Essentials of Bluebook

Tuesday, September 27 @ 7 pm ET

Presenter – Susanne Kinsella, J.D.

Kaplan University Writing Center

Please click here to view this recorded workshop:

http://khe2.adobeconnect.com/p4i2k6027lj/

1

Purpose of The Bluebook

The Bluebook, formally titled The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation, is the

style manual for citing to legal documents within the United States.

It is now in its 20th edition.

It is an essential book that every legal professional should know how to use.

2

Purpose of The Bluebook

While at first The Bluebook may seem confusing, the good news is you do not need

to memorize The Bluebook rules – you can always refer to The Bluebook.

Some citation forms are used so often that you will ultimately remember them without referring to The Bluebook. For example, you will become very familiar with citing statutes within your jurisdiction.

3

• The Bluepages contain condensed versions of the full rules and are intended to

"provide easy-to-comprehend guidance for . . . everyday citation needs" (The

Bluebook, p. 1).

• There are currently twenty-one rules on the basic standards of citation and how

to cite specific legal documents.

4

Today we will cover:

Citation of Case Law

Citation of Statutes

Please have your Bluebook handy, as we will be practicing.

5

The case name will appear at the beginning of the citation. 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). There are a few different types

of names, and the type of name will determine format. These include:

Person (individual): Use only the last name(s).

Company/Organization: Use the whole name, but abbreviate where possible

(See Rule 10.2.1-10.2.2, T6).

Multiple Parties:

Two Case Names: Use the first one listed.

* You must indicate both the state name and name of the court, except:

You may omit the court name if it is the highest court in the jurisdiction.

You may omit the court name if the reporter title clearly provides this information.

You may omit the court name is the state court has an official reporter.

You may omit the state information from the court and date parenthetical if the

name of the reporter gives the name of the state.

The correct abbreviations for the state and court can be found in T1.

6

When citing the case- you will need to provide:

The case name- underlined or italicized. Be consistent.

The volume, the reporter, and the page the case starts on. You also may

want to include a pinpoint citation.

The court abbreviation (unless you can tell from reporter) and year of

decision.

7

Case Citation

Bluebook rule 10- page 94 of the 20th edition of Bluebook.

In addition to Rule 10, you may need to consult the following tables in order to

format the case citation:

Table 1: A list of (1) reporters* and reporter abbreviations, (2) courts and

court abbreviations, and (3) preferred sources to cite for federal courts and

each state's courts

Table 6: Abbreviations for terms used in case names (e.g., America[n] = Am.)

Table 7: Abbreviations for court names that you would use in the event a

court abbreviation is not provided in Table 1

Table 10: Abbreviations for geographical terms (e.g., Virginia = Va.)

8

More Examples of Case Law

Federal Courts

Brown v. Helvering, 291 U.S. 193, 203 (1934).

Little v. Shell Expl. & Prod. Co., 690 F.3d 282 (5th Cir. 2012).

Walker Dig., LLC v. Facebook, Inc., 852 F. Supp. 2d 559 (D. Del. 2012).

State Courts (Regional Reporters table 1)

Slater v. Akron Exch. State Bank, 49 N.E.2d 344 (Ind. 1943).

Lovko v. Lovko, 384 N.E.2d 166 (Ind. Ct. App. 1978).

Green v. State of California, 165 P.3d 118, 121 (Cal. 2007).

9

More Examples of Case Law

State Courts (Specific State Reporters see table 1)

Slater v. Akron Exch. State Bank, 221 Ind. 497, 49 N.E.2d 344 (1943).

Lovko v. Lovko, 179 Ind. App. 1, 384 N.E.2d 166 (1978).

Green v. State of California, 42 Cal. 4th 254, 260, 165 P.3d 118, 121, 64 Cal.

Rptr. 3d 390, 393 (2007).

10

Let’s Practice

Plaintiff Vince Vaughn and Brad Pitt, defendant National Council for Medical Educ.

Page # 1332 pinpoint 1334, volume 87

Court is the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and the case was heard in 1995 and

decided in 1996.

Reporter is the Federal Reporter third edition

11

Answer

Vaughn v. Nat’l Council for Med. Educ., 87 F.3d 1332,1334 (9th Cir. 1996).

12

Let’s Practice

Dr. Donna M. Jones and Mary Mayberry versus The Advertising Group

Incorporated.

This case is published in the Federal Supplement Second Edition.

It is in volume 457 and begins on page 1233

The case was heard by the District Court of North Carolina

The case was decided in 1999.

13

Answer

Jones v. The Advert. Grp. Inc., 457 F. Supp. 2d 1233 (D. N.C. 1999).

14

Let’s Practice

Brown & Sharp Manufacturing versus Joseph King

The case is published in the Atlantic Reporter second edition. It was decided in

1979 by the Rhode Island Supreme Court.

The volume is 404 and the page is 857.

15

Answer

Brown & Sharp Mfg. Co. v. King, 404 A.2d 857 (R.I. 1979).

16

Table 1 provides a list of statutory codes and abbreviations for federal statutes and

state statutes as well as the preferred statutory code to cite for federal statutes and

each state's statutes.

