Basics of legal citations introduction to legal citation. Legal writers use citation signals to tell readers how the citations support their propositions, organizing citations in a hierarchy of importance so the reader can quickly determ. Bluebook citation for llm students bluebook citation for. Do not use a signal with a citation when you have directly borrowed someone elses. The bluebooks introductory citation signals are essential to effective legal discourse. The bluebook supports numerous sources in law writing.
Only the signal beginning a citation sentence has its initial letter capitalized. The format of these citations depends solely on the kind of source that the writer cites in his or her writing. Additionally, the chicago manual of style recommends its use for all citation of legal material. Signals are used in front of citations to alert the reader as to how that citation is. Always check the blue pages in the back of the bluebook table 1 to. Use no signal, for example, when directly quoting an authority or when restating numerical data from an authority. The indigo book isnt the same as the bluebook, but it does implement the same uniform system of citation that the bluebook does. Introduction bluebook guide guides at georgetown law. The popularity of the bluebook among law students and professionals has given rise to a new name. Bluebooking is the process of supporting assertions with citations in proper form.
Statute citations have a volume, the name of the cited code, a section, and a date. 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. A law declaring that one group of citizens shall not be afforded equal. Within each general class of signal, signals are arranged in order of greatest to least direct relation to the assertion so a signal indicating a direct quote would come before one indicating an inferential step. Signals of different types, however, must be grouped in different citation sentences. Court of appeals for the 7th circuit, is a noted critic of the bluebook and wrote these two. To generate a new password, fill out this form and a new password will be sent to your email address. Support to direct the reader to specific authority supporting the. A uniform system of citation, is the style manual for citing to legal documents within the united states. The use of no signal at all before a citation indicates to the reader that the citation directly supports the text. These rules include signals, quotations, typeface, order of authorities, short cites, etc. No comma separates the signal from the rest of the.
Signals bb alwd ib citing an authority without any preceding word to clarify or qualify its connection to the text represents that the citation directly states the proposition or identifies a quotation or authority with which the citation is associated e. See generally introduction to basic legal citation. Although it is intended to highlight the bluebook, and not substitute for it, we hope this guide provides a convenient, delawarespecific resource for the superior courts judicial officers, law clerks, interns, externs, and staff. It is now in its 20th edition, more than an inch thick, and consists of over 500 pages of guidance on legal citation. Signals of the same basic type supportive, comparative, contradictory, or background rule 1. A uniform system of citation, a style guide, prescribes the most widely used legal citation system in the united states. Signals indicating that the cited work is supportive of the authors text are the most commonly used type of signal. The bluebook style guide is used in the american legal profession for citation of all relevant sources. Attribution to identify the source of ideas expressed in the text, and. Signals are used in front of citations to alert the reader as to how that citation is being used. Recent studies, however, argue that the style was born in yale with the publication of karl n. Always use a signal unless 1 the cited authority directly states the proposition in the text. The bluebook style is exclusively used for legal papers, and so it can be somewhat complicated due to its focus on easy citations of various court documents.
At the nations oldest roman catholic law school, notre dame law school encourages students of diverse backgrounds to broaden their social, spiritual, and personal lives while honing their intellectual and professional skills to serve the good of all. Signals bluebook citation 101 practitioner format research. B12 basic format for statutes in court documents r12 detailed format for statutes in academic writing r12. In law, a citation or introductory signal is a set of phrases or words used to clarify the authority.
But see is used when the citation clearly supports a proposition contradictory to the textual assertion, and. The bluepages provide easy and basic principles for common citations. The bluebook, as it is commonly referred to, spans more than three hundred pages. These sources include statutes, supreme court cases, and other law cases. The whitepages are the indepth rules of citation and style. Essentially the order of signals is supporting, comparative, contradictory, and general background.
