An official list of persons in the employ of the us government. It provides a system of rules for legal citations so that readers can locate the sources cited. Jan 31, 2020 this free, webbased resource covers legal abbreviations used in the uk, australia, canada, new zealand, south africa, and other commonwealth jurisdictions, as well as the united states. For a case that occurred in 2010 in the united states district court for the eastern district of new york for example, the abbreviation will be e. Do not include terms like state of, commonwealth of, or. Note that in footnotes, words other than the first word in each partys name are subject to the abbreviation rule.
Blue pages are mostly used in briefs, motions, memoranda, and opinions. United states supreme court reports, lawyers edition. Specifications for electric installations consolidated edison co. The abbreviation of case names is governed by rule 10. The bluebook is the most commonly used system for legal citations in the united states, especially for legal scholarship, but also with modifications by local rules in judicial opinions and party briefs. During the print era this rule, which gives up on uniformity, had the. It is important that what you are citing is considered good law, as many cases will go through multiple appeals over its lifetime. Statutes, codes, and regulations are found in westlawnext, heinonline, and at government sites.
Omissions in case names basic legal citation cornell university. Bluebook citations for the model rules are governed by r12. If the title of a book ends with a year, place a comma between the book title and the pinpoint. Cases are often published in more than one case reporter. These tables give the various abbreviations for the u. However, the following are rules and examples for other types of legal documents that many firstyear law students may need to. Bluebook rule 10 covers how cases should be cited in legal documents.
The style manual used by the new york state law reporting bureau. The light abbreviation system is used for case names appearing in the grammatical part of textual sentences and in complete sentences in footnotes. The bluebook requires the use and citation of traditional printed sources when available, unless there is a digital copy of the source available that is authenticated, official, or an exact copy of the printed source, as described in rule 18. But see is used for authority that, while not directly contradicting the main proposition, nonetheless clearly opposes it. You can include terms like state of when referring to national or larger geographical areas, i. It is not intended to be a comprehensive discussion of citation rules. A uniform system of citation, 19th edition hbb and the chicago manual of style 6th ed. Oct 24, 2018 it is important that what you are citing is considered good law, as many cases will go through multiple appeals over its lifetime. Keep in mind the typeface differences between academic documents and non academic legal documents. Prior and subsequent history citations allow you to cite a particular opinion while giving reference to all opinions for the case. While the manual addresses citation for various sources, below is a brief explanation of the exceptions and expansions that pertain to case citations. List the names as they appear on the book, separated by an ampersand. Search by abbreviation to locate the title of the corresponding publication or search by title to determine the correct abbreviation for a specific publication.
Citing cases bluebook guide guides at georgetown law. Every case name must be checked against the abbreviations chart in the bluebook table t. Cite title, abbreviation for code, and section number t. Federal court abbreviations bluebook quick reference. Blue book definition of blue book by the free dictionary. The following abbreviation lists are usage oriented and include variants of citations as well as standard forms. Index to legal citations and abbreviations, 4th ed. Internet citation bluebook rules dulaneybrowne library. Therefore, we have created the given short bluebook style guide to help new law students familiarize themselves with the confusing and massive array of seldom rules, abbreviations, and citation forms. Inc 4 the con edison system for more than 180 years, onsolidated edison, inc. Can we get back to a more sensible, flexible system of legal citation.
Unfortunately, theres no simple trick to memorizing all the rules but over time youll get a feel for what looks right. State court abbreviations bluebook quick reference. This is a proposed citation style to adapt the bluebook to the unique needs of wikipedia. Abbreviations to regional reporters legal abbreviations. For citation to other states courts decisions, look in the bluebook.
These regional reporters contain appellate case law from all 50 states plus the district of columbia. In addition to those listed here, harvard law school library has many other jurisdictionspecific legal abbreviation lists. The tables for primary authority will list preferred sources as will the specific rules for different types of authority if multiple sources exist e. Rather than imposing a set of its own abbreviation rules, the oregon manual incorporates those of the cited jurisdiction by providing that case names be drawn from the running heads of the cases official reporter or failing that the regional reporter in which it appears. Use the name of the state if citing to a case not decided by that states state court. Generations of law students, lawyers, scholars, judges, and other legal professionals have relied on the bluebooks unique system of citation in their writing. Internationally, the word is in reference to any of the former colonies of the u. If the language in the current code including its supplement differs materially from the language in the session laws and the relevant title has not been enacted into positive law, cite the session laws. You might abbreviate the word commonwealth to cmlth. In a diverse and rapidly changing legal profession, the bluebook continues to provide a systematic method by which members of the profession communicate important information to one another about the sources and legal authorities upon. This differs from the rule prohibiting the abbreviation of united states as part of a case name, discussed here in this guide. Abbreviations used in legal citation are often inscrutable, e. Where the bluepages and local court rules are silent regarding the citation of a particular document, you may use the other rules in the bluebook, referred to as the whitepages, to supplement the bluepages. If you encounter a situation that is not covered in this guide, make sure to check the bluebook for more detail.
Citation format examples for footnotes general rules times new roman, size 10, 1 line spacing, justified. Any word over eight letters may also be abbreviated if. The bluebook has two different systems for abbreviating. Cases bluebook legal citation tarlton law library at. A uniform system of citation, a style guide, prescribes the most widely used legal citation system in the united states. The two broad styles of punctuation in english are often called british typically used in the uk, ireland, and most of the commonwealth of nations and american also common in canada and places with a strong american influence on local english, as in the philippines. Bluebook abbreviation for the federal register 42928 page number july 28, 2006 date of federal register issue code of federal regulations c.
