# Legal Reasoning & Citation Guide

**Version:** 1.0 · **domainXpert Domain Reference Guides**

---

## Overview

Legal contributions require jurisdiction-aware reasoning and precise citation. A correct statement of law in one jurisdiction may be incorrect in another. Always specify jurisdiction.

---

## Jurisdiction Rules

- Always state the jurisdiction at the outset of any legal analysis.
- If the prompt does not specify a jurisdiction, note this and either ask for clarification or provide a jurisdiction-qualified answer.
- Do not generalize across jurisdictions without explicitly flagging that you are doing so.

---

## Citation Formats

**Case law:** *Case Name*, Volume Reporter Page (Court Year). Example: *Palsgraf v. Long Island R.R.*, 248 N.Y. 339 (1928).

**Statutes:** Title/Act Name, § Section (Year). Example: Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. § 12101 (1990).

**Regulations:** Agency, Title C.F.R. § Section (Year).

---

## Distinguishing Law from Interpretation

Be explicit about the difference between:
- What the statute says
- How courts have interpreted it
- What practitioners commonly do
- What you believe the law should say

These are four different things. Conflating them is a common annotation error.

---

## Uncertainty Language

- "Under [jurisdiction] law as of [year]…"
- "Courts have generally held, though this is not uniform…"
- "This is a developing area of law; the current majority rule is…"

---

*For questions, contact your legal domain coordinator.*