Art. 12 Pleading a statute

When someone needs to reference a law in a court document, whether it's a Louisiana state law, a local ordinance, a law from another state, or a federal law, they don't have to write out the entire text of that law. They just need to identify it clearly enough that everyone knows which law they mean.

This can be done a few different ways. A person can cite the law using its official citation number, refer to it by its formal title, or describe it in some other way that makes it clear which law is being talked about. The same applies when someone is claiming a right that comes from a law, or pointing out an obligation that a law creates.

The main point here is flexibility. Court paperwork doesn't need to get bogged down in exact legal language or long quotes from statute books. As long as the reference is clear enough that a judge, lawyer, or anyone else reading the document can figure out exactly which law is being cited, that's good enough to meet the legal requirement.