basic-legal-citation.pdf - law.cornell.edu

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Introductionto

BASICLEGALCITATION

PETERW.MARTIN

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2017PeterW.Martin

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TableofContents

PREFACE1-000.BASICLEGALCITATION:WHATANDWHY?

1-100.Introduction1-200.PurposesofLegalCitation1-300.TypesofCitationPrinciples1-400.LevelsofMastery1-500.CitationinTransition1-600.WhoSetsCitationNorms

2-000.HOWTOCITE2-100.ElectronicSources

2-110.ElectronicSourcesCoreElements2-115.ElectronicSourcesPointsofDifferenceinCitationPractice2-120.ElectronicSourcesVariantsandSpecialCases

2-200.JudicialOpinions2-210.CaseCitationsMostCommonForm2-215.CaseCitationsPointsofDifferenceinCitationPractice2-220.CaseCitationsVariantsandSpecialCases2-225.CaseCitationsMorePointsofDifferenceinCitationPractice2-230.Medium-NeutralCaseCitations2-240.CaseCitationsConditionalItems2-250.CitingUnpublishedCases

2-300.Constitutions,Statutes,andSimilarMaterials2-310.ConstitutionCitations2-320.StatuteCitationsMostCommonForm2-330.StatuteCitationsConditionalItems2-335.StatuteCitationsPointsofDifferenceinCitationPractice2-340.StatuteCitationsVariantsandSpecialCases

SessionLawsBillsNamedStatutesInternalRevenueCode

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UniformActsandModelCodes2-350.LocalOrdinanceCitations2-360.TreatyCitations

2-400.AgencyandExecutiveMaterial2-410.RegulationCitationsMostCommonForm2-415.RegulationCitationsPointsofDifferenceinCitationPractice2-420.RegulationCitationsVariantsandSpecialCases2-450.AgencyAdjudicationCitations2-455.AgencyAdjudicationCitationsPointsofDifferenceinCitationPractice2-470.AgencyReportCitations2-480.ExecutiveOrdersandProclamationsMostCommonForm2-490.CitationstoAttorneyGeneralandOtherAdvisoryOpinionsMostCommonForm

2-500.ArbitrationDecisions2-600.CourtRules2-700.Books

2-710.BookCitationsMostCommonForm2-720.BookCitationsVariantsandSpecialCases

InstitutionalAuthorsServicesRestatementsAnnotations

2-800.ArticlesandOtherLawJournalWriting2-810.JournalArticleCitationsMostCommonForm2-820.JournalArticleCitationsVariantsandSpecialCases

StudentWritingbyaNamedStudentUnsignedStudentWritingBookReviewsSymposiaandtheLikeTributes,DedicationsandOtherSpeciallyLabeledArticlesArticlesinJournalswithSeparatePaginationinEachIssue

2-900.DocumentsfromEarlierStagesoftheSameCase3-000.EXAMPLESCITATIONSOF

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3-100.ElectronicSources3-200.JudicialOpinions

3-210.CaseCitationsMostCommonFormFederalState

3-220.CaseCitationsVariantsandSpecialCases3-230.Medium-NeutralCaseCitations3-240.CaseCitationsConditionalItems

3-300.Constitutions,Statutes,andSimilarMaterials3-310.Constitutions3-320.StatuteCitationsMostCommonForm3-340.StatuteCitationsVariantsandSpecialCases

SessionLawsBillsNamedStatutesInternalRevenueCodeUniformActsandModelCodes

3-350.LocalOrdinanceCitations3-360.TreatyCitations

3-400.Regulations,OtherAgencyandExecutiveMaterial3-410.RegulationCitationsMostCommonForm3-420.RegulationCitationsVariantsandSpecialCases3-450.AgencyAdjudicationCitations3-470.AgencyReportCitations3-480.CitationstoExecutiveOrdersandProclamations3-490.CitationstoAttorneyGeneralandOtherAdvisoryOpinions

3-500.ArbitrationDecisions3-600.CourtRules3-700.Books

3-710.BookCitationsMostCommonForm3-720.BookCitationsVariantsandSpecialCases

InstitutionalAuthorsServicesRestatementsAnnotations

3-800.ArticlesandOtherLawJournalWriting3-810.JournalArticleCitationsMostCommonForm

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3-820.JournalArticleCitationsVariantsandSpecialCasesStudentWritingbyaNamedStudentUnsignedStudentWritingBookReviewsSymposiaandtheLike

