Most legal citations consist of three parts:
Volume number
Abbreviation of the name of the source
Page or section number ( § denotes section ).
For example, 163 U.S. 537 consists of the following:
163 = Volume #
U.S. = United States Reports (source publication)
537 = starting page
"Reporters" publish the opinions issued by a court in an ongoing series of volumes. While court cases are usually reference by name (e.g. Roe vs. Wade), most legal materials also include a legal citation indicating where the decision is found in a specific reporter.
Example: 344 U.S. 1 cites the "Brown v. Board of Education" decision as published in United States Reports.
Parallel Citations
Citations to the same law or opinion published in different sources are called parallel citations. Many legal citations include references to several different sources. The first cite is considered the official or primary cite. The subsequent cites reference additional sources published by private companies which include additional editorial features.
Example: Roe v. Wade (410 U.S. 113; 93 S. Ct. 705; 35 L. Ed. 2d 147)
Source Publication : Parallel Cite
United States Reports (U.S.) : 410 U.S. 113
Supreme Court Reporter (S.Ct.) : 93 S. Ct. 705
Lawyer's Edition (L.Ed.) : 35 L. Ed. 2d 147
Codes arrange all laws (e.g. statutes) or regulations by subject, and are cited by section (instead of page number). Section numbers are denoted by the § symbol.
Examples:
34 CFR §300.300
Volume 34
Code of Federal Regulations
Section 300.300
20 USC §1400
Volume 20
United States Code
Section 1400
| Abbreviation | Example | Type | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| US | 546 U.S. 189 | U.S. Supreme Court opinions | United States Reports |
|
Sup. Ct. |
127 S. Ct. 2738 | U.S. Supreme Court opinions | Supreme Court Reports |
| Abbreviation | Example | Type | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
|
F. F. 2d. F. 3d. |
22 F. 354 | U.S. Appellate Court opinions |
Federal Reporter (2nd series) (3rd series) |
|
F. Supp. F. Supp. 2d. F. Supp. 3d. |
246 F. Supp. 780 | U.S. District Court opinions |
Federal Supplement (2nd series) (3rd series) |
| Abbreviation | Example | Type | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Cal. Cal. 2d. |
39 Cal. 4th 970 | California Supreme Court opinions |
California Reports (2nd series) |
|
P. P. 2d. |
140 P. 3d 775 | State supreme court opinions - western states (including CA) |
Pacific Reporter (2nd series) |
|
Cal. Rptr. Cal. Rptr. 2d. |
47 Cal. Rptr. 3d 467 | California Supreme and Appellate Court opinions |
California Reporter (2nd series) |
|
Cal. App. Cal. App. 2d. Cal. App. 3d. Cal. App. 4th. |
39 Cal. App. 4th 970 | U.S. Appellate Court opinions |
California Appellate Reports (2nd series) (3rd series) (4th series) |
| Abbreviation | Example | Type | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| USC | 42 USC § 5106 | Codified statutes | United States Code |
| USCA | 42 USCA § 5106 | Codified statutes | United States Code Annotated |
| Stat. | 49 Stat. 153 | Statutes as written when passed into law | United States Statutes at large |
| Abbreviation | Example | Type | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| FR | 49 FR 10395 | Proposed or final regulations | Federal Register |
| CFR | 8 CFR § 327.35 | Codified regulations | Code of Federal Regulations |
| Abbreviation | Example | Type | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Educ. Code | Educ. Code § 3423 | Codified Statutes | California Codes |
| Cal. Edu. Code | CAL Edu. Code § 3423 | Codified Statutes with Annotations | Deering's California Codes |
| Abbreviation | Example | Type | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cal. Reg. Notice Register | 2003 Cal. Reg. Notice Register 685 | Proposed regulations | California Regulatory Notice Register |
| CCR | 8 CCR § 327.35 | Codified regulations | California Code of Regulations |
| Abbreviation | Type | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Cal. Jur. | California law by topic | California Jurisprudence |
| CJS | Federal law by topic | Corpus Juris Secundum |
| L. Rev. | Law review article | Harvard Law Review |