to create or understand. Use the following resources for information on how to cite legal sources.

Citing Cases

Legal citations take a different form than journal article citations and are very specifically formatted and include many abbreviations, and they can be a challenge to create or understand.

How to cite a court case?

To cite a court case or decision, list the name of the case, the volume and abbreviated name of the reporter, the page number, the name of the court, the year, and optionally the URL. The case name is italicized in the in-text citation, but not in the reference list. In the reference, specify only a single page number —the page where the coverage ...

What is legal citation?

They generally don’t list authors, and abbreviations are used to make them more concise. Citations for court cases refer to reporters, the publications in which cases are documented.

Which court is the highest?

U.S. Supreme Court. The Supreme Court is the highest federal court, and its decisions are reported in the United States Reports (abbreviated to “U.S.” in the reference). You don’t need to specify the court in parentheses in this case, since the name of the reporter already makes this clear. Format. Name v.

What are the two types of state courts?

State courts are those that operate in specific states rather than federally. The two kinds of state court that are commonly cited are supreme courts and appellate courts. They are both cited in a similar format.

What is the F.2d?

This reporter has appeared in three series; the first is abbreviated as “F.”, the second as “F.2d”, and the third and current series as “F.3d”.

Which circuit is the 9th circuit?

For example, the 9th Circuit is the federal circuit court for California, and the Central District of California is the federal district court for Los Angeles.

What is mandatory authority?

Mandatory Authority. Courts are required to follow the decisions of higher courts in the same jurisdiction. Accordingly, cases which are both (1) from a higher court, and (2) in the same jurisdiction are considered mandatory authority.

Is it best to cite a non-binding case?

While it is always best to cite to controlling authority, sometimes it can be useful to cite to non-binding cases as relevant persuasive authority. For example, if there is little or no binding authority for your issue in your jurisdiction, you may want to cite to on-point cases outside of your jurisdiction.

Is the Supreme Court binding?

For the substance of the state law issue, decisions of the state supreme court would be binding, even though you are in federal court. Decisions of the state court of appeals may also be useful, but the federal courts might treat that as persuasive authority.