CoLPS: Legal Studies

Basic Case Citation

The format of a case citation is dependent on the following factors:

• Jurisdiction
• Court
• Type of Case

Anatomy of a Case Citation

If you are directing your reader to a specific quotation or holding, you would point to the "pinpoint" in the case by including a comma and the location. The pinpoint is inserted after the first page of the reporter number. If you are generally referring to a citation, referring to the citation for background support, or including it within your reference page, you would not use a pinpoint citation.

Basic Statutory Citation Format

Federal Statutes

The United States Code (U.S.C.) is the official code for federal statutes. The unofficial codes for federal statutes include: United States Code Annotated (U.S.C.A.)  and United States Code Service (U.S.C.S.). Most often, you will need to cite to either of these unofficial codes because Congress enacts new laws and amends and repeals existing laws frequently. The current version of the statute will not appear in the United States Code until the official publication is updated with the cumulative supplement. A new print edition is published every six years and is updated annually through cumulative supplements. 

The format of a statutory citation is dependent on the following factors:

• Title Number
• Code Abbreviation (see abbreviations listed above)
• Section number preceded by the symbol (§) and a space
• Year of the code*
  • The date in the citation is the year of the code edition cited as it appears on the spine of the print volume or the title page (electronic versions). It is not the year a statute was enacted or last amended. 

25 U.S.C. § 1 (2020)

State Statutes

Though this citation format is similar to the federal statutory citation, each format varies by state. 

Basic Bluebook Format for California Statutes

To determine the subject of the code, look at the title of the section within Westlaw or Lexis Advance. *Please refer to The Bluebook  for the format to cite statutory codes on Westlaw, Lexis, and other commercial databases. 

Basic Regulation Citation Format

Federal Register Format

Name of Regulation, Federal Register (abbreviation) page number (Date of Issue) (to be codified at Title number C.F.R. pt. #)

Example: 

Food Labeling: Reference Daily Intakes, Fed. Reg. 427 (January 4, 1994) (to be codified at 21 CFR 101)

Code of Federal Regulations Format

The citation to a U.S. federal regulation includes the following elements:

• Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.) title number
• C.F.R. (abbreviation for the Code of Federal Regulations)
• Section symbol and number
• Date of code edition cited

For example, to cite the section of the code that identifies the definitions of horse protection regulations, you would cite the following: 

9 C.F.R. § 11.1 (2020)