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 signals, order of authorities, and Introduction to Basic Legal Citation.
[Last updated in July of 2022 by the Wex Definitions Team]