Suppose a law firm, Criminal lawyers in Regina, requires to review a case after so many years. So how do lawyers or law enforcement authorities find a case among thousands of others? How will they ensure the same match? This is where legal citation comes into play.
What is legal citation, though? Let’s know in detail below.
What is legal citation?
A legal citation is a standard practice to refer to or describe cases using a particular format. It contains both the party's name, case year, court information, the region where the case was decided and some other information.
Besides, it may even reveal where a particular case might be found, that is, in what reporters or database the case was issued. Legal specialists such as judges, clerks, and opposing counsel are obligated to locate and study these cases to assess the claims made by lawyers regarding the qualities of their own cases and the law itself.
As a result, every lawyer is expected to know how to cite cases properly.
Importance of legal citation
A case citation serves the following two main purposes:
● A thorough reference helps the reader easily locate and understand the ruling.
● Second, it expresses all important case-related details, from the year the ruling was issued to the court level, the jurisdiction, and the case history (if any).
A correct citation makes the reader's route easier and simpler by giving them a map (consisting of the exact routes) that ultimately will show them where to find the law. Users of citations greatly depend on precision, just like they would on a real road map.
The traditional format of legal citation
Case laws are the rules and regulations developed by judicial decisions in cases.
The conventional style of legal citation involves the following components whenever citing a printed law reporter:
● Case name (in italic)
● v to differentiate the names in italics, with English as the case language.
● The year of the decision in round brackets, followed by a comma [or a comma, and then the publication year in square brackets, in case of the year, is required for the identification of the book]
● Volume count.
● Traditional reporter title abbreviation (i.e. DLR for Dominion Law Reports).
● Series number enclosed in round brackets (if required)
● Page number.
● Court abbreviation in round brackets
Example of a legal citation:
Case Name (Year), Vol. # Reporter Title (Series) Page (Court Abbreviation)
Let's look at the below example of a general citation for a clear concept:
Suppose,
R v Latimer (1995), 126 DLR (4th) 203 (Sask CA).
Here,
Case name = R v Latimer
Year of decision = 1995
Volume = 126 (indicates the exact volume)
DLR = Dominion Law Report
Series = 4th
Page = 203
Court Abbreviation = Saskatchewan Court of Appeal
How to find a case by name or citation?
Let’s know how you can find a case either by name or a citation:
Case Name
The case name lists the people involved with the case. Based on the court level and case type, the parties involved are plaintiffs, defendants, petitioners, respondents or appellants, and respondents. It is more technically known as the style of cause.
Examples of case names are:
● Moore v Bertuzzi
● Western Canada Wilderness Committee v Canada
All legal databases come with a search option for case names. You can skip the v in your query. However, you must know the year of the trial. Otherwise, finding relevant cases from the search results will take a lot of work.
Case Citation
It refers to the entire case citation or only to a portion of the citation, comprising the law reporter's identity, year, jurisdiction, region, etc. So case citation refers to the latter part of the information needed in the legal database searches.
Some examples of case citations are:
● [1996] BCWLD 028
● 39 ACWS (5d) 45
● 2006 CarswellBC 755
How to cite a case with and without neutral citation?
Neutral citation is a style guide for referencing a case that doesn't use a commercial law reporter. It was first used in the Year 1999.
Similar to a Digital Object Identifier, this citation gives a case of its distinct and permanent identity. Though many legal citations don't include a neutral citation, they are adopted numerous times by different legal jurisdictions.
Let's see how a case is cited with and without neutral citation:
1. With neutral citation
Natural citations follow the below pattern to cite a case:
● Style of cause/case name
● Neutral Citation
● Pinpoint [if required]
● Judge [if required]
Example:
Radonna Investments Ltd v Rubin, 2012 ONCA 321 at para 2, LaForme JA
2. Without neutral citation
The pattern to follow in a case without neutral citation includes:
● Style of cause
● Year of decision [if not part of reporter citation]
● Law report volume number
● Law reporter abbreviation
● Page number
● Pinpoint [if required]
● Other law reports or sources
● Jurisdiction and court [if not indicted by the reporters]
Example:
Kopec v Pyret, [1983] 4 WWR 246, 146 DLR (3d) 242 (Sask QB)
Conclusion
Legal citation plays a big role in helping a reader find out every crucial fact relevant to a case in a more structured format. Hopefully, you have no more queries regarding the legal citation.