Anaya Nolan
Case citation is a system used by legal professionals to identify past court case decisions. Case citations are formatted differently in different jurisdictions, but they generally contain the same key information. The Bluebook is a guide that contains the rules governing the most widely used legal citation styles. It provides extensive instructions on how to format case citations, including rules for creating simple and straightforward case names. Case citation can be done in a neutral style that identifies a decision regardless of where it is reported, or in a series of books called reporters or law reports.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Case citation system | Legal professionals use this system to identify past court case decisions. |
| Case citation format | Case citations are formatted differently in different jurisdictions but generally contain the same key information. |
| Case citation information | Case citations usually contain information such as the name of the case, the court, the year, the volume number, and the page number. |
| Bluebook rules | The Bluebook provides guidelines for creating simple and straightforward case names and citing cases, briefs, court filings, and transcripts. |
| Parallel citations | In court documents, parallel citations to the same case in multiple reporters are often required, but the Bluebook does not mandate them. |
| State case citations | When citing the highest court, only the state needs to be indicated; the deciding court does not need to be mentioned. |
| Popular name of the decision | It is uncommon to refer to the names of plaintiffs and defendants, but cases often have unofficial names. |
| European Case Law Identifier | A "neutral" citation system introduced by the Council of the European Union in 2011, in which Germany participates. |
| Indian law reports | There are over 200 law reports in India, including subject-wise and state-wise authorized and unauthorized reports. |
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What You'll Learn
Case citation systems
A standard citation includes first the volume number, then the title of the source (usually abbreviated), and lastly, a page or section number. Cases, or judicial opinions, can be published by more than one publisher. Case citations designate the volume number of the reporter in which the case appears, the name of the reporter, the page on which the case begins, and the year the decision was rendered. Thus, each citation is unique.
In some jurisdictions, it is usual to apply square brackets " [year]" to the publication year. This may not be the year the case was decided, as cases may be reported in the year following the decision. The internet has also led to the adoption of a medium-neutral citation system, where pinpoint references refer to paragraph numbers rather than page numbers.
In the United States, federal cases are cited in the same format as California cases. United States Supreme Court cases are published in the official reports, United States Reports, abbreviated as "US". There are two parallel citations for Supreme Court cases: those published by West in the Supreme Court Reporter, abbreviated as "S.Ct.", and those published by LexisNexis, the United States Supreme Court Reports, Lawyers' Edition, abbreviated as "L.Ed." or "L.Ed. 2d". Court of Appeals cases, published only in West's Federal Reporter, are abbreviated as "F.", "F. 2d." or "F. 3d.". Federal District Court cases are published only in West's Federal Supplement, abbreviated as "F. Supp." or "F. Supp. 2d".
In Canada, there are several citation standards, with many legal publishing companies and schools having their own standards. Some courts have also produced their own citation guides. In 1999, the Canadian Judicial Council adopted a neutral citation standard for case law, providing a naming system that does not depend on the publication of the case in a law report. In June 2024, CanLII announced a new open-access legal citation guide: the Canadian Open Access Legal Citation Guide ("COAL").
In Australia, courts and tribunals have adopted a neutral citation standard for case law, providing a naming system that does not depend on the publication of the case in a law report. Most cases are now published on AustLII using neutral citations.
In Europe, the European Case Law Identifier, a "neutral" citation system introduced by the Council of the European Union in 2011, is used in Germany. The most important cases of the Federal Constitutional Court are published by the court in its official collection, abbreviated as BVerfGE.
In India, there are over 200 law reports, with the official reporter for Supreme Court decisions being the Supreme Court Reports. However, decisions are also uploaded by the Supreme Court itself on www.courtnic.nic.in, and some reporters have been authorised to publish the Court's decisions. The All India Reporter (AIR) is an old and respected reporter that reports decisions of the Supreme Court and various State High Courts.
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Parallel citations
For example, the case of Brown v. Board has been published in the United States Reports (the official SCOTUS record), the Supreme Court Reporter (unofficial, by West), United States Supreme Court Reports, Lawyers' Edition (unofficial, by Lexis), electronically by LexisNexis, in the American Law Reports, and by the Ohio Opinions (state supreme court reporter). Thus, the parallel citations for this case may look like this: 347 U.S. 483, 74 S.Ct. 686, 98 L.Ed. 873, 38 A.L.R.2d 1180, 53 O.O. 326.
The use of parallel citations can depend on the context, such as whether the writing is intended for submission to a court or for an academic audience. There is no national standard for legal citations, and the rules may vary based on the court and the specific state. For instance, the Michigan Appellate Opinion Manual serves as the primary source of information for legal citations to reported cases in Michigan, and it requires the use of parallel citations for state and Supreme Court cases.
When citing law review articles, it is generally recommended to use the relevant regional reporter. However, if an official public domain citation is available, it should be provided alongside the parallel citation. Local rules for required case citations should also be followed to ensure accuracy and clarity in legal writing.
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State case citations
Case citation is a system used by legal professionals to identify past court case decisions. Case citations are formatted differently in different jurisdictions, but they generally contain the same key information.
When citing state court cases in legal memoranda or law review pieces, The Bluebook generally directs citations to the unofficial regional reporter rather than the official state reporter. This is outlined in R10.3.1(b), p. 103. If filing documents in a state court, it is important to follow the local rules for citing cases. A citation to a case in a regional reporter contains six elements: the name of the case (underlined or italicized and abbreviated according to R10.2), the year of the decision, the state's two-character postal code, the court abbreviation from T7 (unless it's the state's highest court), the sequential number of the decision, and if the decision is unpublished, include a capital "U" after the sequential number.
