The bluebook is the primary style guide for legal citation in the US.

Has 5 major sections: Table of contents, Bluepages, Rules of citation and style, tables index. (inside cover is not relevant as students or practitioners, only for scholars or journal writers) Table of contents not very helpful. Bluepages Bluepages o o o o How to guide for basic citation. Use typeface that as practioners you will use Rule for the legal profession, not focused on academic writing Easy to read guideance for the everyday citation needs of 1st year law students

Rules of citation and style o White paper following the blue pages o Typeface (large and small capitals) used in academic scholarly writing; not the typeface that you will use in Rhetoric, needs to be converted to B1 (Restatement of the Law = practitioner writing). (RESTATEMENT OF THE LAW = Academic Writing) o First section establishes general standards of citation to use in citation for all forms of authority. o Second section presents citation rules for specific types of authority. Tables o o White paper with blue border at back of the book List of the various tables can be found in the table of contents or on the cheat sheet on the back of your bluebook. Inner back cover is a cheat sheet for rhetoric/practice Proper citation tells the reader where an idea came from. If the writer does not come up with the idea, citation is needed.

Why Cite? o o

Where Should I put the Citation A citiation may be inserted into the text of the legal document as a: Citation sentence: All first year law students must write well. (Citation). This court. Citation Clause: Although all law students must write well, (citation), this court sometimes finds what wcl 1l students write better than Harvard 1l law students. What do I put in a case citation A full case citation includes 3 basic components The name of the case (either underlined or italicized) The published course in which the case may be found (including the volume number, reporter name, and page number and the pinpoint case) and A parenthetical indicating the court and year of the decision Spratt v. Student, 23 F.3d 345, 346 (4th Cir. 2006). Whats in your case name The case name that is listed at the beginning of a published case typically contains more information than you need to formulate a correct Bluebook citation Bluebook rule B4.1.1 provides an overview of what information is required in a case name citation; Rule 10.2 provides more detailed guidance. Omit from case names Any parties other than the 1st party listed on each side

Phrases such as et al that include multiple parties or descriptive terms (such as plaintiff and defendant) The when it is the first word of a party name Of America after United States First names, middle names, and initials, except when part of a business name Omit State of Commonwealth of and people of except when citing decisions of the courts in that state, in which case only state commonwealth or people should be used For a case where the commonwealth of Pennsyvlania is the plaintiff, and the case is being cited in a Pennsylvania court: Commonwealth v. Smith, 448 A.2d 637 (Pa. 1982) For a case where the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is the plaintiff and the case is being cited in a court other than a Pennsylvania court: Pennsylvania v. Smith, 234 U.S. 257 Abbreviation in any case name citiation Versus is abbreviated to v. Words listed in Rule 10.2(c) widely known acronyms & the following words: &, Assn, Bros, Co, Corp, Inc, Ltd, and No. States, countries, or other georgraphical units listed in T.10 unless the unit is the entire name of a party, in which case, an abbreviation should not be used. Abbreviate only if used in a citation sentence Words listed in T.6 and Other words of 8 or more letters if substantial space is saved and the result is unambiguous. Abbreviation Rules Never abbreviate the following: United States as the entire party name Any word not listed in 10.2.1.(c) if the case name is being mentioned Examples: In Southwest Engineering Co. v. United States (citation), the court held that private nuisance offers a remedy in damages Private nuisance offers a remedy in damages. Sw. Engg Co. v. United States, (cita tion). What is a reporter A reporter is a series of books that contains published cases within a given jurisdiction (United States Reports) or a series of jurisdictions (Federal Supplement) Reporter Citation A case citation will tell the reader where the case can be found by listing: The volume number of the reporter Spacing Rule 6.1(a) In general close up adjacent single capitals N.W. S.D.N.Y. Individual numbers, including both numbers and ordinals are treated as single capitals: F.2d A.L.R.2d Do not close up single capitals with longer abbreviations D. Mass. F. Supp. S.Ct. Insert a space adjacent to any abbreviation containing two more letters So. 2d Cal. App. 3d F. Supp. 2d

Court and Year of Decision In general, case citations should indicate in a parenthetical (immediately following the page reference separated by 1 space) Court and Date Parenthetical Exceptions When citing decisions of the US Supreme Court or the highest court in a particular state, do not include the name abbreviation of the deciding court in the date parenthetical. Omit the jurisdiction information if the title of the reporter unambiguously provides the reader with that information When citing Federal Courts of Appeal or federal District, the name of the court that decided the case should be included in the parenthetical. Figley v. Keith, 28 F.2d 795 (2d Cir. 2006) Phelps v. Beske, 28 F. Supp. 568 (E.D. Va. 2006) Pinpoint Citation Pinpoint cites follow the first page of a case report, separated by a comma & one space Spratt v. Student, 23 U.S. 345, 358-60 (2006). Spratt v. Student, 23 U.S. 685, 695-700 (2006). String citation always separate citations with a semi-colon Statutes: Rules B5 and 12 A full citation to a federal statute includes 3 basic elements The official name of the act (if popular) The published source in which the act may be found A parenthetical indicated either (i) the year and source was published (used for code citations) or (b) the year the statute was passed (used for citation to session laws) 5 U.S.C. 500-706 (2000) 5 U.S.C. 500-706 (2000 & Supp. 2005) 5 U.S.C.A. 500-706 (West 2000). Citation to Online Statute Read Rule 12.5 Short Citation Form: Rule B5.2, 12.10 The first mention of a stautute requires a full citation. Subsequent citations in the same general discussion may employ any short form that clearly identifies the statute. Encyclopedias B8, Rule 15.8 A basic citation to an encyclopedia has 5 elelemtsn Volume # Abbreviated name or the encyclopedia The name of the encyclopedia topic (underlined) The section cited (with a space between the section symbol and section number) and A parenthetical containing the date of the book, including if appropriate, the date of the pocket part and supplement Legal Periodicals B9, Rule 16 Mary Garvey, The Attorneys Affidavit in litigation Proceedings, 31 Stan. L. Rev. 191 (1979) ALR Rule 16.7.6

Emily P. Smith, Annotation, Use of Hypnosis on Witnesses with Failed Memories, 11 A.L.R. Fed. 509 (1986). Restatements B5.1.3, Rule 12.9.5 A basic citation to a Restatement contains 3 elements Restatement (Third) of Unfair Competition 3 (1995). Quotations: B12 & Rule 5 Alterations: 5.2 Omissions: 5.3: Electronic Databases B4.1.4 & rule 18 Capitalization in Textual Sentences: B7.3.1. Capitalization B7.3.2. Singals, give the reader helpful info without making it part of the text of the document. Shows the reader how the authority cited relates to the text it follows and or how it relates to the other citations in the sentence Always use a signal unless the cited authority Directly states the proposition Identifies the source of a quotation Identifies an authority mentioned in a text. Categories of signals B3 & Rule 1.2 Order of Signals B3.5 and Rule 1.3 when more than 1 signal is used, the signals should appear in the order they are listed in rule 1.2 Signals of the same type must be strung together within a single Order of Authority within each signal Rule 1.4 Parentheticals Two caterogies: Weight of Authority (B4.1.5) & Explanatory (B11, R1.5; provide additional info to make clear to the reader the reason for the citation. Helpful when you dont want to discuss the info in text but still consider it necessary to help the reader fit the citation into the overall picture.) Quotations: Explanatory parentheticals can also contain full quotations.