aff'd

Law & Legal abbreviation · Legal Citation

aff'd
Stands forAffirmed
CategoriesLaw & Legal

aff'd stands for Affirmed, a legal citation abbreviation.

Subsequent-history phrase showing that a higher court affirmed the decision being cited, followed by the citation of the affirming decision, as in "aff'd, 99 F.3d 1 (1st Cir. 1996)". It tells readers the lower court's result survived appeal.

Example: The court relied on Smith v. Jones, 900 F. Supp. 1 (D. Mass. 1995), aff'd, 99 F.3d 1 (1st Cir. 1996).

Usage notes

The apostrophe marks omitted letters. Bluebook Rule 10.7 requires subsequent history, and Table T8 lists variants such as "aff'd mem." (affirmed without opinion), "aff'd in part, rev'd in part" and "aff'd sub nom." when the case name changed. Courts that vacate or remand are cited with the words "vacated" and "remanded" written out.

More legal citation abbreviations

  • A.2d – Atlantic Reporter, Second Series
  • A.3d – Atlantic Reporter, Third Series
  • A.D.3d – Appellate Division Reports, Third Series
  • A.L.R. – American Law Reports
  • AC – Appeal Cases
  • aff'g – Affirming
  • All ER – All England Law Reports
  • Am. Jur. 2d – American Jurisprudence, Second Edition
  • amend. – Amendment
  • art. – Article
  • Ass'n – Association
  • B.R. – Bankruptcy Reporter

See all 87 legal citation abbreviations →

Edited by the AbbreviationList.com team. Spotted an error or a missing meaning? Contact us.

This entry is for general education and is not legal advice. Abbreviation use varies between institutions; always confirm in context.