TheLawStudentsQuickGuideto

LegalCitation

by

TheBostonUniversitySchoolofLaw
LegalInformationLibrarians






EditedbySteveDonweber

Copyright2012PappasLawLibrary,BostonUniversitySchoolofLaw

 TableofContents

IntroductiontoLegalCitation...................................1

UsingTheBluebook....................................................4

LawReviewFootnotesv.Court
DocumentsandLegalMemoranda............................8

CaseNames...................................................................9

Books............................................................................10

CourtRules....................................................................11

Abbreviations.............................................................12

Spacing.........................................................................13

SignalsandParentheticals........................................15

Signals...........................................................................15

E.g.,........................................................................15

See..........................................................................16

Seealso..................................................................17

See,e.g.,.................................................................18

Accord....................................................................19

Cf...........................................................................20

Contra...................................................................20

i
 Butsee...................................................................21

Seegenerally..........................................................21

AFinalNoteonSignals........................................21

Parentheticals..............................................................22

CitingCases...............................................................24

Generally......................................................................24

Reporters.....................................................................24

FederalReporters.................................................25

Regional(State)Reporters..................................26

CaseName...................................................................27

CaseCitationInformation..........................................27

AbbreviationsinCaseNames..............................27

ParallelCitations..................................................28

UnpublishedCases......................................................29

WestlawExample.................................................29

LexisNexisExample.............................................30

CitingStatutes...........................................................31

Generally.......................................................................31

YearoftheCode..........................................................32

ii

 FederalStatutes............................................................33

StatutoryCodes.....................................................33

SessionLaws.........................................................34

StateStatutes...............................................................34

StatutoryCodes....................................................34

SessionLaws..........................................................35

CitingSecondarySources.........................................36

Dictionaries.................................................................36

LegalEncyclopedias....................................................37

JournalsandPeriodicals.............................................38

ConsecutivelyPaginated.....................................38

NonConsecutivelyPaginated.............................38

Newspapers..........................................................39

MassachusettsPractice...............................................39

MultiVolumeTreatises..............................................40

SingleVolumeTreatisesandMonographs.................41

ShortCitationForms................................................42

CitingtoCases,Statutes,andSecondary
SourcesthatyouFindonWestlawand
LexisNexis.................................................................44

iii

Conclusion................................................................45

AdditionalReading...................................................47

iv

 IntroductiontoLegalCitation

Legal citation is the method by which lawyers, law
students,professors,andjudgesrefertothesources,
whether primary or secondary,1 that they rely upon
when drafting court documents or legal
memoranda, law school assignments, law review
articles,andjudicialopinions.

Citations are shorthand notations that permit the

identification and location of a particular source.
Thus, elements of a citation generally include what
thesourceis,whereitcanbefound,theyearitwas
created or went into effect, and for all primary
sources and some secondary sources, the
jurisdiction to which it applies. Because we rely on
differentsourcesfordifferentreasons,legalcitation
also includes the use of signals, which introduce
citations and explain to the reader the citations
purpose, and explanatory parentheticals, which
providefurtherdetailsonasource'srelevancetothe
author'sproposition.

Masteringlegalcitationtakespractice,patience,and
strict attention to detail. It means mastering the
professionwide standards for legal citation, which
are set forth in The Bluebook: A Uniform System of

1
Primarysourcesincludecases,statutes,and
regulations.Secondarysourcesincludehornbooks,
monographs,legalencyclopedias,lawreviewarticles,and
treatises.

[1]
Citation,2 published by the Columbia, Harvard, and
University of Pennsylvania Law Reviews, and the
YaleLawJournal.

At its inception, The Bluebook was a modest

undertaking designed only to deal with the more
common abbreviations and [citation] forms to
which one has occasion to refer.3 Needless to say,
TheBluebookismodestnolonger.Ithasgrownfrom
a26pagepamphletfirstpublishedin19264toa511
page behemoth when the latest edition (the 19th)
cameoutin2010.5Thisexplosionincitationforms,
rules, and complexity has made The Bluebook very
difficulttouse,particularlyfornewlawstudents.

For that reason, we have created this Quick Guide,

which, happily, is only slightly longer than the
original A Uniform System of Citation published in
1926. Be forewarned; this Quick Guide is not
comprehensive.6 It covers only (1) the difference

2
Thisguideanditsauthorsareinnowayaffiliated
withTheBluebookoranyofthelawreviewsorjournals
thatcompileandeditit.

3
AUNIFORMSYSTEMOFCITATION1(HarvardLaw
Reviewed.,1926).

4
Seeid.

5
SeeTHEBLUEBOOK:AUNIFORMSYSTEMOF
CITATION(ColumbiaLawReviewAss'netal.eds.,19thed.
2010)("BLUEBOOK").

6
Bydesign.
[2]
between citation formsin law review footnotesand
thoseinlegalmemorandaandcourtdocuments,(2)
abbreviations, (3) the use of signals and
parentheticals, (4) basic citation forms for cases,
statutes, and secondary sources, (5) short citation
forms, and (6) how to cite cases, statutes, and
secondarysourceswhenyoufindthemonlinerather
thaninprint.7

Weve limited the Quick Guides scope to avoid

overwhelming the new student with a massive and
confusingarrayofcitationforms,abbreviations,and
otherrulesthatareseldom,ifever,usedduringthe
firstyear.Rather,wefocusonlyontheareas(when
it comes to legal citation) that we believe are most
valuabletonewlawstudents.

Yes, The Bluebook is daunting, but it need not be

yourbane.8Nor,ofcourse,shoulditbeyourmaster.
However, it can be your friend if certain steps are
followed and a certain proficiency is achieved.9 We
hopethisQuickGuidehelps.Goodluck!

