Understanding and Mastering The Bluebook

Transcription

1 Understanding and Mastering The Bluebook

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3 Understanding and Mastering The Bluebook A Guide for Students and Practitioners THIRD EDITION Linda J. Barris Carolina Academic Press Durham, North Carolina

4 Copyright 2007, 2010, 2015 Linda J. Barris All Rights Reserved ISBN LCCN Carolina Academic Press 700 Kent Street Durham, NC Telephone (919) Fax (919) This book is published as a guide to the rules of legal citation set forth in The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation, Twentieth Edition, copyright 2015 by The Columbia Law Review Association, The Harvard Law Review, the University of Pennsylvania Law Review, and The Yale Law Journal. This book is neither published by nor affiliated with the publishers of The Bluebook. The Bluebook is published by The Harvard Law Review Association, Gannett House, 1511 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA Printed in the United States of America

5 Contents Acknowledgments xi 1 Getting Started 3 A. Introduction to Legal Citation and The Bluebook 4 B. Practitioners Style and Local Rules 6 1. Typeface Conventions: Practitioners Style 6 2. Introduction to Local Rules 9 C. When to Cite 10 D. Citation Sentences, Clauses, and Embedded Citations Citation Sentences Citation Clauses Embedded Citations 15 E. Pinpoint Citations Pages Sections and Subsections Paragraphs Lines Footnotes Endnotes Supplements 24 F. Spacing Rules for Citation Abbreviations 24 G. Introduction to Short Form Citations Id Supra Alternate Short Forms 28 2 Cases 29 A. Basic Case Citation Rules Case Name Source Information 33 (a) Volume 35 (b) Reporter Name 35 (c) Beginning Page Number 35 (d) Pinpoint Page Number (aka Pincite) Court 36 v

6 vi CONTENTS 4. Year 38 B. Special Rules for Case Names Businesses and Organizations Governmental Parties 41 (a) Federal Government 42 (b) State Governments 42 (c) A County, City, or Town Is a Party Alternate Names Procedural and Descriptive Phrases Unions Commissioner of Internal Revenue 50 C. Short Form Case Citations Id Alternate Short Form 52 D. Parallel Citations 55 E. Public Domain Citations 57 F. Parenthetical Information Dissents and Concurrences Quoting or Citing Parentheticals Weight of Authority 62 G. Subsequent History 63 H. Ordering Multiple Additions to Citations 63 3 Statutes 65 A. Federal and State Statutes Form Basic Federal and State Statutory Citations Code Name Titles, Chapters, and Section Numbers Publisher Year of Code 74 B. Additional Information in Statutory Citations Supplements Subject Matter Codes Named Statutes 75 C. Short Forms: Statutes Id Alternate Short Form 76

7 CONTENTS vii 4 Constitutions 79 A. Basic Citation Forms 79 B. Short Form: Constitutions 80 5 Regulations 83 A. Federal Administrative Regulations 83 B. State Administrative Regulations 85 C. Internal Revenue Code 86 D. Treasury Regulations 87 6 Procedural and Court Rules 91 A. Rules of Procedure and Evidence Federal Rules of Procedure and Evidence State Rules of Procedure and Evidence 92 B. Rules of Court Federal Rules of Court State Rules of Court 94 C. Short Forms: Rules 95 7 Secondary Sources 97 A. Treatises and Books Author s Full Name Book Title Pinpoint Page, Section, or Volume Publication Information Year Short Forms: Treatises and Books 100 B. Periodicals (Law Reviews and Journals) Author s Full Name Article Title Volume Periodical Name Beginning Page Pinpoint Page(s) Year 104 Short Forms: Periodicals 104 C. Restatements 106 Short Forms: Restatements 107 D. Legal Dictionaries 108 Short Forms: Dictionaries 108

8 viii CONTENTS E. American Law Reports (A.L.R.) Annotations 109 Short Forms: A.L.R. Annotations 110 F. Legal Encyclopedias 111 Short Forms: Encyclopedias Litigation Documents and Record Citations 113 A. Litigation Documents and Appellate Record Document Title Pinpoint Citations 115 B. Short Forms: Litigation and Record Citations 117 C. Enclosing Citations in Parentheses Strings, Signals, and Explanatory Parentheticals 119 A. String Citations String Basics Short Forms in String Citations 122 B. Signals Signal Basics Determining the Appropriate Signal Multiple Signals in String Citations Using Explanatory Parentheticals to Clarify Signals Using Short Forms With Signals 128 C. Explanatory Parentheticals Quotations 131 A. Form of Quotations Block Quotations Short Quotations 132 B. Alterations 133 C. Omissions Capitalization 139 A. Capitalization Basics 139 B. Court Documents and Proceedings Courts Parties to a Legal Action Titles of Court Documents Court Proceedings Numbers, Numerals, Ordinals, and Symbols 145 A. Numbers and Numerals 145 B. Ordinals 147

9 CONTENTS ix C. Symbols Electronic Sources 149 A. Cases Commercial Databases: Published Decisions Commercial Databases: Unpublished Decisions Authenticated or Official Decisions Short Forms 155 B. Statutes Commercial Databases Authenticated or Official Versions Short Forms Practitioners Alternate Form (Optional) 157 C. Constitutions 159 D. Regulations 160 E. Procedural and Court Rules 161 F. Secondary Sources Treatises and Books Periodicals Restatements Dictionaries A.L.R. Annotations Encyclopedias 166 Appendix: Citing Cases from Commercial Databases 167 Index of Bluebook Rules 171 Subject Index 173

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11 Acknowledgments A special thanks to the many legal writing instructors, librarians, colleagues, and friends who have offered insight and feedback over the years. xi

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