Anatomy of a Citation

Or

Everything You Need To Know About Citation In

One Easy Lesson

“The central function of a legal citation

is to allow the reader

to efficiently locate the cited source .”

BLUEBOOK (18th ed.), p. 2

When to use citations

To point to authority for a legal or factual argument or proposition

To point to the source of a quotation

When restating holdings, facts, or ideas

To provide supplementary material

Citations to Cases – Rule 10

Name of the parties Published source(s) in which case appears Page on which the case begins Pinpoint citation, if needed Court Date Subsequent history, if any (Rule B5.1.5)

Party Names (T.6 & T.10)

Roe v. Wade, Heard v. Herald Newspapers, State v. Thompson, Jackson v. Metropolitan Edison Co., In re Winship,

Volume Number & Reporter Abbreviation (T.1 & T.2)

410 U.S. (United States Reports) 132 F.2d (Federal Reporter) 45 F. Supp. (Federal Supplement) 380 S.E.2d (South Eastern Reporter) 21 U.S. (8 Wheat) (early US reporter)

Pinpoint cites

369 U.S. 186, 195

784 F.2d 1209, 1215-16

769 F.2d 195, 196, 199 n.4

492 F.2d 150, 150

Case citations in the text

In Penn Central Transportation Co. v. City of New York, 366 N.E.2d 1271 (N.Y. 1977), the court applied a version of the diminution in value rule.

ParentheticalDate and Court

Date is the year of decision.– (1978).

No court designation is given if the court is clear from the name of the reporter .– 410 U.S. 113 (1973).

Add court designation if not clear from name of the reporter.– 132 F.2d 1059 (5th Cir. 1996).

Short Forms – Rule 10.9

Once a full citation is given, short forms may be used IF

– it will be clear to the reader;

– the full citation is in the same general discussion; and

– the reader can locate the full citation quickly.

Examples of Short Forms

United States v. Calandra, 414 U.S. 338, 343 (1974).– Calandra, 414 U.S. at 343.

– 414 U.S. at 343.

– Id. at 343.

Use of Id. - Rule 4.1

Use id. when citing the immediately preceding authority.

Only use id. if there is no possibility of confusion. That is, if there are two sources in the preceding reference, don’t use id., use a short form that identifies the source.

Citations to Statutes – Rule 12

Volume, title or chapter number Abbreviation of code or compilation Section number Publisher, editor or compiler Date Supplements

Abbreviations (T.1 & T.2)

U.S.C. - United States Code U.S.C.S. - United States Code Service U.S.C.A. - United States Code Annotated S.C. Code Ann. - South Carolina Code

Annotated

Section Numbers

12 U.S.C. § 1455

Tex. Fam. Code Ann. § 5.01

S.C. Code Ann. § 16-3-220

Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 5, § 37

Publisher, Editor or Compiler

No publisher needed for official codes published by governmental entity.

– 42 U.S.C.§ 300a-7 (2000).

Provide publisher for official and unofficial codes published commercially.

– 42 U.S.C.A. § 300a-7 (West 1998). – 42 U.S.C.S. § 300a-7 (Lexis 2002). – S.C. Code Ann. § 26-1-10 (West 2000) .

Date

Year that appears on the spine Year that appears on the title page Latest copyright year Year of replacement volume, not original Material found in supplement

– 42 U.S.C.A. § 300a-7 (West Supp. 2005).

Material found in main volume & supplement– 42 U.S.C.A. § 300a-7 (West 1998 & Supp. 2005).

Preferred sources for statutes

Current official code - 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (2000). Current unofficial code - 5 U.S.C.A. § 101 (West 2004). Official session laws - 83 Stat. 852 (1970). Privately published session laws -

– 2004 Minn. Sess. Law Serv., ch. 162, art. 1 (West). Secondary source -

– Social Security Amendments of 1983, Pub. L. No. 98-21, 51 U.S.L.W. 203 (1983).

Court and litigation documents- Rule B10 (BT.1)

Plaintiff was driving a blue, late-model sports car. (Compl. ¶ 21.)

(Trial Tr. Vol. 2, 31, June 19, 2004)

Books & Treatises – Rule 15

Author Editor or translator Title Page, section or paragraph Edition Publisher Date

Examples

Harold W. Fuson, Jr., TELLING IT ALL: A LEGAL GUIDE TO THE EXERCISE OF FREE SPEECH 57-58 (1995).

Charles Dickens, BLEAK HOUSE 50 (Norman Page, ed., Penguin Books 1971)(1853).

4 Charles Alan Wright & Arthur R. Miller, FEDERAL PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE §1006 (2nd ed. 1987).

Consecutively paginated journals- Rule 3 (T.10 & T.13)

Richard A. Epstein, The Supreme Court, 1987 Term – Foreword: Unconstitutional Conditions, State Power, and the Limits of Consent, 102 HARV. L. REV. 4 (1988).

Stephen D. Sugarman, Using Private Schools to Promote Public Values, 1991 U. CHI. LEGAL F. 171.

Electronic media & non-print sources – Rule 18

Cases available only online– Gibbes v. Frank, No. 02-3924, 2004 U.S. App. LEXIS 21357,

at *18 (3rd Cir. Oct 14, 2004).

Statutory material– Wis. Stat. Ann. § 19.43 (West, Westlaw through 1995 Act 26).

Internet– Am. Mining Cong. v. U.S. Army Corps of Eng’rs, No. CIV.A.

93-1754 SSH (D.D.C. Jan. 23, 1997), available at http://www.wetlands.com/fed/tulloch1.htm.

“The index is your friend.” S. Etheredge

Less than half of the Bluebook is devoted to rules & examples.

Use the aids provided.– Table of contents– Index– Tables

Deciphering a strange citation

Bluebook tables Beiber’s Dictionary of Legal Citations Beiber’s Dictionary of Legal Abbreviations When all else fails, ask the author for a copy.

Finally

The Bluebook doesn’t cover everything. Analogize.

– Issue: You need to cite an unusual source.– Rule: There is no rule that applies exactly.– Application: Synthesize a rule by analogy.– Conclusion: Construct your own citation.

Remember the central function of citation. Be consistent.

How does one cite this?

The Detainee Treatment Act of 2005 has been passed twice, apparently, in two different defense appropriations bills

Pub. L. 109-148, 119 Stat. 2680 (Dec. 30, 2005)

Pub. L. 109-163, 119 Stat. 3136 (Jan. 6, 2006)– I would just cite the most recent version.