Citing cases bluebook rules dulaneybrowne library at. Other systems have been introduced in recent years, challenging the dominance of the bluebook, but if youre a law student youll almost certainly encounter bluebookstyle citations at some point. For more on reporters, see our case law research guide or watch anatomy of a case, case citation, and the case law reporter system in our case law research tutorial on the right. All words in case names, other than the first word of either partys name, is abbreviated if it is listed in table 6 on pages 30203 of the bluebook rule 10. 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. The fastest way to collect all of the citation information for a case is to highlight the specific text you would like to cite and use the databases copy with citation feature. Below depicts how to cite a case using the bluebook from the supreme court. Case citations are formatted differently in different jurisdictions, but generally contain the same key information a legal citation is a reference to a.
The reporter citation the published source in which the case may be found will usually include the volume number of the reporter in which. There are a different kinds of party names, and the type of name will determine format. In court documents, the case name is underlined or italicized. In addition, abbreviate any state or smaller geographic unit included in a. A uniform system of citation, a style guide, prescribes the most widely used legal citation system in the united states. Because we typically use only the surname in case names, i think we would typically not include jr. In academic writing, the case name is in normal type in footnotes and italicized in text. The sheer complexity of the bluebook means that citing a court case can be a time consuming, confusing, and daunting task. The abbreviation of case names is governed by rule 10. After a case is cited whether fully or using a short form, use a form of id.
Additionally, the chicago manual of style recommends its use for all citation of legal material. However, the show frequently went against the actual project conclusions, suggesting on many occasions that. Common bluebook citations for federal courts welcome. The answer requires a student to synthesize a few rules from the bluebook. 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.
Explanatory information introduction to the bluebook. Bluebook citation for legal materials purdue writing lab. Meet the cast and learn more about the stars of of project blue book with exclusive news, photos, videos and more at. The abbreviation of a case name depends on whether you are using the name of the case in a textual sentence or in a citatation in a footnote. Federal courts bluebook guide guides at georgetown law. Citations to state and federal cases circuit riders. A short form citation may be used to identify a case that has previously been cited in full. The bluebook also has citation rules for legal memoranda and other practiceoriented materials the blue pages, which students in lrwa2.
If you are writing a brief or memo, look at the blue pages, rule b10 or apply the citation rules of the jurisdiction. Set out below is a table of words and their abbreviations with links to examples. Many of these files are not available anywhere else, and. If a case is published in a reporter, the bluebook prescribes which reporter is the preferred one to cite table 1. The case names you come across in citations will often be abbreviated. It is a composite of those contained in the bluebook and the alwd guide to legal citation. In scholarly writing footnotes, use ordinary roman type for case names in full citations, including in citation sentences contained in footnotes. Sometimes it may be necessary to explain the authority being cited. Cases bluebook legal citation tarlton law library at. T6 case names and institutional authors in citations. However, the basic format of a case citation is as follows. The main rule that describes the short form for cases is rule 10.
Omit words indicating multiple parties, such as et al. The way in which bluebook citations are formatted depends on which type of source you are citing. Name of the case underlined or italicized and abbreviated according to rule 10. According to the bluebook citation guide, case names are underlined in legal memoranda and court documents. Short form allows you to refer to one case several times in a document without having to give the full citation each time.
This guide has only scratched the surface of the countless rules contained in the bluebook that need to be considered to create an accurate bluebook court case citation. Case citation is a system used by legal professionals to identify past court case decisions, either in series of books called reporters or law reports, or in a neutral style that identifies a decision regardless of where it is reported. Perry this is the case name and is either italicized or underlined. If you are using the bluebook for a citation guide then it is very likely that you will need to cite a case. Today we discussed a question that sometimes causes confusion. Project blue book was the inspiration for the 19781979 tv show project u. Typically, the court and date are omitted and a pinpoint citation is given. For help interpreting the abbreviations, see table t6 and t10 in the bluebook, which cover case name and geographical abbreviations. If a district court case is published in the federal supplement, the bluebook dictates that you cite to it table 1, p.
When a case is referenced in a textual sentence, the names should conform to the rules listed below. Thus far, this guide has described how to cite cases in long form, i. This typeface is also used in the main text of a document. Bluebook case guide bluebook citation generator legalease. Legal citation citing cases with the bluebook proofed. This will provide you with all of the information you need to cite the case but it will not be properly bluebooked. There are a few different types of names, and the type of name will determine format. From the desks of project blue book the black vault case. For proper citation, you should either underline or italicize the case name, depending on where in a document you are placing the citation see rule 2. The first word of the case name is always spelled out in both systems, and the entire case name is. A citation to a district court case in the federal supplement includes the following six elements. This information follows the court and year in paretheticals andor an explanatory phrase. Lets start with the rules for citing a case from the supreme court of california. Weight of authority parentheticals most commonly used to indicate alternative holdings.
The case name occurs at the beginning of the citation. Bluebook citation for llm students bluebook citation for. Every case name must be checked against the abbreviations chart in the bluebook table t. The light version only abbreviates eight words, while the heavy abbreviation system abbreviates more. Abbreviate andor omit party names for easy but unambiguous identification. The case name abbreviations, which are often different from those required by the bluebook. The following information regarding the bluebook citation format is an adapted version of the style and formatting guidelines found in the bluebook, 20th ed. Typeface conventions bluebook legal citation tarlton. Omitting the volume and reporter information in a case short form. This page will give you a basic overview on citing cases using bluebook format. The chicago manual of style recommends omitting such abbreviations jr.
Bluebook rule 10 covers how cases should be cited in legal documents. The bluebook style guide is used in the american legal profession for citation of all relevant sources. Note that in footnotes, words other than the first word in each partys name are subject to the abbreviation rule. Omit all other parties besides the first listed in the case name. Guessing on the abbreviations in case names instead of checking table 6. You must be consistent throughout every case and citation if you choose to italicize or if you choose to. The black vault is proud to host files from the desks of project blue book courtesy of investigator rob mercer. You should use ordinary plain text for case names in full citations, except for procedural phrases like ex rel. In court documents briefs, motions and legal memoranda, a full case name is usually italicized or underlined. State court abbreviations bluebook quick reference.
Also omit alternative names given for the firstlisted party on either side, such as a corporation dba doing. The first word of the case name is always spelled out in both systems, and the entire case name is spelled out in a textual sentence. The deciding court will be indicated near the top of the case, under the party names. 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.
Citing cases bluebook guide guides at georgetown law. You should use large and small capitals for book authors and titles. Blue pages this guide covers the bluebooks white pages, which provide citation rules for academic papers. The case name will appear at the beginning of the citation. According to the bluebook, case names are underlined or italicized not both, whether youre citing the entire case name marvin v. Below is a list of state supreme court and court of appeals abbreviations. A case citation, for example, includes the name of the case. Whitepages bluebook guide libguides at university of. The bluebook has both light and heavy methods for abbreviating words in case names. Once the cite is given in full, you can use a shortened version every time you subsequently mention the case.
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