CITATION OF AUTHORITIES. The pro duction of or reference to the text of acts of legislatures, treatises, or cases of similar nature decided by the courts, in order to support propositions advanced.
As the knowledge of the law is to a great degree a knowledge of precedents, it follows that there must be necessarily a frequent ref erence to these preceding decisions to obtain support for propositions advanced as being statements of what the law is. Constant erence to the law as it is enacted is, of course, necessary. References to the works of legal writers are also desirable for elucida tion and explanation of doubtful points of law.
The civilians on the continent of Europe, in referring to the Institutes, Code, and Pandects or Digest, usually give the number, not of the book, but of the law, and the first word of the title to which it belongs ; and, as there are more than a thousand of these, it is no easy task for one not thoroughly ac qUainted with those collections to find the place to which reference is made. The Amer ican writers generally follow the natural mode of reference, by putting down the name of the collection, and then the number of the book, title, law, and section. For example, Inst. 4. 15. 2. signifies Institutes, book 4, ti tle 15, and section 2 ; Dig. 41. 9. 1. 3. means Digest, book 41, title 9, law 1, section 3; Dig. pro dotc, or ff pro dote, signifies section 3, law 1, of the book and title of the Digest Or Pandects entitled pro dote. It is proper to remark that Dig. and ff are equivalent: the former signifies Digest, and the latter— which is a careless mode of writing the Greek letter gr, the first letter of the word ravdtKrac—signifies Pandects; and the Digest and Pandects are different names for one and the same thing. The Code is cited in the same way. The Novels are cited by their number, with that of the chapter and para graph: for example, Nov. 185. 2. 4. for No vella Justinian/I 185, capite 2, paragraph° 4.
Novels are also quoted by the collation, the title, chapter, and paragraph, as follows: In Authentico, Collatione 1, titulo 1, cap. 281. The Authentics are quoted by their first words, after which is set down the title of the Code under which they are placed: for example, Authentica, cum testator. Codice ad legem fascithiam. See Mackeldey, Civ. Law § 65 ; Domat, Civ. Law, Cush. ed. Ap pendix ; DECRETALES GREGORII NONI.
Statutes of the states are here cited by giv ing the number of the volume (where there are more volumes than one), the name of the state (using the common geographical abbreviation), the designation of the coda, and the page where the statute or provision In consideration is found: thus, 1 N. Y. Rev. Stat. 4th ed.,63. To this it is deeirahie to add, when regard for apace allows, the chapter and section of the statute referred to.
United States statutes, and statutes of the states not included in the codified collection of the state, are cited as statutes of the year in which they were enacted, or by the proper eection of the Revised Statutes.
English etatutea are referred to by indicating the year of the reign in which they were enacted, the chapter and section: thus, 17 & 18 Viet. c. 96, § 2, or the date or year of the act. Recent English authors are coming to give the date or the year in the text and perhaps the regnal year in a foot note. Text-books are referred to by giving the number of the volume (if more than one), and the name of the author, with an abbreviation of the title of the work sufficiently extended to distinguish it from other works by the same author, and to indicate the class of subjects of which it treats: thus, 2 Story, Conet.
Where an edition is referred to which has been prepared by other persons than the authors, or where an edition subsequent to the first is referred to, this fact is sometimes indicated, and the page, eection, or paragraph of the edition cited is given: thus, Angell & A. Corp., Lothrop ed. 96; Smith, Lead. Cae., 6th Hare & W. ed. 173. The various edi tions of Blackstone's Commentaries, however, 'have the editor'a name preceding the title of the book: thus Sharewood, Bla. Cora.; Coleridge, Bla. Com. ; wherever the reference is to a note by the editor cit ed ; otherwise the reference Is merely to Blackstone. The earlier reports of the Federal courts of the United States, and of the English, Irish, and Scotch courts, are cited by the names of the reporters: thus, S Cra. 96; 6 East 241. In a few instances, common usage has given a name to a series ; and wherever this is the case such name has been adopted; as, Term ; C. B. ; Exch.
The reports of the state courts are cited by the name of the state, wherever a series of such reports has been recognized as existing: thus, 5 III. 63 ; 21 Pa. 96 ; and the same rule applies to citations of the reports of provincial courts: thus, 6 Low. C. 167. The later volumes of report of the supreme court of the United States are cited by their serial num ber: thus, 161 U. S.
Otherwise, the reporter's name is used; thus, 5 Rawls 23, or an abbreviation of it ; as 11 Pick. 23. This rule extends also to the provincial reports; and the principle is applied to the decisions of Scotch and Irish cases, except in later cases, when the official method is adopted.
Where the same reporter reports decisions in courts both of law and equity, an additional abbre viation, usually to equity reports and sometimes to law reports, indicates which series is meant: thus, 3 Ired. Eq. 87; 14 N. J. L. 42.
As to the usual mode of citing English, Scotch and Irish Reports, see Tables etc. of All Reports of Cases etc. by the Council of Law Reporting (1895); REPORTS.
For a llst of abbreviations as used in this book, and as commonly used in legal books, see ABBRE VIATIONS.