How to read a case citation
How to read a case citation
This is adapted from Lexis/Nexis “How to read a case citation.”
The case citation provides the following pieces of information:
1. the name of the actual case;
2. the physical volumes where the case can be found;
3. the court that decided the case; and,
4. the year the case was decided.
Using the citation to the case Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, 438 U.S. 265 (1978), let us decode the information provided. Regents of the University of California v. Bakke is the name of the case. When a lawsuit is originally filed, the case name appears as plaintiff v. defendant. When the case is appealed, the case name usually appears as appellant v. appellee. It should always be underlined or written in italics. 438 U.S. 265 is the cite where the case can be found: in volume 438 of the United States Reports, beginning at page 265. Reporters are sets of volumes containing judicial opinions of a case. The year 1978 in the parentheses tells you the year the court decided the case.
You will often encounter the following case reporters and abbreviations:
For the Supreme Court (Federal) Reporters
|U.S. Supreme Court Reports |L.Ed. or L.Ed.2d |
|Supreme Court Reporter |S. Ct. |
|U.S. Reports |U.S. |
|United States Law Week |USLW |
Circuit Court of Appeals (Federal) Reporters
|Federal Reporter |F or F.2d or F.3d |
District Courts (Federal) Reporters
Federal Supplement F. Supp
Black's Law Dictionary and A Uniform System of Citation contain extensive listings of legal abbreviations for various legal sources.
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