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For proper citation styles and usage, consult The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation (Ref or Law Ref KF 245 .U54x 1991). To decipher an unfamiliar abbreviation not on this list, try Bieber's Dictionary of Legal Abbreviations (Law Ref KF 246 .B46 1993). Note: Some materials utilize a "2d," "3d," and so on after the source's abbreviation to refer to the series of that source. The absence of these indicates the first (or only) series.
Federal Court Cases
| Title | Citation abbreviation | Description |
| United States Reports | U.S. | Cases from the United States Supreme Court (official). |
| Supreme Court Reporter | S.Ct. | Cases from the United States Supreme Court. Unofficial version of United States Reports. Contains headnotes and other editorial enhancements. |
| United States Supreme Court Reporter, Lawyers' Edition | L.Ed. | Cases from the United States Supreme Court. Unofficial version of United States Reports. Contains cross-references and other editorial enhancements. |
| Federal Reporter | F. | Cases from the U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeal. Also contained cases from the United States District Courts before 1932. |
| Federal Supplement | F. Supp. | Cases from the United States District Courts since 1932. Before 1932, use the Federal Reporter. |
| Federal Rules Decisions | F.R.D. | Federal cases that discuss or interpret Federal Court Rules. |
| United States Law Week | U.S.L.W. | Weekly summary of cases from State and Federal courts. |
State Court Cases
| Title | Citation abbreviation | Description |
| Atlantic Reporter | A. | Cases from Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, & Vermont. |
| California Reporter | Cal. Rptr. | California cases (unofficial). |
| Kentucky Law Reporter | K.L.R. OR
Ky. L. Rptr. |
Kentucky cases (unofficial); NO LONGER RECEIVED. |
| Kentucky Reporter | Ky. | Official Kentucky cases 1879-1951. Use Southwestern Reporter for cases after 1951. For older cases, see below. |
| Northeastern Reporter | N.E. | Cases from Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, New York, & Ohio. |
| Northwestern Reporter | N.W. | Cases from Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, & Wisconsin. |
| New York Supplement | N.Y.S. | New York cases (unofficial). |
| Pacific Reporter | P. | Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nevada, Northern Marianas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Utah, Washington, & Wyoming. |
| Southeastern Reporter | S.E. | Cases from Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, & West Virginia. |
| Southern Reporter | So. | Cases from Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, & Mississippi. |
| Southwestern Reporter | S.W. | Cases from Arkansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee, and Texas. |
Specialized (Topical) Reporters
| Title | Citation abbreviation | Description |
| Education Law Reporter | Educ. L. R. | Cases pertaining to education. |
| Environmental Reporter | Env't Rep. OR Envir. Rep. | Cases pertaining to the environment. |
| Media Law Reporter | Med. L. Rptr. | Cases about journalism, broadcasting, and the media. |
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Federal Statutes and Regulations
| Title | Citation abbreviation | Description |
| United States Code | U.S.C. | Federal statutes passed by Congress, arranged by topic (official). |
| United States Code Annotated | U.S.C.A. | Unofficial version of the United States Code. Each statute contains references to cases that discuss them. |
| United States Statutes at Large | Stat. | Official text of statutes passed by Congress, in the order the statues were passed.
LOCATION:
GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS, AE 2.111 |
| U.S. Code Congressional and Administrative News | U.S.C.C.A.N. | Unofficial version of Statutes at Large. Also contains Legislative History documents for each statute. |
| Code of Federal Regulations | C.F.R. | Administrative regulations promulgated by Federal administrative agencies, arranged by topic. |
| Federal Register | Fed. Reg. | Daily report of new and proposed Federal administrative regulations, standards, programs, etc. |
State Statutes and Regulations
| Title | Citation abbreviation | Description |
| Kentucky Revised Statutes | K.R.S. OR Ky. Rev. Stat. | Official compilation of statutes passed by the Kentucky Legislature, arranged by topic. Each statute contains references to cases that discuss them. |
| Kentucky Acts | Ky. Acts | Official text of statutes passed by the Kentucky Legislature, in the order the statues were passed. LOCATION: KENTUCKY DOCS. |
| Kentucky Administrative Regulations Service | K.A.R., OR Ky. Admin. Regs. | Kentucky administrative regulations promulgated by state administrative agencies, arranged by topic. |
| Tennessee Code Annotated | Tenn. Code Ann. | Official compilation of statutes passed by the Tennessee Legislature, arranged by topic. Each statute contains references to cases that discuss them. |
Encyclopedias, Digests, and Annotations
| Title | Citation abbreviation | Description |
| American Law Reports | A.L.R. | Contains articles (annotations) about legal topics. |
| American Digest (Includes Century Digest, Decennial Digest, and General Digest) | References to cases from the Federal courts and the courts of all 50 states. Arranged by topic, using the West Key Number system. | |
| American Jurisprudence | Am. Jur. | Legal Encyclopedia |
| Corpus Juris Secundum | C.J.S. | Legal Encyclopedia. Often referred to as C.J.S. |
| Federal Practice Digest | Fed. Dig. | References to Federal cases by topic, using the West Key Number system. |
| Kentucky Digest | Ky. Dig. | References to Kentucky cases by topic, using the West Key Number system. |
Computer Databases
| Database Title | Availability | Description |
| Checkpoint (RIA) | Available to anyone | Tax accounting news and research materials from RIA Group for the accounting industry. |
| Congressional Universe | Available to anyone | Contains Federal statutes, the United States Code Service, the Federal Register, and the Code of Federal Regulations. Also contains indexing and abstracting of congressional publications and the CIS Legislative Histories (1970-present) as well as the full text of congressional reports, documents, prints, bills and the Congressional Record. Congressional Universe also contains prepared statements and selected question & answer transcripts (1988-present), bill tracking reports that follow bills through Congress, and the text of bills. In addition, Congressional Universe includes biographical and financial information and voting records for members of Congress, as well as rosters, charters and schedules for committees and subcommittees. |
| Shepards Online | Available to anyone | Includes Shepard's Citations. Also contains case law (Federal and State courts); Administrative law; Statutory law; Law Review articles; IRS items (Cumulative Bulletin, Revenue Rulings, RIA Fed. Tax Coordinator 2d, etc.). |
| Westlaw | Students Only | Contains cases, statutes, regulations, and law review articles. For Educational Research Only. |
