Citations for Case Law
X
vs. Y ___a____ ____b____ ____c____ (d)
a.
Volume
b.
Title
of publication (see sample abbreviations at left)
c.
Page
number
d.
Date
in parenthesis
Citations for Statutes
____a____
____b____ ____c____
a.
Title
number
b.
Title
of Publication
c.
Section
“Parallel citations” means an entry show
two sources
Example: 452 N.M. 383, 822 P.2d 535
(this is the same statute, one entry is
in NM Reports and the other in Pacific Reporter)
For legal citations to be mentioned in a
body of writing: use the “Blue Book”, which is titled A Uniform System of Citation (Ref KF245 U55).
The Supreme Court only deals with Constitutional issues. The U.S. Reports are a compilation of Supreme Court Cases in chronological order, but they do not contain the most current information. Most recent cases are at the Supreme Court website.
U.S. Reports at NMSU Library:
The first level in the Judicial Branch is the District Court. Most District Courts only publish about 60% of the cases they hear.
The second level is the Appeals Court. This court deals with legal issues only.
The third level is the Supreme Court.