Cf. is an abbreviation for the Latin word confer, meaning "compare." Cf. is a signal indicating that the cited source supports a different claim (proposition) than the one just made, that it is worthwhile to compare the two claims and assess...
legal education and writing
citation
Citation has two common definitions in a legal context:
A citation is a reference to a source that supports a statement or is otherwise related to it. In legal documents, the source may be a primary legal authority (such as a...citation sentence
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...
cite
To cite means to make reference to an authority in a citation. In a legal context, a citation is also used to order someone to appear before a court.
[Last updated in July of 2022 by the Wex Definitions Team]
civil
In reference to law, “civil” is used primarily as a descriptive term to denote conflicts between private individuals. Where in a civil case two or more individuals or private entities (such as corporations) dispute their rights relative to...
civil forfeiture
Civil forfeiture allows the government (typically the police) to seize — and then keep or sell — any property that is allegedly involved in a crime or illegal activity. Owners need not ever be arrested or convicted of a crime for their cash,...
civil procedure
Overview:
Broadly speaking, civil procedure consists of the rules by which courts conduct civil trials. "Civil trials" concern the judicial resolution of claims by one individual or class against another and are to be distinguished from "...
code
In the practice of law, a code is an organized compilation of existing laws. It is a collection of all the laws in force, including the enacted laws and case law, covering a complete legal system or a specific area. A code can make the...
codified
To be codified is to be defined or otherwise included in a legislative statute. It is sometimes used in a wider sense to refer to principles that can be found not just in statutes, but also in constitutions, administrative rules, and other...
collective work
Collective work is defined as a work, such as an issue of a magazine, an anthology or an encyclopedia, in which a number of contributions, constituting separate and independent works in themselves, are assembled into a whole, see 17 U.S.C. §...