A citation longitude is a number assigned to a court case that helps identify where and when the case was decided
When a court publishes a decision, it assigns that decision a citation — a standardized reference number that tells you which court decided it, in what year, and where to find the full text. The longitude part of a citation is the specific page or section number where the decision begins in the official court record book, called a reporter. Think of it like a street address: the citation tells you which building (the court), and the longitude tells you which room inside that building (the exact page).
You will see citations most often when reading court decisions, legal documents, or summaries of how courts have ruled on particular issues. A citation might look like "Smith v. Jones, 450 U.S. 123" — the numbers at the end are the longitude. Understanding what a citation is helps you locate the actual court decision if you need to read it yourself, and it helps you understand which court made a ruling and when.
Key Takeaways
- A citation is the reference number assigned to a published court decision, and the longitude is the page number where that decision starts in the official record.
- Citations follow a standard format that tells you the case name, the reporter (which book the decision is published in), the year, and the page number.
- Different types of courts use different reporters, so a citation to a state court decision looks different from a citation to a federal court decision.
- You can use a citation to find the full text of a court decision through legal databases, law libraries, or your court's website.
How a citation is structured and what each part means
A complete citation has several parts, and each one tells you something specific about the case. The format is usually: Case Name, Reporter Volume Number, Reporter Name, Page Number (Longitude), and Year. For example, in "Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954)," the case name is Brown v. Board of Education, 347 is the volume number of the U.S. Reports, U.S. is the reporter name, 483 is the longitude (the page where the decision begins), and 1954 is the year the decision was issued.
The reporter name tells you which court decided the case and which official publication the decision appears in. "U.S." means the United States Supreme Court, and the decision is published in United States Reports. "F.3d" means a federal appeals court, and the decision is in the Federal Reporter. State court decisions are published in state reporters — for example, "N.Y." for New York cases or "Cal." for California cases. Each reporter publishes decisions in numbered volumes, so the volume number tells you which book to look in.
The longitude is straightforward the page number where the decision starts. If a decision spans pages 483 to 496, the citation will show 483 as the longitude. If you are reading a quote from that decision and you see a reference to page 489, that is called a "pinpoint citation" — it tells you exactly which page within the decision the quote comes from.
Why courts and lawyers use citations
Citations serve as a universal language in law. When a lawyer writes a brief or a judge writes an opinion, they cite previous decisions to show that their argument follows established law. Without a standardized citation system, it would be nearly impossible to locate and verify those earlier decisions. A citation is proof that a legal argument is grounded in an actual court ruling, not just someone's opinion.
Citations also create a chain of legal reasoning. When you read a court decision and see citations to other cases, you can follow those citations backward to understand how the law developed over time. This is how legal research works: you start with one case, follow its citations, and build a complete picture of how courts have addressed a particular legal question.
How to find a court decision using a citation
If you have a citation and want to read the actual decision, you have several options. The fastest route is usually Google Scholar (scholar.google.com), which is free and searchable by citation. Type the citation into the search box — for example, "347 U.S. 483" — and the full text of the decision will appear. You do not need a law library card or a subscription.
Your local law library, if your county has one, maintains physical copies of reporters and can help you locate a decision by citation. Many court websites also publish recent decisions and allow you to search by case name or citation. For federal cases, the Federal Courts website (uscourts.gov) links to decisions from district courts, appeals courts, and the Supreme Court. State court websites vary, but most publish decisions from their highest court and appeals courts.
If you are reading a legal document that cites a case and you want to verify the citation is correct, check that the case name, year, and court match what you expect. A citation to "347 U.S. 483" should be a Supreme Court case from around 1954. If the year seems far off or the reporter name does not match the court you expected, the citation may be incomplete or formatted differently than the standard.
The difference between official and unofficial reporters
Some court decisions are published in official reporters, which are the government's authorized publication of the decision. The United States Reports (U.S.) is the official reporter for Supreme Court decisions. Each state has its own official reporter for state court decisions. These are considered the authoritative version of the decision.
Decisions are also published in unofficial reporters, which are published by private companies like West Publishing or LexisNexis. These reporters publish the same decisions but may add headnotes, summaries, or indexing that the official reporter does not include. A single decision might have two different citations — one to the official reporter and one to an unofficial reporter. For example, a state court decision might be cited as both "123 N.Y. 456" (official) and "456 N.E.2d 789" (unofficial). Both citations refer to the same decision; they just point to different published versions.
What to do if a citation is incomplete or unclear
Sometimes you will encounter a citation that is missing information or formatted in a way you do not recognize. If a citation is missing the year or the page number, you can still search for it using the case name and the reporter name. Google Scholar and legal databases allow you to search by case name alone, and they will return all published versions of that case.
If you see a citation format you do not recognize — for example, a very old case or a decision from a specialized court — the reporter name is your best clue. Look up the reporter abbreviation in a legal citation guide (the Bluebook is the standard, though it is technical and designed for lawyers). Many law libraries and legal websites maintain a list of reporter abbreviations and what they mean. If you are still stuck, ask a law librarian; they are trained to decode citations and can point you to the decision you are looking for.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the number after the reporter name mean?
That number is the longitude — the page where the decision begins in the official published version. If you are reading a physical book of court decisions, the longitude tells you which page to turn to. In online databases, the longitude helps you locate the exact spot in the decision where a particular quote or legal point appears.
Can a case have more than one citation?
Yes. A single decision is often published in both an official reporter and one or more unofficial reporters, so it will have multiple citations. All of them refer to the same decision. Lawyers often cite the official reporter first, followed by the unofficial reporter in parentheses — for example, "347 U.S. 483, 71 S.Ct. 753."
Do I need to understand citations to read a court decision?
No. You can read a court decision without understanding its citation. However, understanding the citation helps you verify that you are reading the right decision, find it again later, and understand which court decided it and when. It also helps you follow the court's reasoning when it cites earlier cases.
What if I find two different citations for what looks like the same case?
They are likely the same case published in different reporters. Check the case name, the year, and the court to confirm. If they match, both citations are correct — they just point to different published versions of the same decision. Use whichever one is easiest for you to access.