Case citation facts for kids
Imagine you're trying to find an old video clip on YouTube. You'd need its title, who uploaded it, and maybe the date, right? In the world of law, finding old court decisions is similar! Lawyers and judges need a special way to identify and locate past court cases. This system is called case citation or legal citation.
It's like a unique address for every court decision. These decisions are usually found in special books called reporters or law reports, or sometimes they are published online. No matter where they are found, legal citations help everyone find the exact case they need.
Finding Cases in Books
When court decisions were mostly printed in books, a citation usually included these details:
- The name of the book series (like United States Reports)
- The volume number of that book series
- The page number where the case starts
- The year the decision was published
Sometimes, especially in countries like England and Australia, the books aren't numbered simply 1, 2, 3. Instead, the year is very important. For example, a case from 2001 might be reported in a book published in 2002. In these cases, the year is often put in square brackets, like "[2002]". This helps make sure you pick up the correct book from the shelf.
Finding Cases Online
The internet changed a lot for courts! Now, many court decisions are published directly on websites. This means you can find decisions from courts all over the world online, often through websites like WorldLII.
Because so many decisions are now online and not printed on paper, a new way of citing cases was needed. This is called a "medium-neutral citation." It works no matter if the case is in a book or on a website. These citations usually include:
- The year the court made its decision
- A short name for the court (like "Sup Ct" for Supreme Court)
- A special decision number (not the court's internal file number)
Instead of page numbers, which can change depending on how you print or view a web page, online citations use paragraph numbers. This means if you want to point to a specific part of a decision, you refer to its paragraph number, which stays the same no matter how you view it.
What "v." Means in Case Names
When you see a case name like "Smith v. Jones," the "v." stands for the Latin word versus. This means "against." So, "Smith v. Jones" means "Smith against Jones."
When lawyers and judges say case names out loud, they might pronounce the "v." in different ways. Depending on the situation, they might say "and," "against," "versus," or even just "vee." It all depends on the specific legal context.
Images for kids
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The United States Reports is the official book series for decisions from the Supreme Court of the United States.
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The All India Reporter
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The Thomson West National Reporter System regions.
