In this link from FindLaw (the text of the famous SCOTUS Stenberg case), and also in many other FindLaw links, the citations therein are often of the form “XXXXX at ###”, where the XXXX is a statement of what I think is established law or precedent, and the ### is a number (which in this case, is in the 800’s).
To what are those numbers referring? I assume they have something to do with where in the text of the precedent case the statement of established law occurs. That being said, I don’t know how to use the numbers to locate the relevant section (or lines, or whatever).
I expect there is a very simple answer to this and that, if I were smarter and/or less tired, I would be able to figure it out. So it is with some embarrassment that I’m asking for your help in doing so.
Basically, the first number is a book volume number, the middle part (“U.S.”) is the “Reporter” the place where the opinion was published (U.S. is the Official Reporter for the Supreme Court). The last number indicates the first page on which the opinion appears.
The “Id at___” means “same source as before” (basically the same as “ibid” in academic citation styles), this time at a different page. Correct citation form is always to the exact page where the support for that reasoning can be found. A so-called “pinpoint citation” or “pincite.” <grumbles of a judge’s clerk>pincites are not needed if you are speaking generally about the opinion, but MOST times a pincite can be determined and the writer is just lazy when no exact page is offered </grumbles>
I hope this answered your question. There are slightly different formats for lower courts but the essential principle is the same. case name, volume reporter first page, exact page (date)
Okay, now that I know what the numbers mean, how do I use them to find the relevant section. A specific example: where/how in FindLaw’s on-line text of Casey do I find “870”?
You will see numbers mysteriously spinkled througout the opinion. These refer to the pages in the original print volume when it is not displayed in its original format.
The below is an excerpt from the seminal case of Bob v. Wildlife Service, reported in Volume 1 of Hello Again’s Reporter. The decision begins on page 70.
But wait, you’re saying – what the hell is that [**13]!? Simple. Bob v. Wildlife was also published in the Elbonian Reporter and the online version also provides pagination for that reporter. At the top of the page should be something like this:
Bob v. Wildlife Service, 1 Hello Again 70, *; 26 Elb 10, **
This tells you which markers to look for depending on which reporter the opinion cited.
Looking over the Findlaw page, it isn;t easy to determine the actual page numbers. For Supreme Court Cases, I recommend using Cornell’s Legal Library which includes the pagination. The page numbers, formatted as [p.###] are slightly hard to see, because they aren’t in bold, but they are there.
Glad to be of service! Final note: the link went to the “Syllabus” or summary, of the opinion, which is not considered part of the opinion and cannot be cited to. You can jump to the opinion at the top of the page.
The above is the US style. The Common wealth style is "ABC v XYX [1999] 1 All ER 155, HL, which is
1999; year decision was reported
1: the Volume number of the reporter of that year
All ER: The All England Reports
155: the page which the report begins
and
HL, the House of Lords. Although strictly speakig this is not part of the citation, it is alos appended so the reader can tell which courts judgement it is.
West has tried to copyright it.