In part ii, we discuss the ability of citations to convey the strength and longevity of a particular rule of law in a given jurisdiction. Court documents and legal memoranda is the typeface. For example, several cases following a see signal must be placed in order according to court, chronology, and sometimes alphabetically. Remember that when citing to an annotated code, cite only to the text of the statute, not to any of the annotations or other editorial enhancements.
The most useful answers are gathered here as blue tips, classified by subject. This is true even when the writing is a sworn statement, known as an affidavit. Because you will often cite a case and other legal materials multiple times in a document, the bluebook has established a short form for use in subsequent citations. That is the bluebook rule addressing the broader question of how to signal any number of alterations a writer might make to a. String citation legal definition of string citation. String citationa series of references to cases that establish legal precedents and to other authorities that appear one after another and are printed following a legal assertion or conclusion as supportive authority. The general rule is that parentheticals should start with a lowercase present participle. When you use more than one signal in a citation string, the signals should be listed in the order in which they appear in rule.
The signal accord comes after another citation that supports the proposition. A series of references to cases that establish legal precedents and to other authorities that appear one after another and are printed following a legal assertion or conclusion as supportive authority. In this video, we cover what it takes to properly write a bluebook citation. You cannot cite merely to the first page unless you are talking about the case in general. A parenthetical is an explanatory phrase included in parentheses at the end of a legal citation. You can combine this with other signals such as see. Part iii considers the different messages that string citations can. The main authority being cited, or whichever is most useful, if any, should always. This is not a comprehensive citation reference work. Legal citation, the bluebook, and the anxiety of authority.
Because such string cites are difficulttoread, i prefer to display a string cite as an indented list in the text not as a footnote, with a blank line clearly separating each case. Look up the abbreviation for the state in table 10. Additionally, you may have multiple authorities in a single signal. A string cite as a singlespaced, fineprint footnote is useful for citing authorities to support an assertion that is commonly known amongst attorneys and judges.
The sources should be arranged according to their order of importance, in accordance with bluebook rule 1. The first citation here directly supports the statement and the accord signal and second citation indicates another source that supports it. Citation sentences begin with a capital letter and end with a period. For example, if citing to footnote 3 on page 807, provide the pin as 807 n. Guide to cite using bluebook citation method with examples. The bluebook now makes it optional to use parentheses around your record cites. Most articles about the bluebook treat it as an artifact, as an object to be evaluated. Federal courts bluebook guide guides at georgetown law. Citation rules for court documents and legal memoranda. The following information regarding the bluebook citation format is an. The authority is one of multiple authorities directly stating the same position. Signals of the same type must be strung together within a single citation sentence and separated by semicolons. The author hopes this guide will offer some helpful advice. The main authority being cited, or whichever is most useful, if any, should always be cited first.
Citation practices and the bluebook cuny school of law. This article will attempt to update florida practitioners on some of the latest changes to citation rules that all attorneys, trial and appellate, should know, and it will present some examples of the basic citation forms using the bluebook and rule 9. This guide provides basic information on bluebook citation in the scholarly format. And note that these rules were chosen based on personal. Order of authorities bluebook legal citation tarlton law library. According to the bluebook signals of different types should be grouped in different citation sentences. Alternately, you can find most of the citation information you need at the top of the screen on lexis and westlaw. Here are a few examples to illustrate support my statement. The bluepages section located at the start of the bluebook is a miniguide to. Bluecolored practitioners notes for court documents. All citations must include a pin cite, unless the citation is merely providing the citation for a full case name in text or the citation is a see generally cite in which the entire source makes the point referred to in text. Example 2 demonstrates a common misuse of multiple citations that leaves the reader wondering how the cases actually support the legal proposition.
This is the abbreviation that should always be included in a citation for an affidavit to indicate that it is an affidavit being referenced. The main rule that describes the short form for cases is rule 10. For generations, law students, lawyers, scholars, judges, and other legal professionals have relied on the bluebooks unique system of citation. The editors provide authoritative guidance to reasonable questions on subjects covered by the bluebook. Create your citations, reference lists and bibliographies automatically using the apa, mla, chicago, or harvard referencing styles. String citations sturm college of law university of denver. Use citation sentences to cite sources and authorities that.
