The following information regarding the bluebook citation format is an adapted version of the style and formatting guidelines found in the bluebook, 20th ed. This article will describe the bluebook guidelines for citing a book according to peter w. Make sure to include an explanatory phrase, found in t8. However, the following are rules and examples for other types of legal documents that many firstyear law students may need to. There are many variables in citing a treatise so definitely consult the rule for its many permutations. 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. Citing secondary sources sample bluebook citations. Use the name of the state if citing to a case not decided by that states state court. The bluepages keep the tradition of underscoring certain text. Kinda dumb question about exhibit and deposition citations. A citation to a constitution includes three elements. Problems, cases, and materials 2006 when you are citing to a work that has been published by the same publisher more than once, you should cite the edition and the year it was published in. A reference properly written in legal citation strives to do at least three things. In case of citing a book that has been edited, write ed.
For example, here is how you would cite a federal regulation that prescribes rules for pets in national parks in the united states. Use the bluebook, blue pages, pages 2426 in rule b17, rule 10. The bluebook also has citation rules for legal memoranda and other practiceoriented materials the blue pages, which students in lrwa2. Alternately, you can find most of the citation information you need at the top of the screen on lexis and westlaw. Bluebook how to cite multiple exhibits in trial record.
Supra refers to material that has already appeared in the document and it has its own rule at 4. Motion to conduct proceedings in english in the district court of the second circuit wailuku division state of hawaii. Generations of law students, lawyers, scholars, judges, and other legal professionals have relied on the bluebooks unique system of citation in their writing. A full citation to a federal statute includes three basic elements. Blue pages this guide covers the bluebooks white pages, which provide citation rules for academic papers. Pages, paragraphs, and pincites bluebook legal citation tarlton. For multiple documents within a single exhibit you may use exhibit a1, exhibit a2, exhibit a3, etc. This guide provides commentary, models and tips on the bluebook 19th edition for law students. If both, then first write editors name and then translators name.
There are too many rules for this introductory guide to cover. Citing to the record in briefs marquette university law. How to cite two sources from one sentence with alwd manual. When citing to other court filings in the same case, abbreviate the titles of those documents and cite a paragraph or page within the. The author experienced frustration with the bluebook both as a first year student and on a law journal board. B here refers to the rules from the bluepages at the beginning of the bluebook. If both sides are using the same exhibit letters then it may be wise to designate particular exhibits by. The united states supreme court has said that before and during questioning by police, a defendant has a right to an attoreny. Additionally, you may have multiple authorities in a single signal. Citing other resources bluebook guide guides at georgetown. It will be clear to the reader what you are citing. When citing to things like tables, charts, or other graphical materials, you should give the page number on which the item appears and the designation that the source gives it if any.
If you do need to include prior history, place it after the primary citation with a comma separating the two. The bluepages are a guide for practitioners and law clerks to use when citing authority in non academic legal documents. Citing cases bluebook guide guides at georgetown law. Always use a signal unless 1 the cited authority directly states the proposition in the text. If multiple cases were to say the same thing, you put a comma between the cases. In general, if one source is considered more authoritative than the others, place this one first in the string cite. The precise format of a case citation depends on a number of factors, including the jurisdiction, court, and type of case. For more than two authors, editors or translators write the name of the author, editor. Bluebook rule 15 gives the citation format for books, reports, and other nonperiodic materials. S when courts do not have specific style requirements, bluebook style is the safest. Supreme court opinions are also published in three. How to cite a deposition transcript pen and the pad. The bluebook requires you to cite to the official code if it is available. If citing to a footnote, add the number of the footnote after the page number in the format n.
However, the basic format of a case citation is as follows. Citations are to the 20th edition of the bluebook, a uniform system of citation rule 10. A second type of citation is at least equally important to the writing that lawyers file with judges in litigationnamely one that refers with precision to prior events or documents in the case or to portions of the record. If you are citing depositions then pin cite it to the line of testimony. The bluebook describes the specific format used for citations, i. Bt2 jurisdictionspecific citation rules and style guides. The author hopes this guide will offer some helpful advice. The full citation falls in the same general discussion. The reader will have little trouble locating the full citation. Although the plaintiffs complaint originally named john jones and mary jones as defendants, the plaintiff subsequently withdrew his claim against mary jones, and she is not a party to this appeal. A citation to multiple footnotes uses the abbreviation nn. Bluebook examples for common citations books rule 15. There are many permutations of citing to legal periodicals.