* * *

7
Foreverythingelse,youmust,ofcourse,consult
TheBluebookitself.

8
Bane.n."asourceofharmorruin."WEBSTER'S
SEVENTHNEWCOLLEGIATEDICTIONARY68(1963)

9
Thistidybitofphilosophyisbasedonsomething
thatPlinytheElderlikelysaid.Or,ifnot,probablyshould
have.
[3]
 UsingTheBluebook

Firstoff,don'tthinktoomuchaboutTheBluebook.
It's far too painful. Nevertheless, it is important to
understand The Bluebook's purpose and its
structure. Once you get those two things down,
usingTheBluebookbecomesmucheasier.

AstoTheBluebook'spurpose,ormoregenerally,as
to the purpose of uniform legal citation, it is
twofold: (1) the identification of a source, and (2)
wheretofindit.JudgeRichardPosner,eventhough
aharshcriticofTheBluebook,agrees:

A system of citation forms has basically two

functions: to provide enough information about
areferencetogivethereaderageneralideaofits
significance and whether its worth looking up,
andtoenablethereadertofindthereferenceif
hedecidesthathedoeswanttolookitup.10

Thispurposeisquitevitalinbothlegalpracticeand
scholarship.

HowdoesknowledgeofTheBluebook'spurposehelp
ususeit?Well,ifthepurposeistohelpusidentify
sources and then locate them, it's obvious that
citationformat,atleastatitsmostbasiclevel,must
be standard and uniform. So, for example, every

10
RichardA.Posner,TheBluebookBlues,120YALE
L.J.850,852(2011).

[4]
published United States case, whether state or
federal,hasthefollowingformat:

[case name], [volume number] [reporter in

which case is published in print] [page number
onwhichcasebegins]([courtthatdecidedcase]11
[yearcasewasdecided]).

Actualexamplesusingthisstructurearebelow:12

United States v. Pepperman,

976 F.2d 123 (3d Cir. 1992).

Costa v. Boston Red Sox, 809 N.E.2d 1090

(Mass. App. Ct. 2004).

C.C.H. v. Philadelphia Phillies, 940 A.2d 336

(Pa. 2008).

Duetouniformlegalcitation,weinstantlyrecognize
these examples as cases and we also immediately
know,morespecifically,wherethecaseispublished
in print, the court that decided the case, and when
the case was decided. This is very valuable
information, and with uniformity, we get it at a
glance.

The same principles apply to most other citation

formatsaswell.Theideaisthatevenifthespecifics

11
For cases where the citation to the reporter
clearly identifies the court (for example, Flood v. Kuhn,
407 U.S. 258 (1972)), there is no need to identify the
decidingcourtintheparenthetical.

12
AllcitationsinthisQuickGuidearedisplayed
usingCourierfonttoshowproperspacing.
[5]
of a citation are different, the uniformity in format
permitseasyrecognitionofthetypeofsourceused,
wheretofindit,andinformationaboutit.

AstoTheBluebook'sstructure,well,itpaystoknow
where things are. The Bluebook is divided into four
main parts. First are the socalled blue pages,
whichprovidetypefaceandcitationformatforcourt
documents and legal memoranda (that is, for non
academic,nonlawreviewrelatedpurposes).Second
are the white pages, which provide typeface and
citationformatforlawreviewfootnotes(thatis,for
academic purposes). Generally, the difference in
citation format as between court documents and
legal memoranda and law review footnotes (as
shownintheblueandwhitepages,respectively)
is typeface only. Citation structure as between the
two is generally the same. The third part of The
Bluebook is the domestic and foreign jurisdiction
pages at Tables T1 and T2. These pages provide
essential information as to citation preference and
court and statutory abbreviations for specific
jurisdictions. Finally, fourth are the general
abbreviationpages,whichbeginatTableT6.13

TheBluebookalsohasanindex,andagoodone.Use
it. For example, if you are wondering about the
correctusageofthesignalsee",justlookupseein
theindex.Or,ifyouwanttoknowhowto(orevenif
youshould)citetoacasessubsequenthistory,again
just look up subsequent history. Youll be quickly
directedtotherightplace.

13
Formoreonabbreviations,seebelowatpage12.
[6]

Finally, much tedium can be avoided by simply
looking at the inside front or back covers of The
Bluebook, which contain quick reference guides for
most common citation forms and can provide
answers to many basic citation questions without
verymucheffortatall.

* * *

[7]
 LawReviewFootnotesv.Court
DocumentsandLegalMemoranda

As mentioned above, there are differences in
typeface conventions as between court documents
and legal memoranda (nonacademic citation) and
law review footnotes (academic citation). These
differences can generally be described asBlue
Pages v. White Pagesbecause it's theBlue
PagesatthebeginningofTheBluebookthatcontain
the formats for citations used in court documents
andlegalmemoranda,andit'stheWhitePagesthat
come next that contain the formats for citations
appearinginlawreviewfootnotes.

The key distinction between citing according to

theBlue Pagesand theWhite Pagesis TYPEFACE.
By that I mean usage of italics, underlining, LARGE
AND SMALL CAPITALS, and regular roman type. The
typeface distinction is generally the only difference
betweenthetwoformats.So,youcanusetheWhite
Pagesto guide you when citing in court documents
andlegalmemorandasolongasyouusethecorrect
typeface.

Herearethreeexamples,showingtheformsforboth
academicandnonacademiccitation.14

14
Pleasenote:EventhoughTheBluebookpermits
theuseofitalicsinsteadofunderliningincourt
documentsandlegalmemorandawhereappropriate(see
RuleB1,at3),wedon'trecommenditalicizationinnon
academiccitationforthreereasons:(1)judgesarelikely
accustomedtoseeingunderliningincourtdocumentsas
[8]

Case Names.In law review footnotes, case names
are in regular roman type when used in a citation
and italicized when the case name is an actual
grammaticalpartofasentence.15

Here's what we mean by using a case name as a

grammaticalpartofasentence.

