Citing case law sample bluebook citations libguides at. School of government legal citation and style guide. Look in the bluebook or another citation or legal style manual. Parallel citations are used when the same case is printed in two or more different reporters. The bluebook requires citation only to the official report. You can choose to include any portion of the citation, like the volume number and reporter or the case name, in the short form citation. Bluebook citation for llm students bluebook citation for. For subsequent citations, may use short form citation. A parallel citation to an internet source may be provided if it substantially improves access to the source. A few simple rules, however, should be kept in mind. Citations to the same law or opinion published in different sources are called.
The following are all acceptable short form citations for palsgraf v. This book is a reference guide that, believe it or not, will be just about the only book you take from law school into your practice as a lawyer. Legal research legal citations the parallel citation. Acceptable short forms for a given citation will be covered in each entry. Unlike the remainder of the bluebook, which is designed in a style and at a level of complexity commensurate with the needs of the law journal publication process, the bluepages provide easytocomprehend guidance for the everyday citation needs of firstyear law.
Students often struggle to find the year of the california statutes on lexis or westlaw. However, a parallel cite to an electronic source introduced by the explanatory phrase available at may be used if it improves access. Rather, subsequent references in the text or a footnote may use a short form citation. Public domain legal citations justia law blog december. Citation formats dick doesnt follow the, the bluebookmaroon book, the chicago maual of stylen, or any other style book, and doesnt want you to get hung up worrying about citation form. If the current statute being cited was in the preceding citation, then. Commercial databases bluebook citation 101 practitioner. Provide full citation if you cite it for the first time for subsequent citations, may use short form citation. The court must not require any other form of citation. Internet citation bluebook citation 101 practitioner.
Note that when a source is first cited in full in a footnote, a short form citation for that source may be used in a subsequent footnote. Blue pages this guide covers the bluebooks white pages, which provide citation rules for academic papers. Youll note the year, the state code, and the sequential case number. An overview of general short form rules is discussed in this guide. Direct citation internet sources are cited directly if nonexistant in print, or so obscure as to be practically unavailable. Bluebook rule 10 covers how cases should be cited in legal documents. The purpose of this guide is to introduce the bluebook and basic concepts of legal citation to new law students. Use a citation clause when differing parts of one sentence require a citation. 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. Follow the regular rules for citing the source and then add the parallel internet citation. Neither lexis or westlaw provide an exact copy of their print statutes online, so you will need to access the print statutes on the second floor, across from the double doors. Parallel citations to the north eastern reporter and wests illinois decisions may be. A reference to the same case or statute published in two or more sources.
It is not intended to be a comprehensive discussion of citation rules. Once you have cited a given authority in full once, you may use a short form citation subsequently. These references are parallel citations to reporters in which supreme court. In limited circumstances, case decisions may be cited in an abbreviated citation known as a short form. Handy guide for determining when and where to use short forms for statutes. Always consult the bluebook for additional information on correct citation format important. The indigo book isnt the same as the bluebook, but it does implement the same uniform system of citation that the bluebook does. Essentially, the parallel citation is an alternate citation to the same case. A citation sentence is used when the citation refers to the entire preceding textual sentence. Citations are to the 20th edition of the bluebook, a uniform system of citation rule 16. Some courts and professors require you to provide parallel citations to multiple reporters. State courts bluebook guide guides at georgetown law. Actec law journal brief guide to citation form based on t.
Importantly, however, it documents the many respects in which contemporary legal writing, very often following guidelines set out in. Consisting of three parts, the writing manual addresses broad areas of interest to judges and lawyers. Short citation forms the first time you cite to a case, use its full citation. Bluebook short forms experiential legal writing i fall 2016. Follow appropriate bluebook form under rule 12 and table 1. Youll also note a parallel citation to the commercial reporter, which most states still require. 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 style.
If you are citing to a previous edition of the code 1954 or 1939, indicate to the reader that you are doing so by including the year in parentheses after the regular citation. Basic layout bluebook 101 library guides at university. Provide full citation if you cite it for the first time. A case citation must include the official report volume and page number and year of decision. Generally, rule 4 will provide guidance for proper short form citation of this type of authority, as is discussed under general short form citation rules in this guide.
The supreme court will follow this manual in its opinions. If the current statute being cited was in the preceding citation, then use the short form id. Short form citations 7 pinpoint citations 8 pincites. If you encounter a situation that is not covered in this guide, make sure to check the bluebook for more detail.
It is neither right nor wrong to include a parallel citation. Only include the state abbreviation if the name of the. 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. However, usually the case name is kept in order to make the reference easier to find. In cases of parallel citation include both in the short form. In other words, a parallel citation references location information for more that one source of a case. Short form citations basic legal citation cornell university. The short form citation should still provide the reader enough. Deviations from bluebook style are noted, as are trends in the way a particular. Law school bluebook basics one of the books that all 1l law students are required to purchase is the bluebook. 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. The bluebook requires citation to printed material provided it is available, unless there is an authenticated. The bluebook still requires the use and citation of printed sources where. The samples in this section cover basic citation format for case law.
Would a tennessee supreme court decision from 2005 have a parallel citation. Short forms for cases bluebook guide guides at georgetown. Complicated variations are not shown in these samples. The bluebook also has citation rules for legal memoranda and other practiceoriented materials the blue pages, which students in lrwa2. Parallel citation legal definition of parallel citation. 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. These citation rules are anticompetitive and only serves to require lawyers to have. The table below provides examples of different internet citation forms.
The scope of the indigo books coverage is roughly equivalent to the bluebooks bluepagesthat is, the indigo book covers legal citation for u. Bluebook citation for legal materials purdue writing lab. Example of parallel citations legal citations research. The specific content of a short form citation is flexible, but varies by the type of authority being cited. Thus far, this guide has described how to cite cases in long form, i. The two major instances in which a parallel citation may be needed are.
The traditional bluebook form for citing a note is to use the word note in place of the authors name. The main rule that describes the short form for cases is rule 10. Writing manual is the first comprehensive guide to judicial opinion writing published by the court for its use. It directs the reader to a second place where the case has been published. List the state reporter before the regional reporter. If you are writing a brief or memo, look at the blue pages, rule b10 or apply the citation rules of the jurisdiction. The last component of a proper case citation is the parallel citation. The only time the bluebook strictly requires a parallel citation is when a decision has also been published in a public domain format. Bluebook and california style manual form are provided on the following pages. Board of education decision as published in united states reports. Cases bluebook legal citation tarlton law library at. Give two examples of short form citation when can you cite a case generally. Generations of law students, lawyers, scholars, judges, and other legal professionals have relied on the bluebooks unique system of citation in their writing.