Basic Case Citation

1
Basic Case Citation
2
Three Elements of a Legal Citation

• A signal (if appropriate) (B4)
• The source of authority (B5)
• Parenthetical information (B11)

See, Poole v. Incentives Unlimited, Inc., 548
S.E.2d 207 (S.C. 2001) (requiring a change of
employment conditions to support a covenant to
compete signed subsequent to the start of
employment).
3
I. Signals

• A signal sends a shorthand message to the reader
  about the relationship between the proposition
  youve stated and the case youve cited.

• No signal is required if
• the authority directly states your proposition
• you are quoting from the authority
• you referred to the case in the course of stating
  your proposition. In Girard v. Rebasmen
• (B4.1)

4
Signal examples OR

• Positive
• See Clearly supports but does not state.
• See also additional supporting authorities.
• E.g. Accord Cf.

• Negative
• Contra directly states contrary of proposition
• But see clearly supports a proposition
  contrary to yours
• But cf.

5
Signal examples Neutral

• See generally indicates background material on
  the topic.
• Compare Used to point to a comparison between
  two cases. Usually its better to spell out the
  comparison, but sometimes this can be effective.
• Compare ____ with ____.

6
II. Source of Authority

• Citation Sentence
• Text Sentence
• Citation Clause

• Each has its own use and strength
• Ive stated them in the order that I tended to
  use them in practice

7
1. Citation Sentence
Covenants not to compete are generally disfavored
in South Carolina. Poole v. Incentives Unlimited,
Inc., 548 S.E.2d 207 (S.C. 2001).

• The citation information follows the actual
  text.Period Citation Sentence Period.

8
2. Text Sentence
In Poole v. Incentives Unlimited, Inc., 548
S.E.2d 207 (S.C. 2001), the court held that
covenants not to compete are generally disfavored
in South Carolina.

• The textual sentence is based on, and includes,
  the citation information.

9
3. Citation Clause
Although covenants not to compete are generally
disfavored in South Carolina, Poole v. Incentives
Unlimited, Inc., 548 S.E.2d 207 (S.C. 2001), a
court will uphold a covenant not to compete if
the contract provision meets certain requirements
set forth by the courts. Oxman v. Sherman, 122
S.E.2d 559 (S.C. 1961).

• The citation information follows the clause it
  supports. A citation sentence at the end supports
  the final clause.

10
III. Explanatory Parentheticals

• Relevance
• See, Poole v. Incentives Unlimited, Inc., 548
  S.E.2d 207 (S.C. 2001) (accepting any change in
  employment conditions as consideration for a
  covenant not to compete).

• Weight of the authority
• See, Lopez v. Morris, 48 S.E.2d 7 (S.C. 2001)
  (Archon, J., dissenting)
• See, Smith v. Jones, 4 N.W.2d 7 (Mich. 2001) (per
  curiam)

11
Breaking down the cite

• Case name
• Smith v. Jones
• Reporter
• 1 Mich. 1
• Pinpoint cite or pincite or jump cite
• 1 Mich. 1, 4
• Parallel cite (where appropriate)
• 4 N.W.2d 87, 89
• Court and Year of decision
• (1887)
• Explanatory Parenthetical
• (holding a grant of land under the Northwest
  Treaty effective under Michigan law.)
• Smith v Jones, 1 Mich. 1, 4, 4 N.W.2d 87, 89
  (1887) (holding a grant of land under the
  Northwest Treaty effective under Michigan law).

12
Other issues Short form

• Short form
• Use when youve already cited the case.
• Use Id. if the prior cite of this case
  immediately precedes the cite.
• Id.
• Id. at 5.
• Use other short form if its understandable to
  reader (recent, relevant, and readily available)
  (B5.2)
• Smith, 1 Mich. at 5.
• 1 Mich. at 5.

13
Other issues Parallel citation and history

• Parallel citation
• Use to point out location of authority in
  regional or other unofficial reporters.
• Table T1 will tell you what the primary cite is.
• Use parallel cite required by local rules.
• Practice Tip When in doubt, include it.

• History
• Point out subsequent history of cases when
  relevant.
• Smith v Miller, 10 Mich. App. 90, 4 N.W.2d 18
  (1887), revd, 2 Mich 277 (1888).

14
Final Hints

• Use White Pages and Blue Pages
• Use TOC and Index
• Learn to abbreviate properly
• Do a separate proofreading for citation
• Pay attention to spacing and punctuation