17

Statutes : 42 U.S.C. § 405(c)(2)(C)(ii).

Principle 1: The core of a citation to a codified federal statutory provision consists

of three elements:

Element (a) - The title number followed by a space and “U.S.C.” (for “United States

Code”) followed by a space

Element (b) - The section number, including all designations of smaller units

(lettered or numbered subsections, paragraphs, subparagraphs, and clauses)

preceded by the section symbol and space.

Element(c) – Date, If the provision being cited is currently in effect and has not

been the subject of recent change, no date element need be included. However, if

the provision being cited has, by the time of writing, been repealed or amended or if

it has only recently been enacted, the date of a compilation that contains the

language cited should be provided in parentheses. The precise form this takes will

be governed by the form in which that compilation presents its date.

No punctuation separates these elements. Nothing is italicized or underlined.

18

Federal statutes and the United States Constitution are published in as an official

compilation known as the United States Code. There are 51 subject areas, each

found under a "title." Within each title and individual statute is a section

number. Additionally, these statutes are published unofficially in sets called the

United States Code Annotated (published by West) and the United States Code

Service (published by Lexis). For more information about how these statutes are

published, please refer to the Library of Congress' "How Our Laws Are Made" site.

Citing a federal statutes must include the following elements:

The title.

The correctly abbreviated name of the set.

The statute section number.

The year of publication.

A correctly cited statute will have the following structure:

Title U.S.C. § Section (Date).

19

The citation form for state statutes is similar to citing federal statutes. However,

each state has different rules for publishing statutes. Though each state citation

form will differ slightly, all citations will generally include:

Abbreviate name of the state code.

Name of the subject matter (if arranged by subject).

Numerical information that indicates the individual statute (i.e. section number).

Publisher of the code.

Year.

T1.3 will be an indispensable source for reference, providing you with the

information required for each state's statutory citation.

NOTE: Remember to cite the year that the code was published, not the year the

statute was published. The date of the code is not necessarily the same as the year

the statute was published.

If the information cited is found in a supplement, include the date of the supplement.

20

Let’s Practice

Hawaii Revised statutes, section 490:1-101, the edition that I used is 2012.

Maine Statutes. Title 11, section 1-101. The edition I used is 2008.

California Family Code, published by West. I used sections 1103-1105. The edition

I used was 2016.

21

Answers

Haw. Rev. Stat. § 490:1-101 (2012).

Me. Stat. tit. 11, § 1-101 (2008).

Cal. Fam. Code §§ 1103-1105 (West 2016).

Questions?

22

Conclusion

The Bluebook is a citation guide and does not need to be memorized.

The more you practice using it – the easier it will become.

If you are ever confused on how to put a citation together, do a quick search on

some reliable citation websites. You will be surprised at how quickly you can locate

an answer. There is lots of help out there.

23

Selected KUWC Resources

The Bluebook: Uniform Citation for Legal Reference

Legal Argument Writing (workshop archive)

Bluebook Basics (workshop archive)

Westlaw Research (workshop archive)

Anatomy of a Legal Brief (workshop archive)

24

For more writing support, connect with the KUWC’s new public webpage. You can

actually Google and find this page. This is also a great way for you to stay

connected to the KUWC through our blog and Twitter. Many of our resources are

here as well.

25

The best time to do a paper review in the Kaplan University Writing Center is after

you have written your first draft. When you come to us early, we can help you the

most by helping you with the structure of your paper. Many students send papers at

the last minute because they want us to simply proofread their paper. However,

KUWC writing tutors do not simply proofread the paper for you; we want to help you

learn to write and proofread your own papers. You can submit a first draft, and then

submit a later draft if you need further help on an assignment.

If you need help before you write the first draft, you can use live tutoring. During live

tutoring, you can ask questions and brainstorm with a tutor. Live tutors can help

you with other stages in the paper writing process as well. Come visit us. We can

be found under the My Studies tab, then under Academic Support Center.

26

On the main Academic Support Center page, you will see the Writing Center links.

These include Live Tutoring, Paper Review Service, the Writing Reference Library,

Citation Guidelines, Workshops, English Language Learner, and Fundamental

writing help. Notice, you can access the Kaplan Guide to Successful Writing on the

right hand side in both print and audio form. Come visit us.

27

Writing Center

Writing Tutor

Paper Review and Q&A Services

Writing Reference Library

Citation Guidelines (APA & more)

Writing Workshops

Graduate Student Resources

English Language Learners

Writing Fundamentals Program

Effective Writing Podcasts Series

First-Term Student Resources

28

Susanne Kinsella, Professor, Legal Studies

Amy Sexton, Tutor, Workshops

Write us at kuwc@kaplan.edu!

Workshops are recorded and recording links, with an accompanying PowerPoint, are

posted on the Writing Center Workshops page after the workshop.

Additional Kaplan University Writing Center Resources

Introductory Video

Survey Link

Writing Center

©2016 Kaplan University Writing Center

Connect with the Academic Support Centers.

ASC Blog

@KaplanASC on Twitter

29