The Bluebook: Th Bl b k A Uniform System of g Citation Legal

Prepared p by y Jennifer f Allison Research and Educational Technology Services Librarian Fall 2010

Introduction to the Bluebook

Legal style and citation guide Created and published by Yale, Penn, and Harvard Law Schools

Organization of the Bluebook

Style Guide for Legal Writing Citing Federal and State Primary Materials Citing Secondary Sources Special Rules for Citing Electronic Sources Citing Foreign and International Materials

Organization of the Bluebook

STYLE GUIDE FOR LEGAL WRITING (RULES 19)
Citation structure Use of signals, id., and supra Typeface requirements Format for p parentheticals, ,q quotes, , footnotes, , and endnotes Abbreviations, numerals, and symbols

Organization of the Bluebook

FEDERAL/STATE PRIMARY MATERIALS
Cases (Rule 10) Constitutions (Rule 11) Statutes (Rule 12) Legislative Materials (Rule 13) Administrative/Executive Materials (Rule 14)

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SECONDARY MATERIALS
Books and nonperiodic materials (Rule 15) Periodicals (Rule 16) Unpublished materials (Rule 17)

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ELECTRONIC RESOURCES
Internet Materials (Rule 18.2) Commercial Electronic Databases (Rule 18.3) Audio and Video Recordings (Rules 18.6 and 18.7)

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FOREIGN AND INTERNATIONAL MATERIALS
Foreign (Rule 20) International (Rule 21)

Organization of a Bluebook Rule

RULE 10: CASES
Introduction Sample Case Citation Diagrams 10.1 Basic Citation Forms Chart 10.210.8 Detailed Rules for Citing Cases 10.9 Short Forms for Case Citations

Organization of a Bluebook Rule

Introduction to Rule 10: Sample Case Citation Diagrams

Organization of a Bluebook Rule

Rule 10.1 Basic Citation Form Chart

Organization of a Bluebook Rule

Rules 10.210.8 Detailed Rules for Citing Cases

Organization of a Bluebook Rule

Rule 10.9 Short Forms for Case Citations

Arbitration Materials
Administrative Adjudications and Arbitrations International Arbitrations and Claims Commissions Arbitral Reporter Citation Formats Rule 14.3 14 3 Rule 21.6 Table 5

Changes

The Nineteenth Edition of the Bluebook was released l d in i June J 2010. 2010

The Nineteenth Edition of the Bluebook

BASICALLY STILL THE SAME
Major Format Styles Citation formats for cases, statutes and legislative materials, administrative and executive materials, and print books and periodicals

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MAJOR CHANGES
Citation rules and formats for electronic materials, foreign materials, and international materials

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THE INTERNET
Rule 18.2 has been expanded to provide more guidance on how to format citations to Internet materials. It includes general principles, as well as instructions for direct and parallel citations to sources available online.

The Nineteenth Edition of the Bluebook

CITING ONLINE DOCUMENTS
NEW RULE: An authenticated, official, or exact copy of an online source may be cited as if to the original print source, without any URL information appended. R l 18 Rule 18.2.1(a) 2 1( )

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EXAMPLE OF AUTHENTICATED ONLINE DOCUMENT
GPO now attaches a digital certificate of authenticity to all PDFs that appear on the GPO website. Therefore, h f a cite i to a PDF on the h G GPO O website bi no longer requires the URL.

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GPO Authentication Certificate

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Old: OFFICE OF MGMT. & BUDGET, A NEW ERA OF RESPONSIBILITY: RENEWING AMERICAS PROMISE (2009), http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BUDGET 2010BUD/pdf/BUDGET2010BUD.pdf.

New: OFFICE OF MGMT. & BUDGET, A NEW ERA OF RESPONSIBILITY: RENEWING AMERICAS PROMISE (2009). ( )

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CITING ONLINE VERSIONS OF STATE STATUTES
If the state or municipality only publishes their statutes or ordinances online, then cite the online source directly. p (as ( defined in rule Cite official, authenticated, or exact copies 18.2.1(a)) as if they were the official version. Unofficial online sources are cited in accordance with rule 18.2.3 ( ffi i l cite, (official it with ith a parallel ll l available il bl at t cite it t to th the web b version). i ) Rule 12.5(b)

The Nineteenth Edition of the Bluebook

CITING ELECTRONIC DATABASE VERSIONS OF STATE STATUTES
State statutes accessed through LEXIS or Westlaw may be cited, as long as the information regarding the currency of the database is included in the parenthetical. Rule 18.3.2

Th Nineteenth The Ni t th Editi Edition of f the th Bluebook Bl b k

CAL. BUS. & PROF CODE 1670 (Deering, LEXIS through 2009-2010 Extraord. Sess. 1-5 & Urg. Leg. through ch. 124 of 2010 Reg. Sess.).

The Nineteenth Edition of the Bluebook

CITING ONLINE NEWSPAPER ARTICLES
You may now officially cite an online version of a newspaper article. The h citation i i must i include l d the h URL, unless l the h article i l i is an online copy of the print version that has been authenticated in accordance with Rule 18.2.1(a). Rule 16.6(f)

The Nineteenth Edition of the Bluebook

Dave Caldwell, Blackhawks Harshest Foe is Salary Cap, N.Y. TIMES, Aug. 4, 2010, http://www nytimes com/2010/08/ http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/ 05/sports/hockey/05blackhawks. html.

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CITING FREQUENTLY UPDATED WEBSITES
Cites to blogs and other dynamic sites that are updated frequently should include a timestamp whenever possible. Rule l 18.2.2(c) 18 2 2( )

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Lyle Denniston, Prop. 8 Ruling Appealed, SCOTUSBLOG (Aug. 6, 2010, 3:47 PM), http://www scotusblog com/2010/08/ http://www.scotusblog.com/2010/08/ prop-8-ruling-appealed/.

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CITING FOREIGN AND INTERNATIONAL MATERIALS
Foreign International Rule 20; Table 2 Rule 21; Tables 3 & 4

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NONENGLISH FOREIGN MATERIALS
Rule 20.2 discusses citation formats for nonEnglish sources. There is an expanded explanation of how to cite Chineselanguage sources in rule 20.2.4.

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FOREIGN MATERIALS: JURISDICTIONS SPECIFIC CITATION EXAMPLES
These examples are provided in Table 2. Citation instructions have been expanded and clarified. In addition, seven new jurisdictions have been added: Belgium Chile Belgium, Chile, Columbia Columbia, Egypt Egypt, Iraq, Iraq Pakistan, Pakistan and S. S Korea. Korea

The Nineteenth Edition of the Bluebook

INTERNATIONAL MATERIALS
There is expanded citation information for United Nations (Rule 21.7) and European p Union/European / p Community y( (Rule 21.9) ) materials.

Bluebook Questions?
Contact a law library reference librarian. Email: asklibrarian@law.pepperdine.edu Phone: 310.506.7591