What Is Citation?

a legal citation is composed of three elements:

1. a signal

2. the source or authority

3. parenthetical information

Difference: a footnote will give the page on which the footnote appears.

Signal

Definition: A signal sends a shorthand message to the reader about the relationship between the proposition stated and the source or authority cited in relation to that proposition.

Examples: 

• Many states have established a staturoty presuption in favor of equal division of marital property. E.g., N.C. Gen. Stat. 

• Federal courts have consistently held that statutory claims of employment discrimination can be subject to mandatory arbiration. See, Circuit City Stores, Inc. V. Adams, 532 U.S.

Difference: Use "see" to introduce an authority that clearly supports, but does not directly state the proposition.

• The Sixth Amendment's guarantee of the right to assistance of counsel ensures that criminal defendants without legal training are not left to fend for themselves in our complex system of criminal justice. See Powell v. Alabama, 287 U.S. 45, 69 (1932)

Sources and Authorities

1. Cases

2. Statutes, Rules, and Regulations

3. Constitutions

4. Court and Litigation Documents

5. Books and Other Nonperiodic Materials

6. Journal, Magazine, and Newspaper Articles

7. The Internet

Sources and Authorities: Cases

A full case citation includes five basic components:

1. the name of the case

2. the published source in which the case may be found

3. a parenthetical indicating the court and year of decision

4. other parenthetical information, if any

5. the subsequent hisroty of the case, if any

Examples:

• Dow Jones & Co. v. Harrods, Ltd.      (Plaintiff v. Defendants)

• Spiller v. Ware     (Surname or Family name)

• Baker v. Carr, 369 U.S. 186, 195.    (pinpoint citation)

• Meritor Sav. Bank v. Vinson, 477 U.S. 57, 60 (1986)    (U.S.= United States Reports; S. Ct.= Supreme Court Reporter; F., F.2d, F.3d= Federal Reporter)

• Webb v. Baxter Healthcare Corp., 57 F.3d 1067 (4th Cir. 1995)(unpublished table decision).     (parenthetical information)

• Green v. Georgia, 442 U.S. 95, 97 (1979) (per curiam) (holding that exclusion of relevant ecidence at sentencing hearing consitutes denial of due process).       (explanatory parenthetical)

• Gucci Am., Inc. v. Gold Ctr. Jewelry, 997 F. Supp. 399, rev'd, 158 F. 3d 631 (2d Cir. 1998).      (aff'd, aff'g, cert. denied, rev'd,)

Sources and Authorities: Books

A full citation of books should include the following elements:

1. the volume number 

2. the full name(s) of the author(s)

3. the title of the publication (underlined)

4. a pincite

5. a parenthetical indicating the year of publication

Example:

• Richard H. Fallon, Jr., Daniel J. Meltzer & David L. Shapiro, Hart and Wechsler's The Federal Courts and the Federal System 685 (5th ed. 2003).

Sources and Authorities: Journal

A full citation to periodical material generally includes the following elements:

1. the full name(s) of the author(s)

2. the title of the artical (underlined)

3. the abbreviated name of the publication

4. a pincite

5. the date of publication

Example:

• Kenneth R. Feinberg, Mediation- A Preferred Method of Dispute Resolution, 16 Pepp.L.Rev. 5, 14 (1989).