The bluebook is a style guide for legal citation in the united states that is used by lawyers, scholars, judges, law students, paralegals, and others involved in the legal profession. United states code the official version published by the u. Alr libguides at loyola university chicago law library. United states reports the official version put out by the u. This guide will help you with legal citation for the most common types of international law materials. The bluebook contains rules that prescribe how to cite a variety of legal. Jul 22, 2019 american law reports article series that provides indepth coverage of legal topics. It was most recently revised in october of 2019 to update the links to state rules and several other external resources.
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. American law reports aka alr is a secondary source which. For additional guidance, consult the selective listing of sources provided on the introductory page of this legal citation guide. Citation rules for court documents and legal memoranda. Bluebook rule 10 covers how cases should be cited in legal documents. Scan your paper for grammar mistakes and catch unintentional plagiarism. The tarlton law librarys physical facility, including special collections, is closed until further notice. American law reports alr law research guide research.
A b c d e f gh i jk l m n o p qr s t u vwxyz show all. Under most circumstances, a full case citation should include a reference to a. Johnson, annotation, use of plea bargain or grant of. Name of the case underlined or italicized and abbreviated according to rule 10. Table of abbreviations for case names and institutional authors in citations. American law reports frequently abbreviated and referred to as alr contains indepth articles on narrow topics of the law. American law reports article series that provides indepth coverage of legal topics. A uniform system of citation, a style guide, prescribes the most widely used legal citation system in the united states.
Blue colored practitioners notes for court documents. Generations of law students, lawyers, scholars, judges, and other legal professionals have relied on the bluebooks unique system of citation in their writing. Legal citations legal reference sources research guides. Tarltons librarians and staff remain actively engaged in providing library services. The most recent edition of the bluebook prescribes adding the name of the. Remember that the brief will be filed in a federal district court. Llewellyn on how to write law materials for the yale law journal. Thus, our rules are limited to the official reports. To have your reference list or bibliography automatically made for you, try our free citation generator. In the bluebook citation style, you must include a note that you are citing an annotation, followed by the title of the alr. Law school bluebook basics one of the books that all 1l law students are required to purchase is the bluebook.
Bluebooking for court documents guide to legal writing. American law reports researching secondary sources in. Annals annals annals of the american academy of political and social science. Both law students and professionals use it in court proceedings, police. Supreme court case, you must cite to the official reporter, the united states reports, if the case is published therein table 1, p. Chicago manual of style 16th edition full note american psychological association 6th edition. Federal courts bluebook guide guides at georgetown law.
How to cite books basic legal citation cornell university. Although alr articles have no real persuasive value, an entire alr annotation can be cited to show trends in the law. Effective monday, march 23, the jacob burns law library will be closed to help flatten the covid19 infection curve. The central function of a legal citation is to allow the reader to efficiently locate the cited source. A42x 1962 westlaw campus research offcampus access requires my. Apr 03, 2020 the full series state and federal of american law reports is available in lexis and westlaw, and it is updated weekly in both online services print volumes of alr are shelved on the 5th floor of the law library at kf 2. Citations are to the 20th edition of the bluebook, a uniform system of citation. Of course, when a decision has not been published in the official reports, rule 5529e permits citation of other, available sources.
A standard book citation consists of the following elements in order. Cite to the authors, insert the word annotation followed by the title of the annotation in italics, volume number, name of the sourcealr series, page number, and year of the volume. For help with other source types, like books, pdfs, or websites, check out our other guides. Bluebook citation in scholarly legal writing georgetown law. The bluebooks abbreviation for the code of federal regulations. The samples in this section cover basic citation format for case law. A book, report, treatise, or other nonperiodic material may be cited in shortform after it has been in full. For additional guidance, consult the selective listing of sources provided on the introductory. If both, then first write editors name and then translators name. This book is a reference guide that, believe it or not, will be just about the only book. Programmed and maintained by kirk sigmon, cornell law.
Alr first year legal research guide libguides at loyola. Parallel citations are used when the same case is printed in two or more different reporters. Attribution to identify the source of ideas expressed in the text, and. Citeus legalus cite periodicals american law reports. Citing case law sample bluebook citations libguides at. Governmentgenerally lags far behind in publication u. Recent studies, however, argue that the style was born in yale with the publication of karl n. Citus legalus is an automated bluebook citation generator for lazy law students. Mar 29, 2019 american law reports alr is good resources for background, analysis, and citations about law cases, statutes, and other legal details. Complicated variations are not shown in these samples. This is a 1994 case reported in volume 254, page 814, of kansas reports, and in volume 869, page 661, of pacific reporter, second series.
