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Law and Legal Research

This guide provides information resources to support legal research

Star Paging in Westlaw

Star pagination indicates page breaks in a print reporter, making it easier to find and cite the opinion. Below is an example of star pagination in which the number of * represents the page number of a different reporter. The example uses star paging for two different reporters with different pagination, but when copied and pasted will include both citations. See below the image for the full citation.

**
 
Brown v. Bd. of Ed. of Topeka, Shawnee Cnty., Kan., 347 U.S. 483, 486, 74 S. Ct. 686, 688, 98 L. Ed. 873 (1954), supplemented sub nom. Brown v. Bd. of Educ. of Topeka, Kan., 349 U.S. 294, 75 S. Ct. 753, 99 L. Ed. 1083 (1955)
**
 
Brown v. Bd. of Ed. of Topeka, Shawnee Cnty., Kan., 347 U.S. 483, 486, 74 S. Ct. 686, 688, 98 L. Ed. 873 (1954), supplemented sub nom. Brown v. Bd. of Educ. of Topeka, Kan., 349 U.S. 294, 75 S. Ct. 753, 99 L. Ed. 1083 (1955)

**
 
Brown v. Bd. of Ed. of Topeka, Shawnee Cnty., Kan., 347 U.S. 483, 486, 74 S. Ct. 686, 688, 98 L. Ed. 873 (1954), supplemented sub nom. Brown v. Bd. of Educ. of Topeka, Kan., 349 U.S. 294, 75 S. Ct. 753, 99 L. Ed. 1083 (1955)

Screenshot of Brown v. Board of Ed. decision with red boxes around asterixed number, denoting a page break in the original print reporter

 

The citation includes the first page of the opinion and the specific page number of what is being referenced. The example below generates the following citation:

*487  Brown v. Bd. of Ed. of Topeka, Shawnee Cnty., Kan., 347 U.S. 483, 487, 74 S. Ct. 686, 688, 98 L. Ed. 873 (1954), supplemented sub nom. Brown v. Bd. of Educ. of Topeka, Kan., 349 U.S. 294, 75 S. Ct. 753, 99 L. Ed. 1083 (1955)

In this example, there are 3 reporters cited, plus a supplement to the original opinion.

  1. 347 U.S. 483, 487 : This is a citation from the United States Reports, the U.S. Supreme Court cases official reporter
  2. 74 S. Ct. 686, 688 : This is a citation from West's Supreme Court Reporter, a commercial reporter that may include headnotes and annotations
  3. 98 L. Ed. 873 (1954) : This is a citation in the United States Supreme Court Reports, Lawyers Edition, which may include headnotes and annotations

Legal Citations

The Bluebook is the standard for legal citation. Cornell's Legal Information Institute is a good free resource to learn about basic legal citation.

 

Cases or Judicial Opinions

Elements of citing a case are: Party Names, Case ID (and any parallel citations), pincite (page or pages quoted), year of decision, and deciding court. Best practice for academic writing is to cite the regional reporter of the case.

  • Javins v. First Nat’l Realty Corp., 428 F.2d 1071 (D.C. Cir. 1970).
    • Case name: Javins v. First Nat'l Realty Corp.
    • Case ID: 428 F. 2d 1071
    • Deciding court: D.C. Cir. (District of Columbia Circuit)
    • Year of decision: 1970
  • Bush v. Gore, 531 U.S. 98, 121 S.Ct. 525, 148 L.Ed. 2d. 388 (2000).
    • Case name: Bush v. Gore
    • Case ID: 428 F. 2d 1071, Parallel citations: 121 S.Ct. 525, 148 L.Ed. 2d. 388
    • Deciding Court: Supreme Court (indicated in the parallel citation, no need to repeat).
    • Year of decision: 2000

 

Statutes

Elements of a federal statute citation: Title Code § Section (year)

  • Aid to Families with Dependent Children ("AFDC"), 42 U.S.C. §§ 601–617 (1994).
    • Official Name: Aid to Families with Dependent Children
    • U.S.C. title number: 42
    • Code cited: U.S.C. ("United States Code")
    • Sections: §§ 601–617
    • Date of code edition cited: 1994

 

Administrative Rules and Regulations

Citations are similar to statutes in that they are cited to codified laws, for example to the Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.).

  • 7 C.F.R. § 273.15(a)-(q) (2010)
    • Title number: 7
    • Regulations cited: C.F.R. 
    • Section of C.F.R.: § 273.15(a)-(q)
    • Date of code edition cited: 2010

The Wisconsin Administrative Register is the official record of the Wisconsin Administrative Code.

 

Constitutions

  • U.S. Const. amend. XIV, § 2.
    • Abbreviation of Constitution cited: U.S. Const
    • Part of Constitution: amendment ("amend.")
    • Number of cited amendment: XIV
    • Section cited: § 2