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Legal Abbreviations and Citations Guide

Abbreviations for Commonly Cited Secondary Sources

In the course of your legal research, you will often come across references to secondary sources, which can be useful in helping you understand the law and find relevant primary sources (i.e., cases, statutes, and regulations). Listed below are abbreviations for some of the more commonly cited types of secondary sources.

Abbreviation Name of Secondary Source
A.L.R..
A.L.R.2d
A.L.R.3d
A.L.R.4th
A.L.R.5th
A.L.R.6th
American Law Reports
A.L.R. Fed.
A.L.R. Fed. 2d
American Law Reports Federal
Am. Jur. 2d American Jurisprudence, 2d edition (current edition)
C.J.S. Corpus Juris Secundum
Cal. Jur. 3d California Jurisprudence, 3d edition (current edition)
L. Rev. (e.g., So. Cal. L. Rev.) Law Review (e.g., Southern California Law Review)
L.J. (e.g., Yale L.J.) Law Journal (e.g., Yale Law Journal)
USC Digital Accessibility