InPennoyerv.Neff,theSupremeCourtoutlined
apowertheoryofpersonaljurisdiction.

Here's what we mean by using a case name in a
citation.

The Supreme Court has often discussed the

territoriallimitsplacedonacourt'sjurisdiction.
See,e.g.,Pennoyerv.Neff,95U.S.714(1878).

In the actual text of the law review article the case

name is always italicized.16By contrast, in court

thathasbeenthelongtimestandard(thechoiceofitalics
isnew);(2)itisourbeliefthatstudentswouldfinda
failuretodistinguishbetweenthetwoformatsconfusing
inthelearningprocess;andperhapsmostimportantly,
(3)everyrelevantexamplegivenintheBluePagesfor
nonacademiccitationisunderlined;noneareitalicized.
And,asweconsiderexamplestobeavitalpartofusing
TheBluebook,we'lluseunderliningforourBluePages,
nonacademicexamplesaswell.

15
SeeBLUEBOOK,supranote5,at634.

16
Seeid.at64.
[9]
documents or legal memoranda, case names are
underlined,17 whether in the text or a footnote.18
Belowareexamples.

In text of law review article or as

grammatical part of sentence in law review
footnote.

Pennoyer v. Neff

Inlawreviewfootnoteascitation.

Pennoyer v. Neff, 95 U.S. 714 (1878).

Inacourtdocumentorlegalmemorandum.

Pennoyer v. Neff, 95 U.S. 714 (1878).

Books.Inlawreviewfootnotes,booksareplacedin
largeandsmallcapitalletters.19Incourtdocuments
and legal memoranda, the title of the book is
underlined and other aspects of the citation are in
regularromantype.20Belowareexamples.

17
Although italicization is permitted, we don't
recommendit.Seesupranote15.

18
SeeBLUEBOOK,supranote5,at4.

19
Id.at63.

20
Id.at23.

[10]
 Inlawreviewfootnote.

JONATHAN STROUD, THE AMULET OF SAMARKAND
(2003).

Incourtdocumentorlegalmemorandum.

Jonathan Stroud, The Amulet of
Samarkand (2003).

Court Rules. Court rules are cited using large and

small caps in law review footnotes and regular
roman type incourt documents and legal
memoranda.21Belowareexamples.

Inlawreviewfootnote.

FED. R. CIV. P. 12(b)(6).

Incourtdocumentorlegalmemorandum.

Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6).

In all three examples above, please notice that the

structure of the citation (elements of the citation,
abbreviations, spacing, etc.) remains the same
whetherinalawreviewfootnoteorcourtdocument
and legal memorandum. The only difference is the
typeface.

* * *

21
Id.at17,121.

[11]
 Abbreviations

The Bluebook is huge intoabbreviations. Every
court has an abbreviation, every reporter has an
abbreviation, every law review has an abbreviation,
and many ordinary words are also abbreviated in
casenamesandthelikepursuanttoTheBluebooks
voluminous abbreviation tables (the abbreviation
tables are the blue edged pages that essentially
comprisethesecondhalfofTheBluebook).

Here's how the abbreviation rules and tables are

structured.

The general rules for structuring abbreviations are

contained inRule 6. Specific abbreviations are
compiledasfollows:

Table T1 contains abbreviations forfederal
andstatecourtsandreporters,dividedup
byjurisdiction.

Table T6 contains words that are always
abbreviatedincasenamesincitations.

Table T7 provides general abbreviations for
variouscourts(notjurisdictionspecificfor
thatseeTableT1).

Table T8 contains abbreviations for
explanatoryphrasesusedinacase'sprior
andsubsequenthistory.

[12]
 Table T9 provides abbreviations for
legislativedocuments.

Table T10 provides abbreviations for
geographicalterms.

Table T11 provides abbreviations for the
titlesofjudgesandotherofficials.

Table T12 provides abbreviations for the
monthsoftheyear.

Table T13 provides abbreviations
forjournalsandotherperiodicals.

Spacing.22 Spaces are key components in

abbreviations. The general rule is this: when
stringing abbreviations together, always surround
multipleletterabbreviationswithspaces(spacesare
shownbythedot).So:

F.Supp.2d
Mich.Ct.App.
S.Ct.

In contrast, a string of single letter abbreviations
containsnospaces.So:

S.D.N.Y
F.3d

22
Formoreonspacing,seeBluebookRule6.1(a).
[13]
Andfinally,acombinationofthetwolookslikethis:

E.D.Pa.
N.D.Cal.

* * *

[14]
 SignalsandParentheticals

Signals

Signalsintroduce legal citations whether in text or

footnotes.23 They explainthe manner in which the
citationsupports the proposition.If[no signal]is
used, that means that the proposition in the cited
authorityandtheauthor'spropositionarethesame.
So,[nosignal]isalwaysusedwhenquotingfroma
source and also when the proposition noted in the
source and the proposition made by the author are
identical.

Themostcommonsignalsarelistedbelowandeach
is discussed separately. Each discussion also
contains an example of the typeface used for each
signalwhenusedinlawreviewfootnotesandwhen
usedincourtdocumentsandlegalmemoranda.

Please note that the first letter of a signal is only

capitalized when the signal begins a citation
sentence.