4-000.ABBREVIATIONSANDOMISSIONSUSEDINCITATIONS

4-100.WordsinCaseNames4-200.CaseHistories4-300.OmissionsinCaseNames4-400.ReportersandCourts4-500.States4-600.Months4-700.Journals4-800.SpacingandPeriods4-900.DocumentsfromEarlierStagesofaCase

5-000.UNDERLININGANDITALICS5-100.InCitations5-200.InText5-300.CitationItemsNotItalicized

6-000.PLACINGCITATIONSINCONTEXT6-100.Quoting6-200.CitationsandRelatedText6-300.Signals6-400.Order6-500.ShortFormCitations

6-520.ShortFormCitationsCases6-530.ShortFormCitationsConstitutionsandStatutes6-540.ShortFormCitationsRegulations6-550.ShortFormCitationsBooks6-560.ShortFormCitationsJournalArticles

6-600.ContextExamples6-700.TablesofAuthorities

7-000.REFERENCETABLES7-100.Introduction7-200.SignificantChangesinTheBluebook7-300.CrossReferenceTable:TheBluebook7-400.CrossReferenceTable:ALWDGuidetoLegalCitation

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7-500.TableofState-SpecificNormsandPracticesTOPICALINDEX

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PREFACEContents|Index

This electronicpublicationwasconceived in the summerof1992.AsmallbandofCornellLawstudents,chargedwithidentifyingsubjectson which computer-based materials would be particularly helpful,placedcitationatthetopofthelist.WiththeirassistanceIpreparedthefirsteditionofIntroductiontoBasicLegalCitation.Itwasreleasedondiskette that fall, one of the first hypertext publications of CornellsLegal Information Institute (LII). Later reconfigured for the Web,whereitstillresidesat:http://www.law.cornell.edu/citation/, theworkhasbeenupdatedregularlyintheyearssince.Likethatonlineversionon which it is based, this e-book was most recently revised in thesummerof2017 to reflect the releaseof thenewsixtheditionof theALWDGuidetoLegalCitation.IttakesaccountofthelatesteditionofThe Bluebook, published in 2015, and The Supreme Courts StyleGuide.Point-by-point,itislinkedtothefreecitationguide,TheIndigoBook.As has been true of all editions released since 2010, it is alsoindexedtotheTheBluebookandtheALWDGuidetoLegalCitation.Importantly, however, it documents the many respects in whichcontemporarylegalwriting,veryoftenfollowingguidelinessetoutincourtrulesorstyleguides,divergesfromthecitationformatsspecifiedbythoseacademictexts.

AFewTipsonUsingIntroductiontoBasicLegalCitation

Thisisnotacomprehensivecitationreferencework.ItslimitedaimistoserveasatutorialonhowtocitethemostwidelyreferencedtypesofU.S. legalmaterial, takingaccountof localnormsandthechangesincitationpracticeforcedbytheshiftfromprinttoelectronicsources.Itbeginswithanintroductoryunit.Thatisfollowedimmediatelybyoneonhowtocitethecategoriesofauthoritythatcompriseamajorityofthe citations in briefs and legal memoranda. Using the full table ofcontentsonecanproceedthroughthismaterialinsequence.Thethird

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http://www.law.cornell.edu/citation/

unit, organized around illustrative examples, is intended to be usedeitherforreviewandreinforcementofthepriorhowtosectionsorasan alternative approach to them. One can start with it since theillustrative examples for each document type are linked back to therelevanthowtoprinciples.

Thesectionsonabbreviationsandomissions,on typeface(italicsandunderlining), and on how citations fit into the larger project of legalwritingthatfollowallsupporttheprecedingunits.Theyareaccessibleindependently and also,where appropriate, via links from the earliersections.Finally,thereareaseriesofcrossreferencetablestyingthisintroduction to the two major legal citation reference works and tostate-specificcitationrulesandpractices.

Thework isalsodesigned tobeusedby thoseconfrontingaspecificcitation issue. For such purposes the table of contents provides onepath to the relevant material. Another path is through the workstopical index.This index is alphabetically arrayed andmore detailedthanthetableofcontents.Finally, thesearchfunctioninyoure-bookreader software should allow an even narrower inquiry, such as oneseeking the abbreviation for a specific word (e.g., institute) orillustrativecitationsforaparticularstate,Ohio,say.

