citation sentence

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A citation sentence is a sentence consisting entirely of one or more citations. A citation sentence is used to cite sources and legal authorities that refer to the entire preceding sentence. Citation sentences always begin with a capital letter and end with a period. Semicolons divide multiple sources in a citation sentence. The sentence may or may not begin with a signal.

An example of a citation sentence consisting of three different citations: 

United States v. Dodd, 538 F.2d 980, 984 (7th Cir. 1996); Parker v. Marpoe, 789 So. 2d 86, 91 (Al. 2000); Smith v. Fulton, 390 A.2d 72, 78 (Pa. 1999).

See also: order of signalsorder of authorities, and Introduction to Basic Legal Citation.

[Last updated in July of 2022 by the Wex Definitions Team]