* * *

E.g.,

When you usee.g.,to introduce a citation, you are
sayingthattherearemultiplesourcesthatstatethe

23
For more information on signals, see Bluebook
Rule1.2.
[15]
samepropositionastheoneyouaremakinginyour
paper,butcitingtoallofthemwouldbesuperfluous
(soyouonlycitetooneandintroduceitwithe.g.,).

E.g.,typefaceexamplescanbefoundbelow.

LawReviewFootnotes

E.g.,

CourtDocumentsandLegalMemoranda

E.g.,

Please note that when using this signal, the final

commaisneitheritalicizedinalawreviewfootnote
nor underlined in a court document or legal
memorandum.

* * *

See

When you usesee,you are stating that the cited

authority "clearly supports"24 your proposition.
According to The Bluebook, seeis used rather
than[no signal]when your proposition is
notidentical to that stated by the cited authority,
but,nevertheless,followsobviouslyfromit.25

24
BLUEBOOK,supranote5,at54.

25
Seeid.
[16]
Typefaceexamplesarebelow.

LawReviewFootnotes

See

CourtDocumentsandLegalMemoranda

See

Please note: there is no comma between see and

thecitation.

Inadditiontousingseeasanintroductorysignal,it
mayalsobeusedinacitationasaverb.Inthatcase,
seeisneitherunderlinednoritalicized.Anexample
isbelow.

For additional discussion of Pliny the Elders

philosophy,seesupranote9andaccompanying
text.

* * *

Seealso

When you usesee also, you are stating that the
authority you are citing isadditionalauthority in
support of your proposition, and that you have
already"citedordiscussed"authoritythatstatesor
directlysupportstheproposition.26Youshoulduse
anexplanatoryparenthetical27withseealso.

26
Id.
[17]

Thetypefacesforseealsoarethesameasthosefor
see.

* * *

See,e.g.,

See, e.g.,is an awesome little invention. As a
combination of e.g.,andsee, it is used when many
authoritiessupport,butdonotdirectlystate,your
proposition,andwhencitationtoallofthemwould
notbehelpful.

Typefaceexamplesarebelow.

LawReviewFootnotes

See, e.g., Bell Atlantic Corp. v.
Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 553 (2007).

CourtDocumentsandLegalMemoranda

See, e.g., Bell Atlantic Corp. v.
Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 553 (2007).

Please note: the second period in see, e.g., is

italicizedinalawreviewfootnoteandunderlinedin
courtdocumentsandlegalmemoranda.Thesecond
comma,however,isnot.

27
For more on explanatory parentheticals, see
belowatpage22.

[18]
 Accord

When you useaccord, you are stating that you are
citingtotwoormoresourcesthat"stateorclearly
support"yourproposition,butyour"textquotesor
refers to only one."28 In that case, the source
referred to in your text is introduced with[no
signal]orsee,and immediately thereafter, the
additionalsourcesareintroducedwithaccord.

See below for an example using the different

typefaces.

LawReviewFootnotes

Miller v. Pepper, 638 P.2d 864, 868
(Haw. Ct. App. 1982); accord Brewer
v. Michigan Salt Ass'n, 11 N.W.
370, 373 (Mich. 1882).

CourtDocumentsandLegalMemoranda

Miller v. Pepper, 638 P.2d 864, 868
(Haw. Ct. App. 1982); accord Brewer
v. Michigan Salt Ass'n, 11 N.W.
370, 373 (Mich. 1882).

28
Id.
[19]
 Cf.

Cf.istheabbreviationforcompare.Whenyouuse
cf.to introduce a citation, you are stating that the
authority you are citing supports a proposition
differentthan yours, but which is nevertheless
"sufficiently analogous to lend support."29 You
should include an explanatory parenthetical when
usingcf.

The typeface is the same as that forsee, but make

suretounderlinetheperiodincourtdocumentsand
legal memoranda and italicize it in law review
footnotes!

* * *

Contra

Usecontrawhen the source"directly states the
contraryof the proposition" you are making.30 The
typeface conventions forcontraare exactly like
thoseforsee.

* * *

29
Id.at55.

30
Id.(emphasisadded).

[20]
 Butsee

Who doesn't love but see? Usebut seewhen the

source you are citing "clearly supports a
propositioncontrary"to yours.31 The typeface
conventions forbut seeare exactly like those
forsee.

* * *

Seegenerally

Usesee generallywhen the source cited provides

helpfulbackgroundinformation related to your
proposition.32 Anexplanatory parentheticalwhen
usingsee generally is often helpful. The typeface
conventionsforsee generallyare exactly like those
forsee.

* * *

AFinalNoteonSignals

When stringing together citations that are
introduced by different signals, please remember
twoimportantthings:(1)Insertsemicolonsbetween
citations that are introduced by the same type of
signal(thatis,signalsthatsupportapropositionare
ofonetype,andsignalsthatcontradictaproposition
are of another type). Citations that are introduced

31
Id.(emphasisadded).

32
Id.
[21]
by signals of a different type are separated by
periods.(2)Whenasignalfollowsasemicolon,itis
notcapitalized.Whenthesignalfollowsaperiod,it
iscapitalized.Anexampleisbelow(withthesignals
boldedforclarity).

See Miller v. Pepper, 638 P.2d 864,

868 (Haw. Ct. App. 1982); see also
Brewer v. Michigan Salt Ass'n, 11
N.W. 370, 373 (Mich. 1882). But see
City of Miami v. Spicy, 284 So.2d
699 (Fla. Ct. App. 1973).

* * *

Parentheticals

Parentheticals are explanatory comments that
follow a citation and explain in detail why you are
citing the resource in question. Usage of an
explanatory parenthetical depends on the
introductorysignalused.

