Citators allow you to know how the primary authority you are relying upon has been subsequently treated.

In law, the best-known citators are KeyCite which is available in Westlaw and Shepard's which is available in LexisNexis.

Uses of KeyCite

• To determine whether there is negative treatment of a document,
• To determine whether there is information you need to know about a document,
• To lead you to more documents to support your argument.

How to Access KeyCite

• From within the document
  • A KeyCite flag appears above the title of the document with most severe and recent negative treatment spelled out.
  • Tabs across the top of the document provide in-depth information about its treatment and history.
• Type kc followed by the document's citation in the search box at top of page, this takes you directly to the document's KeyCite report.

Meaning of Flags

• Red flag
  • Cases & administrative decisions - Warns that the document is no longer good law for at least one of the points it contains.
  • Statutes, court rules, regulations - Warns that the document has been amended, repealed, superseded, or held unconstitutional or preempted in whole or in part.
• Yellow flag
  • Cases & administrative decisions - Some negative history exists but the document has not been reversed or overruled.
  • Statutes, court rules, regulations - The document has been renumbered, there is proposed legislation or a proposed rule that will effect the document if passed, that it was limited or called into doubt. 
• Blue-striped flag
  • The cited case has been appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals or U.S. Supreme Court.

History vs. Citing References

• History is the procedural path of the document.
• Citing references are other documents that have cited the original document.

NOTE: Patent and trademark history and citing references are also available in KeyCite.