Moot CourtBluebook Basics

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Mark Podvia

HistoryFirst published in 1926 as A Uniform System of Citation: Abbreviations and Form of Citation.

Only 26 pages long!

Nicknamed The Bluebook because it had a blue cover.

11th Edition, published in 1967, is 117 pages.

18th Edition, published in 2005, is 415 pages.

19th Edition, published in 2010, is 511 pages.

Reviews

The plot is quite contrived and character development is stagnant at best, regressive at worst. Apparently, the authors think we'll automatically care for the protagonist, "Statute." Well, newsflash, Harvard Law Review, we don't! Personally (and I don't pretend to be an author of any kind), I would have made "Periodicals" the main character, instead of just an on-again off-again third wheel. And he'd have a drinking problem. Also, it doesn't take a genius to realize that for something to be successful nowadays, it needs vampires! Think outside the box, Harvard Law Review. Seriously.

--Amazon.com Review

Most of the time, I've been extremely pleased with the editing I've received on articles. There are, however, some practices that law review editors routinely do that are incredibly silly and annoying. They bother nearly every professor I talk to. And yet they persist. One of the reasons is the Bluebook. The Bluebook is a thick book with a blue cover filled with more rules than the Internal Revenue Code. It is written by a consortium of law reviews and its primary purpose is as a money-making racket.

--Daniel Solove, George Washington University

There's no question that lawyers and law professors must use citations, but why on earth do they let a bunch of nerdy, big-headed Harvard law students make the rules? The Bluebook is bloated, verbose, counter-intuitive, poorly laid out, and remarkably anal retentive.

--Amazon.com Review

“The Bluebook Blues” by the Hon. Richard A. Posner

http://www.yalelawjournal.org/images/pdfs/940.pdf

Why The Bluebook?

The Bluebook is designed to provide a systematic method by which members of the profession communicate important information about the sources and authorities upon which they rely in their work.

Hence

George W. Bush et al vs. Albert Gore, Jr., et al, 531 U.S. 98, 121 S.Ct. 525, 148 L.Ed. 2d 388, 69 U.S.L.W. 4029 (2000).

becomes

Bush v. Gore, 531 U.S. 98 (2000).

Navigating The Bluebook:

Inside Back Cover—Quick Reference: Court Documents and Legal Memoranda

Outside Back Cover

Index, page 475

Problem Areas

TypefaceItalicize or underline the following (Rule B1):

• Case Names, including procedural phrases;• Titles of books and articles;• Titles of some legislative materials;• Introductory signals;• Explanatory phrases introducing subsequent case

history;

• Cross references such as id. or supra;• Words and phrases introducing related authority,

such as quoted in.

In addition, italicize the following when they appear in the text (rather than in a citation):

• Titles of publications;• Words italicized in the original;• Words you wish to emphasize and any other word

that would be italicized such as uncommon foreign words.

EVERYTHING ELSE IS IN ORDINARY ROMAN TYPE!

(No LARGE and SMALL Caps)

Rule B2, Citation Sentences and Clauses

Citations appear within the text of the document as full sentences or as clauses

directly after the proposition they support.

Footnotes should be used only when permitted by court rules.

Citation SentenceA citation sentence cites authorities that relate to the entire proceeding sentence. It may contain more than one citation, with each citation being set off by a semicolon:

The Second Circuit also did not decide whether the Oneida Nation was entitled to the state law tax exemptions for reservation land in tribal possession. N.Y. Indian Law § 6 (McKinney 2001); N.Y. Real Property Tax Law § 454 (McKinney 2008).

Citation Clauses

Citation clauses are set off from text by commas and immediately follow the proposition to which they relate. Use citation clauses to cite sources that relate to only part of a sentence:States may of course collect the sales tax from cigarette wholesalers, either by seizing unstamped cigarettes off the reservation, Washington v. Confederated Tribes of the Colville Indian Reservation, 447 U.S. 134, 161-162 (1980), or by assessing wholesalers who supplied unstamped cigarettes to the tribal stores, City Vending of Muskogee, Inc. v. Oklahoma Tax Comm’n, 898 F.2d 122 (10th Cir. 1990).

Signals

Rule B3 Rule 1.2, Introductory Signals

Rule B3.5 and Rule 1.3, Order of Signals

Rule 1.4, Order of Authorities within Each Signal

page 56

SIGNALS ARE CAPITALIZED WHEN USED TO BEGIN A CITATION SENTENCE BUT LOWER CASE WHEN USED TO BEGIN A CITATION

CLAUSE!

DO NOT FEEL OBLIGED TO USE EVERY SIGNAL!

Rule B4, Cases

Italicize the case name, but do not italicize the comma after the case name.

