Chapter 4

4.2

Real World Citations

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INTRODUCTION

Now we cross over from the theory-based citation hypotheticals (which we have used up till now) to the real world technique of citation building. This section demonstrates how to take the first page of a published case and create an accurate citation.

Lecture Notes . . .

REAL WORLD CITATIONS
Now that you have mastered citation form, we must take this knowledge and translate it into a skill that will be utilized in your job as a paralegal. In fact, many students find this stage of citation form much easier than the previous exercises.

From this point forward, you will be asked to create citations not from a narrative, but from the first pages of an actual case.

Steps
Following are the steps to create a citation from the information provided on the first page of a court opinion. The information below assumes that you have the unofficial case in front of you. It will be helpful to open your manual to the "Citations: The Real Thing" examples in Chapter 4.

The title
The title will be indicated in the caption by the capitalized names, or it may be easier to look at the top of the page for the title. Even though the title will be in all caps in the case itself, for citation purposes only capitalize the first letters. Of course, be sure to italicize or underline the title.

The official publication
If there is an official publication, it can often be found immediately above the caption within the unofficial publication (such as a regional reporter). If no such official citation appears, it may be because none exists, or it may be due to the fact that the publisher did not provide it.

If the official cite is not provided at the top of the caption, Shepardize or KeyCite the case to find any parallel cites. (Shepard's and KeyCite will be covered in a different part of this manual. You are not required to use them at this point.)

Unofficial Publication
Check the top of the page for the volume, series, and page number of the unofficial cite.

Indication of court
Looking at the official cite, can you tell what court decided the case? If not, or if there is no official cite, you must indicate the court in parenthesis. (Use Citation At-a-Glance on the inside cover of your manual to assist you in the appropriate abbreviation.)

Year
The year the decision was rendered should also be placed in parenthesis. It is found toward the bottom of the caption of the case.

Paralegal Perspective . . .

CITATIONS
Some attorneys can be heavily influenced by first impressions. There are few skills that can be judged as quickly as the skill of citation form. If an attorney spots mistakes in a paralegal's citation form, he or she may quickly decide that the paralegal has limited knowledge and abilities. This is despite the fact that the attorney, at the beginning of his or her career was probably even weaker in citation form than the average beginning paralegal! But life's not fair. So pay close attention to citations. They can be a passport to respect!

Commonly Asked Questions . . .

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Reference

Reference

Real World Citations Demonstration
Citations Revisited (Review & Reference)

Textbook Exercise Answers

Instructions

Answers

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