Citing government documents florida state university. Sources of citation rules florida lawyers have two main sources of citation forms. Cite legal materials business law fiu libraries at. Abbreviated forms as shown in this rule should be used if the citation is. Abbreviated forms as shown in this rule should be used if the citation is intended to stand alone either in the. This article is brought to you for free and open access by scholarship repository.
Generations of law students, lawyers, scholars, judges, and other legal professionals have relied on the bluebooks unique system of citation in their writing. Do not end a citation clause with a period, unless it is the last clause in the sentence. In defense of the bluebook justia law blog june 8, 2011. As with any reference book, the bluebook becomes easier to use once you know where to find the information you need. The law librarys reference desk has a hard copy of the 9th edition.
The bluebook is one of those fixturesdare i say institutionsthat professors, judges, and practitioners love to hate. It is a composite of those contained in the bluebook and the alwd guide to legal citation. History of bluebook the development of the bluebook from its inception in 1926 as a twentysixpage pamphlet. Do not begin a citation clause with a capital letter unless the citation clause begins with a source that would otherwise be capitalized. The bluebook legal citation guide now available online. Where the florida rules do not address a particular citation, the bluebook. Judge posner recently and famously, as his article went viral as much as one can among the online legal community criticized the bluebook as a monstrous growth, remote from the functional need for legal citation forms, that serves obscure needs of the legal. Smallcaps rule 11 lays out the citation method for constitutional sections. The bluepages contain condensed versions of the full rules and are intended to provide easytocomprehend guidance for.
When citing a case in lexis nexis, which displays multiple citations for the same case, its generally advisable to use the first listed citation. If the case was not cited immediately prior to this citation, you will use an abbreviated short form. Constitutions bluebook legal citation tarlton law library. Abbreviations of geographical terms, periodicals, publishing terms etc. West also publishes the california reporter and the new york supplement, which contain appellate case law from california and new york. The bluebook is a style guide for legal citation in the united states that is used by lawyers, scholars, judges, law students, paralegals, and others involved in the legal profession. Meeting places the number of locations at which the court hears cases. You should cite to the united state federal constitution by u. The bluebook, as it is commonly referred to, spans more than three hundred pages. The bluebook consists of four main sections the first section is the bluepages, which provide information on basic legal citation. West publishes seven 7 regional reporters as part of the national reporter system. Australian guide to legal citation, law school reference ku48. If you prefer to search by state supreme court or court of appeals exclusively, click on the links in the left hand navigation bar for.
This guide is designed to give a brief overview to some oftenoverlooked bluebook rules and some general tips on using the bluebook. Bluebooking for court documents guide to legal writing. The courts hear civil and criminal cases, and each is paired with a bankruptcy court. Legal abbreviations legal research ucf research guides at. The district courts were established by congress under article iii of the united states constitution. Next, state the abbreviation for the particular rule. Citation clauses are set off from the text by commas and immediately follow the proposition to which they relate. From the american association of law libraries, this website clearly explains all of the parts to a legal citation.
Mar 25, 2020 designed to aid practitioners and scholars in the proper use of citation form for legal documents and scholarly articles. Established the date the district court was established as a court or the date it was subdivided from a larger district. Basic legal citation also includes a description of the significant changes in the bluebook and crossreference tables to the bluebook and alwd guide, as well as links to the indigo book. If a statute or a case name is being referred to in text, it is not a citation, so abbreviate nothing, and turn most symbols into words. The following information regarding the bluebook citation format is an adapted version of the style and formatting guidelines found in the bluebook, 20th ed. Statutes bluebook legal citation tarlton law library.
This page provides bluebook a uniform system of citation, 19th ed. However, it can be used by anyone embarking on a foreign legal research project. The manual supplements the uniform citation system for florida legal documents, rule 9. Citation for different provision within same title 28 u. Do not use a short form citation form other than id. The next section is the full rules on citation and style. Creighton university law library 2500 california plaza omaha ne 68178. Abbreviated forms as shown in this rule should be used if. For generations, law students, lawyers, scholars, judges, and other legal professionals have relied on the bluebooks unique system of citation. State abbreviations bb alwd ib state abbreviations 1.