HelpwithCitationIssuesBeyondtheScopeofthisWork

Being an introductory work, not a comprehensive reference, thisresource has a limited scope and assumes that users confrontingspecializedcitation issueswillhave topursue them into thepagesofTheBluebook, theALWD Guide to Citation, The Indigo Book, or aguideormanualdealingwith thecitationpracticesof theirparticularjurisdiction. The cross reference tables in sections 7-300 (Bluebook)and 7-400 (ALWD), incorporated by links throughout thiswork, aredesigned to facilitate such out references. Wherever you see

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http://www.legalbluebook.com/http://www.alwd.org/publications/citation-manual/https://law.resource.org/pub/us/code/blue/IndigoBook.pdf

[BB|ALWD|IB] at the end of a section heading you can obtain directpointerstomoredetailedmaterialinTheBluebook(byclickingonBB)orALWDGuidetoLegalCitation(ALWD)orTheIndigoBook(IB).

Comments,Corrections,Extensions

Feedbackonthise-bookwouldbemostwelcome.Whatdoesntwork,isntclear,ismissing,appearstobeinerror?Hasachangeoccurredinoneofthefiftystatesthatshouldbereported?Commentsoftheseandother kinds can sent by email addressed to [email protected] theword Citation appearing in the subject line.Many of thefeaturesandsomeofthecoverageofthisreferencearethedirectresultofpastuserquestionsandadvice.

AdditionalResources

AcomplementaryseriesofCitinginbriefvideotutorialsoffersaquick start introduction to citation of the major categories of legalsources.Thesevideosarealsousefulforreview.

Currently,thefollowingareavailable:

1. CitingJudicialOpinionsinBrief(8.5minutes)2. CitingConstitutionalandStatutoryProvisionsinBrief(14minutes)3. CitingAgencyMaterialinBrief(12minutes)

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mailto:[email protected]://www.access-to-law.com/citation/videos/citing_judicial_opinions.htmlhttp://www.access-to-law.com/citation/videos/citing_const_statutes.htmlhttp://www.access-to-law.com/citation/videos/citing_agency_material.html

1-000.BASICLEGALCITATION:WHATANDWHY?[BB|ALWD]

1-100.Introduction

Whenlawyerspresentlegalargumentsandjudgeswriteopinions,theycite authority.They lace their representations ofwhat the law is andhow it applies to a given situation with references to statutes,regulations,andprior appellatedecisions theybelieve tobepertinentandsupporting.Theyalsorefertopersuasivesecondaryliteraturesuchastreatises,restatements,andjournalarticles.Courtrulesgosofarastoauthorizejudgestorejectargumentsthatarenotsupportedbycitedauthority. Lawyers who appeal on the basis of arguments for whichthey have cited no authority can be sanctioned. As a consequence,thosewhowould read lawwritinganddo lawwritingmustmasteranew,technicallanguagelegalcitation.

Formany years, the authoritative reference work on legal citationwasamanualwrittenandpublishedbyasmallgroupoflawreviews.Knownbythecolorofitscover,TheBluebookwasthecodificationofprofessional norms that introduced generations of law students tolegal citation. So completely do many academics, lawyers, andjudges identify the processwith that book theymay refer to puttingcitations in proper form as Bluebooking or ask a law student orgraduate whether she knows how to Bluebook. The most recenteditionofTheBluebook:AUniformSystemofCitation,thetwentieth,waspublishedin2015. In2000acompeting referenceappeared,onedesignedspecificallyforinstructionaluse.PreparedbytheAssociationofLegalWritingDirectors,theALWDGuidetoLegalCitation(6thed.2017)haswonwideacceptanceinlawschoollegalwritingprograms.Expansive copyright and trademark claims by the proprietors ofTheBluebook spawned the latest entry in the field, The Indigo Book,released in 2016. Working under the guidance of NYU copyrightexpert,ProfessorChristopherSprigman,ateamofstudentsspentoverayearmeticulouslyseparatingthesystemofcitationreflectedinThe

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Bluebook from that manuals expressive content its language,examples, and organization. The Indigo Book is the result. Like theALWD Guide to Legal Citation, it endeavors to instruct those whowould write legal briefs or memoranda on how to cite U.S. legalmaterialsinconformitywiththesystemofcitationcodifiedinthemostrecent edition of The Bluebook while avoiding infringement of thatworks copyright. Unlike the other two guides, it is free and freelycopyable.

