Common court abbreviations include case names, which always contain the publication in which they appear. These publications include regional reporters, such as the "Atlantic Reporter."Continue Reading
Abbreviations are a big part of proper citation methods for case names. For example, Brown v. Board of Education is cited as 347 U.S. 483, and "U.S." stands for "United States Reports," which is the publication in which the case appears. Other national reporters are organized by region and include the Atlantic Reporter, abbreviated as A., the California Reporter, abbreviated as Cal. Rptr., and the North Eastern Reporter, North Western Reporter, South Eastern Reporter, South Western Reporter, Southern Reporter and Pacific Reporter, abbreviated as N.E., N.W., S.E., S.W., So. and P, respectively. The Supreme Court Reporter, abbreviated as S.Ct., contains all Supreme Court cases. The Federal Supplement, or F. Supp., contains all cases from U.S. Courts of Appeals.
Additionally, statutes are often cited by courts, and abbreviated in the proper form. The Code of Federal Regulations is abbreviated as C.F.R., while the U.S. statutes are abbreviated as U.S.C.
According to the Georgetown University Law Library, "The Bluebook" is the most widely used reference tool for legal professionals. Although most only use a small portion of it, it is a comprehensive resource that covers legal citations completely, from court cases to statutes and other documents, such as international treaties.Learn more about Law