There are a few special rules for state case citations. Firstly, you do not need to indicate the deciding court if it is the highest court, just the state: Seeco, Inc. v. Hales, 22 S.W.3d 157 (Ark. 2000). Secondly, you do not need to indicate the state if the reporter cited unambiguously indicates which state issued it: DiLucia v. Madelker, 493 N.Y.S.2d 769 (App. Div. 1985). Both rules would apply when citing a decision of the highest court appearing in an official state reporter: Bates v. Tappan, 99 Mass. 376 (1868).
In court documents and filings, parallel citations to the same case as it appears in multiple reporters are often required. As a general rule, however, the Bluebook does not require parallel citations. Bluebook rule 10.3.1(b) states that citations to the appropriate regional reporter are preferred.
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Case name formatting
Case citation is a system used by legal professionals to identify past court case decisions. Case citations are formatted differently in different jurisdictions, but they generally contain the same key information. For example, in England, Australia, and some parts of Canada, volumes are not numbered independently of the year, so the year and volume number are required to identify the book in a series that contains the case report.
In court documents, full case names are usually italicized or underlined, whereas in academic legal writing, full case names are generally not underlined or italicized. Case names in textual sentences and citations are governed by Rule 10.2, which provides guidelines for creating simple and straightforward case names from the list of parties given at the beginning of every case report. Rule 10.2.1 applies to case names in both textual sentences and citations, while Rule 10.2.2 applies only to case names contained in citations. The primary difference is that Rule 10.2.2 provides additional guidance for the extensive abbreviation of words appearing in case names, including all words appearing in Table T6 and geographical terms.
There are a few special rules for state case citations. Firstly, you do not need to indicate the deciding court if it is the highest court, just the state, as in "Seeco, Inc. v. Hales, 22 S.W.3d 157 (Ark. 2000)". Secondly, you do not need to indicate the state if the reporter cited unambiguously indicates which state issued it: "DiLucia v. Madelker, 493 N.Y.S.2d 769 (App. Div. 1985)". Both rules would apply when citing a decision of the highest court appearing in an official state reporter: "Bates v. Tappan, 99 Mass. 376 (1868)".
Geographical names should be omitted, except when citing decisions from courts of that state. State court decisions should only retain "State/Commonwealth/People". Prepositional phrases of location should also be omitted unless the phrase begins a party name, is part of the full name of a business, or the omission would leave only one word in the party's name. For example, "Blystone v. Pennsylvania, 494 U.S. 299 (1990)" is correct, whereas "Blystone v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, 494 U.S. 299 (1990)" is not.
Common acronyms, procedural phrases, and geographical units listed in Table 10 should be abbreviated unless the geographical unit is the entire name of the party. For example, "Ctr. for Nat'l Sec. Studies v. U.S. Dep't of Justice" should be abbreviated to "Alvarez-Machain v. United States".
Finally, one can add the popular name of the decision, although it is unusual to refer to the names of the plaintiff(s) and defendant(s). For example, "Telefonsjikanedommen" refers to a 1952 case where the Supreme Court ruled that telephone harassment was not illegal under the current criminal code.
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Case citation style guides
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. Case citations are formatted differently in various jurisdictions but generally contain the same key information. A legal citation is a "reference to a legal precedent or authority, such as a case, statute, or treatise, that either substantiates or contradicts a given position."
There are two types of citations: proprietary and public domain. The most commonly acknowledged citation guide is "The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation", compiled by the Columbia, Harvard, University of Pennsylvania, and Yale Law Reviews. Public domain citations refer to official reporters, rather than a publication service such as Westlaw, LexisNexis, particular legal journals, or specialization-specific reporters. States with their own unique style for court documents and case opinions also publish their own style guides, which include information on their citation rules. Examples include the Oxford Standard for Citation Of Legal Authorities (OSCOLA) and the Canadian Open Access Legal Citation Guide (COAL).
In some jurisdictions, such as England, Australia, and Canada, volumes are not numbered independently of the year, so the year and volume number are required to identify the book in a series that contains the case report. In court documents and filings, parallel citations to the same case as it appears in multiple reporters are often required. However, the Bluebook does not require parallel citations.
In addition, there are a few special rules for state case citations. Firstly, if the highest court in a state is the deciding court, only the state needs to be indicated, not the court: Seeco, Inc. v. Hales, 22 S.W.3d 157 (Ark. 2000). Secondly, if the reporter cited unambiguously indicates the state, the state does not need to be indicated: DiLucia v. Madelker, 493 N.Y.S.2d 769 (App. Div. 1985). Both rules would apply when citing a decision of the highest court appearing in an official state reporter: Bates v. Tappan, 99 Mass. 376 (1868).
Some countries, such as Denmark, do not have an official standard or style guide for case citations. However, most case citations in Denmark include the name or abbreviation of the reporter, the year or volume, the page number where the decision begins, and the name or abbreviation of the court. An example of a Danish case citation is Ugeskrift for Retsvæsen 1968, p. 84/2, which refers to a precedent-setting Supreme Court judgment regarding strict liability.
Other countries, such as New Zealand, have adopted a neutral citation standard for case law, which provides a naming system that does not depend on the publication of the case in a law report. New Zealand's standard case citation format is similar to the Australian Guide to Legal Citation (AGLC).
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Frequently asked questions
Case citation is a system used by legal professionals to identify past court case decisions. Case citations are formatted differently in different jurisdictions but generally contain the same key information.
A reporter is a publication containing the opinions of a particular court or jurisdiction, organised chronologically by date of decision. The opinions of a given court or jurisdiction are often published in more than one reporter.
There are a few special rules for state case citations. Firstly, you do not need to indicate the deciding court if it is the highest court, just the state. Secondly, you do not need to indicate the state if the reporter cited unambiguously indicates which state issued it.
The Bluebook is a guide that introduces basic concepts of legal citation and provides rules and guidelines for creating simple and straightforward case names.
