For generations, law students, lawyers, scholars, judges, and other legal professionals have relied on the bluebook s unique system of citation. However, the following are rules and examples for other types of legal documents that many firstyear law students may need to cite. Citation to internet information these tables give the various abbreviations for the u. The author hopes this guide will offer some helpful advice. 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. Rule 15 governs the citation of books, treatises, reports, white papers, dictionaries, encyclopedias, and all other nonperiodic materials bluebook. Volume, author s, title pinpoint cite edition year. Citus legalus is an automated bluebook citation generator for lazy law students. Citation clause like a citation sentence, but set off my commas rather than periods. If required by your instructor, you can add annotations to your citations. Bureau of the census, evaluating components of international migration.
Citeus legalus the automated bluebook citation generator. Citation examples use nonacademic citation format i. Blue book a publication that establishes the correct form of case citations or of references to a legal authority showing where information can be found. A uniform system of citation, is the style manual for citing to legal documents within the united states.
In legal writing, one of the most commonly cited types of sources are judicial opinions. The bluebook, is the definitive style guide for legal citation in the united states. A publication that establishes the correct form of case citations or of references to a legal authority showing where information can be found. In general, cite to the author s, title of the article in italics, volume number of the source, title of the source i. Our citation guides provide detailed information about all types of sources in mla, apa, chicago and turabian styles. In general, this rule requires that all words be capitalized except. A volume that explains the organization of a state government and provides the names of state officials. Introduction bluebook guide guides at georgetown law. Few books cause law students as much dread, pain, anger, and frustration as the bluebook the bluebook, formally titled the bluebook. Bluebook citation hamline university school of law. Bluebook citation for legal materials purdue writing lab. Rule 15, books, reports, and other nonperiodic materials. Each different kind of secondary source has a slightly different set of rules for citation, which will be enumerated below.
The bluebook contains rules that prescribe how to cite a variety of legal documents. There are many permutations of citing to legal periodicals. Programmed and maintained by kirk sigmon, cornell law. This guide provides commentary, models and tips on the bluebook 19th edition for law students. A short primer on bluebook citation formats for federal and state cases and statutes, as well as books, journals, and other secondary sources. Blue book legal definition of blue book legal dictionary.
This page will briefly covers the rule governing this citation. A uniform system of citation, a style guide, prescribes the most widely used legal citation system in the united states. A guide for students and practitioners legal citation, third edition. There are too many rules for this introductory guide to cover. Generally speaking, the citation should include the authors full name, the title of the book, the page cited, editors name if applicable, edition if applicable, and year of publication. In large multivolume treatises, you will often have to indicate which volume you are using. American jurisprudence amjur is a secondary source a legal encyclopedia to be exact and the citation is governed by rule 15 of the bluebook. A citation to a judicial opinion is typically referred to as a case or court case citation. Secondary authorities bluebook citations libguides at. The bluebook citation manual abbreviation, followed by the alwd citation manual abbreviation. The scope of the indigo book s coverage is roughly equivalent to the bluebook s bluepagesthat is, the indigo book covers legal citation for u. For help with other source types, like books, pdfs, or websites, check out our other guides. Where multiple units or division of the institution are listed on the work, the citation includes the smallest unit first and then skips to the largest, omitting all in between.
Additionally, the chicago manual of style recommends its use for all citation of legal material. Bluebook case guide bluebook citation generator legalease. Just select add annotation while finalizing your citation. A bluebook guide for law students suffolk university. The basics of legal citation including citation styles bluebook and alwd. Bluebook rule 15 gives the citation format for books, reports, and other nonperiodic materials. The central function of a legal citation is to allow the reader to efficiently locate the cited source. Rule 15 in the bluebook explains how to properly cite a book. Bluebooking for court documents guide to legal writing. Legal encyclopedia articles can be extremely useful if you are beginning to research an unfamiliar area of the law. Bluebook citations to books and treatises are substantially different from other style systems like mla and chicago in that the publishers name and location are not given and the authors name is not inverted with the last name first. Title of entry italicized or underlined title of dictionary italicized or underlined edition.
Secondary sources include books, articles, encyclopedias and other nonprimary sources. Paralegal career for dummies, 2nd edition for dummies careereducation. Generations of law students, lawyers, scholars, judges, and other legal professionals have relied on the bluebook s unique system of citation in their writing. Legal encyclopedia that provides case citations and cross references to other resources. Guide to foreign and international legal citations, nyu law library.
How to cite a encyclopedia article in bluebook law. Citation format examples for footnotes general rules times new roman, size 10, 1 line spacing, justified. The author experienced frustration with the bluebook both as a first year student and on a law journal board. It is now in its 20th edition, more than an inch thick, and consists of over 500 pages of guidance on legal citation. Annotations usually focus on developing areas of the law, or areas of the law in which not all jurisdictions are in agreement. In this bluebook cheat sheet, weve laid out the essential bluebook elements and bluebook examples for a few of the most common types of case citations. How do i cite american jurisprudence in an apa paper. Only finish a citation clause with a period if it is the last clause in a sentence. Citation machine helps students and professionals properly credit the information that they use. Guide to cite using bluebook citation method with examples. Citing secondary sources sample bluebook citations. Kirwin, professor emeritus william mitchell college of law. To have your reference list or bibliography automatically made for you, try our free citation generator. Provide the title of a work as it appears on the title page, but follow the capitalization rules of bluebook rule 8.