Differencesamong theseguidesaremicroscopic (andnotedhere). Inthewaythatdictionariesbothprescribeandreflectusage,sodothesemanuals. All three reflect their origins. They are prepared in lawschools with comprehensive print libraries and access to the mostexpensive commercial online legal information systems. Theirprincipal focus is on the type of writing that law students and lawprofessorsdoandthatacademiclawjournalspublish.Therealitiesofprofessional practice in many settings, particularly at a time whendigitaldistributionoflegalmaterialshaslargelydisplacedprint,leadtodialectsorusagesinlegalcitationnoneofthesemanualsincludes.Andthetypeofwritingrequiredoflawyersandjudgesandthecontextleadtocitationpracticesquitedifferentfromthoseappropriatetopublishedarticles.

This introduction to legal citation is focusedon the formsofcitationused in professional practice rather than those used in journalpublication.For thatreason, itdoesnotcover thedistinct typographyrulesforthelatter.Furthermore,itaimstoidentifythemoreimportantpoints onwhich there is divergence between the rules set out in themajormanualsandevolvingusage reflected in legalmemorandaandbriefspreparedbypracticinglawyers.

As is true with other languages, learning to read legal citation iseasierthanlearningtowriteitfluently.Theactiveuseofanylanguagerequiresgreatermasterythanthereceivingandunderstandingofit.Inaddition, there is the potential confusion of dialects or other

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nonstandard forms of expression. As already noted, legal citation,like other languages, does indeed have dialects. Most are readilyunderstandableandthusposelittlelikelihoodofconfusionforareader.To the beginning writer, however, they present a serious risk ofmisleading and inconsistent models. As a writer of legal citation,youmust takecare thatyoucheckall references thatyou find in theworkofothers.Thisincludescitationsincourtopinions.Thenationshighest court has its own distinctive citation style. In addition,commercialpublishershave longviewedcitation as a subtle formofadvertisingthroughbranding.Thus,citationsindecisionspublishedinthemultiple series of theNationalReporter System of the ThomsonReutersunitknownasWest(fromtheAtlanticReportertotheFederalSupplement) have been altered by its editors to refer to other Westpublications. Several important state courts, California, Illinois, andNew York among them, have idiosyncratic citation norms for theirowndecisions.Manymorecitetheirstatesstatutesandadministrativeregulationswithoutrepetitionofafullabbreviationofthestatesnameineachreference, thatbeing impliedbycontext.Whileeachof thesecourtsislikelytoacceptindeed,mayevenpreferbriefsusingthesame citation dialect, Federal courts in the same state may not. Inshort, copying and pasting citations from decisions and otherreferences into ones own writing is almost certain to yieldinconsistent,nonstandard,andevenincompletecitations.

Changes in citation norms over time also caution against relying onsource material for proper citation form. The Bluebook has beenrevisedsixtimessince1990,substantially in1991,controversially in1996,andagainin2000,2005,2010,and2015(see7-200).Becauseof these changes, citations you find in legal documents published inprioryears,althoughtheymayhavebeentotallyconformedtocitationstandardsatthetimeofwriting,mayneedreformattingtocomplywithcurrentones. Inotherwords, importedcitations,even those importedfrom the most carefully edited pre-2015 journal articles, books, oropinions,maynotbe inproper current form. It shouldalsobenoted

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thatTheBluebook itself has throughout these revisions set forth twodistinctversionsofcitationoneforjournalsandanalternativesetofpractitionerrules.

Whataboutthefeaturenowpartofmanyonlineservicesthatenablesusers to block text and copy it togetherwith its citation into theirnotes?With some services users are even invited to select among anumber of different citation formats. Regrettably, even the best (andmostexpensive)donotremovetheneedforresearchers toknowandapply the detailed citation norms applicable to the brief ormemorandum theywill ultimately prepare.There are several reasonsfor this gap between promise and performance. To begin, the mostprominentservicescontinue toviewcitationasameansofbranding.AnystatutoryprovisionretrievedwithcitationfromWestlaworLexiswillcitetothepublishersproprietaryversionofthejurisdictionscoderatherthanprovidethereferenceinitsofficialorgenericformat.Casecitations retrieved fromWestlawgiveunnecessaryprominence to thepublishers National Reporter System volume and page numbers.Secondly,noneoftheservicesdeliversalltheinformationthatawriterwillneedforacompletecitationacrossalltypesofmaterial.Manyfailtoincludethepageorparagraphnumberofaspecificpassagecopiedfromwithinacase.All fail to include the subsection,paragraph,andsubparagraph numbers of a copied statutory or regulatory provision.What this means is that before you can safely rely on citationsdeliveredbyanonline serviceyoumusthavemastered legal citationsufficiently to know what additional information you will need toappend to themmanually inyournotes,whatportionof thecitationsfurnishedyoucansafelydelete,andtheextenttowhichyouwillneedtoreformatwhatremains.

