Case law

Verbally citing a case

When citing cases verbally, some elements of a case citation need to be pronounced differently than they would appear in written form. For instance, in Australia we do not pronounce the V between the party names; use Against for criminal matters or And for civil cases. For example:

• The Queen Against Stubbs
• Haug And Jupiters

Instead of pronouncing the R in criminal matters, use The Queen or The Crown.

Use ‘In the matter of’ instead of Re.

Make sure to provide the full citation

In advocacy or moot situations, you will need to use the full citation the first time you refer to the authority. With subsequent citations, you can simply indicate the party names and pinpoint reference as needed. For example, when verbally citing R v Stubbs (2009) 228 FLR 221:

• First instance: "The Queen against Stubbs, reported in 2009 at volume two hundred and twenty-eight of the Federal Law Reports at page 221."
• Second instance: "The Queen against Stubbs…"

Congratulations! You have completed Case law. Return to Legal Research Essentials or proceed on to the next module: Legislation.