Legal citation follows one of two citation manuals: The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation or the ALWD Citation Manual. Cornell's Legal Information Institute provides an overview of legal citation.
Generally, legal citations follow this format:
- numerical designation of the major part of the set (volume or title number)
- abbreviation of the source
- secondary numerical designation (section or page number)
Example:
| Citation |
Interpretation |
| 29 CFR 100.101 |
Title 29 of the Code of Federal Regulations, section 100.101 |
| 410 U.S. 113 |
Volume 410 of the United States Reports , page 113 |
| 28 USC 1332 |
Title 28 of the United States Code, section 1332 |
Cases are published in chronological order in reporters. There are two different categories of reporters:
- Official reporters, which are usually published by a governmental entity, and
- Unofficial reporters, which are published commercially (usually by either West or Lexis).
To find a case in a reporter, you will need to know its citation.
