Study guide
16.1 Case Law & the Elements of a Case Citation
AAERT Certified Electronic Transcriber CET
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1 Chapter 1: CET Exam Orientation
1.1 The CET Credential, Exam Format & Eligibility 1.2 The Practical Exam Workflow & a Blueprint-Based Study Plan
2 Chapter 2: Ethics, Conflicts of Interest & Confidentiality
2.1 Ethical Obligations & Avoiding the Appearance of Impropriety 2.2 Conflicts of Interest: Recognizing and Handling Them 2.3 Confidentiality, NDAs, File Security & HIPAA
3 Chapter 3: Professional Behavior, Multi-Channel Audio & Equipment
3.1 Professional Behavior: Impartiality, the Accurate Record & Service 3.2 Multi-Channel Recording & How to Play Channels 3.3 Troubleshooting, Technical Escalation & Equipment Maintenance
4 Chapter 4: Proofreading, Spelling, Capitalization & Numbers
4.1 Proofreading vs. Literary Editing & Why Spelling Matters 4.2 Capitalization in a Transcript 4.3 Numbers in a Transcript
5 Chapter 5: [sic], Abbreviations, Clauses & Commas
5.1 [sic] and Abbreviations 5.2 Clauses & the Core Comma Rules 5.3 Commas in Testimony: Address, Introductory Words, Appositives, Series & Tags
6 Chapter 6: End Punctuation, Colons, Semicolons & Quotation Marks
6.1 Periods, Question Marks & Exclamation Points 6.2 Colons & Semicolons 6.3 Quotation Marks in a Transcript
7 Chapter 7: Apostrophes, Dashes, Hyphens, Ellipses, Slashes & Parentheses
7.1 Apostrophes: Possessives, Contractions & Plurals 7.2 Dashes & Hyphens: Interruptions, Breaks and Compounds 7.3 Ellipses, Slashes & Parentheses
8 Chapter 8: Federal Format, Title Page & Index Page
8.1 Federal District Court Format & Page Specifications 8.2 The Title Page 8.3 The Index Page
9 Chapter 9: Proceedings Page, Headers, Certificate & Colloquy
9.1 The Proceedings Page, Calls to Order & Page Headers 9.2 The Transcriber's Certificate 9.3 Colloquy, Question-and-Answer Format & Paragraphing
10 Chapter 10: Oaths, Parentheticals, Exhibits & Special Procedures
10.1 Swearing Witnesses, Parenthetical Notations & Exhibits 10.2 Quoted Material, Words Spelled on the Record & Italics for Non-English Words 10.3 Strikes, Playbacks, Recordings Played, Asides & Sidebars
11 Chapter 11: Special Designations, Interpreters, Remote Jobs & Verbatim Rules
11.1 Certified Questions, Redactions & Confidential Designations 11.2 Interpreters, Videographers & Remote Proceedings 11.3 Verbatim Transcription: Tics, Substantive Words & Chopped-Down Speech
12 Chapter 12: Interruptions, Indiscernible Speech & Transcriber Judgment Calls
12.1 Interruptions, Indiscernible Speech & Nonverbal Responses 12.2 Log Notes, Case Information, the Court Reporter & Judgment Calls on Names and Speakers
13 Chapter 13: Page Estimates, Originals & Copies, Drafts & Research
13.1 Page Estimates, Original vs. Copy & Rough and Expedited Transcripts 13.2 References, Internet Research & Understanding the Case
14 Chapter 14: Proceedings, Case Types & the Life Cycle of a Case
14.1 Types of Proceedings & Federal Read and Sign 14.2 Types of Cases & the Order of Court and Non-Court Proceedings 14.3 The Life Cycle of a Case
15 Chapter 15: Parties, Legal Documents, Jurisdiction & Venue
15.1 Parties, Participants & Types of Witnesses 15.2 Reading Legal Documents & Using the Docket 15.3 Jurisdiction, Venue & Civil vs. Criminal Proceedings
16 Chapter 16: Case Law, Citations & Jury Selection
16.1 Case Law & the Elements of a Case Citation 16.2 Jury Selection (Voir Dire) & Bench vs. Jury Trials
17 Chapter 17: Legal & Latin Terminology
17.1 Legal Terminology I: Pleadings, Motions, Orders & Procedure 17.2 Legal Terminology II: Evidence, Objections, Rulings & Trial Terms 17.3 Latin Terminology I: Procedure, Courts & Parties 17.4 Latin Terminology II: Doctrine, Evidence & Criminal Law
18 Chapter 18: Medical Terminology
18.1 Medical Terminology I: Word Parts, Directions & Anatomy 18.2 Medical Terminology II: Conditions, Procedures, Medications & Sound-Alikes
16.1 Case Law & the Elements of a Case Citation
Key Takeaways Explain This Topic AI
Under stare decisis, courts follow earlier decisions (precedent); decisions of higher courts in the same system are binding, while others are only persuasive.