Fewpeoplefindadictionarythebeststartingpointforlearninganewlanguage. For many of the same reasons neither The Bluebook, theALWDGuidetoLegalCitation,norTheIndigoBookisagoodprimer.Like dictionaries, these manuals are designed as comprehensive

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reference works. This introduction refers to them throughout. Butwhile they aim at exhaustive coverage, these materials seek tointroducethebasicsthroughconcisestatementsofprinciplesandusagelinked to examples. The aim is not to separate you from a fullreferencework; inevitably youwill encounter unusual situations thatrequire looking up the proper rule or abbreviation in a morecomprehensive manual. Instead, this introduction aims at building abasicmasteryoflegalcitationascodifiedinthemajorreferencesalevelofmasterythatshouldenableyoutodoallofyourlegalreadingandmuchofyourlegalwritingwithouthavingtoreachforthem.SinceTheBluebookandtheALWDGuidetoLegalCitationembracethefullrange of journal writing, they furnish guidance on how to cite allmanner of references infrequently used in practitioner writing,includingavarietyofforeignlawmaterialsandhistoricreferences.Bycontrast, this introduction is limited to contemporary U.S. legalmaterial.

Because this introduction is not a substitute for a comprehensivereference, you would be wise to introduce yourself to one as youproceed through thismaterial.Read through its tableof contentsandintroductorymaterial.Eachtopiccoveredhereincludeslinkstotablesproviding references to coverage in The Bluebook and the ALWDGuidetoLegalCitation,aswellaslinksdirectlyintoTheIndigoBookitself.Observinghowthemanualthatyouhavechosen(orothershavechosen for you) arrays itsmore detailed treatment should be part ofyourinitialexplorationofeachtopichere.

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Thereisnoquestionbutthatstrivingforpropercitationformwillforatimeseemasillydistractionfromthecoreprojectofwriting.Butasistrue with other languages, those who use this one carefully makenegative assumptions about the craft of those who dont. Being asimple language at its core, this one should fairly quickly become amatterofhabitand,thus,nolongeradistraction.

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1-200.PurposesofLegalCitation

What is legal citation? It is a standard language that allows onewriter to refer to legal authorities with sufficient precision andgenerality that others can follow the references. Because writing bylawyersandjudgesissodependentonsuchreferences,itisalanguageof abbreviations and special terms. While this encoding createsdifficultyforlayreaders,itachievesadramaticreductioninthespaceconsumed by the, often numerous, references. As you become anexperienced reader of lawwriting, youwill learn to follow a line ofargumentstraightthroughthemanycitationsembeddedinit.Evenso,citations are a bother until the reader wishes to follow one. Thefundamentaltradeoffthatunderliesanycitationschemeisonebetweenprovidingfullinformationaboutthereferencedworkandkeepingthetextasunclutteredaspossible.Standardabbreviationsandcodeshelpachieveareasonablecompromiseofthesecompetinginterests.

A reference properlywritten in legal citation strives to do at leastthreethings,withinlimitedspace:

identifythedocumentanddocumentparttowhichthewriterisreferringprovidethereaderwithsufficientinformationtofindthedocumentordocumentpartinthesourcesthereaderhasavailable(whichmayormaynotbethesamesourcesasthoseusedbythewriter),andfurnishimportantadditionalinformationaboutthereferencedmaterialanditsconnectiontothewritersargumenttoassistreadersindecidingwhetherornottopursuethereference.

Considerthefollowingillustrationoftheproblemfacedandthetradeoffstruckbylegalcitation.In1989,theSupremeCourtdecidedanimportantcopyrightcase.Therearecountlesssourcesofthefull

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textopinion.OneisLexisAdvance,wherethefollowingidentifyingmaterialappearspriortotheopinion.Ifalawyer,wantingtorefertoallorpartofthatdecision,weretoincludeallofthatinformationinherbrief(withasimilaramountofidentifyingmaterialforotherauthorities)therewouldbelittleroomforanythingelse.Readersofsuchabriefwouldhaveanimpossibletimefollowinglinesofargumentpastthemassiveinterruptionsofcitation.