Signals of the same basic type supportive, comparative, contradictory, or background rule 1. Include material that would otherwise be included in parenthetical explanations as part of the sentence itself, and do not italicize the signals. The new rule brings kentucky practice more in line with the blue book and alwd styles, although citation to the lower appellate court is slightly at variance. For more information, see bluebook rule 12 and new mexico rules annotated 23112. I must start by thanking the law reporting bureau of the state of new york for inviting me to write the foreword for the 2012 style manual. Name and original section number as it appears in the session laws only if the statute is commonly cited that way. The precise format of a case citation depends on a number of factors, including the jurisdiction, court, and type of case. For each state, table t1 lists the case reporter you should cite along with its correct abbreviation. The term dates back to the 15th century, when large blue velvetcovered books were used for recordkeeping by the parliament of england.
Any information about state and court that is clear from the reporter name should be deleted from the parenthetica l. Citation practices and the bluebook cuny school of law. Study 256 bluebook rules 1 11 flashcards on studyblue. Some basics on bluebooking with a focus on maryland rules this is a quick guide to citing maryland cases and statutes, based on bluebook rules 10 and 12. Citing legislative related materials statutes rule 12 1. Geographical names omit statecommonwealthpeople of except when citing. The table below provides examples of different internet citation forms. Aug 09, 2019 as law students, follow the bluebook rules along with any specific guidance from your professor. Pamphlets on the constitution of the united states, published during its discussion by the people, 17871788, at 385 paul l.
Such diversity of rules and citation forms has made the bluebook quite difficult to apply. However, the basic format of a case citation is as follows. Citing cases bluebook guide guides at georgetown law library. Baby blue takes the first step by restating the uniform system of citation for u. The bluebook is an example of absolute efficiency in the formulation and expression of the rules of legal citation. Case name abbreviations table 6 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z. Omit prepositional phrases of location unless the phrase begins a party name, is part of the full name of a business, or the omission would leave only one word in the partys name. This report identifies, a the boards of visitors of all public institutions, and other boards appointed by the governor. I am so pleased to recognize our outstanding state reporter, bill hooks, who succeeded to the position in june 2009. Apr 12, 2019 before you can track down a publication, you need to figure out its complete title. Citation sentences must additionally abbreviate the words in rule 10. Common abbreviations legal citation research guides at. Supreme judicial court style manual, sjc office of the reporter of decisions, 20162017 the manual may be useful to those preparing appellate briefs. This abbreviation applies to four of the united states.
Commonwealth, or people, depending on which appears on the title page, if citing to a case decided by that states state court. Official daily publication providing rules, proposed rules and notices from federal agencies, as well as executive orders and other presidential documents. For a deeper understanding, sidebars to these practitioner rules provide information about the sources of the particular citation format suggested by these practitioner rules. Specifications for electric installations consolidated edison. Note that the order of authorities within each signal must conform to rule 1. You can find rule 18 in the white pages on page 178. Below is a list of state supreme court and court of appeals abbreviations. The university of chicago manual of legal citation the maroonbook, 2018 edition. Use it for most if not every source you are cite checking. If you prefer to search by state supreme court or court of appeals exclusively, click on the links in the left hand navigation bar for supreme court or court of appeals abbreviations. This page provides bluebook a uniform system of citation, 19th ed. The fact of repeal or amendment must be noted parenthetically rule 12. In sum, combine the abbreviations on page 499 and the state abbreviations in t1 to indicate the court. State court decisions should only retain state commonwealth people.
Mar 27, 2020 west publishes seven 7 regional reporters as part of the national reporter system. General rules blue pages first section of rules for practitioners, organized as. Before you can track down a publication, you need to figure out its complete title. Remove state of, commonwealth of and people of and leave the state. There are too many rules for this introductory guide to cover. Oct, 2017 state court decisions should only retain state commonwealth people.
Judge posner, the blue book, and arkansas citation resources. They reflect louisiana court rules as well as court custom where those rules or the custom differ from the bluebook and alwd. The bluebook contains rules that prescribe how to cite a variety of legal documents. Rule 18 is the goto rule for internet, emedia, and other nonprint resources. For documents submitted to a court, always follow local court citation rules. Case law bluebook basics libguides at university of. Home legal citation guides and abbreviations research. Jul 19, 2019 the precise format of a case citation depends on a number of factors, including the jurisdiction, court, and type of case. Study 208 bluebook rules 1221 flashcards on studyblue. Note that the citations are for illustration purposes only and do not cover the nuances of each rule. Common bluebook citations for federal courts welcome.
Bluebook citation hamline university school of law. Deciding court, jurisdiction date of decision united states v. References to these authorities will direct you to specific rules for additional information and examples. Use the index at the back of the bluebook when you begin to search for applicable rules. In footnotes, signals may be used as the verbs of textual sentences. A blue book or bluebook is an almanac, buyers guide or other compilation of statistics and information. Commonwealth, or people, depending on which appears on the title. Verify that the proper typeface, abbreviations, capitalization, and short citation forms if applicable have been used for each type of authority.
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