Citations are to the 20th edition of the bluebook, a uniform system of citation rule 16. Citation machine helps students and professionals properly credit the information that they use. Recent studies, however, argue that the style was born. International law sources law legal citation guide.
A citation to a case in the united states reports includes the following five elements. How to cite american law reports using the bluebook citation begin with the author s first and last name. Volume number for multivolume works authors full name as it appears on the title page. American law reports annotations, first through fifth series and federal series. Cite to the authors, insert the word annotation followed by the. Although alr articles have no real persuasive value, an entire alr annotation can be cited. Citing secondary sources sample bluebook citations libguides. Bluebook citation for legal materials purdue writing lab. Citation rule for books, reports, and nonperiodical materials.
Practicebased documents in practicebased and court documents, use ordinary roman type for the reporter volume number, the. Alr articles, called annotations, provide background, analysis, and. The bluebook legal citation guide now available online. The standard reference manual for american legal citation formatting.
American law reports contain two kinds of material. If a journal does not otherwise indicate the volume number but does continuous pagination across issues, use the year as the volume number. Citation practices and the bluebook cuny school of law. Additionally, the chicago manual of style recommends its use for all citation of legal material. If you are writing a brief or memo, look at the blue pages, rule b10 or apply the citation rules of the jurisdiction. In a diverse and rapidly changing legal profession. Additionally, the chicago manual of style recommends its use for. Introduction there is no one prevailing source for citation of legal authorities in documents filed in new york courts. As well, when citing law journal articles, textbooks, and other sources of scholarly teachings pertaining to international law, follow the general format and examples provided in the relevant section of this. Where possible, the citation should include a parallel citation to the reports as republished in united states code congressional and administrative news usccan. Generations of law students, lawyers, scholars, judges, and other legal professionals have relied on the bluebook s unique system of citation in their writing. Draft the citation that should follow your statement. Include the key numbers for the alr from the index listing.
Write annotation and the title of the alr in italics. Always consult the bluebook for additional information on correct citation. American law reports alr zimmermans research guide. Aug 01, 2019 citations are to the 20th edition of the bluebook, a uniform system of citation rule 16. The bluebook style guide is used in the american legal profession for citation of all relevant sources. For more information on federal regulations and other types of administrative i. While you generally will not cite to an alr annotation, rule 16. This page provides bluebook a uniform system of citation, 19th ed. Since the decisions of american courts generally deal with multiple issues and tend to be lengthy, recounting prelitigation facts and procedural events of limited relevance to the points for which they might be cited, it is rarely enough simply to cite the case.
The bluebook is an american set of legal citation guidelines and rules regarding referencing official documents. Bluebook abbreviation michigan uniform abbreviation am. Common abbreviations legal citation research guides at. This comprehensive law dictionary contains more than 55,000 law related words and phrases and includes definitions of more than 1,000 abbreviations and acronyms. 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. The bluebook legal citation guide now available online yale.
Articles cover a topic through cases that focus on a particular point of law. Title of the book italicized or underlined page, section, or paragraph cited. Citing other resources bluebook guide georgetown law. The full series state and federal of american law reports is available in lexis and westlaw, and it is updated weekly in both online services print volumes of alr are shelved on the 5th. A citation is a reference to legal authorities and precedents such as statutes, cases. 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.
Feb 04, 2019 american law reports frequently abbreviated and referred to as alr contains indepth articles on narrow topics of the law. Recent decisions relevant to a specific point of law or fact situation appearing in alr 1st are organized and added with each volume. Using alr has become the standard for many law papers and citing them can be done with either the bluebook citation or the association of legal writing directors alwd citation. In case of citing a book that has been edited, write ed. Citing secondary sources sample bluebook citations. The proper bluebook citation for articles appearing in consecutively paginated journals is volume number, abbreviation of the periodical name, first page of the article, and specific pages cited, if any volume. Rule 15 covers how to cite books, reports, and other nonperiodic materials, such as encyclopedias. American law reports researching secondary sources in law. Apr 30, 2020 cite to the official version of a committee report, published by the us government printing office gpo.
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