There is no need to supply a parenthetical when

you are using [no signal], e.g., or contra because
therelevanceofthecitationisreadilyapparentfrom
thesignalalone(lookaboveinthediscussionsofthe
specificsignalstoseewhythisisso).Usageofother
signals, however, may require a bit more
explanation. In this vein, you should consider
supplying a parenthetical when introducing
citations with accord; see; see, e.g.,; and but see,
astherelevanceofyourcitationmaynotbereadily
apparent, and The Bluebook practically requires the
use of parentheticals when using the signals see
[22]
also, cf., and see generally, because in those
situations, the relevance of the specific citation is
likelynotapparentfromthesignalalone.

Parenthetical explanations generally begin with a

present participle (the ing form of a verb) like
discussing, arguing, holding, explaining, etc.
Examplesarebelow.

The Supreme Court has long deferred to

Congress on matters pertaining to major
league baseball. See, e.g., Flood v.
Kuhn, 407 U.S. 258 (1972) (holding that
change in baseballs antitrust
exemption must come from Congress, not
the courts).
Because of the danger they present to
livestock, Massachusetts should require
that all pet pot-bellied pigs be
properly licensed. Cf. Mass. Gen. Laws
ch. 140, 137 (2010) (implying that
purpose of dog licensing requirement is
to control dog and restrain it from
killing, chasing, or harassing live
stock).

For additional information on explanatory

parentheticals,seeBluebookRule1.5.

* * *

[23]
 CitingCases

Generally

Cases that are published in print reporters are
always cited in the same way, whether you find
themintheactualbookoronline(thatis,casesare
always cited as if you found them in print). The
elementsofthecitationarebelow.Thecommasare
inthecorrectplaces.

[case name], [volume number] [abbreviated

nameofprintreporter][pagenumberonwhich
the case begins], [pincite] [(court that decided
thecaseandyearofdecision)].

* * *
Reporters

A reporter is simply a set of books in which cases
from a particular jurisdiction or collection of
jurisdictionsarepublishedinprint.Casesarealways
identified by volume number of the reporter in
which they appear, the reporters abbreviation, and
the page number on which the case begins. So, by
way of example, 17 F.3d 660 refers to the case that
begins on page 660 of volume 17 of the Federal
Reporter 3d Series33 (which collects cases from the
federalcircuitcourtsofappeals).

33
A "series" is a complete set of volumes of a
reporter, covering a set time period. There are three
"series" of the Federal Reporter. The first numbered 300
[24]

Federalreportersandtheirabbreviationsareshown
below, with regional reporters (which collect state
cases)onthepagefollowing.

FederalReporters

Reporter Years Abbreviation

Covered
DistrictCourt

FederalSupplement 19321998 F.Supp.
FederalSupplement2d 1998date F.Supp.2d
FederalRulesDecisions 1938date F.R.D.
West'sBankruptcy 1979date B.R.
Reporter

CircuitCourt

FederalReporter 18911924 F.
FederalReporter2d 19241993 F.2d
FederalReporter3d 1993date F.3d
FederalAppendix 2001date F.App'x
(unpubcases)

SupremeCourt

UnitedStatesReports 1790date U.S.
(officialreporter)

SupremeCourt 1882date S.Ct.
Reporter
(unofficial;published
byWest)

Lawyer'sEdition 1790date L.Ed.,L.Ed.2d
(unofficial;published
byLexis)

volumes; the second 999 volumes; and the third is

currentlyupto670volumes.

[25]
 Regional(State)Reporters

Reporter Abbreviation StatesCovered

Atlantic A.,A.2d CT,DC,DE,MD,
ME,NH,NJ,PA,
RI,VT


NorthEastern N.E.,N.E.2d IL,IN,MA,NY,
OH

NorthWestern N.W.,N.W.2d IA,MI,MN,ND,
NE,SD,WI


Pacific P.,P.2d,P.3d AK,AZ,CA,CO,
HI,ID,KS,MT,
NM,NV,OK,OR,
UT,WA,WY


Southern So.,So.2d AL,FL,LA,MS


SouthEastern S.E.,S.E.2d GA,NC,SC,VA,
WV

SouthWestern S.W.,S.W.2d AR,KY,MO,TN,
TX

[26]
 CaseName

In court documents and legal memoranda, case
names are underlined. The examples below are for
casenamesincitationsinlawreviewfootnotes.The
dotshowswhereaspaceshouldbeinserted.Please
notehow"FDIC"isabbreviatedpursuanttoRule6.34

Batemanv.FDIC,[citation].

Forthestatecasebelow,pleasenotehowthewords
"Markets" and "Federal" and "Incorporated" are
abbreviatedpursuanttoTableT6.

AcmeMkts.,Inc.v.Fed.Armored
Express,Inc.,[citation].

* * *
CaseCitationInformation

Immediately following the case name comes the
case citation information. Abbreviations are
important here too; particularly for the relevant
reporter and court. For federal court abbreviations
and citation formats, see the beginning of Table T1
(United States Jurisdictions). The citation below is

34
AbbreviationsinCaseNames.(1)Forcase
namesincitations,abbreviateanywordlistedinTable
T6andgeographicalunitslistedinTableT10,unlessthe
geographicalunitisaparty;(2)Whenusingcasenames
intextualsentences,onlyabbreviatewellknown
acronyms,suchasCIA,FBI,etc.andthefollowingeight
words:&,Ass'n,Bros.,Co.,Corp.,Inc.,Ltd.,andNo.
[27]
from a United States district court case from the
DistrictofMassachusetts.Pleasetakenoteofthe
spacing.

