What is a legal citation?

A legal citation serves as a reference to legal authorities, such as statutes, regulations, court cases, and other legal documents, which are used to support legal arguments. Legal citations provide the source of specific laws or judicial interpretations that a legal argument depends upon, thus lending credibility and authority to the claims made. They follow established formats to ensure that anyone reviewing the documentation can accurately locate the referenced legal materials.

While the other options may encompass elements of legal discussions or documentation, they do not directly define what a legal citation is. Guidelines for legal conduct pertain to ethical rules rather than citations, footnotes are more about organization in legal texts than citations themselves, and summaries of court cases provide context but do not serve as formal citations. Hence, option C accurately captures the essence and function of a legal citation within the legal field.