This book is a reference guide that, believe it or not, will be just about the only book you take from law school into your practice as a lawyer. In citations, abbreviate the names of months as follows. An open implementation of a system of legal citation. The new rule brings kentucky practice more in line with the bluebook and alwd styles, although citation to the lower appellate court is slightly at variance. 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. In defense of the bluebook justia law blog june 8, 2011. List of all most popular abbreviated legal terms defined. Table 6 notes that a word of eight letters or more may be abbreviated at the authors discretion if substantial space is saved. Below is a list of state supreme court and court of appeals abbreviations. Abbreviations may also be found for common words or legal phrases. Use a before a consonant sound for example, a cbc documentary or a u. Additionally, for used cars, the solution provides kelley blue book certified preowned, tradein and suggested retail values, while for new cars, it offers manufacturers. Provides abbreviations for court names to be used in citing cases according to rule 10.
Set out below is a table of words and their abbreviations with links to examples. However, the basic format of a case citation is as follows. Abbreviations used on this page denote common usage unrelated to documenting sources. Bluebook basics tuesday, june 14, 1 pm et presented by. When documenting sources using mla style, the months with four or fewer letters, e.
Required abbreviations for common words used in periodical names t19. For abbreviations in citations and case names, follow the rules in the bluebook. School of government legal citation and style guide. This is a proposed citation style to adapt the bluebook to the unique needs of wikipedia.
Also abbreviate states and united states when they are in the name of the author of a book, article, report, letter, speech, and so forth. It is an essential book that every legal professional should know how to use. Abbreviate the listed words wherever they appear in a partys name that is part of a citation. If a journal does not otherwise indicate the volume number but does continuous pagination across issues, use the year as the volume number. To have your reference list or bibliography automatically made for you, try our free citation generator. For help with other source types, like books, pdfs, or websites, check out our other guides. Mm and m are usually used in date formats like mmddyy.
The precise format of a case citation depends on a number of factors, including the jurisdiction, court, and type of case. It is a composite of those contained in the bluebook and the alwd guide to legal citation. The bluebook legal citation guide now available online. Citations are to the 20th edition of the bluebook, a uniform system of citation rule 10 cases p. You should always check the citation, especially for abbreviations for case names check table t6 in the bluebook, but using this feature will get you part of the way there. There are a few different types of names, and the type of name will determine format. A book, report, treatise, or other nonperiodic material may be cited in shortform after it has been in full. Consult this list when creating citations to treaties. Law school bluebook basics one of the books that all 1l law students are required to purchase is the bluebook. Lettersabbreviations at the end of a name that tells us more about an individual. It is common practice in legal documents to cite other publications by using standard abbreviations for the title of each source.
Basic layout bluebook 101 library guides at university. Bluebook rule 10 covers how cases should be cited in legal documents. In case names, spell out states and united states only when they are the whole case name. Case namesboth full and short case names, and procedural phrases e. Jurisdictional abbreviations are found in bluebook table 1. A b c d e f gh i jk l m n o p qr s t u vwxyz show all. If it is a federal reporter, and not the us reports, include the abbreviation for the deciding court if it is a regional reporter, properly cite the deciding court. Basic layout bluebook 101 library guides at university of.
The choice between a and an is determined by the sound of the first letter in the abbreviation. Blue book legal definition of blue book legal dictionary. 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. The case name will appear at the beginning of the citation. Browse the list of 5 692 legal abbreviations with their meanings and definitions. In addition, abbreviate any state or smaller geographic unit included in a. Although it is intended to highlight the bluebook, and not substitute for it, we hope this guide provides a convenient, delawarespecific resource for the superior courts judicial officers, law clerks, interns, externs, and staff. The proper bluebook citation for articles appearing in consecutively paginated journals is volume number, abbreviation of the periodical name, first page of the article, and specific pages cited, if any volume. Cite to page 707 of a 1995 case between bruce babbitt, secretary of the interior, et al. Such citations and abbreviations are found in court decisions, statutes, regulations, journal articles, books, and other documents.
This list does not include bluebook abbreviations for periodicals that have changed titles, ceased or are no longer indexed in cilp. 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. 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. Determine the source you are citing federal reporter, regional reporter, or state reporter. Initialisms and acronyms are two types of abbreviations that are used to shorten phrases. Note that the big difference is that you check cite to the official reporter if possible. Legal citation presented by elisabeth mckechnie mabie law library in common use in the u. School of government legal citation and style guide contents introduction north carolina cases 2.
A publication that establishes the correct form of case citations or of references to a legal authority showing where information can be found. Table 10 is a list of abbreviations for geographical locations. Bluebook is listed in the worlds largest and most authoritative dictionary database of abbreviations and acronyms. Abbreviations according to, an abbreviation is a shortened or contracted form of a word or phrase, used to represent the whole, as dr. Citing cases bluebook guide guides at georgetown law. Generations of law students, lawyers, scholars, judges, and other legal professionals have relied on the bluebooks unique system of citation in their writing. In thinking of the bluebook, i have been reminded of big blue, the ibm corporation. 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. Blue book a publication that establishes the correct form of case citations or of references to a legal authority showing where information can be found. Abbreviations for judges and other officials titles. Material arbitrations court rules books law journal writing. A uniform system of citation, a style guide, prescribes the most widely used legal citation system in the united states. A uniform system of citation, is the style manual for citing to legal documents within the united states. We are the worlds largest and most comprehensive directory and search engine for acronyms, abbreviations and initialisms on the internet.
Bluebook questions possible not safe for honor code post by thuggishruggishbone. Part of the reason this issue is so confusing is that. Use an before a vowel sound an abc documentary or an mri. Sanford levinson, wrestling with diversity 25 2003. Using indefinite articles before abbreviations, acronyms, and initialisms. Undoubtedly, table 6 abbreviations for case names has become ridiculous, and the interaction between rules 16. 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. A volume that explains the organization of a state government and provides the names of state officials. Abbreviations bluebooking tips and resources libguides. Purpose of the bluebook the bluebook, formally titled the bluebook.
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