Primary sources are laws, orders, decisions, or regulations issued by a governmental entity or official, such as a court, legislature, or executive agency; the President; or a state governor. Examples of primary sources include court decisions, statutes, and constitutions. In appellate advocacy, the primary law includes any relevant federal and state court rules, statutes, and case law.
Fifth Circuit Local Rules
28.7 Citation to Unpublished Opinions, Orders, etc. FED. R. APP. P. 32.1(a) permits citation to unpublished judicial dispositions. Parties citing to such dispositions must comply with FED. R. APP. P. 32.1(b). If a party does not need to submit a copy of an unpublished disposition, the party must provide a citation to the disposition in a publicly accessible electronic database.
Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure
Rule 32.1. Citing Judicial Dispositions
(a) Citation Permitted. A court may not prohibit or restrict the citation of federal judicial opinions, orders, judgments, or other written dispositions that have been:
(i) designated as “unpublished,” “not for publication,” “non-precedential,” “not precedent,” or the like; and
(ii) issued on or after January 1, 2007.
(b) Copies Required. If a party cites a federal judicial opinion, order, judgment, or other written disposition that is not available in a publicly accessible electronic database, the party must file and serve a copy of that opinion, order, judgment, or disposition with the brief or other paper in which it is cited.