AAERT Certified Electronic Reporter (CER) Practice Test

Which of the following is not a component of how court opinions are cited?

1. Year case was filed

2. Case name

3. Page number

4. Year of decision

The correct answer is: Year case was filed

The correct answer pertains to the standard components involved in the citation of court opinions. Typically, citations include the case name, the year of the decision, and the page number where the opinion can be found in the reported volumes. The case name is crucial as it identifies the parties involved in the legal dispute. The year of decision provides a temporal context for the citation, while the page number is necessary to locate the specific opinion in the reporter series. On the other hand, the year the case was filed is generally not included in the citation format for court opinions. While it may be relevant in legal discussions or case histories, it does not form part of the standardized citation components used in legal documents. Therefore, it is the distinguishing factor in this context, making it the correct response.