Unfortunately, the bluebook insists on two typeface conventions depending on what the text is being used for. Court and litigation documents contd name of the document, abbreviated where appropriate. Consult court rules for required citation format, usually found in. Abbreviations for foreign countries materials are found in table 2. Court documents bluebook citations libguides at william s. The bluebooks rules for court documents are particularly annoying because theyre clunky and do litigants no favors. Quick reference guide to court documents and legal memoranda, which is the format that you will be using in legal skills this year. This research guide lists citation manuals and dictionaries of legal abbreviations to help you with these tasks. Abbreviations for court documents are contained in bluepages table one, or bt. Code guide nc court records often contain abbreviated codes. Forgetting to put a court designation in the court and date parenthetical when the reporter information is not sufficient. Browse the list of 2 770 court abbreviations with their meanings and definitions. Students should remember, though, that there are numerous abbreviations that are not included in those tables. The bluebook provides the rules for citing authority in both academic publications i.
Quick reference guide to court documents and legal memoranda. Bluebooking for court documents guide to legal writing. Citations to court documents are enclosed in parentheses. When filing legal documents with a court, court rules of citation apply. A reference guide for attorneys, legal secretaries, paralegals, and law students this link opens in a new window citechecker. Those categories are organized alphabetically in the adjoining table. The bluebook lists most abbreviations categorically in tables. In court documents briefs, motions and legal memoranda, a full case name is usually italicized or underlined. Where there is an official record, such as the record on. This list contains descriptions of the codes most commonly used by the clerks of court.
Publication manual of the american psychological association, 2010, p. The article title is italicized in academic writing and underlined or italicized in court documents. The full citation for a court or litigation document includes. It is used for all federal court documents and legal scholarship. List of all most popular abbreviated court terms defined. Provides abbreviations for court names to be used in citing cases according to rule 10.
Table 7 has court name abbreviations important for indicating courts in case parentheticals. Citing cases, legislative, administrative, and secondary and internet sources in bluebook or alwd form. Bluebooking periodicals bluebooking and legal citation. The law library has many copies available at law reserve, reference, and at the reference desk, via call number kf 245. Guides such as understanding the bluebook for academic legal writing and users guide to the bluebook for court documents provide you with example citations, explanations, and references to the relevant rules in the bluebook itself. The bluebook contains rules that prescribe how to cite a variety of legal documents. Court document abbreviations table 8 of 17th edition. Determine the source you are citing federal reporter, regional reporter, or state reporter. These tables give the various abbreviations for the u. The bluepages tables are the goto for initial citation formation, and includes abbreviations for words commonly found in court documents and. Citing the law student legal services libguides at. Bluebook requires a citation to include the name of the document with bluebookapproved abbreviations, along with the page number, date. Abbreviation abbreviate the titles of court documents. This is the compilation of documents submitted throughout the duration of the case.
Follow the bluebook closely for correct abbreviation style. Court document abbreviations table 8 of 17th edition this table gives suggested abbreviations for citations of court documents and legal memoranda not in the other forms of legal writing for the words most commonly found in the titles of court documents. The usual progression of court documents to court record is a fairly standard path. Abbreviations may also be found for common words or legal phrases. You have probably heard that supra above and infra below should not be used in court documents. According to the bluebook citation guide, case names are underlined in legal memoranda and court documents. The following information regarding the bluebook citation format is an adapted version of the style and formatting guidelines found in the bluebook, 20th ed. Legal abbreviations are commonly found in anything from a book to court documents. Court documents bluebook citation libguides at florida. Citing court or litigation documents from your case. Abbreviations for case reporters can be looked up at the cardiff index to legal abbreviations.
Citations are to the 20th edition of the bluebook, a uniform system of citation rule 10. They can be found in the index of the bluebook and also in the textual discussion about abbreviations. Table 10 covers abbreviations for geographical terms. In some cases, it indicates that a word should not be abbreviated. Complete transcripts of meetings or verbatim records as they are called by the security council, the general assembly, and the.
The primary authority for legal citation, and abbreviations, in the united states is the bluebook. Bluebook citation for legal materials purdue writing lab. Bt2 jurisdictionspecific citation rules and style guides. Any information about state and court that is clear from the reporter name should be deleted from the parenthetica l. Abbreviations bluebooking tips and resources libguides. A list of federal court abbreviations can be found here, and state court abbreviations can be found here. Abbreviations bluebooking tips and resources libguides at. However, use ordinary roman type for words that would be italicized in the main text i. Citing court documents is a way of citing facts, which are found in the record of the case. However, the following are rules and examples for other types of legal documents that many firstyear law students may need to cite in addition to cases and statutes. The name of the document, abbreviated when appropriate. Style guide us bankruptcy court middle district of florida. Supreme court, one would also include the court abbreviation.
Guessing on the abbreviations in case names instead of checking table 6. Bluebook abbreviations legal abbreviations libguides. See table bt1 for abbreviations used in the titles of court documents abbreviate words of 7 more letters but only if not ambiguous e. Citations are to the 20th edition of the bluebook, a uniform system of citation. Having a common set of abbreviations is very important because it allows everyone reading a legal document to understand what is being presented in writing without having to spell out terms that are frequently utilized. Unlike apa style for other materials, however, legal and legislative citations make heavy use of standard abbreviations and document numbering systems. This table gives suggested abbreviations for citations of court documents and legal memoranda not in. The form is a blend between intext and footnotebased formats, as its citations are located in the text but appear more similar to footnotebased ones. Take a look at the list below to find which common words in case names are abbreviated according to the bluebook and how you.
State abbreviations bb alwd ib state abbreviations 1. Bluebook rule 10 covers how cases should be cited in legal documents. You will be surprised at how many very common abbreviations are. Table t1 contains guidance on case law and statutory citation by jurisdiction. The bluebook is a collaborative project by a handful of elite law schools. Some of the most obscure bluebook rules or how to really.
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. 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. Below is a basic list of very common abbreviations. How to cite us government documents in apa citation style. Such citations and abbreviations are found in court decisions, statutes. Motion to conduct proceedings in english in the district court of the second circuit wailuku division state of hawaii. For a complete list of guides, see the guides and tutorials tab. Use the bluebook, blue pages, pages 2426 in rule b17, rule 10.
The ways of legal citation for court documents in the d. First a complaint is filed to the court clerks office. The title of court documents should be capitalized only if 1 the document was filed in the same matter as is the subject of your document and 2 the actual title or a shortened form is used. Document title use the tables to figure out what to abbreviate. Home legal citation guides and abbreviations research. Additionally, the chicago manual of style recommends its use for all citation of legal material. It is common practice in legal documents to cite other publications by using standard abbreviations for the title of each source. The bluebook style is exclusively used for legal papers, and so it can be somewhat complicated due to its focus on easy citations of various court documents. 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. A uniform system of citation is a legal style guide. While bulk of the bluebook the whitepages focuses on the former, there are specific rules for citations in court documents which are collected and highlighted near the front of the book in a section called the. There are too many rules for this introductory guide to cover. Table 6 provides abbreviations for case names and institutional authors important for citing to cases. When appropriate, the citation should also include the electronic case filing number found on pacer.
Be sure to check with local rules for court documents in case they differ. Such citations and abbreviations are found in court decisions, statutes, regulations, journal articles, books, and other documents. However, the basic format of a case citation is as follows. Basics of legal citations introduction to legal citation. The bluebook style guide is used in the american legal profession for citation of all relevant sources. Citing cases bluebook guide guides at georgetown law. It is a composite of those contained in the bluebook and the alwd guide to.
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