Although it is intended to highlight the bluebook, and not substitute for it, we hope this guide provides a convenient, delawarespecific resource for the superior courts judicial officers, law clerks, interns, externs, and staff. Court document abbreviations table 8 of 17th edition this table gives suggested abbreviations for citations of court documents and legal memoranda not in the other forms of legal writing for the words most commonly found in the titles of court documents. Bluebook how to cite multiple exhibits in trial record study tips, dealing with stress, maintaining a social life, financial aid, internships, bar exam, careers in law. The bluebooks table bt2 summarizes the style requirements of courts throughout the u. If both sides are using the same exhibit letters then it may be wise to designate particular exhibits by proponent, such as plaintiff exhibit a, defendant exhibit c2, etc. But it also rests firmly on the evolving practice of judges writing opinions and lawyers writing briefs. The bluepages section located at the start of the bluebook is a miniguide to. In a motion how are exhibits cited if used more than once. To determine whether a particular exercise of nonlethal police force was. Study tips, dealing with stress, maintaining a social life, financial aid, internships, bar exam, careers in law.
A pinpoint citation directly follows the title, which designates the specific pages on which the cited material. Here are the major rules from the 19th edition of the bluebook regarding record citation. For example, if citing to footnote 3 on page 807, provide the pin as 807 n. See jonathan zittrain, the future of the internet and how to stop. Proper way to cite to complaint if attached as exhibit.
Do not put a space between the two symbols see examples above. For help with other source types, like books, pdfs, or websites, check out our other guides. This is not a comprehensive citation reference work. To have your reference list or bibliography automatically made for you, try our free citation generator. When citing a deposition, write this abbreviation after the name. How to write a bibliography in bluebook pen and the pad. A bluebook guide for law students suffolk university. The bluebook requires citation only to the official report. The title of the book, also in small caps, should follow. The bluebooks abbreviation for the code of federal regulations section symbol and specific section cited. Affidavits are cited in a legal document any time they are referenced, whether through direct quotation or generally. Citing a decision involving a state to cite a state, use either the word state, commonwealth, or people, depending on which appears on the title page, if citing to a case decided by that states state court.
An affidavit citation should include the affiants last name and the paragraph number where the cited information is found in the affidavit. Include the legal service provider name and the currency of the database as provided by the legal service providers description. For books, the authors name should appear as it does on the title page of the book, in small caps followed by a comma. Use parentheticals for weight of authority, citingquoting phrases, and case explanations in that order no italics. 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 an example of a book citation would be. The bluebook contains rules that prescribe how to cite a variety of legal documents. Its customary to use at with appellate record cites, but the 19th edition does not require at with other page number references in record cites.
Citing to the record in briefs marquette university law school. Infra refers to material that appears later in the document, but never for books see r15. Introduce prior and subsequent history w italicized phrase. Just like professors, different courts prefer different citation styles and many have specific rules for citing particular sources.
Proper way to cite to complaint if attached as exhibit post by blong43 sun nov 04, 2012 7. Generally, a citation to a treatise should contain the following elements. For many years, the authoritative reference work on legal citation was a. However, the following are rules and examples for other types of legal documents that many firstyear law students may need to cite in addition to. Pages, paragraphs, and pincites bluebook legal citation. If you need to cite a source that is quoted or cited in a source provided in the packet, follow this format. Legal cites are done using the form in the bluebook, right after the statement. The published source in which the act may be found. The important takeaway is to refer the court to exhibits in a consistent fashion. A span of multiple pages may be cited by giving the inclusive page numbers separated by either an en dash or a hyphen. Basics full name of document amended complaint and demand for jury trial at 24, rubio v. Basic bluebook citation for cases proficientwriters. Bluebook rule 10 covers how cases should be cited in legal documents.
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