112F.Supp.2d89(D.Mass.2000)

KeytoCitation

112=VolumeNumber
F. Supp. 2d=Reporterinwhichthecaseis
publishedinprint
89=Pageonwhichthecasebegins
D. Mass.=Courtthatdecidedthecase
2000=Yearthecasewasdecided

For state court abbreviations and citation formats,

see Table T1 (states are listed alphabetically). With
state cases, citation to the regional reporter only is
generallypreferred(noparallelcites).35Thecitation

35
ParallelCitations.Aparallelcitationcontains
citationstobothwhereacaseappearsintheWest
regionalreporterandwhereitappearsintheofficialstate
reporter.Parallelcitationsonlyapplywithregardto
documentssubmittedtoastatecourtandonlythenwhen
dictatedbylocalrule,whichwillidentifytheofficialstate
reporter(s)towhichcitationmustbemade.Theparallel
citationisstructuredbycitingtotheofficialstate
reporterfirstandthentotheregionalreporter.Pincites
aregivenforbothreportersifappropriate.Anexampleis
below.

Strongmanv.IdahoPotatoComm'n,129Idaho766,771,
932P.2d889,895(1992).
[28]
below is from the intermediate appellate court in
Pennsylvania (see Table T1 for the court's
abbreviation). The elements of the citation are the
sameasthoseofafederalcase.

648A.2d1218(Pa.Super.Ct.1994).

* * *
UnpublishedCases

With the exception of federal appellate cases that
appear in the Federal Appendix, unpublishedcases
are those cases that do not appear in a print
reporter. These cases are generally cited as they
appear in Westlaw and LexisNexis. Please see the
examplesbelow.

WestlawExample.

Gonzales-Doldanv.ABPS,No.97-CV-
0902E,1998WL328642,at*1
(W.D.N.Y.June16,1998).

KeytoCitation


No. 97-CV-0902E=DocketNumber

1998 WL 328642=WestlawIdentifier
*1=PinCite
W.D.N.Y.=Court
June 16, 1998=DateofDecision

Please note that the actual date that the case was
decided, and not just the year, is used with

[29]
unpublished cases. Please also note that in
unpublished cases, page numbers are always
accompanied by an asterisk [*]. This is called "star
paging."

LexisNexisExample.

Del.ExpressShuttle,Inc.v.
Older,No.19596,2002Del.Ch.
LEXIS124,at*16(Del.Ch.
Oct.23,2002).

KeytoCitation

No. 19596=DocketNumber
2002 Del. Ch. LEXIS 124 =LexisNexis
Identifier
*16=PinCite
Del. Ch.=Court
Oct. 23, 2002=DateofDecision

For more information on unpublished cases, see

BluebookRule10.8.1.

Final Note: For cases where the citation to the

reporter clearly identifies the court (for example,
Floodv.Kuhn,407U.S.258(1972)),thereisnoneed
toidentifythedecidingcourtintheparenthetical.

* * *

[30]
 CitingStatutes

Generally

Citing statutes can be difficult as the formats differ

betweenfederalandstate,andfromstatetostate.

Generally, though, when citing to a specific code

section,youneed

thetitle,chapter,orsubjectarea36and
the statutory compilation in which the
sectionisfoundand
thesectionnumberitselfand
theyearofthecode.

Sessionlaws,bycontrast,mustinclude

thenameofthelegislationand
the law's chapter #, public law #, or other #
and
the particular bound volume in which the
session law appears (like, e.g., Statutes at
Large).

YoumustalwayscheckBluebookTableT1tofindthe
correct citation format when citing to a particular
jurisdictionsstatutes.

36
Thisisdependentonjurisdiction.Some
jurisdictionsuseatitleorchapternumbertodenotea
subjectareaforastatute.Othersjustspelloutthesubject
areainfull.

[31]
For more information on citing to statutes, see
BluebookRule12.

* * *

YearoftheCode

Theproperyeartousewhencitingtoacodesection
presents a puzzling pickle for many law students.
Herearesomepointerstomakeiteasier.

Thecorrectyeartouseistheyearofpublicationof
the last official print version of the code you are
citing,providedthatyourcodesectionhasnotbeen
amended or enacted sincethat last official version
waspublished.37FortheU.S.C.,thelastofficialyear
is2006(the2012editionislikelyayearorsoaway).

Tofindthecorrectyear,lookatthefollowing,inthis
orderofpreference:(1)thespineofthebook,(2)the
titlepage,and(3)thecopyrightpage.

If your code section has been amended or enacted

sincethe last official version, you must look in a
supplementorpocketpart,andthenusetheyearon

37
ThereisanexceptiontothisinBluebookrule12.5,
whichpermitscitationtocodesfoundinonlinedatabases
withoutreferencetotheyearofthecodefoundinprint.
Thisexceptionhasverylittleimpactonlawstudents,
however,becauseinlawschool,useoftheyearofthe
codeasfoundinprintisstillalmostalwayspreferredto
thatfoundonline.
[32]
thetitlepageorcopyrightpageofthesupplementor
pocketpart.

Blue Pages, nonacademic citation examples of

citing to the supplement or pocket part are shown
below. The first citation is to the supplement only.
Thesecondistoboththesupplementandthemain
volume.

16U.S.C.3645(d)(2)(Supp.2010).

Mass.Gen.Lawsch.5,1(2010&
Supp.2011).

* * *

FederalStatutes

Statutory Codes. For federal code sections,

alwayscite to the United States Code (U.S.C.)if
yourstatuteiscontainedtherein.Ifnot,citetothe
U.S.C.A.ortheU.S.C.S.inthatorderofpreference.
Belowareexamplesofhowtocitetoafederalcode
section.

Whencitingtoanentirestatute.

SecuritiesActof1933,15U.S.C.
77a-77aa(2006).

Whencitingtoanindividualcodesection.

28U.S.C.1367(2006).

