Notable Differences Between ALWD (2d) and Bluebook (17th)

. . . for law review members and research assistants

Tips for Using the Bluebook

Use the “Quick Reference: Law Review Footnotes” at the very front. Do not use the Quick Reference in the back.

Use the index to find pertinent rules. Consult ALWD if you need clarification; most

rules are similar.

Signals (BB 1.2; ALWD 44)

The definitions of signals in ALWD and the Bluebook are very similar, but read them carefully.

Under Bluebook form: Insert a comma whenever “e.g.,” is used

(ALWD does not use the comma). When you move from one category of signal to

another, insert a period (in ALWD, you would use semicolons).

Order of Authorities (BB 1.4; ALWD 45)

Federal district courts: Treat as one court and put in reverse chronological order. (In ALWD, courts are first ordered alphabetically, then in reverse chronological order.)

Federal courts of appeals: Treat as one court and put in reverse chronological order. (In ALWD, courts are first ordered by ordinal, then in reverse chronological order.)

Related Authority (BB 1.6; ALWD 46)

Append related authority with an italicized explanatory phrase (in ALWD, related authority is included within a parenthetical and is not italicized):

Case One, quoting TREATISE THREE

Typeface: Small caps (BB 2; ALWD 1)

The Bluebook uses large and small capital letters for the following sources (ALWD does not use this typeface at all): Constitutions: Abbreviations (CAL. CONST.) Statutes: Statutory abbreviation (FLA. STAT.) Books: Author names and titles (AUTHOR, TITLE OF

BOOK 55-56 (2003). Periodicals: Periodical abbreviation (MICH. L. REV.) Restatements: Title (RESTATEMENT OF AGENCY)

Typeface: Cases (BB 2; ALWD 1) Bluebook:

Full case names in textual sentences: italicize Full case names in citations: regular type; no

italics Short case names in the text and citations:

italicize

In ALWD, case names are always italicized.

Volume numbers (BB 3.1; ALWD 22) Under the Bluebook, place the volume

number for a book before the author’s name:

1 AUTHOR NAME, BOOK TITLE 105 (2003).

In ALWD, the volume appears after the book title, like other subdivisions:

Author Name, Book Title vol. 1, 105 (Publisher name 2003).

Page Spans (BB 3.3; ALWD 5) Under the Bluebook, drop repetitious digits,

but always retain two digits on the right hand side: 1354-57 101-05 Note: This rule does not apply to section or

paragraph numbers.

ALWD gives the same option and the option to retain all digits

Internal Cross-References (BB 3.6; ALWD 10)

The rules are very similar, but under the Bluebook, spell out “note”:

BB: Infra note 45 and accompanying text.

ALWD: Infra n. 45 and accompanying text.

Id. (BB 4.1; ALWD 11.3)

The rules are very similar; however, the Bluebook has a “5 id.” rule that ALWD does not. Under the Bluebook, do not use id. or another

short form unless “it can be readily found in one of the preceding five footnotes” (emphasis in original)

Bluebook Rules 10.9 and 12.9 contain this “5 footnote” rule.

Quotations (BB 5; ALWD 47)

The Bluebook has a stricter rule and says to block indent when more than forty-nine words are quoted.

ALWD says to block indent when the quotation spans more than four typed lines of text or exceeds fifty words.

Abbreviations (BB 6.1; ALWD 2) The spacing rules are virtually identical. The lists of specific abbreviations in tables

differ. The Bluebook sometimes uses a format that includes an apostrophe.

BB examples ALWD examples Ass’n Assn. Dep’t Dept. Gov’t Govt. Int’l Intl.

Capitalization (BB 8; ALWD 3) Most capitalization rules are consistent. Two differences to watch out for:

Under the Bluebook, do not capitalize prepositions unless they are five or more letters long.

Under the Bluebook, do not capitalize “Court” when referring to a state supreme court.

Cases (BB 10; ALWD 12)

Remember the typeface differences discussed earlier.

Remember the differences in abbreviations for words in case names.

Under the Bluebook, you may, but are not required, to note the district or department for state intermediate courts (Rule 10.4). ALWD requires the district or department to be

noted.

Cases - continued

Under Bluebook Rule 10.5, “[w]hen citing a case with several different decisions in the same year, include the year only with the last-cited decision in that year.” So, if the F. Supp. decision and the F.2d

decision were both 2001, include the date only with the F.2d decision.

Under ALWD, include the date for each decision, even if the dates are the same.

Cases on Electronic Databases

(BB 10.8.1; ALWD 12.12) Under the Bluebook, include the docket

number as part of the citation:

Case X, No. ABC-123, 2003 U.S. App. LEXIS 789, at *2 (3d Cir. Jan. 10, 2003).

ALWD deletes the document number.

Constitutions (BB 11; ALWD 13) The forms are identical, except for typeface.

BB: U.S. CONST. art I.

ALWD: U.S. Const. art. I.

Restatements (BB 12.8.5; ALWD 27) The forms are virtually identical, except for

typeface.

BB: RESTATEMENT (THIRD) OF UNFAIR COMPETITION § 3 (1995).

ALWD: Restatement (Third) of Unfair Competition § 3 (1995).

Books (BB 15; ALWD 22)

Remember the typeface differences. Remember volume placement. Typically do not include the publisher in a

Bluebook citation.

Periodicals (BB 16; ALWD 23) Remember the typeface differences. There are a few periodical abbreviations that

differ; look each up to ensure accuracy. BB: Kenneth R. Feinberg, Mediation---A

Preferred Method of Dispute Resolution, 16 PEPP. L. REV. 5, 14 n.19 (1989).

ALWD: Kenneth R. Feinberg, Mediation---A Preferred Method of Dispute Resolution, 16 Pepp. L. Rev. 5, 14 n. 19 (1989).

Periodicals - continued

The form for nonconsecutively paginated periodicals differs:

BB: Robert J. Samuelson, A Slow Fix for Banks, NEWSWEEK, Feb. 18, 1991, at 55.

ALWD: Robert J. Samuelson, A Slow Fix for Banks, Newsweek 55 (Feb. 18, 1991).

Student-Written Pieces (BB 16.6.2; ALWD 23.1)

The Bluebook uses terms like “Note” and “Comment” to designate student works.

BB: Author, Note, Title, 20 AAA L. REV. 14, 37 (2003).

ALWD: Author, Student Author, Title, 20 AAA L. Rev. 14, 37 (2003).

Internet (BB 18; ALWD 40)

There are slight format differences. The Bluebook has different formats for

material posted only on the Web and for material reprinted on the Web (at v. available at formats).

As a date option, the Bluebook uses a “last visited” format, which is similar to the ALWD “accessed” format.

Summary

Use the index to find rules. Check forms with the “Quick Reference” in

the front. You may use the examples within the

Bluebook as guides for law review footnotes. Consult ALWD for additional explanation if

you do not understand the Bluebook rule --- but keep typeface differences in mind.