A publication that establishes the correct form of case citations or of references to a legal authority showing where information can be found. This guide lists bluebook alternatives, but you should assume that bluebook format is preferred by academic law journals and law school writing programs. Legal citation guides at university of akron school of law. American law reports alr is good resources for background, analysis, and citations about law cases, statutes, and other legal details. University of maryland law journal of race, religion, gender and class, u. A blue book is literally a book with about 20 lined pages that college, graduate, and sometimes high school students use to answer test questions. Include the authors middle initials, if noted in the annotation. Bluebook abbreviation michigan uniform abbreviation am. The bluebook legal citation guide now available online yale. Introduction bluebook guide guides at georgetown law. How to use the bluebook when citing in legal researchwriting classes. Bluebook citation for llm students bluebook citation for.
Bt2 jurisdictionspecific citation rules and style guides. Additionally, the chicago manual of style recommends its use for all citation of legal material. Nowadays the word hypertrophy is used mainly to denote a class of. Create abbreviations based on commonly abbreviated words e. Some that you may use are t1 which tells you which reporter or compilation to cite to for state cases, statutes, regulations, etc. The students will be given an opportunity to practice and hone their skills. How to get answers from the bluebook law school toolbox. Has a bit of a slant toward british publications, because its based in the u.
If youre writing a seminar paper or journal note, chances are youll cite to a periodical at some point and youll refer to bluebook table t. A uniform system of citation, a style guide, prescribes the most widely used legal citation system in the united states. The bluebook of legal citation is a must have for every law student because lawyers are crazy and have to have a crazy way of citing everything. Legal abbreviations are commonly found in anything from a book to court documents. We are the worlds largest and most comprehensive directory and search engine for acronyms, abbreviations and initialisms on the internet. These law clerks are very smart, and they are all law school graduates, and i concede that a firstyear law student would need a little more guidance to legal citation form, though not 511 pages worth. Introduction bluebook guide guides at georgetown law library. A volume that explains the organization of a state government and provides the names of state officials. This class will offer basic instruction in the organization and use of the bluebook, the most common style guide and citation format used by lawyers and judges in the united states.
Omit spaces between capital letters, except u for university e. You may also want to buy a copy of the book mastering the blue book or something similar to help you understand how to use this book. Is your blue booking competition times of something. Abbreviations bluebooking tips and resources libguides. A uniform system of citation is now available online.
They feature blue covers and white pages because butlers colors are blue and white. Generations of law students, lawyers, scholars, judges, and other legal professionals have relied on the bluebooks unique system of citation in their writing. Bluebook legal citation tarlton law library at tarlton law. Look for the authors full name on the index listing or on the first page of the annotation. It is now in its 20th edition, more than an inch thick, and consists of over 500 pages of guidance on legal. In some cases, it indicates that a word should not be abbreviated. Examination book, as well as blank spaces for the students name, subject, class, section, instructor, and date. Aug 23, 2019 create abbreviations based on commonly abbreviated words e. If you are writing a brief or memo, look at the blue pages, rule b10 or apply the citation rules of the jurisdiction. You should give the statutes name and original section number only if it is commonly cited that way or if it would aid the identification of the.
I will never forget these words that someonenow a very good friend, but then a strangersaid to me as we walked into the law school auditorium on the first day of orientation, 8 a. Abbreviate the listed words wherever they appear in a partys name that is part of a citation. Use t10 geographical terms and t to create a bluebook abbreviation. Set out below is a table of words and their abbreviations with links to examples. So when law clerks read your brief and see lots of bluebook mistakes. Statutes bluebook legal citation tarlton law library at. 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. Legal citations legal reference sources research guides. It is a composite of those contained in the bluebook and the alwd guide to legal citation. Statutes bluebook legal citation tarlton law library. T helps you correctly abbreviate the title of the journal, so you can. The bluebook also has citation rules for legal memoranda and other practiceoriented materials the blue pages, which students in lrwa2 use for their memo assignments. Blue pages this guide covers the bluebooks white pages, which provide citation rules for academic papers.
As men of law rely upon a great number of various sources, legal citation also covers the usage of signals that present. The bluebook style guide is used in the american legal profession for citation of all relevant sources. 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. For help with other source types, like books, pdfs, or websites, check out our other guides.
State abbreviations bb alwd ib state abbreviations 1. Citing to bloomberg law, lexis advance, and westlawnext using. For legal abbreviations not found online, try searching one of the following print sources. The bluebook is the main citation manual for law in the u. Eventually, harvard reversed course and joined the coalition by 1926. This book does not cover the latest editions of alwd and bluebook, but it may still be useful. There are 5 primary differences between alwd and bluebook citation formats.
