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Law

Case Law in Databases

Caselaw Citations

Reading legal citations can be tricky. For the example below you can see how information is condensed very tightly. For more on how to read legal citation, see the citations guide. 

Example:  779 P.2d 382

Volume 779 of the Pacific Reporter, 2nd series, page 382
(Colorado and other states in the region)

Other Abbreviations:

F. Supp. = Federal Supplement (U.S. District Courts)

F., F2d., F3d., = Federal Reporter (U.S. Courts of Appeal)

U.S. or L.Ed. or S.Ct. = U.S. Supreme Court Reports

For more on legal writing & citations, see online:

The Redbook : a Manual on Legal Style by Bryan Garner

Or in the library...

Federal Case Law in Print

State Case Law in Print