THE LAW
REPORTERS & SECONDARY SOURCES
CITATIONS
SIGNALS
POTPOURRI
100
Constitutions, statutory law, administrative regulations, and case law.
What are the four primary sources of law in the U.S.?
100
This is the official publication of the United States Supreme Court.
What is the United States Reports?
100
This is the citation to the same case in a different reporter.
What is the parallel citation?
100
A signal meaning "in the same place," which instructs the reader to return to the immediately preceding citation, no matter what it is.
What is Id? (note: must be either italicized or underscored)
100
The short numbered paragraphs, highlighting the points of law in an opinion, written by West editors and found at the beginning of cases in print in West reporters, and online in Westlaw.
What are Headnotes?
200
The U.S. government operates under this principle, which explains that two separate governments, federal and state, regulate citizens.
What is federalism?
200
Either one book, or a multi-volume series of books dealing with one legal topic.
What is a treatise?
200
This type of case may be cited to an electronic database, such as LEXIS or Westlaw.
What is an unreported case?
200
This signal means "above", and is a signal used to send a reader to a preceding citation, but not an immediately preceding citation. Note that this cannot be used to refer to primary authorities such as cases, statutes, regulations, constitutions, or to Restatements or many legislative materials.
What is supra? (note: must be either italicized or underscored)
200
This source restates the common law doctrines on a subject using the rules in a majority of jurisdictions.
What are the Restatements?
300
This publication is a large set containing federal appellate decisions.
What is the Federal Reporter?
300
A type of legal material (for example, a magazine, journal, or law review) that is published at regular intervals.
What is a periodical?
300
This abbreviation is used in a citation for a case from the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
What is "(2d Cir.)"?
300
This signal indicates that the citation clearly supports the proposition.
What is See? (note: must be underlined or italicized)
300
The type of authority of a Michigan Supreme Court decision in the Illinois Supreme Court.
What is persuasive authority?
400
Once a court has interpreted a statute in one way, other courts must follow that interpretation because of this rule.
What is stare decisis?
400
Many secondary sources are supplemented in the same way as codes, i.e., with the use of these.
What are pocket part supplements?
400
This is the correct citation for the following reference: Title 18, section 4422 of the United States Code.
What is 18 U.S.C. §4422 ?
400
This signal indicates that the citation directly states the contrary of the proposition.
What is Contra? (note: must be underlined or italicized)
400
Names of the citators for Westlaw and Lexis.
What are KeyCite and Shepard's?
500
The U.S. District Court of Massachusetts has this type of authority over the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.
What is persuasive authority?
500
This secondary source publishes important cases along with an article or annotation related to the case.
What is A.L.R.?
500
This is the correct citation of the following reference: Section 201 of the Restatement of Agency, Third
What is Restatement (Third) of Agency § 201 ?
500
Seen sometimes in briefs, this signal, meaning "below", will be used to send the reader to a later discussion in the document.
What is infra? (note: must be italicized or underscored)
500
This section of the Bluebook is used for law review citations.
What are the white pages?
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