Statutes bluebook legal citation tarlton law library at. Bluebook rule 10 covers how cases should be cited in legal documents. Bt2 jurisdictionspecific citation rules and style guides. Florida has twentyfour different rules of procedure. Start your citation search within this section for practitioner legal writing. Abbreviations should generally not be used at all in text. Citation machine helps students and professionals properly credit the information that they use. The bluepages provide easy and basic principles for common citations.
State court abbreviations bluebook quick reference akron law. The new rule brings kentucky practice more in line with the blue book and alwd styles, although citation to the lower appellate court is slightly at variance. The scope of the indigo books coverage is roughly equivalent to the bluebooks bluepagesthat is, the indigo book covers legal citation for u. The benefits of introduction to basic legal citation are that it is free and viewable in many different formats. If the current statute being cited was in the preceding citation, then use the short form id. May 05, 2020 abbreviated form of the full citation. Thus far, this guide has described how to cite cases in long form, i.
Atlantic reporter, atlantic reporter second series. This guide is not a substitute for the bluebook, but rather a source to be used to locate rules in the bluebook bluepages p. Introduction bluebooking tips and resources libguides at. Introduction to basic legal citation table of contents index help.
Jun 06, 2017 basic legal citation also includes a description of the significant changes in the bluebook and crossreference tables to the bluebook and alwd guide, as well as links to the indigo book. Nov 25, 2019 a guide to deciphering legal citations. Pursuant to florida law, first response medical aid is considered one of the routine duties of. Appellate court citation based on the standard above is. Handy guide for determining when and where to use short forms for statutes. Florida statutes annotated is not to be cited except for courtappointed rules or references to other nonstatutory materials that do not appear in an official publication. Guide to cite using bluebook citation method with examples. Below is a list of state supreme court and court of appeals abbreviations. Because you will often cite a case and other legal materials multiple times in a document, the bluebook has established a short form for use in subsequent citations. The florida statutes are abbreviated in footnote citations but not in textual discussions. Supreme court abbreviations bluebook quick reference. The central function of a legal citation is to allow the reader to efficiently locate the cited source. The bluebook, is the definitive style guide for legal citation in the united states.
Legal citation abbreviations understanding legal citations. An introductory class guide this guide was created for use by attendees at the summer success 2011 program held at the harvard law school. Appeals from the district courts are made to one of the courts of appeals, organized geographically. Citations not covered in this rule or in the bluebook shall be in the form. There are 21 rules in the whitepages, and these can be subdivided into two major groups. May 05, 2020 the bluebook is divided into four basic parts. The number of district courts in a court of appeals circuit varies between one and thirteen, depending on. List of united states district and territorial courts. Attribution to identify the source of ideas expressed in the text, and. These regional reporters contain appellate case law from all 50 states plus the district of columbia. For federal statutes, you can either keep the volume and code abbreviation and section number, or just use. Introduction bluebooking tips and resources libguides. Jul 19, 2019 the first section is the bluepages, which provide information on basic legal citation.
Mar 27, 2020 west publishes seven 7 regional reporters as part of the national reporter system. The whitepages are the indepth rules of citation and style. The proper citation for florida supreme court decisions is dependent upon the year in. The supreme court of the united states is the only federal court to officially report its cases. Jul 19, 2019 short citation forms thus far, this guide has described how to cite cases in long form, i. The bluebook requires citation only to the official report supreme court opinions are also published in.
This rule applies to all legal documents, including court opinions. Business law cite legal materials search this guide search. Look in the bluebook or another citation or legal style manual. The main rule that describes the short form for cases is rule 10. For federal statutes, you can either keep the volume and code abbreviation and section number, or just use the section number.
The above link is to the 9th edition in its online format, which includes an extensive appendix on legal abbreviations. Case name abbreviations table 6 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z. Feb 05, 2020 the bluepages court documents and legal memoranda now parallel the whitepages academic legal writing introduction of first citation format for ebooks rule 15. The bluepages are found at the beginning of the book, and can be used as a guide to citing court documents and legal memoranda. 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. State codes will vary, but in general, you omit the name of the code and date parenthetical, leaving only the numerical information. Legal abbreviations federal courts search this guide search.
Except for citations to case reporters, all citation forms should be spelled out in full if used as an integral part of a sentence either in the text or in footnotes. This list includes only the abbreviations for the states supreme court or court of last resort. Judges the number of judgeships authorized for the district. United states court of appeals for the armed forces. List of united states district and territorial courts wikipedia. Citation to internet information these tables give the various abbreviations for the u.