Module 4 Standard Citation Assignment Guideyou May Use This Guide As A
Please post one federal and one state statute utilizing standard legal notation. Find your own statutes through a Google search using relevant terms related to your chosen subject. For example, search for “Federal computer statute” or “Kentucky murder statute” to identify statutes on those topics. Include the proper legal citations for each statute in your document.
Additionally, post one federal case and one state case using standard legal notation. Search for cases through online legal research or Google with terms like “US Supreme Court case on death penalty” or “Kentucky appellate case on joint custody.” Provide the proper legal citations for these cases as well.
Paper For Above instruction
The purpose of this assignment is to develop an understanding of legal citation formats for statutes and case law at both federal and state levels. Proper citation is integral to legal writing and ensures clarity and accuracy in referencing legal sources. This task involves identifying relevant legal statutes and cases, citing them correctly, and demonstrating competence in legal research and citation standards.
Federal and state statutes form the foundation of legal systems and vary in their structure and citation formats. Federal statutes are codified in the United States Code (U.S.C.), which organizes laws by subject chapters. State statutes are similarly organized within individual state codes or statutes. The key in citing statutes is to include the title or chapter number, the name of the law or section, and the correct legal notation. For example, the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, a federal law, is cited as “18 U.S. Code § 1030.” The Kentucky murder statute may be cited as “KRS 507.027,” where KRS refers to the Kentucky Revised Statutes, and the number indicates the specific law.
Case law citations follow a standard format that includes the name of the case, the reporter volume, the reporter abbreviation, the page number, and the court or jurisdiction abbreviation. For example, a Supreme Court case on the death penalty might be cited as “Stanford v. Kentucky, 492 U.S. 361 (1989),” where 492 U.S. 361 indicates the volume and page number of the United States Reports, and the case was decided in 1989. State cases are similarly cited, such as “Squires v. Squires, 854 S.W.2d 785 (Ky. 1993),” with the court abbreviation and date in parentheses.
This assignment enhances research skills and familiarizes students with legal citation conventions. Developing proficiency in legal citation improves clarity, professionalism, and adherence to legal
standards in scholarly and practice contexts.
References
American Bar Association. (2020). The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation (21st ed.). The Harvard Law Review Association.
Legal Citation Guides. (2022). Georgetown University Law Center. https://guides.llm.edu/citation
U.S. Department of Justice. (2023). Title 18 U.S. Code § 1030 - Fraud and Related Activity Sections. https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1030
Kentucky Revised Statutes. (2023). KRS 507.027 - Murder. https://www.lrc.ky.gov/statutes/statute.aspx?id=52740
Supreme Court of the United States. (1989). Stanford v. Kentucky, 492 U.S. 361 (1989). Ky. Supreme Court. (1993). Squires v. Squires, 854 S.W.2d 785 (Ky. 1993).
Legal Research and Writing. (2021). William S. Hein & Co. Inc.
Harvard Law Review. (2019). Citation Practice and Standardization.
Legal Information Institute. (2023). Case Law Citation. https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/case_citation
American Law Institute. (2010). Model Penal Code and Related Documents.
