Cal. Civ. Code West Supp. 2016 is a citation to which state's civil code?

• A. Maine
• B. New York
• C. Delaware
• D. California

Answer: (D)

Reading this citation comes down to how legal references name state codes and editions. The abbreviation Cal. signals California, and Civ. Code shows this is the Civil Code. West identifies the publisher (West’s Annotated Codes), and Supp. 2016 means the 2016 supplement edition. Put together, Cal. Civ. Code West Supp. 2016 points to California’s Civil Code as published in West’s Annotated California Codes with the 2016 supplement. The other states use different prefixes (for example, Me. for Maine, N.Y. for New York, Del. for Delaware), so the Cal. prefix clearly indicates California.