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How to cite federal and state statutes

Cite a federal statute by title, code and section: 42 U.S.C. § 1983. State codes follow each state's own form, with the publisher and year for an unofficial code: Cal. Civ. Code § 1714 (West 2024). Put a space after §, use §§ for more than one section, and close subsections up to the number: § 1983(a)(1).

Written for the 22nd edition. Updated .

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A landowner owes a duty of ordinary care. Cal. Civil Code 1714 (West 2024). The federal claim fails too. See 42 U.S.C. §1983.

Federal statutes

Title, code and section: 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Since the 21st edition, a cite to the current federal code can leave out the year (Rule 12.3.2). Some instructors still want it, as the code edition in parentheses: 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (2018).

The section symbol takes a space after it. Two or more sections take §§. Subsections close up to the section number.

  • 42 U.S.C. §198342 U.S.C. § 1983A space goes after §. R 6.2(c)
  • 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (a)(1)42 U.S.C. § 1983(a)(1)Subsections close up to the section number. R 3.3
  • 28 U.S.C. § 1331, 133228 U.S.C. §§ 1331, 1332More than one section takes §§. R 6.2(c)

State statutes

Each state has its own code name and abbreviation, listed in table T1.3: Cal. Civ. Code, N.Y. Penal Law, Tex. Fam. Code Ann., Fla. Stat. An unofficial code, published by a company, carries the publisher and year in the parenthetical: (West 2024), (McKinney 2024). An official code carries the year: Fla. Stat. § 776.012 (2024).

A few states number differently: Massachusetts cites chapter and section (Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 93A, § 2), Illinois cites chapter, act and section (735 Ill. Comp. Stat. 5/2-1001), and some codes use articles (La. Civ. Code Ann. art. 2315).

  • Cal. Civil Code 1714Cal. Civ. Code § 1714 (West 2024)Abbreviate the code, add § and the publisher and year. R 12.3, T1.3

Short forms

Once a statute is cited in full, a short form can drop most of it: § 1983, or 42 U.S.C. § 1983 if the title isn't clear. If it was the only authority in the citation just before, use Id. § 1983(b), giving the section rather than a page (Rule 12.10).

Questions

Do I need the year for a statute?
Not for the current federal code: the year has been optional there since the 21st edition, though some instructors still ask for it. A state code takes its year, with the publisher first for an unofficial code: (West 2024).
What do West and McKinney mean in a statute cite?
They name the company that publishes an unofficial code. Unofficial codes carry the publisher and year in the parenthetical: (West 2024).
How do I short cite a statute?
Use the section alone once it's clear which code you mean: § 1983. If the statute was the only authority in the previous citation, use Id. § 1983(b).

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