Skip to Main Content

Nexis Uni - Basic User Guide

A guide to using Nexis Uni which includes helpful how-to's and videos.

Open Access Legal Citation Sources

The following are open access eBooks that can help you learn how to read and create legal citations. 

Deciphering a Case Citation

A legal citation contains essential information related to a case. It is important to understand the various components of the case citation and to know where the information can be found. 

Here is our sample citation: 

Southern R. Co. v. Carnegie Steel Co., 176 U.S. 257, 20 S. Ct. 347, 44 L. Ed. 458, 1900 U.S. LEXIS 1737 (Supreme Court of the United States January 29, 1900, Decided )

A citation will tell us the following things:

  • The Parties' names (PLAINTIFF or First Party) v. (DEFENDANT or 2nd Party)
  • The published volume where it can be found (e.g. 176 U.S. 257, which tells us, reporter volume (176), the reporter (U.S.), and the first page it begins on (257). 
  • The court
  • The year of the decision

This information is easily located on an online case within Nexis Uni. 

  1. The parties involved.
  2. The Court hearing the case. 
  3. The dates the case was heard, and decision date. 
  4. The reporter where the case is published.