For further information on federal statutes, please click here. However, the shortened name must be unambiguous and readily identify the case being referred to. Bluebook citation for legal materials purdue writing lab. The abbreviation for the court is in the parenthetical after the name of the court. Typically, the court and date are omitted and a pinpoint citation is given. For proper citation, you should either underline or italicize the case name, depending on where in a document you are placing the citation see rule 2. For this dla we will be underlining the case names rather than italicizing them. Marvin or just referring to the case by its short name marvin. Like with other elements of the citation, the bluebook prescribes extensive rules for how to abbreviate the names of the court and when to include or omit the name of the court entirely considering factors like the supremacy of the. State court decisions should only retain state commonwealthpeople.
West also publishes the california reporter and the new york supplement, which contain appellate case law from california and new york. If you prefer to search by state supreme court or court. Bluebook rule 10 covers how cases should be cited in legal documents. Table 6 notes that a word of eight letters or more may be abbreviated at the authors discretion if substantial space is saved. Bluebook rule 12 covers how statutes should be cited in legal documents. Difference between alwd and bluebook difference between. Court name abbreviations pennsylvania state university. State abbreviations bb alwd ib state abbreviations 1. State, supreme court abbreviations or court of last resort. Abbreviations and howtos supreme court abbreviations search this guide search.
Words in case names basic legal citation cornell university. Appeals courts usually have an abbreviation of appeals in their reporter title. 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 table provides all of the ways the bluebook wants you to abbreviate case names. However, the basic format of a case citation is as follows. Take a look at the list below to find which common words in case names are abbreviated according to the bluebook and how you should abbreviate them. The associated press stylebook, the usage guide for most united states newspapers, counsels the use of abbreviations for most state names, when appended to a city name for example, santa ana, calif. There are a few different types of names, and the type of name will determine format. This page provides bluebook a uniform system of citation, 19th ed. States, cities, and territories of the united states. If you are writing a brief or memo, look at the blue pages, rule b10 or apply the citation rules of the jurisdiction. Cases bluebook legal citation tarlton law library at. Only use state as a party name when citing opinions within that state.
Below is a list of state supreme court and court of appeals abbreviations. Court name abbreviations table 7, full list the following alphabetical list provides abbreviations for court names to be used in cases according to rule 10. The case name abbreviations, which are often different from those required by the bluebook. State courts bluebook guide guides at georgetown law. When looking at the annotations, the references that include annotations should include annotations just after the name of the author in bluebook. Reporters for courts of last resort usually contain only the state abbreviation e. It is used in most united states law schools and court systems to properly cite and abbreviate court cases in parenthetical citation sentences of legal documents.
The bluebook lists most abbreviations categorically in tables. A b c d e f gh i jk l m n o p qr s t u vwxyz show all. Supreme court abbreviations bluebook quick reference. Generally one partys name or a shorter version of the name may be used if the reference is unambiguous. These regional reporters contain appellate case law from all 50 states plus the district of columbia. Bluebook case guide bluebook citation generator legalease. State statutes bluebook guide guides at georgetown law. Citing cases bluebook guide guides at georgetown law. All of the information you need to properly abbreviate state courts and state court reporters is in table t. 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 supreme court or court of appeals abbreviations.
West publishes seven 7 regional reporters as part of the national reporter system. Do not include an initial the as part of the statute name. Bt2 jurisdictionspecific citation rules and style guides. For example, under the entries for arizona you have supreme. It is also permissible to use both, placing the popular name in parenthesis. A uniform system of citation is a legal style guide. Any information about state and court that is clear from the reporter name should be deleted from the parenthetica l. Abbreviations to regional reporters legal abbreviations. Bluebook questions possible not safe for honor code. Generally, a bluebook citation will include the name of the court that produced the opinion that is being cited. For example, under the entries for arizona you have. State court abbreviations bluebook quick reference.
If a constitution is referred to in a textual sentence, the citation must be written out fully, or the provision referred to by name. Be aware, though, that there are other approaches to case name abbreviation. Students should remember, though, that there are numerous abbreviations that are not included in those tables. For further information on state statutes, please click here. Statutes bluebook legal citation tarlton law library. It is permissible to use either an official or popular name. Containing the laws, general and permanent in their nature, relating to or in force in the district of columbia. They can be found in the index of the bluebook and also in the textual discussion about abbreviations. According to the bluebook, case names are underlined or italicized not both, whether youre citing the entire case name marvin v. In addition, abbreviate any state or smaller geographic unit included in a. From the legal writing clinic writing tip of the week abbreviations in legal writing this tip covers some of the abbreviations you might use in the text of a legal document.
Bluebook questions possible not safe for honor code post by thuggishruggishbone. Generations of law students, lawyers, scholars, judges, and other legal professionals have relied on the bluebook s unique system of citation in their writing. The bluebook recommends, for example, shortening any procedural phrases to abbreviations such as in re or ex parte, as well as using any commonlyunderstood abbreviations to shorten the names of the parties, e. Like federal statutes, state statutes may be published in both an official code and an unofficial code, and the bluebook requires you to cite to the official code, if possible rule 12. The abbreviations for the court and state are not included in the parenthetical due to rule 10. Following are some guidelines to help you choose the proper abbreviation. The bluebook has two different systems for abbreviating. Use the name of the state if citing to a case not decided by that. Forming abbreviations the bluebook uses two methods of abbreviating words.
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. As noted above, the court is omitted if it is the highest court in the state. Part of the reason this issue is so confusing is that. The bluebook is the most commonly used system for legal citations in the united states, especially for legal scholarship, but also with modifications by local rules in judicial opinions and party briefs this proposal covers citations to united states legal materialsu. 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. All of the information you need to properly abbreviate state courts and state court reporters is in table 1 of the bluebook. Listed below are some guidelines to help you choose the proper abbreviation. Ap suggests spelling out the names of alaska, hawaii, and all states with five or fewer letters. When talking of flexibility, the alwd manual is more flexible than bluebook. In court documents briefs, motions and legal memoranda, a full case name is usually italicized or underlined. It is a composite of those contained in the bluebook and the alwd guide to legal.
Omit prepositional phrases of location unless the phrase begins a party name, is part of the full name of a business, or the omission would leave only one word in the partys name. Legal terms and other words have specific abbreviations to include in case names. These tables give the various abbreviations for the u. United states postal abbreviations for states, military, commonwealths, and territories. Find out how to abbreviate building, institute, publication, and more with these important legal abbreviations. Each states name has an abbreviation table 10 that is incorporated into each states reporter system. Those categories are organized alphabetically in the adjoining table. This list includes only the abbreviations for the states supreme court or court of last resort. Provides correct citation and abbreviation information for all united states jurisdictions, including federal, state, and territories. The light abbreviation system is used for case names appearing in the grammatical part of textual sentences and in complete sentences in footnotes.
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