[33]
SessionLaws.Whencitingtoasessionlaw,always
include the following information: Name of
Legislation (omit "The" as first word of name),
public law or chapter number, Statutes at Large
citation, and year of legislation if not already
apparentfromstatute'sname.Examplesarebelow.

SherwoodAct,ch.123,37Stat.112
(1912).

CleanWaterActof1977,Pub.L.No.
95-217,91Stat.1566.

* * *

StateStatutes

Statutory Codes. State code citation format

isalwaysjurisdictionspecific. You must check the
relevant state's section in Table T1 in order to cite
correctly.Examplesarebelow.

Massachusetts

LawReviewFootnotes

MASS.GEN.LAWSch.x,x(<year>).

CourtDocuments

Mass.Gen.Lawsch.x,x(<year>).

[34]
 NewYork

LawReviewFootnotes

N.Y.BANKINGLAWx(McKinney<year>).

CourtDocuments

N.Y.BankingLawx(McKinney<year>).

Session Laws. Like state codified laws, proper

citation to state session laws is jurisdictionspecific
(although all session law citations share some
commonelements).PleasemakesuretocheckTable
T1.AnexamplefromMassachusettsisbelow.

ActofJuly8,2011,ch.65,
2011Mass.Legis.Serv.76(West).

Pleasenotethatalthoughthepropercitationformat
varies from state to state, every citation to a state
sessionlawmustcontainthenameofthelegislation
(the"Actof..."constructionisusedwhenthereisno
popular name), a ch.# or other #, and then the
appropriatecitetotheproperboundvolumewhere
thesessionlawsareinitiallypublished.

* * *

[35]
 CitingSecondarySources

A secondary source is simply a source that is about

thelawratherthanthelawitself.Secondarysources
come in many different varieties, from dictionaries
and single volume monographs to journal articles,
legalencyclopediasandpracticeguides.Thevarious
typesofsecondarysourceshavesomewhatdifferent
citation formats, and the most common types and
formatsarediscussedbelow.

* * *

Dictionaries

Everyone knows dictionaries are awesome. Cite

themaccordingtotheexamplesbelow,notingagain
the difference in formats between law review
footnotes and court documents and legal
memoranda.

LawReviewFootnotes

BLACKSLAWDICTIONARY65(9thed.2009).

RANDOMHOUSECOLLEGEDICTIONARY643
(8thed.1984).

CourtDocuments

BlacksLawDictionary65(9thed.2009).

RandomHouseCollegeDictionary643
(8thed.1984).

[36]
 LegalEncyclopedias

Everyonelovesagoodlegalencyclopedia.Citethem
accordingtotheexamplesbelow.

LawReviewFootnotes

1AM.JUR.2DAccession&Confusion
15(2005).

35AC.J.S.FederalCivilProcedure
318(2003).

CourtDocuments

1Am.Jur.2dAccession&Confusion
15(2005).

35AC.J.S.FederalCivilProcedure
318(2003).

* * *

[37]
 JournalsandPeriodicals

Consecutively Paginated. Cite consecutively

paginated38 journal articles with reference to the
example below. The key is to use the correct
abbreviation for whatever journal you are citing.
Youcanfindtheabbreviationsforjustaboutanylaw
journal you can imagine in The Bluebook at Table
T13.

SamuelD.Warren&LouisD.Brandeis,The
RighttoPrivacy,4HARV.L.REV.193(1890).

Please note: The above citation is proper for law

reviewfootnotes.Thetitleofthearticleisitalicized
andtheabbreviatednameofthejournalisin LARGE
ANDSMALLCAPS.Whenappearingincourtdocuments
or legal memoranda, by contrast, the title of the
article is underlined and the abbreviation of the
journaliswritteninordinaryromantype.

NonConsecutively Paginated. Cite journals and

periodicalsthatareseparatelypaginatedwithineach
issueaccordingtotheexamplesbelow.

MaryBeard,Alexander:HowGreat?,N.Y.
REV.BOOKS,Oct.27,2011,at35.

MichaelScherer,Takingittothe
Streets,TIME,Oct.24,2011,at 20.

38
Thesearejournalsthatareconsecutively
paginatedthroughoutanentirevolume,witheachissues
beginningpagenumberstartingwherethepreviousissue
leftoff.
[38]
Newspapers are generally cited the same way as
nonconsecutivelypaginatedjournals.

NickCafardo,CardinalsForceGame7,
BOSTONGLOBE,Oct.28,2011,atC1.

HollandCotter,ACosmopolitanTroveof
ExoticBeauty,N.Y.TIMES,Oct.28,2011,
atC23.

As always with periodicals, change italics to

underlining and large and small caps to regular
roman type when citing in court documents and
legalmemoranda.

* * *

MassachusettsPractice

MassachusettsPracticeistricky.Citeitaccordingto
Bluebookrule15.8.Anexample,showingtheproper
citation format for both law review footnotes and
courtdocumentsisbelow.

LawReviewFootnotes

35AMASS.PRACTICEConsumerLaw10:37
(2010).

CourtDocuments

35AMass.PracticeConsumerLaw
10:37(2010).

[39]
Please note: You can find the subject area
(Consumer Law") on the front or spine of the
volume.Theyearofpublicationisonthecopyright
page.

* * *

MultiVolumeTreatises

Cite multivolume treatises in law review footnotes

liketheexamplebelow.

4CHARLESALANWRIGHT&ARTHURR.
MILLER,FEDERALPRACTICEANDPROCEDURE
1006(2ded.1987).

Below is a more complex citation that refers to a

shorterworkpublishedinamultivolumetreatise.

Saul Cornell & Gerald Leonard, The

Consolidation of the Early Federal
System, 1791-1812, in 1 CAMBRIDGE HISTORY
OF LAW IN AMERICA 518 (Michael Grossberg
& Christopher Tomlins eds., 2008).

