Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Referring to statutes
A short form citation to a statute (just like short form citations to other types of authorities) saves space and minimizes the disruption to the flow of your writing. In a typical memorandum or other short legal document, cite to a statute using a full citation only once, and then use short form citations for subsequent references to that statute.
Rule 14.6 in the ALWD Manual (page 116) provides some examples of short form citations for statutes. You have several options--just make sure that it will be clear to the reader what statute you are referring to. If your memo cites to only one statute, a briefer short form such as"§ 16 " is plenty.
For citations within textual sentences, take a look at Sidebar 14.2 on page 118 of the ALWD Manual (and perhaps also Rule 6.11). I suggest trying to avoid the need to spell out "Illinois Compiled Statutes." Hopefully you will have already cited to the relevant statute by the time you are referring to it within a sentence, so"§ 16 of the Animal Control Act" or "§ 16" --or even just "the statute"--may suffice.
Rule 14.6 in the ALWD Manual (page 116) provides some examples of short form citations for statutes. You have several options--just make sure that it will be clear to the reader what statute you are referring to. If your memo cites to only one statute, a briefer short form such as
For citations within textual sentences, take a look at Sidebar 14.2 on page 118 of the ALWD Manual (and perhaps also Rule 6.11). I suggest trying to avoid the need to spell out "Illinois Compiled Statutes." Hopefully you will have already cited to the relevant statute by the time you are referring to it within a sentence, so