Original post here: https://x.com/NuclearHerbs/status/1735764392413929703

Easy #PulseChainLawSchool class today, but important for things you’ll see in RH’s case in the future.

Today’s Topic: Reading a Case Citation

So now you know which case law is binding and which isn’t. Here’s how judges and attorneys know just from looking at the case citation. Let’s take a look at the first picture, taken from a motion in the Ripple case. You see a quote followed by a citation to Ashcroft v Iqbal.

The full citation is: Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009)

Parties: Ashcroft v. Iqbal

Volume number of the law book it’s in: 556

Court: US Supreme Court (that’s the “U.S.” part of the citation)

1st page of the case in volume 556: 662

Actual page of the quote cited: 678

Year decided: 2009

So just by looking at 556 U.S. 662, the Court knows this is a SCOTUS opinion and it’s binding on her no matter what court or circuit she’s in.

The next citation is Harris v. Mills, 572 F.3d 66, 72 (2nd Cir. 2009).

Again, the judge knows this is a 2nd circuit opinion and if we’re talking about RH’s case, since the EDNY is in the 2nd circuit, it’s binding on her. The “F.3d” here tells her the case is found in volume 572 of the “Federal Reporter, 3rd series,” the case begins on page 66, and the quote can be found on page 72. Before they started the F.3d series in 1993, federal appeals court cases were reported in F.2d, and way before that, F.

The next citation, Matusovsky v. Merrill Lynch, 186 F. Supp. 2d 397, 400 (S.D.N.Y. 2002) tells the court that it’s not binding, because it is a case decided by the Southern District of New York, and therefore has only precedential value. She is not required to follow it. The F. Supp. 2d. is a reference to the “Federal Supplement, 2nd series,” where federal district court opinions are recorded.

The “n.12” in the Ellul citation is a reference to footnote 12 on page 798 of that case.

A chart of all the federal reporters that hold court opinions is below. There are different volumes for state court opinions. (See the link at the top of this post)

Here’s the key point to remember: When you google a case by name online, you may not get the full picture. The case will keep the same caption throughout the trial court, the court of appeals, and any supreme court (fed or state) that decides it. So you have to know by looking at the citation which is the most recent decision made by the highest court. You can read a case named Smith v Jones and see how the court ruled, but you may not know that it was overturned on appeal so the reasoning is no longer valid in the case you read.

In this regard, we have it pretty easy as lawyers. We have the ability to search cases through other software (in my case, provided by the state bar), and that software tells me everything I need to know about that case (i.e. is it still good law, how many times it’s been positively cited or criticized, what cases have cited it and for what principle, etc).

Back 20 years ago, you had to subscribe to westlaw or lexis and pay out the ass for each search. Luckily it’s easy and free now.