A case citation such as Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 87 (1963) gives the case name, volume, reporter, first page, pinpoint page, and year (and court, when not shown by the reporter).
Statutes are cited by title, code and section (18 U.S.C. § 1001); federal rules by name and number (Fed. R. Civ. P. 30(e)).
When a citation is read aloud, the transcriber types it in standard citation form with the numbers spoken, verifying case names in an authoritative source.
Last updated: September 2026
Blueprint topics 40501 and 40502 ask how case law is used and how it relates to a case, and what the elements of a case citation are. The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation is among the CET blueprint's references.
How case law works
Case law is law made by judicial decisions, as opposed to statutes (enacted by legislatures) and regulations (issued by agencies). In common-law systems, a court's decision on a legal question becomes precedent for later cases.
Stare decisis ("to stand by things decided"): courts follow precedent so that the law is predictable.
Binding (mandatory) authority : decisions a court must follow. For a federal district court in Texas, decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court and the Fifth Circuit.
Persuasive authority : decisions a court may consider but need not follow, such as another circuit or a state court elsewhere.
Holding : the rule necessary to decide the case. Dicta ( obiter dicta ): other remarks, not binding.
Distinguishing a case: arguing that its facts differ, so its rule does not apply. Overruling : a higher court or the same court rejects its own precedent.
How it appears in a proceeding
In motion arguments , attorneys cite cases for the rule and argue that the facts fit or can be distinguished.
Judges cite cases when ruling from the bench.
Jury instructions often track language from leading cases.
In depositions , citations are rare but may come up in objections or expert testimony.
For the transcriber, case law matters because names and citations must be spelled and formatted correctly , and because recognizing a citation helps you hear it correctly.
The elements of a case citation
Take Brady v. Maryland , 373 U.S. 83, 87 (1963):
- Element Example Meaning
- Case name Brady v. Maryland The parties' names, with v. for versus. Italicized or underlined in writing
- Volume 373 The volume of the reporter
- Reporter U.S. The published series (United States Reports)
- First page 83 The page where the opinion begins
- Pinpoint (pin cite) 87 The specific page being cited
Court and year (1963) In parentheses; the court is omitted when the reporter shows it (U.S. means the Supreme Court)
Other examples (the last three are made-up citations that show the pattern):
Miranda v. Arizona , 384 U.S. 436 (1966)
Federal court of appeals pattern: Smith v. Jones , 123 F.4th 456, 460 (2d Cir. 2025), where F.4th is the Federal Reporter, Fourth Series, and 2d Cir. is the court.
Federal district court pattern: Doe v. Roe , 456 F. Supp. 3d 789 (D. Vt. 2020).
State court pattern: People v. Smith , 123 N.E.3d 456 (N.Y. 2019), where N.E.3d is the North Eastern Reporter, Third Series.
Common reporters: U.S. , S. Ct. and L. Ed. 2d (Supreme Court); F. , F.2d , F.3d , F.4th (courts of appeals); F. Supp. , F. Supp. 2d , F. Supp. 3d (district courts); regional state reporters such as A. , N.E. , N.W. , P. , S.E. , S.W. , So.
Short forms after the first full citation: Brady , 373 U.S. at 87; id. (the same source as immediately before); id. at 88.
Statutes, regulations and rules
- Authority Example Spoken as
- Federal statute 18 U.S.C. § 1001 "eighteen U.S.C. section one thousand one"
- Federal regulation 45 C.F.R. § 164.512(e) "forty-five C.F.R. section one sixty-four point five twelve e"
- Federal rule Fed. R. Civ. P. 30(e); Fed. R. Evid. 403 "Federal Rule of Civil Procedure thirty e"; "Rule 403"
- Constitution U.S. Const. amend. IV "the Fourth Amendment"
- Transcribing citations
Type what was said, in standard form. Spoken "three seventy-three U.S. eighty-three at eighty-seven" becomes 373 U.S. 83 at 87 . If the speaker says "at page eighty-seven," type at page 87 .
Keep the speaker's words. If the attorney says "Rule 12(b)(6)," do not expand it to "Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6)." If they say "section," many transcripts write the word Section rather than the § symbol; follow the style sheet.
Verify case names. Use a legal database or a free source such as a court website, Google Scholar or CourtListener to confirm spelling. Party names are often unusual.
Do not correct a wrong citation. If counsel misreads a volume number, the transcript keeps it (with (sic) only if it matters; Chapter 5).
Italics for case names follow the transcript's style. Many transcripts use roman type for case names; v. is always lowercase with a period.
Punctuation: commas separate the name, volume-reporter-page, and pinpoint; the year sits in parentheses.