THE BASIC CONCEPTS OF LEGAL CITATION THE BLUEBOOK THE BASIC CONCEPTS OF LEGAL CITATION

INTRODUCTION Bluebook: A uniform citation style manual for citing legal documents mainly within the United States. Citation are broadly classified into two categories: Documentary Note Style: End Notes and Footnotes Parenthetical Style There are three purposes of any citation method Show that your position is well researched. Give credit to sources. Allow the reader to identify and locate the source.

ELEMENTS OF A LEGAL CITATION Three Elements of a Legal Citation: Signal Source Parenthetical Information

HOW DO WE CITE CASES BASIC CLASSIFICATION: COURTS DOCUMENT LAW REVIEWS MODEL:  Party Name v. Party Name, Volume Reporter Page (Court Year) (parenthetical). EXAMPLE: United States v. Legault, 323 F. Supp. 2d 217 (D. Mass. 2004) (Jonas, J., dissenting) (noting historical examples).

STATUTORY CITATION Model Court Documents: Nothing is underlined. Law Reviews: Use small caps for the statutory abbreviation.  Model (wide variations occur between jurisdiction  Statute (year)  Example      Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 183, § 49 (2006) or 44 U.S.C. § 1234 (2000).

CITING ARTICLES Model for consecutively paginated articles [rule 16.3] Court Documents: Underline the article title. Law Reviews: Italicize titles and small caps for the periodical title.    Model for consecutively paginated articles [rule 16.3] Author(s), Title, Periodical Name (year) (parenthetical).’  Model for non-consecutively paginated articles [rules 16.4]  Author(s), Title, Periodical Name, Date of Issue, at Page.

CONTINUED   Examples Theodore Meron, Reflections on the Prosecution of War Crimes by International Tribunals, 100 Am. J. Int’l L. 551 (2006) (discussing the Nuremberg trials). Rachel Williams, Council Found Liable for Birth Defects, Med. L. Rev., Wed. 29, 2009, at 2.

ELECTRONIC SOURCES                                                                                                          The Bluebook requires citation to a printed source unless it is unavailable. "Unavailable" is roughly translated as sources that are (i) not published in hard format, or (2) so obscure and rare as to be deemed unpublished (Rule 18). Parallel citations to both a printed and electronic source is permissible only when the electronic citation substantially improves access [rule 18]. Follow the print source with "available at" [see section below].

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