CITATION - The legal equivalent
of a footnote; it appears, however, in the body of
a brief or memo. Form is of the essence, so the use
of the Bluebook is crucial.
The proper reference (as established by the legal
profession) to a case, constitution, statute, legal
encyclopedia or legal treatise is called a citation.
A citation contains the name of the case or other
authority, the name of the book in which it is found,
the volume in which it appears, its page or section
number and the year decided or enacted. Citations
allow any reader to find the source and read it.
E.g. The proper citation for the case allowing women
to have an abortion is Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 133 (1973).
The name of the case includes the name of the plaintiff
(Roe) followed by a 'v.' (meaning versus) followed
by the defendant's name (Wade). '410' is the volume
number where the case is found in the series called
United States Reports (abbreviated by 'U.S.') at page
133. The case was decided in 1973.
The production or reference to the text of acts
of legislatures, treatises and decided cases in order
to support what is advanced.
Works are sometimes surcharged with useless and misplaced
citations; when they are judiciously made they assist
the reader in his researches. Citations ought not
to be made to prove what is not doubted; but when
a controverted point is mooted it is highly proper
to cite the laws and cases or other authorities in
support of the controverted proposition.
The mode of citing statutes varies in the United
States, but is generally guided by the 'Bluebook.'
It is usual among the civilians on the continent
of Europe, in imitation of those in the darker ages,
in their references to the Institutes the Code and
the Pandects or Digest to mention the number, not
of the book, but of the law, as well as the first
word of the title to which it belongs; and as there
are more than a thousand of these it is no easy task
for one not thoroughly acquainted with those collections
to find the place to which reference is made.
The American writers generally follow the natural
mode of reference by putting down the name of the
collection and then the number of the book, title,
law and section. For example, Inst. 4, 15, 2, signifies
Institutes, book four, title fifteen, and section
two.
Practice. A writ issued out of a court of competent
jurisdiction commanding a person therein named to
appear and do something therein mentioned, or to show
cause why he should not, on a day named. In the ecclesiastical
law, the citation is the beginning and foundation
of the whole cause; it is said to have six requisites,
namely: The insertion of the name of the judge; Of
the promovert; Of the impugnant; Of the cause of suit;
Of the place, and; Of the time of appearance - to
which may be added the affixing the seal of the court
and the name of the register or his deputy.
By citation is also understood the act by which a
person is summoned, or cited.
A term formerly applied to the U.S. Courts of Appeal
and still used in conjunction with their numerical
designation. E.g., 'The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals,'
or 'The Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit.'
Certain divisions of the country, appointed for particular
judges to visit for the trial of causes, or for the
administration of justice.
