Legal citation is a unique method of citing to primary and secondary legal sources. Legal citations have specific structures that are different from other citation formats.

In legal citations, there are specific abbreviations for: courts of law, court reporters, code abbreviations, and even secondary sources.

The following citation formats are examples of the frameworks of different types of legal citations.

Citation Formats for Primary Legal Sources

Federal Statutes:
Statute Name, Title# U.S.C. § Section# (Year).

U.S. Supreme Court Cases:
Party v. Party, Volume# Reporter Page# (Year).

U.S. Court of Appeals Cases:
Party v. Party, Volume# Reporter Page# (Court Year).

U.S. District Court Cases:
Party v. Party, Volume# Reporter Page# (Court Year).

State Statutes:
StateCode § Section# (Year).

State Court Cases:
Party v. Party, Volume# Reporter Page# (StateCourt Year).

Citation Formats for Primary Legal Sources
 

Articles:
Author Name, Title, Volume# Journal Page# (Year).

Books:
Volume# Author Name, Title Page# (Edition Year).

Each court has its own unique abbreviation for citations. 

For example, the United States Supreme Court is abbreviated as U.S.

The U.S. Courts of Appeals are abbreviated as:

• First Circuit - 1st Cir.
• Second Circuit - 2d Cir.
• Third Circuit - 3d Cir.
• Fourth Circuit - 4th Cir.
• Fifth Circuit - 5th Cir.
• Sixth Circuit - 6th Cir.
• Seventh Circuit - 7th Cir.
• Eighth Circuit - 8th Cir.
• Ninth Circuit - 9th Cir.
• Tenth Circuit - 10th Cir.
• Eleventh Circuit - 11th Cir.

The State Supreme Courts are abbreviated as:

• Alabama Supreme Court - Ala.
• Alaska Supreme Court - Alaska
• Arizona Supreme Courts - Ariz.
• Arkansas Supreme Court - Ark.
• California Supreme Court - Cal.
• Colorado Supreme Court - Colo.
• Connecticut Supreme Court - Conn.
• Delaware Supreme Court - Del.
• Florida Supreme Court - Fla.
• Georgia Supreme Court - Ga.
• Hawaii Supreme Court - Haw.
• Idaho Supreme Court - Idaho
• Illinois Supreme Court - Ill.
• Indiana Supreme Court - Ind.
• Iowa Supreme Court - Iowa
• Kansas Supreme Court - Kan.
• Kentucky Supreme Court - Ky.
• Louisiana Supreme Court - La.
• Maine Supreme Court - Me.
• Maryland Supreme Court - Md.
• Massachusetts Supreme Court - Mass.
• Michigan Supreme Court - Mich.
• Minnesota Supreme Court - Minn.
• Mississippi Supreme Court - Miss.
• Missouri Supreme Court - Mo.
• Montana Supreme Court - Mont.
• Nebraska Supreme Court - Neb.
• Nevada Supreme Court - Nev.
• New Hampshire Supreme Court - N.H.
• New Jersey Supreme Court - N.J.
• New Mexico Supreme Court - N.M.
• New York Supreme Court - N.Y.
• North Carolina Supreme Court - N.C.
• North Dakota Supreme Court - N.D.
• Ohio Supreme Court - Ohio
• Oklahoma Supreme Court - Okla.
• Oregon Supreme Court - Or.
• Pennsylvania Supreme Court - Pa.
• Rhode Island Supreme Court - R.I.
• South Carolina Supreme Court - S.C.
• South Dakota Supreme Court - S.D.
• Tennessee Supreme Court - Tenn.
• Texas Supreme Court - Tex.
• Utah Supreme Court - Utah
• Vermont Supreme Court - Vt.
• Virginia Supreme Court - Va. 
• Washington Supreme Court - Wash.
• West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals - W. Va.
• Wisconsin Supreme Court - Wis.
• Wyoming Supreme Court - Wyo.

Source

These abbreviations along with additional ones for federal and state courts can be found in the free, open access book The Indigo Book in the T-3 Tables under Section J of the book.

The most common guides to legal citation include The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation and The ALWD Guide to Legal Citation.

Free Resources for Legal Citations

The enitre list of abbreviations can be found in Prince's Bieber Dictionary of Legal Abbreviations (see the "Legal Citation Sources" box below) but here are listed some of the most commonly used abbreviations along with the full title of the source.