Law Library
Finding Cases by Citation
A case citation contains the following information:
- names of the parties to the lawsuit;
- volume of the reporter in which the case is printed;
- abbreviation of the reporter;
- page upon which the case is found;
- court in which the decision was rendered; and
- year the decision was rendered.
Example:
| Wilson v. Home Depot | 348 | S.E.2d | 588 | (Ga. Ct. App.) | 1986 |
| Name | Vol. | Reporter | Page | Court | Year |
To find the case, Wilson v. Home Depot, retrieve volume 348 of the South Eastern Reporter, Second Series, and turn to page 588.
Listed below are several well-known reporter abbreviations and their location in the law library.
Abbreviation |
Reporter |
Row Numbers |
| A. | Atlantic Reporter | 77 |
| A.2d | Atlantic Reporter, Second Series | 77-78 |
| A.L.R. | American Law Reports | 22 |
| A.L.R.2d | American Law Reports, Second Series | 22 |
| A.L.R.3d | American Law Reports, Third Series | 22 |
| A.L.R.4th | American Law Reports, Fourth Series | 22 |
| A.L.R.5th | American Law Reports, Fifth Series | 22 |
| A.L.R.6th |
American Law Reports, Sixth Series | 22 |
| A.L.R. Fed. | American Law Reports, Federal | 22-23 |
| B.R. | West’s Bankruptcy Reporter | 162-163 |
| Cal. Rptr. | California Reporter | 97 |
| F.R.D. | Federal Rules Decisions | 206-207 |
| F. | Federal Reporter | 17 |
| F.2d | Federal Reporter, Second Series | 17-18; 75-76 |
| F.3d | Federal Reporter, Third Series | 18-19; 76 |
| F. Supp. | Federal Supplement | 19-20; 76-77 |
| F. Supp. 2d | Federal Supplement, Second Series | 20-21; 77 |
| Ga. | Georgia Reports | 2 |
| Ga. App. | Georgia Appeals Reports | 2-3 |
| L. Ed. | Lawyer's Edition, Supreme Court Reports | 15 |
| L. Ed.2d | Lawyer's Edition, Supreme Court Reports, Second Series | 16 |
| N.E. | North Eastern Reporter | 78 |
| N.E.2d | North Eastern Reporter, Second Series | 24-25; 78-79 |
| N.W. | North Western Reporter | 79 |
| N.W.2d | North Western Reporter, Second Series | 25; 79 |
| N.Y.S. | New York Supplement | 104 |
| N.Y.S.2d | New York Supplement, Second Series | 104-105 |
| P. | Pacific Reporter | 79-80 |
| P.2d | Pacific Reporter, Second Series | 26; 80 |
| P.3d | Pacific Reporter, Third Series | 26-27, 80 |
| S. Ct. | Supreme Court Reporter | 16 |
| S.E. | South Eastern Reporter | 27; 81 |
| S.E.2d | South Eastern Reporter, Second Series | 27-28; 81 |
| So. | Southern Reporter | 82 |
| So.2d | Southern Reporter, Second Series | 29-30; 82-83 |
| S.W. | South Western Reporter | 81-82 |
| S.W.2d | South Western Reporter, Second Series | 28-29; 82 |
| S.W. 3d | South Western Reporter, Third Series | 29; 82 |
| U.S. | United States Reports | 15 |
Unknown Abbreviation?
Check Mary Miles Prince’s Beiber’s Dictionary of Legal Abbreviations
Ready Ref. KF 246 .B46
This Research Guide was last updated July 2006.
