THE JUDGES AND THE JOURNALS: CITATION OF PERIODICAL LITERATURE BY THE SUPREME COURT OF CANADA, 1985-2004

Abstract

The Supreme Court of Canada does not just declare outcomes – it also provides reasons that are constructed around citations to judicial authority. However, in recent decades the Court has also begun to cite academic authorities as well. This article examines the citation of a specific type of academic authority – namely periodical journals – over the twenty-year period marked by the new Supreme Court Reports format listing “Authors Noted” as well as “Cases Cited”. It explores the evolving frequency of such citations, identifies the judges who use them, and the journals, the authors, and the specific articles that have been cited most frequently.