Legal methodsLesson 4 of 4 in the course Legal research and sources

Legal Citation: Sources, Formats, and Citation Analysis

5 flashcards · 5 quiz questions · 5 match pairs · 5 fill-in sentences · English

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Summary

Legal citation is the practice of crediting and referring readers to authoritative legal documents and other sources. It helps readers locate a source, assess its authority and relevance, and understand how it supports a legal argument.

Common sources of legal authority include court decisions (cases), statutes, regulations, government documents, treaties, and scholarly writing. A citation directs the reader to the source and can provide clues about its authority, age, and relevance.

All flashcards

What is legal citation?
The practice of crediting and referring to authoritative documents and sources so readers can identify, locate, and assess them.
What is a pincite or pinpoint?
A page reference that directs the reader to the specific part of a source supporting the writer’s proposition.
In a U.S. case citation, what does “381 U.S. 479” indicate?
The case appears in volume 381 of the United States Reports and begins on page 479.
What is a citation graph?
A representation of legal provisions or documents and the citation links connecting them, within or across documents.
What does main path analysis do?
It traces significant citation chains in a citation graph and can help follow changes in opinions over time.

Quiz questions

  1. What is a central purpose of legal citation?Answer: To identify and locate authoritative sources and show their role in an argument.
  2. In “Griswold v. Connecticut, 381 U.S. 479, 480 (1965),” what does page 480 indicate?Answer: The pinpoint page containing material that supports the writer’s proposition.
  3. Which guide is commonly called the McGill Guide?Answer: The Canadian Guide to Uniform Legal Citation.
  4. In legal writing, what does the absence of a qualifying citation signal generally indicate?Answer: The cited authority is presented as direct support for the proposition.
  5. How can main path analysis help researchers studying legal citations?Answer: It traces significant citation chains and may reveal changes in opinions over time.

Based on the Wikipedia article Legal citation, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Adapted into a summary, flashcards and quizzes.

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