Legal Abbreviations and Citations Guide

While lawyers do their case law research online these days, case citations still refer to the print volumes where cases were originally published. These volumes are known as reporters. The basic format for a case citation is: the case name, the volume number and abbreviation of the reporter in which the case was published, the initial page number of the case, and the year of the case. The volume number is placed before the reporter abbreviation and the page number is placed after the abbreviation. Sometimes, a citation includes an abbreviation for the court that decided the case and/or the state where the case was decided.

Example:

• Grey v. Campbell Soup Co., 650 F. Supp. 1166 (C.D. Cal. 1986)
  This is a citation to a federal District Court case published in the Federal Supplement. The "C.D. Cal." abbreviation refers to the Central District Court of California, which decided this case.

If a case is published in more than one reporter, additional reporter references may also be included to enable you to find the case in the other reporter(s). These additional references are sometimes referred to as parallel citations.

Examples:

• Barrows v. Jackson, 346 U.S. 249, 73 S. Ct. 1031, 97 L. Ed. 1586 (1953)
  This is a citation to a United States Supreme Court case, which was published in three different reporters.
• Jones v. Kelly, 208 Cal. 251, 280 P. 942 (1929)
  This is a citation to a California Supreme Court case, which was published in two different reporters.

Case reporters are published in series, which are designated by a series number (2d, 3d, 4th, etc.). Because each reporter series begins with volume 1, it is important to include the correct series designation in your citation if your case appears in a second, third, fourth, or later series.

Examples:

• Universal Pictures Co. v. Harold Lloyd Corp., 162 F.2d 354 (9th Cir. 1947)
  This is a citation to a United States Court of Appeals case, published in volume 162 of the second series of Federal Reporter. The "9th Cir." abbreviation refers to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which decided this case.
• Harris v. Atlantic Richfield Co., 14 Cal. App. 4th 70, 17 Cal. Rptr. 2d 649 (1993)
  This is a citation to a California Court of Appeal case, published in volume 14 of the fourth series of California Appellate Reports as well as in volume 17 of the second series of California Reporter.

The following is a list of standard abbreviations for the major federal case reporters The list indicates how many series have been published for each reporter and the courts covered by each reporter.

The following is a list of standard abbreviations for California case reporters. The list indicates how many series have been published for each reporter and the courts covered by each reporter.

The following is a list of standard abbreviations for the National Reporter System, which publishes cases from state courts by region. The list indicates how many series have been published for each reporter and which states are covered by each reporter.