How to Cite to Court Documents Bluebook

SHORT QUOTE NOTE: According to Article 11, Constitutions, you cannot use a short quotation other than Id. for constitutions. Abbreviations for case and court names, phrases, geographic locations and magazines. The Bluebook is the dominant citation authority that governs how U.S. legal documents are cited. Knowing the rules is essential to your legal career. It is important that the sources you rely on in your legal writing, such as cases, statutes, and regulations, are cited accurately enough that they can be easily found by a reader of the document. A precise citation also indicates the competence and weight of a principal authority. A statement that is not quoted indicates original thoughts and should only take place if what you have written comes entirely from your own head. The blue pages are found at the beginning of the book and can be used as a guide for citing court documents and legal briefs. The blue pages provide simple, basic principles for common citations. Primary authority is constituted by the law itself, created by a branch of government and expressed in constitutions, laws, court decisions, administrative regulations and administrative decisions. Explanation of how to convert quotes from blue books into local quote styles found in local dishes.

Official names of journalists and compilations legally required for U.S. federal and state courts. Tables are used in conjunction with rules. They are an indispensable resource on which to quote and where and when to shorten. The Blue Book is divided into four basic parts: the blue pages, the white pages, the tables and the index. This is a free e-book that explains the reasons for legal citation forms and provides answers to common questions about citing print and electronic sources. It is available in PDF, MOBI (Kindle), ePUB (other e-readers) and HTML. There is also an accompanying wiki to discuss the book. NOTE: Nothing is emphasized in a citation from a law. The section is indicated by the symbol §. See also Rule 3.3. Quoted at page 707 from a 1995 case between Bruce Babbitt, Secretary of the Interior, et al.

v. Sweet Home Chapter of Communities for a Great Oregon. It can be found in volume 515 of the United States Reports starting on page 687. Which of the following choices is closest to a properly formed Blue Book citation? Citation of books, reports, white papers, treatises, dictionaries and encyclopedias. NOTE: Both quotes above are correct. You can underline the folder name or italicize. Just be consistent. See page 3, Policy and Rule B2. Citation on a 2008 case before the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit between Deborah Fellner and Tri-Union Seafoods, L.L.C. It is found in volume 539 of the third series of the Federal Reporter and begins on page 237. The documents we cite are on pages 240 and 241.

CORRECT CITATION: Fellner v. Tri-Union Seafoods, 539 F.3d 237, 240-41 (3d Cir. 2008). Punctuation at the end. You can end a sentence quote with a period, but end a phrase quote with a semicolon. Without punctuation, the citation is incomplete. Citing internet sources such as Westlaw and LexisNexis. Cite the Constitution of Hawaii, Article 9, Section 1, Clause 2. NOTE: In accordance with Rule 10.2.1 (h) Business Enterprise Designations, the L.L.C. designation is omitted from the case designation. No space between F. and 3d as spaced in Rule 6.1(a).

Finally, the index is a complete list of all the contents of the Bluebook. Blank pages are the detailed rules for citation and style. There are 21 rules in the white pages, and these can be divided into two main groups. Rules 1 through 9 cover general citation standards, while Rules 10 through 21 are the rules for specific sources such as cases, laws, books, and articles. Font, citation placement, signals, and other style issues. The People v. Shamrock Foods Company, 11 pp. 3rd 956, 968 (California 2000). CORRECT QUOTE: Babbitt v. Sweet Home Chapter of Cmtys. for a Great Or., 515 U.S.

687, 707 (1995). Introduction to Basic Legal Citation by Peter Martin (2013). Cite the U.S. Constitution, 14th Amendment, Section 2.