Introduction to Basic Legal Citation - access-to-law home

§ 2-330. Statute Citations – Conditional items
§ 2-330(1) Examples
Official:
– 42 U.S.C. § 405(c)(2)(C) (2006 & Supp. 2010).
– Iowa Code § 602.1614 (2012).
Unofficial:
– 42 U.S.C.A. § 405(c)(2)(C) (West 2011) or 42 U.S.C.A. § 405(c)(2)(C) (Westlaw
2012).
– 42 U.S.C.S. § 405(c)(2)(C) (LexisNexis 1998 & Supp. 2011) or 42 U.S.C.S. §
405(c)(2)(C) (LexisNexis 2012).
– Iowa Code Ann. § 602.1614 (West 1996 & Supp. 2012) or Iowa Code Ann. §
602.1614 (Westlaw 2012).
Principle 1: If possible, the reference should be to the jurisdiction's designated "official"
codification – such as the United States Code or Iowa Code. If an unofficial commercial
codification is relied upon, it is customary to use that product's branded abbreviation if
different from the official code (U.S.C.A. or U.S.C.S. rather than U.S.C.; Iowa Code Ann.
rather than Iowa Code) and to place the publisher's name, brand, or online source
(abbreviated) ahead of the currency information in the parentheses.
¡But see § 2-335!
§ 2-330(2) Examples
Statute not amended since last print codification:
– 42 U.S.C.S. § 405(a) (LexisNexis 1998).
Statute amended since last print codification:
– Iowa Code Ann. § 602.1614 (West 1996 & Supp. 2012).
Statute cited to an electronic codification:
– 42 U.S.C.S. § 405(c)(2)(C) (LexisNexis 2012).
– 42 U.S.C.A. § 405(c)(2)(C) (Westlaw 2012).
– Iowa Code Ann. § 602.1614 (Westlaw 2012).
Principle 2: The reader of a statutory citation will expect that it refers to the statute as
currently in force unless the reference says otherwise. However, because statutes are
continually subject to amendment and compilations are put together at different times and
frequencies, it is useful even with a reference to a statute currently in force to be clear about
the nature or source of the currency data.
If the statute appears in a print compilation volume last published in 1998 and research
indicates the statute has not been amended, conventional practice would be to place 1998 as
the year in parenthesis even though print supplements, pocket parts, or much more recent
online compilations were consulted to verify the provision's currency.
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