Signals are used in front of citations to alert the reader as to how that citation is being used. History of bluebook the development of the bluebook from its inception in 1926 as a twentysixpage pamphlet. Example 1 demonstrates an effective use of multiple citations to support a rule synthesis. Section 6300 breaks signals and their references into four. To assist readers in locating these sources, it is desirable to use a standardized citation format. The most common way to include citations in a legal document is through the rules set out in the bluebook. In formal legal writing, the order of authorities refers to the sources which are used to validate claims made by the author of the paper. Note, however, that some courts may require any legal papers that are submitted to them to conform to a different citation format. Further, unofficial reporters are listed in order of preference. If writing a scholarly article, you will need to provide correct attribution to your sources. Parenthetical use is governed in part by the bluebook and in part by our own writing objectives. The bluebook does not provide clear guidance on how to cite every authority that law students or legal practitioners need or wish to use in their papers, memos, and briefs.
In general, if one source is considered more authoritative than the others, place this one first in the string cite. If you are citing a state case that is from a state court in the same state, and uses the public domain format, you will need a parallel citation. An affidavit citation should include the affiants last name and the paragraph number where the cited information is found in the affidavit. Some of the most obscure bluebook rules or how to really. The author experienced frustration with the bluebook both as a first year student and on a law journal board. Bluebook citation 101 academic format signals search this guide search. Note that some of the dates in the examples below have been fabricated for demonstration purposes. I dont think it would make a difference if you changed the pincite, so in your example. The following information regarding the bluebook citation format is an adapted version of the style and formatting guidelines found in the bluebook, 20th ed. Lengthy string citations, like long singlespaced block quotations, are never a good ide.
If your judge or court has not stated a preference for the citation style of the california style manual, you may default to the bluebook citation. Nov 03, 2014 bluebook string citation and order of authorities. For help with other source types, like books, pdfs, or websites, check out our other guides. Do not use a signal with a citation when you have directly borrowed someone elses words or have paraphrased her words or ideas. May 30, 2014 citations in the string cite may well be wasted as courts recognize their discretion to elect to disregard the string citations entirely. Bluebook format for citing secondary sources citation of books the bluebook has a really strange format for citing books that is a radical departure from scholarly practice in other fields. However, there is generally a significant lag between when the court decides a case and when it is published in the united states reports.
Citing to the record in briefs marquette university law. When citing to other court filings in the same case, abbreviate the titles of those documents and cite a paragraph or page within the. Finally, a string citation may be used strategically to demonstrate the degree of. State court cases from different jurisdictions are cited alphabetically by state and then by rank within each state. Order of authorities bluebook legal citation tarlton.
Bluebook rule 10 covers how cases should be cited in legal documents. If citing a federal case and a state case, cite the federal case first. Substance of legal citation the subtext of citation. This is the accepted format for citing statutes in court documents. There is a division of jurisdiction in bluebook and each jurisdiction has different format of citation, which is quite evident from examples below. Pink text information that you will need to find from.
Elements of a citation get separated by commas, or set off by parentheses. Order of authorities wex us law lii legal information. For example, in preparing a brief, an attorney might set forth a particular assertion based upon the facts of the case and. Citation format examples for footnotes general rules times new roman, size 10, 1 line spacing, justified. When you use more than one signal in a citation string, the signals should be listed in the order in which they appear in rule 1. Everything you wanted to know that the bluebook does not tell. Order bb alwd ib sometimes multiple citations or strings are necessary. Apr 24, 2012 here are the major rules from the 19th edition of the bluebook regarding record citation. If citing to a footnote, add the number of the footnote after the page number in the format n. The bluebook lists a regional reporter as each states official reporter. A string citation contains numerous citations, each separated by a semicolon. Jul 19, 2019 thus far, this guide has described how to cite cases in long form, i.
Jan 23, 2019 when you refer to writings in a legal document, you must always cite them. Bluebook rule 15 gives the citation format for books, reports, and other nonperiodic materials. Citation of a united states supreme court decision. To have your reference list or bibliography automatically made for you, try our free citation generator. And, of course, the bluebook provides you with detailed rules about how to format your parentheticals.
