Levin College of Law
Primary law is one of the most important aspects of legal research. Locating mandatory and persuasive authority guides the legal research process. The boxes below explain sources for federal and Florida, as well as citation information for cases.
You'll also find sources for administrative regulations in Florida and at the federal level. As always, if you have any questions about these or any other sources, contact a member of the legal research faculty.
Most research into statutory law should be conducted in an annotated version of the code. Annotations provide citations to cases, other statutory sections, and secondary sources that cite to the specific code section. Westlaw and Lexis are the best online sources for both federal and Florida statutes because of their currency and annotations, but an official source should also be checked to ensure currency of any statute section cited.
The official publication for federal statutes is the United States Code. You can access the U.S. Code online, but the printed version is the official one.
The official publication for Florida statutes is Florida Statutes. You can access Florida’s official statutes through Online Sunshine, or in print.
Free Online Sources
Free Online Sources
Much of the available case law can be found online. Be wary, however, of citing to cases that you have retrieved from a source other than Lexis, Westlaw, Fastcase, or a court’s official website. Using Lexis or Westlaw may be preferable because they contain a great deal of added material, such as headnotes, citators, and linked materials.
Be sure to also check out the Case Law Citations box, which provides citation formats for the different courts.
Free Online Sources
Free Online Sources
Case citations begin with the volume number, then the abbreviation for the reporter, then page number and date. The deciding court is sometimes indicated in parentheses.
Federal Reporter Citations
| Court | Reporter | Abbreviation | Example |
| Supreme Court (official) | United States Reports | U.S. | 382 U.S. 436 (1966) |
| Supreme Court (West, unofficial) | Supreme Court Reporter | S. Ct. | 86 S. Ct. 1602 (1966) |
| Supreme Court (Lexis, unofficial) | Lawyers' Edition 1st and 2d series | L. Ed.; L. Ed. 2d | 16 L. Ed. 2d 694 (1966) |
| F: federal district and appellate courts to 1924 F.2d: federal district to 1932 and appellate courts 1924-1993 F.3d: federal appellate courts 1993 to present |
Federal Reporter 1st, 2d, & 3d series | F.; F.2d; F.3d | 489 F.3d 528 (2d Cir. 2007) |
| F. Supp: federal district courts 1933-1998 F. Supp. 2d: federal district courts 1998 to present |
Federal Supplement 1st & 2d series | F. Supp.; F. Supp. 2d | 763 F. Supp. 1110 (M.D. Fla. 1989) |
| Unreported federal appellate court opinions 2001 to present | Federal Appendix | F. App'x |
176 Fed. App'x 143 (2d Cir. 2006) |
Regional Reporter Citations
| Court(s) | Reporter | Abbreviation | Example |
| Connecticut; D.C.; Delaware; Maine; Maryland; New Hampshire; New Jersey; Pennsylvania; Rhode Island; Vermont |
Atlantic Reporter 1st & 2d series | A.; A.2d | 406 A.2d 624 (Md. Ct. Spec. App. 1979) |
| Illinois; Indiana; Massachusetts; New York; Ohio | North Eastern Reporter 1st & 2d series | N.E.; N.E.2d | 391 N.E.2d 729 (Ohio 1979) |
| Iowa; Michigan; Minnesota; Nebraska; North Dakota; South Dakota; Wisconsin | North Western Reporter 1st & 2d series | N.W.; N.W.2d | 590 N.W.2d 61 (Mich. 1999) |
| Georgia; North Carolina; South Carolina; Virginia; West Virginia | South Eastern Reporter 1st & 2d series | S.E.; S.E.2d | 583 S.E.2d 780 (Va. Ct. App. 2003) |
| Arkansas; Kentucky; Missouri; Tennesee; Texas | South Western Reporter 1st & 2d series | S.W.; S.W.2d | 763 S.W.2d 413 (Tex. Crim. App. 1988) |
| Alaska; Arizona; California; Colorado; Hawaii; Idaho; Kansas; Montana; Nevada; New Mexico; Oklahoma; Oregon; Utah; Washington; Wyoming |
Pacific Reporter 1st, 2d, & 3d series | P.; P.2d; P.3d | 649 P.2d 224 (Cal. 1982) |
| Alabama; Florida; Louisiana; Mississippi | Southern Reporter 1st, 2d, & 3d series | So.; So. 2d; So. 3d | 137 So. 161 (Fla. 1931) |
Florida Reporter Citations
| Court(s) | Reporter | Abbreviation | Example |
| Florida Supreme Court (official) | Southern Reporter 1st, 2d, & 3d series | So.; So. 2d; So. 3d | 137 So. 161 (Fla. 1931) |
| Florida District Courts of Appeal (official) | Southern Reporter | So.; So. 2d; So. 3d | 468 So. 2d 360 (Fla. 3d DCA 1985) (Florida courts) 468 So. 2d 360 (Fla. 3d. Dist. Ct. App. 1985) (Bluebook) |
| Florida Circuit Courts (Fla. Cir. Ct.), County Courts, & Public Service Commission, 1950-1991 (official) |
Florida Supplement 1st & 2d series | Fla. Supp.; Fla. Supp. 2d | 27 Fla. Supp. 80 (Fla. 11th Cir. Ct. 1966) |
| Florida Circuit Courts, County Courts, and Public Service Commission, 1992 to present (official) |
Florida Law Weekly Supplement | Fla. L. Weekly Supp. | 42 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 83 (Fla. Dade Cty. Ct. 1975) |
| Florida Supreme Court 1978 to present & District Courts of Appeal 1978 to present (unofficial except for recent opinions not yet published in the Southern Reporter) |
Florida Law Weekly | Fla. L. Weekly | 17 Fla. L. Weekly S42 (Fla. Jan. 16, 1992) |
The three main sources of federal administrative regulations are the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR); the Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (e-CFR); and the Federal Register:
Tip: Run your searches in all databases, not just Westlaw or Lexis. Search algorithms vary widely and regulations are tricky, so an initial broad net is a useful starting point.
Sources for the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR & e-CFR)
Remember to update any regulations that you find by locating the regulation in the e-CFR database and comparing the text.
The Federal Register is the source of proposed regulations and proposed amendments to current regulations; the website defines it as the “official daily publication for rules, proposed rules, and notices of Federal agencies and organizations, as well as executive orders and other presidential documents.”
Florida administrative regulations are published in a manner similar to federal regulations.
The two main sources are the Florida Administrative Code, which is the compilation of Florida’s administrative rules; and the Florida Administrative Register, which provides notices and the status of proposed rules to the Florida Administrative Code.
Using Westlaw or Lexis is useful because of the annotations, but always confirm the code section’s currentness through the official version on the Florida Department of State’s website.
The Florida Administrative Register was formerly known as Florida Administrative Weekly.
University of Florida Levin College of Law
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Gainesville, FL 32611
(352) 273-0804
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