Legal Definitions - citator

A citator is a specialized legal research tool used by legal professionals to determine the current status and influence of a legal authority, such as a court case, statute, or regulation. It provides a comprehensive record of how that authority has been treated by subsequent courts or legislative bodies. Essentially, a citator acts like a detailed report card for a legal document, showing if it's still valid law, if it has been changed, or how other legal decisions have interpreted it.

Citators are crucial for ensuring that legal arguments are based on current and authoritative law, helping researchers to:

• Verify if a court case has been overturned, affirmed, or criticized by later decisions.
• Check if a statute has been amended, repealed, or judicially interpreted.
• Find other legal documents that have cited or discussed the original authority.

Here are some examples illustrating the use of a citator:

• Scenario 1: A lawyer preparing for a court hearing.

  Imagine a lawyer is preparing a brief for an upcoming trial and wants to rely on a specific appellate court decision from 2005 that strongly supports their client's position. Before submitting the brief, the lawyer uses a citator to check the 2005 case. The citator reveals that a higher court recently issued a new ruling that partially overturned a key legal principle established in the 2005 case. This information is critical; the lawyer must now adjust their argument to address the new ruling, rather than relying on outdated law, which could weaken their case.

  This example demonstrates how a citator helps verify the current precedential value of a case and its subsequent history, preventing a legal professional from using law that is no longer valid or has been significantly altered.

• Scenario 2: A legislative analyst researching an environmental law.

  A legislative analyst is tasked with drafting a new bill related to water quality standards. To ensure the new bill integrates smoothly with existing law, the analyst needs to understand the current state of a foundational environmental protection statute enacted decades ago. The analyst uses a citator to review the statute. The citator shows a detailed history of amendments made to specific sections over the years, highlights parts that have been repealed, and lists several court cases that have interpreted the statute's provisions. This allows the analyst to draft the new bill with full awareness of the existing legal framework and its judicial interpretations.

  This example illustrates how a citator tracks the subsequent history of a statute, including legislative changes and judicial interpretations, which is vital for drafting new legislation.

• Scenario 3: A legal scholar writing an academic article.

  A law professor is writing an academic article analyzing the evolution of privacy rights in the digital age, focusing on a landmark Supreme Court decision from the 1980s. To thoroughly trace the impact and development of this decision, the professor uses a citator. The citator provides a comprehensive list of every subsequent federal and state court case that has cited, discussed, distinguished, or applied the landmark decision. This allows the professor to map out how the legal principles from that original case have been expanded, narrowed, or reinterpreted in various contexts over time, forming the basis of their scholarly analysis.

  This example shows how a citator helps find additional sources and understand the broader impact and interpretation of a legal authority over an extended period, which is crucial for in-depth legal scholarship.