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Questions tagged [legal-citation]

For all questions about the style and practice of legal citations, whether it be to cases, legislative material, or any other source in the context of legal writing.

Canonical answers:

54 questions
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How do U.S. judges decide which of very many cases to cite in their opinions?

I have been wondering about this for a very long time, but I am going to draw my examples from Judge Howell's recent memorandum opinion in Perkins Coie v. U.S. because that is what I have been reading most recently. Please understand that the…
Mark Dominus
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What are the formal requirements to cite the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in U.S. courts?

I understand that there has been no attempt to broaden protections subject to civil rights in the U.S. on the grounds of human rights so there is likely no example for such a reference, but U.S. courts probably see UDHR references in immigration…
kisspuska
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Why is Miller's case titled R (Miller)?

Why is Miller's case titled R (Miller)? R (Miller) v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union The meaning of R is Regina (Queen). This is confusing me. Wasn't the case brought by 'an individual(s) v the government'? Why is the title…
user24985
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Why do court opinions list multiple layers of citations?

It is common in for courts to cite case law. But why do they cite or note what their citations cite? Here's an example I just came across: National Business Services, Inc. v. Wright, 2 F. Supp. 2d 701 (E.D. Pa. 1998) (citing Albert E. Price, Inc.…
feetwet
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How is “R v. Smith” pronounced?

Is it “Are and smith”? “Rex/Regina and smith”? “The king/queen and smith”? What is the typical convention?
TylerDurden
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Is a specific date of occurrence required for a felony charge?

Can a person be charged for a felony in the state of Missouri without a specific date ever being stated that the crime occurred? Example: "Defendant committed a felony between the dates of Jan 1 2023 and Dec 31 2023 by beating the victim and…
Need legal help in MO
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Can a court’s decision be copyrighted?

See this page: If the citation column does not include a hyperlink, then copyright restrictions prevent BAILII from publishing the judgment (missing cases may be available on other commercial/paywalled sites). And so the titular question: can the…
TylerDurden
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Is the Supreme Court's in-house citation style manual publicly available?

SCOTUS uses a distinct in-house citation style which, although it has a lot in common with the Bluebook, is not the same (differing in key places) and is as far as I know unique. Is the citation style manual used in house for SCOTUS publicly…
ezgranet
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Which other judges, in the Anglosphere, pinpoint paragraphs with ¶?

I agree with judge Michael Reed’s preference for pinpointing paragraphs with ¶, the pilcrow symbol - see block quote below. But which other Anglo-American judges do this? What legal citation methods recommend ¶? The Oxford Standard cites paragraphs…
user16249
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Can you cite parts of a case if the core issues in the case were later overruled?

There is a discussion in a decision I am looking at, that supports one of my arguments in my own case. In the decision, the court discusses one of the issues before it, let's call it Issue S, and explains how it arrives at a particular conclusion…
lgshost
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How can I tell if a court case exists?

As someone without access to pricy legal search engines, how can I tell if a given case exists? For context, a lawyer was recently found to have cited a number of cases hallucinated by ChatGPT. The transcript of his ChatGPT session is now online. …
Mark
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Finding citations

I’ve occasionally asked questions (example) that could be easily answered by Shepard’s Citations—if I still had access.  How should I search for citations of a statute or case without paying Lexis or traveling to some place that has the print…
WGroleau
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What is "18 C.J.S., Copyright and Literary Property, § 113"?

I am working on a research paper on copyright, and I was reading O'Rourke vs. RKO Radio Pictures. It cites "18 C.J.S., Copyright and Literary Property, § 113". What is it citing?
user49764
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I am writing a service agreement, how do I cite a legal code in the agreement?

I am writing a service agreement, how do I cite a legal code in the agreement? As a company, I need to state what we will do and what the law requires us to do This is the law: cvc 22658 (m) (1) A towing company that removes a vehicle from private…
Katie Miller
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The parties in an appealed criminal case

I have a question with regards to the parties of a criminal case on appeal. In a civil case for example, Adam v Seaside Holdings Ltd, the parties are: Appellant: Adam Respondent: Seaside Holdings Ltd But what about criminal cases? For example, R v…
Maxxx
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