Regents of the university of california, the court held. Signals indicating that the cited work is supportive of the authors text are the most commonly used type of signal. Generations of law students, lawyers, scholars, judges, and other legal professionals have relied on the bluebook s unique system of citation in their writing. If the provision is in a supplement or pocket part, cite to the edition of the supplement or pocket part. If you find the statute online, technically you have to check the bound volumes and supplements for the year. A law declaring that one group of citizens shall not be afforded equal. How to cite a concurrence in or dissent from a denial of. This guide provides commentary, models and tips on the bluebook 19th edition for law students.
Legal citation, the bluebook, and the anxiety of authority michael bacchust introduction at the end of the school year, law schools across the country hold competitions for positions on law journals, and the university of pennsylvania law school is no different. In other words, a period should end the string of authorities indicating support, and any authorities in contradiction. Standard order of authorities as per bluebook rule 1. Signals are important because they indicate how a cited authority relates to the text. Internal crossreferences are used to cite to text and notes within the same work. After a case is cited whether fully or using a short form, use a form of id. These tips are searchable and linked to the bluebook content they address. Hat tip to eva resnicow, aka editrix lex, who brought this bluebook change to my attention since the eighteenth edition, the bluebook has included internal quotation marks omitted among the parenthetical expressions listed in rule 5. The bluebook, is the definitive style guide for legal citation in the united states.
B here refers to the rules from the bluepages at the beginning of the bluebook. After that, this rule provides the appropriate order in sufficient detail that the rule should be consulted directly. 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. Thus far, this guide has described how to cite cases in long form, i. Short forms for cases bluebook guide guides at georgetown. This relation can be supportive, comparative, or contradictory. Sometimes, researchers will toil in vain looking for a particular rule or example to cover a less common type of source, only to find that there is no answer. Introductory signals appear at the beginning of citation sentences. This practice is not only confusing to nonlawyers, but also ugly. Jul 19, 2019 united states reports is an official publication of the united states government and the preferred reporter to cite for u. When a series of citations includes material grouped after more than one signal, the signals should appear in the order in which they are listed in 6300. Never use the two character postal abbreviations for states. List the public domain citation before the regional reporter if one is available.
String theory, by kirby griffis, briefright blog string citations a good writing tool or a bad idea. Citations in the string cite may well be wasted as courts recognize their discretion to elect to disregard the string citations entirely. When citing to one of the unofficial annotated codes you need to indicate which set you used by identifying the publisher at the end of the cite. A citation to an unpublished case that is available in westlaw, lexis, bloomberg law, or another widely used electronic database rule. Sometimes multiple citations or strings are necessary.
The style manual used by the new york state law reporting. If you are using parentheses around your record cites, then you use them with all record cites, including those that contain id. Florida lawyers have two main sources of citation forms and a third lessutilized source. Oct 24, 2018 additionally, you may have multiple authorities in a single signal. Weird bluebook rules bluebook citations libguides at. On occasion, however, scholars have looked behind the bluebook, to examine accepted rules of legal citation that are codified in it. For example, in preparing a brief, an attorney might set forth a particular assertion based upon the facts of the case and applicable law and immediately thereafter make a list of. Sometimes, researchers will toil in vain looking for a particular rule or example to cover a less. Its limited aim is to serve as a tutorial on how to cite the most widely referenced types of u. Order of authorities bluebook legal citation tarlton law. In a multivolume book, the volume number is placed to the left of the authors name.
Internal crossreferences may point the reader to specific pages, designate parts and sections, paragraphs, or footnotes, as well as figures, charts, and graphs. The first citation here directly supports the statement and the accord signal and second citation indicates. Aug 27, 2019 use promocode youtube on our website and get 20% off in this video, we cover what it takes to properly write a bluebook citation. Bluebook citation hamline university school of law. A bluebook guide for law students suffolk university. Signals bluebook citation 101 academic format research. Use ilcs as the abbreviation for all forms of the illinois compiled statutes, both semiofficial and unofficial. Generally speaking, the citation should include the authors full name, the title of the book, the page cited, editors name if applicable, edition if applicable, and year of publication. If a section is partly updated in the supplement, then cite to both years. Citation machine helps students and professionals properly credit the information that they use.
1477 961 464 1237 1331 310 1365 1526 241 1288 704 1445 1581 1054 458 73 1490 81 237 84 732 721 514 42 741 1176 820 1350 693 502 1235 600