Accessing KeyCite
KeyCite status flags
Depth of treatment stars
KeyCite Quotation marks
KeyCite history for statutes
KeyCite history for regulations
KeyCite history for cases
Citing
references for statutes, regulations, and cases
You can use KeyCite to view the history of a case, statute, administrative decision, or regulation to help determine whether it is good law and to retrieve citing references. KeyCite information is available for every case in West’s National Reporter System; more than 1 million unpublished cases; federal statutes and regulations; statutes from all 50 states; administrative decisions from selected federal agencies;and regulations and administrative decisions from selected states.
Access KeyCite using one of the following methods:
Click the KeyCite tab and type the citation (e.g., 42 U.S.C.A. 18001) in the KeyCite a Citation text box. Then click Go.
Click the KeyCite status flag in a document header or next to a document’s citation
Click History, or Full History, or Citing References on the Links tab in the left frame while viewing a document.
Red Flag
A red flag warns that the case or administrative decision is no longer good law for at least one of the points of law it contains or that the statute or regulation has been amended by a recent session law or rule, repealed, superseded, or held unconstitutional or preempted in whole or in part.
Yellow Flag
A yellow flag warns that the case or administrative decision has some negative history but has not been reversed or overruled; that the statute has been renumbered or transferred by a recent session law; that an uncodified session law or proposed legislation affecting the statute is available (statutes merely referenced, i.e., mentioned, are not marked with a yellow flag); that a proposed rule affecting the regulation is available; that the regulation has been reinstated, corrected, or confirmed; that the statute or regulation was limited on constitutional or preemption grounds or its validity was otherwise called into doubt; or that a prior version of the statute or regulation received negative treatment by a court.
Blue H
A blue H indicates that the case or administrative decision has some history.
Green C
A green C indicates that the case or administrative decision has citing references but no direct history or negative citing references or that the statute or regulation has citing references.
Depth of treatment stars in your KeyCite result show the extent to which the citing document discusses a cited case or administrative decision, based on these categories:
**** (Examined)The citing document contains an extended discussion of the cited case or administrative decision, usually more than a printed page of text.
*** (Discussed) The citing document contains a substantial discussion of the cited case or administrative decision, usually more than a paragraph but less than a printed page.
** (Cited) The citing document contains some discussion of the cited case or administrative decision, usually less than a paragraph.
* (Mentioned) The citing document contains a brief reference to the cited case or administrative decision, usually in a string citation.
Quotation marks in your KeyCite result indicate that the citing document directly quotes the cited case or administrative decision.
Statute history lists cases affecting the validity of the statute plus legislative materials related to the
statute. These materials are divided into the following categories:
Updating Documents lists citations to recent session laws that have amended or repealed the section.
Proposed Legislation lists citations to proposed bills that reference the section.
Bill Drafts lists all drafts of bills proposed before the section was enacted into law.
Reports and Related Materials lists reports, journals, Congressional Record documents, presidential or executive messages, and testimony relevant to the section.
Credits lists in chronological order citations to session laws that have enacted, amended, or renumbered the section.
Historical and Statutory Notes describes the legislative changes affecting the section.
KeyCite history for regulations
KeyCite history for regulations includes proposed regulations and prior versions of the regulations from the Federal Register.
Case history is divided into the following categories:
Direct History traces your case through the appellate process and includes both prior and subsequent history.
Negative Citing References lists cases outside the direct appellate line that may have a negative impact on the precedential value of your case.
Related References lists cases that involve the same parties and facts as your case, whether or not the legal issues are the same.
Case history also includes links to related court documents, such as briefs, petitions, motions, and transcripts of oral arguments.
Citing references for statutes, regulations, and cases
Citing references includes cases, administrative materials, secondary sources, and briefs and other court documents that cite the document you are viewing.