Theres a lot going on in this citation, so weve

omitted the space indicators to make it easier to
read.First,asnotedabove,thisisnotjustacitation
to a multivolume treatise. Rather, its a cite to a
shorter, independently authored, work that is
contained within a multivolume treatise. The
shorter work is cited as it was an article, and the
multivolumetreatiseisasifitwasabook,withthe
1beforethetreatisetitlebeingtherelevantvolume
number.
[40]
 SingleVolumeTreatisesandMonographs

Inlawreviewfootnotes,citebooksandothersingle
volume treatises or monographs like the example
below. For nonacademic purposes, change
everything to regular roman type except the book's
title,whichisunderlined.

DANIELWALKERHOWE,WHATHATHGOD
WROUGHT:THETRANSFORMATIONOFAMERICA,
1815-48141(2007).

* * *

[41]
 ShortCitationForms

A short citation form is a shorthand method for

referringtoacitationthathasalreadybeencitedin
full.

The most common short form is id. Id. is used to

cite to the "immediately preceding authority," but
only when the immediately preceding citation or
footnotecontainsonlyoneauthority.39

Othershortformsaresimplyshorterversionsofthe
full citation. The general rule is that use of a short
form is appropriate in academic citation if the
short form clearly identifies the resource cited to
and the resource is already cited (in either full or
short form) in the same footnote or one of the
preceding five footnotes.40 For nonacademic
purposes,useoftheshortformisappropriatewhen
it clearly identifies the resource cited to, the full
citation form appears in the same general
discussion, and the reader will not have trouble
locatingthefullcite.41

For examples of appropriate short forms for cases

and statutes, see Bluebook Rules 10.9 (cases) and
12.10 (statutes). For examples of appropriate short

39
BLUEBOOK,supranote5,at72.

40
See,e.g.,id.at72.

41
See,e.g.,id.at13.

[42]
formsforothertypesofresources,seeBluebookRule
4.2.

* * *

[43]
 CitingtoCases,Statutes,and
SecondarySourcesthatYou
FindonWestlawandLexisNexis

The general rule when citing to materials that you
find on Westlaw or LexisNexis is this: if the
resourceispublishedinprint,alwayscitetoitasif
you found it in print. This does not present a
problemforcases,becausetheauthoritativecitation
to the print version is always supplied when you
viewthecaseonline.

Not so, unfortunately, with statutes and non

periodical secondary sources.42 With statutes and
nonperiodical secondary sources, the online
databases do not supply the authoritative year of
the code for statutes or the authoritative year of
publication for nonperiodical secondary sources,
bothofwhicharerequiredforpropercitation.

The solution? Even if you have used the online

version of a statute or nonperiodical secondary
source,tociteitproperly,youmust gototheprint
versionandfindtheproperyearofthecodeoryear
ofpublication.43

42
Nonperiodicalsecondarysourcesinclude
treatises,practiceguides,hornbooks,legalencyclopedias,
anddictionaries.Asforperiodicalslikejournals,
magazines,andnewspapers,youshouldbeabletofind
theproperyearofpublicationonline.

43
Note:Fornonperiodicalsecondarysources,the
yearofpublicationisgenerallyonthecopyrightpage.For
[44]
 Conclusion

This Quick Guide is short, on purpose. To go into

much more detail, we believe, would result in a
Bluebook clone and defeat the essential purpose of
this project, which is to provide simple answers to
the basic citation questions faced by new law
students. To this end, and without rehashing
specific citation rules, the key points to remember
arethese:

Are your citations for use in law review

footnotes(thatis,foracademicpurposes)or
in court documents or legal memoranda
(thatis,fornonacademicpurposes)?Know
whichoneandciteaccordingly.

To use the proper signal, make sure you

know why you are citing to a particular
source.

Be aware that The Bluebook will almost

always supply you with the proper
abbreviation, whether its for a case name,
thenameofacourt,thenameofareporter,
thenameofajournal,etc.

When citing to a particular source, try to

find an example in The Bluebook to copy
from;itseasierthantryingtoreadandapply
arule.

adiscussiononfindingtheproperyearofthecode,see
page31above.
[45]
 Alwaysaskquestionsifyouneedhelp.Good
Luck!

* * *

[46]
 AdditionalReading
NoteveryonelovestheBluebooklikewedo.Below
findsomefriendlyandnotsofriendlycritiques.

RichardA.Posner,TheBluebookBlues,120YALE
L.J.850(2011).
WarrenD.Rees,SingingtheBluebookBlues,1
AALLSPECTRUM20(June1997).
JamesW.Paulsen,AnUninformedSystemof
Citation,105HARV.L.REV.1780(1992).
JamesD.GordonIII,OhNo!ANewBluebook!,
90MICH.L.REV.1698(1992).
JimChen,SomethingOld,SomethingNew,
SomethingBorrowed,SomethingBlue,58U.CHI.
L.REV.1527(1991).
RichardA.Posner,GoodbyetotheBluebook,53
U.CHI.L.REV.1343(1986).
ArnoldB.Kanter,PuttingYourBestFootnote
Forward,BARRISTER(Spring1982)at42.
KevinC.Gralley&JohnC.Aisenbrey,BookNote,
65GEO.L.J.871(1977).
AlanStrasser,TechnicalDueProcess,12HARV.
C.L.C.R.REV.507(1977).
PeterLushing,BookReview,67COLUM.L.REV.
599(1967).

AndtheeditorsoftheBluebookhaveresponded.

BookNote,ManualLabor,ChicagoStyle,101
HARV.L.REV.1323(1988).

[47]