Most law clerks are topoftheclass recent law school graduates who served. Any punctuation within the citation, speeches and publications, titles of articles, case names, explanatory phrases, latin legal phrases, and introductory signals have to be underlined or italicized. This page provides bluebook a uniform system of citation, 19th ed. Use legal abbreviations in notes, outlines, or personal documents. The following list most of the abbreviations youre likely to come across. 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. Just remember that between the 18th and 20th edition, a lot has changed. Bluebook rule 10 covers how cases should be cited in legal documents. Letters abbreviations at the end of a name that tells us more about an individual. Blue books can cost as little as a quarter a piece.
Oh, but the lawyers and law students who write and organize the bluebook obviously have no idea how to write a reference manual so it. Oh, but the lawyers and law students who write and organize the bluebook obviously have no idea how to write a reference manual so it is actually useful. The new bluebook table on periodical names october 12th, 2015 by a. For example, you may write, juan palante or stella r. To have your reference list or bibliography automatically made for you, try our free citation generator. Jul 19, 2019 the bluebook is the style manual that governs how american legal documents are cited in legal memoranda, court documents, and law journals. According to the legal studies program, you should use 12 pt. Jan 07, 2016 some that you may use are t1 which tells you which reporter or compilation to cite to for state cases, statutes, regulations, etc. The bluebook legal citation guide now available online. Lettersabbreviations at the end of a name that tells us more about an individual. Pink text information that you will need to find from. For example, the fictional philadelphia journal of law and order. Citing to bloomberg law, lexis advance, and westlawnext. Editors of the yale law journal have announced that the bluebook.
As noted previously, the bluebook is a vast, complex citation manual, and it will take some time and a lot of patience to learn the rules and understand legal citation. If possible, you should cite to the current official code or the supplement. Mar 29, 2019 start with the authors first and last name. Research guide for students enrolled in business legal classes. You will be surprised at how many very common abbreviations are actually legalbased. A42x 1962 westlaw campus research offcampus access requires my. Outlines the basic structure of legal citations, including cases law, statutes, and administrative rules and regulations. Legal abbreviations are used within the legal and law fields, and can save you time and money. You will be surprised at how many very common abbreviations are. Not every country is represented in table 2 of the bluebook, so this guide may prove helpful for.
These publications are regularly found at law and other libraries. Introduction to sample bluebook citations sample bluebook. Signals are important because they indicate how a cited authority relates to the text. From partners to paralegals, bluebook training gives your personnel the knowledge and confidence to tackle any citation issue. Having a common set of abbreviations is very important because it allows everyone reading a legal document to understand what is being presented in writing without having to spell out terms that are frequently utilized. Introductory signals appear at the beginning of citation sentences.
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. 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. Blue book legal definition of blue book legal dictionary. In addition, abbreviate any state or smaller geographic unit included in a. Citation rules for court documents and legal memoranda. It is usually listed after the title of the annotation. Their covers often include a title such as, blue book. Bluebook training enables your staff to produce errorfree briefs. Mar 27, 2020 outlines the basic structure of legal citations, including cases law, statutes, and administrative rules and regulations. Secondary sources abbreviations bluebook quick reference. Journal abbreviations law legal citation guide research. A uniform system of citation, is the style manual for citing to legal documents within the united states.
Bluebook citation for legal materials purdue writing lab. Bluecolored practitioners notes for court documents. Times new roman font alongside with oneinch margins. Blue books generally require students to answer openended questions or a list of topics to choose from with written. 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. Few books cause law students as much dread, pain, anger, and frustration as the bluebook the bluebook, formally titled the bluebook. Law school bluebook basics one of the books that all 1l law students are required to purchase is the bluebook. Useful tables bluebook guide libguides at university of illinois. More specifically, a blue book refers to the type of exams that require students to use these books to complete the test. So when law clerks read your brief and see lots of bluebook mistakes, they might think, i dont know who this lawyer is, but i know they werent on. Legal abbreviations are to be used as a shorthand technique to replace legal terms and law terms.
The best way to learn the bluebook is simply to start using it one resource for additional practice with legal citation is lexiss interactive citation workstation icw. This book is a must have for law students, paralegals and attorneys. A new edition of the official united states code is published every six years, with a cumulative supplement published annually. These tables give the various abbreviations for the u. I think that if one compares my citation system to that of the bluebook the bluebook bluebook.