Do not use a signal with a citation when you have directly borrowed someone elses words or have paraphrased her words or ideas. The following information regarding the bluebook citation format is an. Citations are to the 20th edition of the bluebook, a uniform system of citation rule 10 cases p. Bluebook citation in scholarly legal writing georgetown law. Statutes bluebook legal citation tarlton law library. The editors published a new eighteenth edition in 2005 that encompasses several changes. As with any reference book, the bluebook becomes easier to use once you know where to find the information you need. Robbins abstract the bluebooks introductory citation signals are essential to effective legal discourse. For a detailed discussion on where to place the numbers for your footnotes, see r1. Broadly speaking an introductory signal can function in 4 different ways to show support, contradiction, comparison, or background information. However, they can be understood and used with a little bit of knowledge. The bluebook lists a number of signalswords at the start of a citation that signal what sort of support a source offers. Bluebook citation for legal materials purdue writing lab. Where the florida rules do not address a particular citation, the bluebook.
Specifically, you would refrain from using any signal whatsoever before the citation when the citation is a the source of a quotation, b directly supports the text, or c directly referring to the text. The choice of signal can influence not only the interpretation of cited cases, but also the path of the law. Bluebook gallagher law library videos library guides. Formatting of signals and accompanying punctuation rule 1. Within those footnotes, citations are made in citation sentences and clauses.
There are 5 primary differences between alwd and bluebook citation formats. In academic legal writing, law journals, citations are placed in footnotes. No comma separates the signal from the rest of the citation, except for e. The bluebook also has citation rules for legal memoranda and other practiceoriented materials the blue pages, which students in lrwa2. Italicize the signal if it is included in the citation sentence. This part outlines where vlr conventions depart from the bluebook, adds additional rules, and seeks to clarify some of the more obscure bluebook rules. 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.
The bluepages contain condensed versions of the full rules and are intended to provide easytocomprehend guidance for. As such, every thought, sentence and idea must refer to a legal underpinning be it case law, statute, regulation, book, law reivew etc. Llewellyn on how to write law materials for the yale law journal whatever the origin, however, today the bluebook is used by the majority of u. Introduction to bluebooking bluebook basics libguides.
Bluebook guide libguides at university of illinois law. An example of a bluebook citation for a case includes the cases name. The choice of signal can influence not only the interpretation of cited cases. Citations not covered in this rule or in the bluebook shall be in the form prescribed by the florida style manual published by the florida state. Few books cause law students as much dread, pain, anger, and frustration as the bluebook the bluebook, formally titled the bluebook. Bluebook sample citations the law school university of. The bluebook consists of four main sections the first section is the bluepages, which provide information on basic legal citation. This book does not cover the latest editions of alwd and bluebook, but it may still be useful. Tables show jurisdiction specific authorities and citations. This guide will clearly explain, in plainenglish and with examples, the different types of introductory signals, as prescribed by the bluebook. Cited authority supports a proposition different from the main proposition but is sufficiently analogous to lend support cf. Contra is used whenever the cited authority directly states a contradictory proposition and so is essentially the contradictory form of no signal. Generations of law students, lawyers, scholars, judges, and other legal professionals have relied on the bluebooks unique system of citation in their writing. Blue pages this guide covers the bluebooks white pages, which provide citation rules for academic papers.
Building on that understanding and an explanation of the process of using citations in legal writing, the book then discusses and illustrates the particular rules of the bluebook and the alwd citation manual for citing cases, statutes, and all other major legal sources. For example, several cases following a see signal must be placed in order according to court, chronology, and sometimes alphabetically. Bluebook layout bluebook guide guides at georgetown. Cite to page 707 of a 1995 case between bruce babbitt, secretary of the interior, et al.
Bluebook legal citation university of akron school of law. The form is a blend between intext and footnotebased formats, as its citations are located in the text but appear more similar to footnotebased ones. It is used in citations to present authorities and indicate how those authorities relate to propositions in statements. Introductory signals guide bluebook citation generator. When instead they form the verb of a sentence that includes the citation they are not italicized or underlined. The bluebook twentieth edition is a uniform system of citation. Introductory signals are placed before every citation to indicate how the citations relate to the preceding sentence or clause. If a current official code does not exist, as is the case for many states, a citation to a current, unofficial code is preferred.