from
Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856)
CITATION OF AUTHORITIES. The production or reference to the text of acts of
legislatures and of treatises, and decided cases, in order to support what
is advanced.
2. Works are sometimes surcharged with useless and misplaced citations;
when they are judiciously made, they assist the reader in his researches.
Citations ought not to be made to prove what is not doubted; but when a
controverted point is mooted, it is highly proper to cite the laws and
cases, or other authorities in support of the controverted proposition.
3. The mode of citing statutes varies in the United States; the laws of
the United States are generally cited by their date, as the act of Sept. 24,
1789, s. 35; or act of 1819, eh. 170, 3 Story's U. S. Laws, 1722. In
Pennsylvania, acts of assembly are cited as follows: act of 14th of April,
1834; in Massachusetts, stat. of 1808, c. 92. Treatises and books of
reports, are generally cited by the volume and page, as, 2 Powell on Morts.
600; 3 Binn. R. 60. Judge Story and some others, following the examples of
the civilians, have written their works and numbered the paragraphs; these
are cited as follows: Story's Bailm. Sec. 494; Gould on Pl. c. 5, Sec. 30.
For other citations the reader is referred to the article Abbreviations.
4. It is usual among the civilians on the continent of Europe, in
imitation of those in the darker ages, in their references to the
Institutes, the Code and the Pandects or Digest, to mention the number, not
of the book, but of the law, and the first word of the title to which it
belongs; and as there are more than a thousand of these, it is no easy task
for one not thoroughly acquainted with those collections, to find the place
to which reference is made. The American writers generally follow the
natural mode of reference, by putting down the name of the collection, and
then the number of the book, title, law, and section. For example, Inst. 4,
15, 2, signifies Institutes, book four, title fifteen, and section two; Dig.
41, 9, 1, 3, means Digest, book 41, title 9, law 1, section 3; Dig. pro
dote, or ff pro dote, that is, section 3, law 1, of the book and title of
the Digest or Pandects, entitled pro dote. It is proper to remark, that Dig.
and ff are equivalent; the former signifies Digest, and the latter, which is
a careless mode of writing the Greek letter it, the first letter of the word
pavdectai, Pandects, and the Digest and Pandects are different names for one
and the same thing. The Code is cited in the same way. The Novels are cited
by their number, with that of the chapter and paragraph; for example, Nov.
185, 2, 4; for Novella Justiniani 185, capite 2, paragrapho 4. Novels are
also quoted by the Collation, the title, chapter, and paragraph as follows:
in Authentics, Collatione 1 titulo 1, cap. 281. The Authentics are quoted by
their first words, after which is set down the title of the Code under which
they are placed for example, Authentica cum testator, Codice ad legem
fascidiam Sele Mackel. Man. Intro. Sec. 66. Modus Legendi Abbreviaturas
passim in jure tam civili quam pontificii occurrentes, 1577.