Legal Question in Constitutional Law in California

Reading abbreviations & citations

In case law, e.g.: New York Times Co. v. Sullivan 376 S.Ct. 254

1) Is the ''254'' referring to the line on the original copy of the Court's judgment?

2) In the ''Headnotes'', e.g.: Constitutional Law [section] 927.5, what does this refer to? And where would I be able to read a copy of this?

3) Can I use concurring commentary to bolster my defense or must I stick to the decision only?

In a Small Claims appeal, what are the plaintiff and the defendant now called? Or do they continue to be called plaintiff & defendant?

Can anyone verify for me that the Nolo Press book, Legal Research (13 edn, 2005) would be useful for learning how to read case law? Or can you suggest another, readily available book?

Thank you.


Asked on 2/10/06, 2:08 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Gregory Broiles Legacy Planning Law Group

Re: Reading abbreviations & citations

The "254" refers to the page number, and the "376" refers to the volume number of the series you're looking for - so the cite you mention would mean you're looking for the Supreme Court reporter series, book 376, and then at page 254.

The number you refer to sounds like a West headnote number - several legal publishers have come up with systems for classifying legal issues, to make it easier to find other cases that refer to the same legal questions.

To use the key number, you'd use West's online system or their printed volumes to look for other cases that also are indexed with the same key numbers - ideally, those cases will also discuss the same issue you're interested in.

You can use citations to concurring opinions as part of your argument; the value they'll have is going to depend on how the votes were cast, and on how that justice's scholarship and reputation have changed over the years.

I am not familiar with the Nolo book you mention but my perception of the Nolo series is that they're generally good, given the limitations of the medium (e.g., texts for a mass-market non-legally trained, national audience).

The best approach would probably be to find a copy of the Nolo book in a library or bookstore and take a look at it yourself to see if it is helpful to you.

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Answered on 2/10/06, 4:13 pm


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