AALL Citation Formats Committee -- Louisiana

AALL CITATION FORMATS COMMITTEE

SECTION 8. CITATION OF LOUISIANA

APPELLATE DECISIONS

A. The following rules of citation of Louisiana appellate court decisions shall apply:

(1) Opinions and actions issued by the Supreme Court of Louisiana and the Louisiana Courts of Appeal following December 31, 1993 shall be cited according to a uniform public domain citation form with a parallel citation to West's Southern Reporter:

(a) The uniform public domain citation form shall consist of the case name, docket number excluding letters, court abbreviation, and month, day and year of issue, and be followed by a parallel citation to West's Southern Reporter, e.g.:

Smith v. Jones, 93-2345 (La. 7/15/94); 650 So.2d 500, or Smith v. Jones, 93-2345 (La.App. 1 Cir. 7/15/94; 660 So.2d 400)

(b) If a pinpoint public domain citation is needed, the page number designated by the court shall follow the docket number and be set off with a comma and the abbreviation "p.", and may be followed by a parallel pinpoint citation to West's Southern Reporter, e.g.:

Smith v. Jones, 94-2345, p. 7 (La. 7/15/94); 650 So.2d 500, 504

(2) Opinions issued by the Supreme Court of Louisiana for the period between December 31, 1972 and January 1, 1994, and all opinions issued by the Courts of Appeal from the beginning of their inclusion in West's Southern Reporter in 1928 until January 1, 1994, shall be cited according to the form in West's Southern Reporter:

(a) The citation will consist of the case name, Southern Reporter volume number, title abbreviation, page number, court designation, and year, e.g.:

Smith v. Jones, 645 So.2d, 321 (La.1990)

(b) A parallel public domain citation following the same format as that for post-January 1, 1994 opinions may be added after the Southern Reporter citation, but is not required.

(3) Opinions issued by the Supreme Court of Louisiana prior to the discontinuation of the official Louisiana Reports in 1972 and opinions issued by the Courts of Appeal prior to their inclusion in the Southern Reporter in 1928 shall be cited in accordance with pre-1994 practice, as follows:

(a) Cite to Louisiana Reports, Louisiana Annual Reports, Robinson, Martin, Reports of the Louisiana Courts of Appeal, Peltier, Teisser, or McGloin if therein, and to the Southern Reporter or Southern 2d if therein.

(b) A parallel public domain citation following the same format as that for post-January 1, 1994 opinions may be added, but is not required.

B. These rules shall apply to all published actions of the Supreme Court of Louisiana and the Louisiana Courts of Appeal issued after December 31, 1993. Citation under these rules in court documents shall become mandatory for all documents filed after July 1, 1994. Adopted Dec. 17, 1993.