February 19, 2011 Katie Fearer, Alaska State Library
http://www.library.state.ak.us/ Marinke Van Gelder of the Alaska
State Court Law Library assisted with preparation of these slides
Deciphering Legal Citations
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Why are we here? What does P.L. 109-266, 120 Stat. 670 mean?
Can you get me a copy of 1, ch. 4 SLA 2007
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Objectives Learn what legal citations are Learn how to read
legal citations Decipher citations to frequently used legal
resources Find cited legal authority in online sources Become
familiar with online and print resources about citations
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What is a citation? Reference to legal authority Common
elements: Name of the legal authority Volume or title number
Abbreviation for the name of the publication Page or section number
Date
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Structure of AK Govt & Major Sources of Law (similar to
Fed. Govt) Court decisions Found in case reporters and files
Legislative acts Found in slip laws, session laws and codified
statutes Regulations, executive orders Found in registers/public
notices and administrative code Constitution Source of structure
diagram: State of Alaska Legislative Affairs Agency, Handbook on
Alaska State Government, August 2004, available at
w3.legis.state.ak.us/docs/pdf/handbook.pdf
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Legislative Sources Legislative acts P.L., Stat., SLA, U.S.C.,
U.S.C.A., AS
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United States Statutes At Large Electronic Duck Stamp Act of
2005, P.L. 109-266, 120 Stat. 670 (2006) P.L. = Public Law. 109 =
109 th Congress Stat. = United States Statutes at Large U.S.
legislative acts organized chronologically Public Laws may also be
abbreviated Public Law or Pub. L. May see only brief citation, such
as 120 Stat. 670
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Session Laws of Alaska An Act Extending the Council on Domestic
Violence and Sexual Assault, 4 SLA 2007 1, ch. 4 SLA 2007 SLA =
Session Laws of Alaska AK legislative acts organized
chronologically
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United States Code, United States Code Annotated 16 U.S.C. 718a
(2006) 16 U.S.C.A. 718a (2006) U.S.C.=United States Code
U.S.C.A.=United States Code Annotated Legislative acts organized by
topic
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Alaska Statutes AS 44.66.010(5) (2008) AS=Alaska Statutes
Legislative acts organized by topic
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Stat. and U.S.C. Online
http://www.gpoaccess.govhttp://www.gpoaccess.gov;
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/
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SLA and AS Online
http://www.legis.state.ak.us/basis/folio.asp
Federal Register 74 Fed. Reg. 14049 (Mar. 30, 2009) Fed. Reg. =
Federal Register Proposed and final regulations, analysis, notices
issued by administrative agencies, executive orders Currently, no
comparable print publication in Alaska use Online Public Notice
System
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Code of Federal Regulations 29 C.F.R. 553.11 (2006) C.F.R. =
Code of Federal Regulations Regulations organized by issuing agency
Also includes executive orders
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Alaska Administrative Code 22 AAC 05.010 (2007) AAC = Alaska
Administrative Code Regulations organized by issuing agency The
Alaska Administrative Code might also be cited in this way: Alaska
Admin. Code tit. 22, 05.10 (2005)
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Federal Executive Orders Exec. Order No. 11,644, 72 Fed. Reg.
56165 (Oct. 2, 2007) Exec. Order No. 11,644, 3 C.F.R., 2007 Comp.,
p 237 (2008) Citation may exclude the publication (Exec. Order No.
11,644) Published chronologically in the Fed. Reg. since 1936
Compiled annually in Title 3 of the C.F.R.
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Alaska Executive Orders Executive Order No. 67, 1 (1987)
Published in volume 11 of AS
AAC, Executive Orders Online; Online Public Notice System
http://www.legis.state.ak.us/basis/folio.asp
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Judicial Sources Court decisions P., P.2nd, P.3rd, U.S.
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Alaska Court System (in general) District Court misdemeanors,
city and borough ordinances, small civil claims Superior Court
civil and criminal matters, appeals from District Court Court of
Appeals appeals in criminal cases, cases in which a minor is
accused of a crime Supreme Court appeals from Superior Court
Source: State of Alaska Legislative Affairs Agency, Handbook on
Alaska State Government, August 2004, available at
w3.legis.state.ak.us/docs/pdf/handbook.pdf
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About Court Decisions Decisions from some courts are published
in case reporters Alaska Court of Appeals Alaska Supreme Court Only
important decisions are reported Unreported decisions may still
show up in databases Obtain decisions from courts without reported
opinions directly from the courts Alaska District Court Alaska
Superior Court
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Alaska State Cases: Supreme Court & Court of Appeals
Williams v. Zobel, 619 P.2d 448 (Alaska 1980) Zimmerman v. State,
706 P.2d 343 (Alaska App 1985) Parties = Appellant versus Appellee
Last name of first appellant and first appellee named in the case
P2d = Pacific Reporter, 2 nd Series Currently 3 series : P., P.2d,
P.3d Page # = first page of the case Sometimes another specific
page of the case is also noted Alaska = Alaska Supreme Court Alaska
App = Alaska Court of Appeals Date = year the case was decided
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Alaska State Trial Courts (Superior or District Court)
Decisions not published. Some information available online. Request
case records from the court. Bean v. Grant, 1JU-96-01727CI Case
Number = Judicial District & Court Year Unique Number &
Case Type Parties = Plaintiff versus Defendant
U.S. Supreme Court Cases Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 16
L. Ed 2d 694, 86 S. Ct. 1602 (1966) U.S. = United States Reports
(U.S.G.P.O.) L. Ed. or L. Ed. 2d = United States Supreme Court
Reports, Lawyers Edition, 1 st series or 2d series (Lexis) S.Ct. =
Supreme Court Reporter (Thomson/West)
Online Resources to Help You Alaska Court System. Legal
Research Alaska Links. http://www.state.ak.us/courts/aklegal.htm
http://www.state.ak.us/courts/aklegal.htm Alaska State Legislature.
List of Common Abbreviations. (2 pages)
http://w3.legis.state.ak.us/docs/pdf/abbracro.pdfhttp://w3.legis.state.ak.us/docs/pdf/abbracro.pdf
American Association of Law Libraries. How to Find Legal Material
if you Already Have a Citation. August 14, 2006.
http://www.aallnet.org/sis/lisp/cite.htm.
http://www.aallnet.org/sis/lisp/cite.htm Martin, Peter W.
Introduction to Basic Legal Citation. Cornell Legal Information
Institute. http://www.law.cornell.edu/citation/
http://www.law.cornell.edu/citation/
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Questions Thank You Katie Fearer, Alaska State Library
[email protected]@alaska.gov,
907-465-2988
