Deciphering Legal Citations
February 19, 2011
Katie Fearer, Alaska State Library
http://www.library.state.ak.us/
Marinke Van Gelder of the Alaska State Court Law Library
assisted with preparation of these slides
Why are we here?
What does P.L. 109-266,
120 Stat. 670 mean?
Can you get me a copy of
§1, ch. 4 SLA 2007
Objectives
 Learn what legal citations are
 Learn how to read legal citations
 Decipher citations to frequently used legal
resources
 Find cited legal authority in online sources
 Become familiar with online and print resources
about citations
What is a citation?
 Reference to legal authority
 Common elements:
 Name of the legal authority
 Volume or title number
 Abbreviation for the name of the publication
 Page or section number
 Date
Structure of AK Gov’t & Major Sources of Law
(similar to Fed. Gov’t)
Constitution
• Legislative acts
• Found in slip laws,
session laws and
codified statutes
• Court decisions
• Found in case
reporters and files
• Regulations, executive
orders
• Found in
registers/public notices
and administrative code
Source of structure diagram: State of Alaska
Legislative Affairs Agency, Handbook on
Alaska State Government, August 2004,
available at
w3.legis.state.ak.us/docs/pdf/handbook.pdf
Legislative Sources
 Legislative acts
 P.L., Stat., SLA, U.S.C., U.S.C.A., AS
United States Statutes At Large
Electronic Duck Stamp Act of 2005, P.L. 109-266, 120 Stat.
670 (2006)
<name of law> <public law number> <volume>
<book/source><page #> <year enacted>
P.L. = Public Law.
109 = 109th Congress
Stat. = United States Statutes at Large
U.S. legislative acts organized chronologically
Public Laws may also be abbreviated “Public Law” or “Pub. L.”
May see only brief citation, such as 120 Stat. 670
Session Laws of Alaska
An Act Extending the Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual
Assault, 4 SLA 2007
§1, ch. 4 SLA 2007
<section number or name of act><chapter><book/source><year
enacted>
SLA = Session Laws of Alaska
AK legislative acts organized chronologically
United States Code,
United States Code Annotated
16 U.S.C. §718a (2006)
16 U.S.C.A. §718a (2006)
<title><book/source><section><year compiled>
U.S.C.=United States Code
U.S.C.A.=United States Code Annotated
 Legislative acts organized by topic
Alaska Statutes
AS 44.66.010(5) (2008)
<book/source><title. chapter.section><year compiled>
AS=Alaska Statutes
 Legislative acts organized by topic
Stat. and U.S.C. Online
http://www.gpoaccess.gov; http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/
SLA and AS Online
http://www.legis.state.ak.us/basis/folio.asp
Administrative Sources
 Regulations, executive orders
 Fed. Reg., C.F.R., Alaska Online Public Notice
System, AAC
Federal Register
74 Fed. Reg. 14049 (Mar. 30, 2009)
<volume> <book/source> <page #> <date of publication>
Fed. Reg. = Federal Register
 Proposed and final regulations, analysis, notices issued by
administrative agencies, executive orders
 Currently, no comparable print publication in Alaska – use Online
Public Notice System
Code of Federal Regulations
29 C.F.R. §553.11 (2006)
<title><book/source><section><year compiled>
C.F.R. = Code of Federal Regulations
Regulations organized by issuing agency
Also includes executive orders
Alaska Administrative Code
22 AAC 05.010 (2007)
<title><book/source><chapter.section><year
compiled>
AAC = Alaska Administrative Code
Regulations organized by issuing agency
The Alaska Administrative Code might also be cited in
this way: Alaska Admin. Code tit. 22, §05.10 (2005)
Federal Executive Orders
Exec. Order No. 11,644, 72 Fed. Reg. 56165 (Oct. 2, 2007)
Exec. Order No. 11,644, 3 C.F.R., 2007 Comp., p 237 (2008)
<book/source><order #><section><citation to publication in
which order is published>
 Citation may exclude the publication (Exec. Order No. 11,644)
 Published chronologically in the Fed. Reg. since 1936
 Compiled annually in Title 3 of the C.F.R.
Alaska Executive Orders
Executive Order No. 67, § 1 (1987)
<book/source><order #><section><year issued>
Published in volume 11 of AS
Fed. Reg., C.F.R., Exec. Orders
Online
http://www.gpoaccess.gov; http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/
AAC, Executive Orders Online;
Online Public Notice System
http://www.legis.state.ak.us/basis/folio.asp
Judicial Sources
 Court decisions
 P., P.2nd, P.3rd, U.S.
Alaska Court System (in general)
 District Court – misdemeanors, city and borough
ordinances, small civil claims
 Superior Court – civil and criminal matters,
appeals from District Court
 Court of Appeals – appeals in criminal cases,
cases in which a minor is accused of a crime
 Supreme Court – appeals from Superior Court
Source: State of Alaska Legislative Affairs Agency, Handbook on
Alaska State Government, August 2004, available at
w3.legis.state.ak.us/docs/pdf/handbook.pdf
About Court Decisions
 Decisions from some courts are published in case reporters
 Alaska Court of Appeals
 Alaska Supreme Court
 Only important decisions are “reported”
 “Unreported” decisions may still show up in databases
 Obtain decisions from courts without reported opinions
directly from the courts
 Alaska District Court
 Alaska Superior Court
Alaska State Cases:
Supreme Court & Court of Appeals
Williams v. Zobel, 619 P.2d 448 (Alaska 1980)
Zimmerman v. State, 706 P.2d 343 (Alaska App 1985)
<Parties><Volume #><Reporter><Page# ><Court & date>
Parties = Appellant versus Appellee
Last name of first appellant and first appellee named in the case
P2d = Pacific Reporter, 2nd Series
Currently 3 series : P., P.2d, P.3d
Page # = first page of the case
Sometimes another specific page of the case is also noted
Alaska = Alaska Supreme Court
Alaska App = Alaska Court of Appeals
Date = year the case was decided
Alaska State Trial Courts (Superior
or District Court)
Decisions not published. Some information available online.
Request case records from the court.
Bean v. Grant, 1JU-96-01727CI
<Parties> <Case Number>
Case Number = Judicial District & Court –Year – Unique Number
& Case Type
Parties = Plaintiff versus Defendant
Alaska Cases Online
http://government.westlaw.com/akcases/
U.S. Supreme Court Cases
Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 16 L. Ed 2d 694, 86 S. Ct.
1602 (1966)
U.S. = United States Reports (U.S.G.P.O.)
L. Ed. or L. Ed. 2d = United States Supreme Court
Reports, Lawyer’s Edition, 1st series or 2d series (Lexis)
S.Ct. = Supreme Court Reporter (Thomson/West)
Supreme Court Cases Online
http://www.findlaw.com/casecode/supreme.html
Online Resources to Help You
 Alaska Court System. “Legal Research – Alaska Links.”
http://www.state.ak.us/courts/aklegal.htm
 Alaska State Legislature. “List of Common Abbreviations.” (2
pages) http://w3.legis.state.ak.us/docs/pdf/abbracro.pdf
 American Association of Law Libraries. How to Find Legal
Material if you Already Have a Citation. August 14, 2006.
http://www.aallnet.org/sis/lisp/cite.htm.
 Martin, Peter W. Introduction to Basic Legal Citation. Cornell
Legal Information Institute.
http://www.law.cornell.edu/citation/
Questions
Thank You
Katie Fearer, Alaska State Library
kathleen.fearer@alaska.gov, 907-465-2988