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