What Is a Legal Citation?
A legal citation is a reference to a resource which informed the writing of a legal document or which provides information which readers may find useful. Just as academics include citations for their sources and supporting documents, members of the legal profession use citations to make their written materials stronger and to give due credit to sources. A legal citation be used to support or refute an argument, to provide the legal basis for an argument, and simply to indicate the source of a claim. There is a specific format which must be followed when writing a legal citation. Numerous countries have their own legal citation style guides and law students are provided with guidance in their first year of school so that they can learn when to make citations and how to format them. Failure to follow the style guide can result in confusion and may irritate readers; in law school, it usually results in points off on a paper or other prepared document.