For state cases, cite according to court rules. This might means citation to both an official reporter and a regional reporter:

Commonwealth v. Noel, 579 Pa. 546, 857 A.2d 1283 (2004).

Rule B4.1.4 Pending/Unreported Cases

Cite to LEXIS or Westlaw if available.

Docket numbers vary from court to court; cite to the docket number exactly as it appears.

Rule B4.2, Short Citation Forms for Cases

You may short cite using a party name, but do not use U.S. as a short citation (using U.S. does not

clearly identify what is being referenced)

Id. is used only for the immediately preceding citation and only if it contains a single authority.

Id. is capitalized only if it begins a citation sentence.

Briefs, Court Filings and Transcripts Rule 10.8.3, Page

107

Rule provides for citation to audio recordings of court proceedings. Note that a timestamp should be used for pinpoint citations. Also provides for citation to recordings available online.

Rule B5, StatutesCite to the official code (U.S.C. for Federal) where

possible. Rule B5.1.1

Give the name of the statute only if it is commonly cited that way or if the name would aid in its identification. Rule 12.3.1 (a), page 114

The date for statutes should be 1) the year on the spine, 2) the year on the title page or 3) the copyright year in that order of preference. Rule 12.3.2, page 115

Administrative and Executive Materials

Rule 14, Page 133

Much of the material previously contained in Rule 14 is available in Table 1.2, page 218.

Rule B5.1.4, Administrative Material

Cite Federal Rules and Regulations to the CFR if therein:

7 C.F.R. § 319.76 (2000).

B5.1.4, Page 17Rule 14, Page 133

State Administrative Material

See Table 1 for citation to State Administrative Compilations or Registers

1 Pa. Code § 9.201 (2012).

42 Pa. Bull. 6138 (Sept. 29, 2012).

Periodical MaterialsRule 16, page 147

The Internet, Electronic Media & Other Nonprint

ResourcesRule 18, page 164

The Bluebook requires the use and citation of traditional printed sources when available unless there is a digital copy of the source available that is authenticated, official, or an exact copy of the printed source.

If an online source is available in a format that

preserves pagination (such as a PDF), cite to that

format.

Rule B10 The InternetPage 25

A full citation to an Internet source should include the following:

1) The name of the author (if applicable);2) The title of the specific page of the website

(if applicable);3) The title of the main page of the website;

4) The date (and time if applicable);5) The URL.

If there is no date associated with the specific matter of the citation, use the following:

The date the website was “last modified” or “last updated.”

The date the website was “last visited.”

Direct Citation to Internet Sources

Rule 18.2.2 (c), page 168

When citing to a Blog include a timestamp when possible.

Podcasts and Recordings Available Online

Rule 18.7.3, Page 175

Note that timestamps are optional.

LEGAL ABBREVIATIONS

Bieber’s Dictionary of Legal Abbreviations

Reserve, KF246 .B46 2001

HELP!• Peter Martin, Introduction to Basic Legal Citation:

http://www.law.cornell.edu/citation/

• Linda J. Barris, Understanding and Mastering The Bluebook, KF245, .B37 2007 (Reserve)

• Mark Podvia, 717-240-5015 (work), 717-226-8317 (cell), mwp3@psu.edu

Foreign and International Materials

Rule 20, Page 179 and Rule 21, Page 185

Tables:

T2, Page 277 Foreign JurisdictionsT3, Page 426 Intergovernmental OrganizationsT4, Page 428 Treaty Sources

Rule 20Foreign Jurisdictions

See Table 2, beginning on page 277, for abbreviations for foreign jurisdictions.

• 40 Countries are included in Table 2, plus the Catholic Church, Hong Kong and Roman Law.

• Iraq and Iran are included; Afghanistan is not.

For sources not present in Table 2, follow the respective country’s own citation rules as modified by Rule 20 (Foreign Materials), beginning on page 179.

Rule 20.1 Jurisdiction

Unless the jurisdiction is clear, indicate it parenthetically (abbreviations found in Table 10).

Rule 20.2 Non-English language documents, page

179

For documents published in multiple languages use the English version whenever it is as authoritative as other versions. 20.2.1.

When citing to a document in a language other than English always give the full title or name in the original language the first time the document is cited. 20.2.2.

Translate all titles, name or words cited that are not in the Roman alphabet using a standard transliteration system. 20.2.4.

If a translated version of a foreign language primary authority exists, cite it using translated in. 20.2.5.

Rule 21 International Materials

See Table 3, starting on page 426, for abbreviations for Intergovernmental Organizations.

Treaty Sources, Rule 21.4.5

Note the distinction between agreements to which the US is a party and agreements to which the US is not a party, pages 189-90.

I.L.M.

Questions?