LAW / Referencing for Law Students / AGLC 3rd ed

United

States

Australian Guide to Legal Citation 263

Pinpoint references should adhere to rule 3.1.4. However, the following abbreviations should be used in addition to and instead of the abbreviations in rule 3.1.4:

When citing an entire statute within a code, the span of sections (or, for state codes, the chapter, volume, etc) containing the statute should be included.

Examples 19 USC § 58 (1970).

Alaska Stat §§ 4.06.010–4.06.110 (2009).

Or Rev Stat ch 153 (2007).

Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, 29 USC §§ 651–78 (2000).

Note In state codes, pinpoint references are commonly decimal, with full stops (for example, ‘§ 4.4.2’), hyphens (for example, ‘§ 722-124’) or colons (for example, ‘§ 18:203’) between the component numbers making up the pinpoint.

24.2.5Publisher’s Name

United

States

Rule

Examples

The title of the statute (or a title by which the statute is commonly known) should be included. The statute title should adhere to rule 24.2.1. In particular:

•the statute title should be italicised and followed by a (non-italic) comma; and

•a year that appears in the title of the statute should be included.

If no short title is included and no commonly used short title exists, the statute should be identified by the date of enactment or, if that is unavailable, by the date on which the statute came into force. The long title of the statute should not be used. Where a statute is identified in this manner, its title should not be italicised and should appear in the form:

Act of Full Date

(for example, ‘Act of 3 March 1925’).

Detainee Treatment Act of 2005, Pub L No 109-148, 119 Stat 2739.

Act of 29 January 1937, Pub Law No 75-3, 50 Stat 5. [Not: An Act to Provide for Loans to Farmers for Crop Production and Harvesting during the Year 1937, and for Other Purposes …]

Australian Guide to Legal Citation 267

Examples 1997 Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Recovery from Natural Disasters, and for Overseas Peacekeeping Efforts, Including Those in Bosnia, Pub L No 105-18, 111 Stat 158.

Railroad Right-of-Way Conveyance Validation Act of 2004, Priv L No 108-2, 118 Stat 4025.

Act of 7 June 1897, ch 4, arts 2–5, 30 Stat 96, 96–7. [Not: An Act to Adopt Regulations for Preventing Collisions upon Certain Harbors, Rivers, and Inland Waters of the United States, …]

Notes From the 60th US Congress (that is, from ‘35 Stat’), statutes were given public or private law numbers that continued across all sessions of that Congress. These numbers comprise the number of the Congress (without its ordinal letters) followed by the sequential number of the particular law (for example, ‘Pub L No 108-37’ indicates the 37th Public Law passed by the 108th Congress). Even if the public or private law number is not present on the statute in this form, it should be included in this manner in a citation.

For statutes passed before the 60th Congress, the chapter number should be included. The year and the chapter number are sufficient to identify the law because the chapter number is the sequential number of a law (or resolution) as passed, restarting each year.

24.3.3Original Pinpoint Reference

Rule Any pinpoint reference should be followed by a comma. Pinpoint references should adhere to rule 24.2.4.

Examples Voting Rights Act of 1965, Pub L No 89-110, § 2, 79 Stat 437, 437.

An Act to Incorporate the Girl Scouts of the United States of America, and for Other Purposes, Pub L No 81-460, §§ 2–4, 64 Stat 22, 22–3 (1950).

United

States

Rule

Examples

The volume number of the session laws should be included after the public law number, private law number or chapter number or after any pinpoint reference to the original statute.

For state session laws, where there is no volume number, the year of the volume should be included instead.

Unborn Victims of Violence Act of 2004, Pub L No 108-212, 118 Stat 568.

School Bus Enhanced Safety Inspection Act, ch 5, 1999 NJ Laws 23.

United

States

Rule

Examples

The page of the session laws on which the statute begins should be included after the abbreviated name of the session laws.

Where a pinpoint reference to the original statute is included in accordance with rule 24.3.3, the page(s) on which the pinpoint appears in the session laws volume should be included after the starting page and should be preceded by a comma.

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980, Pub L No 96-511, 94 Stat 2812.

Animal Disease Risk Assessment, Prevention, and Control Act of 2001, Pub L No 107-9, §§ 2–3, 115 Stat 11, 11–16. [Not: … 115 Stat 11.]