Paralegal Certification PrepLegal Research and WritingMedium
A paralegal is reviewing a legal brief that cites to an opinion from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. The citation uses the format '550 F.3d 300 (3d Cir. 2008)'. This citation format indicates that the opinion is published in which type of reporter?
- AA regional reporter for federal cases
- BA state appellate reporter
- CA specialized subject matter reporter
- DA U.S. Supreme Court reporter
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: A. A regional reporter for federal cases
The 'F.3d' abbreviation stands for 'Federal Reporter, Third Series,' which is a reporter for decisions from the U.S. Courts of Appeals, making it a regional reporter for federal cases.
Why the other options are wrong
- B. State appellate reporters typically use abbreviations related to the specific state, not 'F.3d'.
- C. Specialized reporters would have abbreviations indicating their subject matter, such as 'B.R.' for Bankruptcy Reporter.
- D. U.S. Supreme Court opinions are primarily found in U.S. Reports (U.S.), Supreme Court Reporter (S. Ct.), or Lawyers' Edition (L. Ed.).
Federal Reporter (F., F.2d, F.3d)
A series of case reporters published by West Publishing that contains decisions of the U.S. Courts of Appeals and, historically, some U.S. District Court cases.
- Primary source for federal appellate court opinions.
- Organized chronologically by volume.
- Uses 'F.', 'F.2d', and 'F.3d' for different series.
Memory trick: Federal cases use 'F' for Federal, 'S' for Supreme Court, and 'U.S.' for U.S. Reports.