Open main menu
Home
Random
Recent changes
Special pages
Community portal
Preferences
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Incubator escapee wiki
Search
User menu
Talk
Dark mode
Contributions
Create account
Log in
Editing
Citation signal
(section)
Warning:
You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you
log in
or
create an account
, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.
Anti-spam check. Do
not
fill this in!
{{Short description|Phrases to clarify authority in legal documents}} {{Multiple issues| {{Globalize|article|USA|2name=the United States|date=June 2019}} {{more citations needed|date=April 2015}} }} {{Use American English|date = March 2019}} {{Use mdy dates|date = March 2019}} In [[law]], a '''citation''' or '''introductory signal''' is a set of phrases or words used to clarify the authority (or significance) of a [[legal citation]] as it relates to a proposition. It is used in citations to present [[Authority (textual criticism)|authorities]] and indicate how those authorities relate to [[proposition]]s in statements. [[Legal writer]]s use citation signals to tell readers how the citations support (or do not support) their propositions, organizing citations in a hierarchy of importance so the reader can quickly determine the relative weight of a citation. Citation signals help a reader to discern meaning or usefulness of a reference when the reference itself provides inadequate information. Citation signals have different meanings in different U.S. [[Citation#Styles|citation-style systems]]. The two most prominent citation manuals are ''The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation''<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.legalbluebook.com/ |title=The Bluebook |publisher=Legalbluebook.com |accessdate=2011-01-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060402211345/http://legalbluebook.com/ |archive-date=April 2, 2006 |url-status=live }}</ref> and the ''ALWD Citation Manual''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.alwd.org/cm/ |title=Index of /cm |publisher=Alwd.org |date=2008-07-28 |accessdate=2011-01-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070403121424/http://www.alwd.org/cm/ |archive-date=April 3, 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Some state-specific style manuals also provide guidance on legal citation. The ''[[Bluebook]]'' citation system is the most comprehensive and the most widely used system by courts, law firms and law reviews.{{citation needed|date=July 2016}}
Edit summary
(Briefly describe your changes)
By publishing changes, you agree to the
Terms of Use
, and you irrevocably agree to release your contribution under the
CC BY-SA 4.0 License
and the
GFDL
. You agree that a hyperlink or URL is sufficient attribution under the Creative Commons license.
Cancel
Editing help
(opens in new window)