Cmty.forCreativeNon-Violencev.Reid,490U.S.730

SupremeCourtoftheUnitedStates

March29,1989,Argued;June5,1989,Decided

No.88-293

490U.S.730*|109S.Ct.2166**|104L.Ed.2d811***|1989U.S.LEXIS2727****|10U.S.P.Q.2D(BNA)1985|57U.S.L.W.4607|Copy.L.Rep.(CCH)P26,425|16

MediaL.Rep.1769

COMMUNITYFORCREATIVENON-VIOLENCEETAL.v.REID

PriorHistory:[****1]CERTIORARITOTHEUNITEDSTATESCOURTOFAPPEALSFORTHEDISTRICTOF

COLUMBIACIRCUIT.

Disposition:270U.S.App.D.C.26,846F.2d1485,affirmed.

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In standard legal citation, the reference to this opinion becomessimply:

Cmty.forCreativeNon-Violencev.Reid,490U.S.730(1989).Witheconomythisidentifiesthedocumentandallowsanotherlawyerto retrieve the decision from a wide range of print and electronicsources.Theidentifierof490U.S.730sufficesforareaderwhohasaccess toWestsSupremeCourtReporter publishedbyThomsonReuters or to theLawyersEdition, Second Series published in printandonlinebyLexisNexisortoWestlawortothemyriadotheronlineanddisc-based sourcesofSupremeCourt decisions.Enter 490U.S.730 as a search onGoogle and itwill lead directly to the decision.Therestof thecitation tells thereader that this isa1989decisionoftheUnitedStatesSupremeCourt (andnot, say,a recentopinionofaU.S.DistrictCourt)andwhothepartieswere.

Thetaskoflegalcitationinshortistoprovidesufficientinformationtothereaderofabrieformemorandumtoaidadecisionaboutwhichauthorities to check aswell as inwhat order to consult them and topermitefficientandpreciseretrievalallof that,withoutconsumingany more space or creating any more distraction than is absolutelynecessary.

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1-300.TypesofCitationPrinciples

Thedetailedprinciplesofcitationcanbeconceivedofas falling intofourcategories:

CoreIdentificationPrinciples:Principlesthatspecifytheminimumelementsnecessarytoidentifyaciteddocumentordocumentportionintermsthatwillallowthereadertoretrieveit.

OtherMinimumContentPrinciples:Principlesthatcallfortheinclusioninacitationofadditionalinformationitemsbeyondaretrievalformulathefullnameoftheauthorofajournalarticle,theyearadecisionwasrenderedorabook,published.Someoftheseprinciplesareconditional,thatis,theyrequiretheinclusionofaparticularitemunderspecifiedcircumstancessothattheabsenceofthatitemfromacitationrepresentsthatthosecircumstancesdonotexist.Thesubsequenthistoryofacasemustbeindicatedwhenitexists,forexample;theeditionofabookmustbeindicatediftherehavebeenmorethanone.Mostoftheseadditionalitemseitherfurnishanamefortheciteddocumentorinformationthatwillallowthereadertoevaluateitsimportance.

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CompactingPrinciples:Principlesthatreducethespacetakenupbytheinformationitemsincludedinacitation.Theseincludestandardabbreviations(UnitedStatesCodebecomesU.S.C.)andprinciplesthateliminateredundancy.(Ifthedecidingcourtiscommunicatedbythenameofthereporter,itneednotberepeatedinthecitationsconcludingparenthesesalongwiththedateasitshouldotherwisebe.)

FormatPrinciples:Principlesaboutpunctuation,typography,orderofitemswithinacitation,andthelike.Suchprinciplesapplytotheoptionalelementsinacitationaswellasthemandatoryones.OneneednotreporttothereaderthatacitedSupremeCourtcasewasdecided5-4;butifonedoes,thereisastandardform.

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1-400.LevelsofMastery

Whatdegreeofmasteryof this languageshouldonestrive forasastudent,legalassistant,orlawyer?

Recallthatacitationservesseveralpurposes.Ofthosepurposes,oneisparamount furnishing accurate and complete information that willenableretrievaloftheciteddocumentordocumentpart.Theelementof citation that calls for immediate mastery is painstaking care inrecording and presenting the complete address or retrieval ID of adocument. Citing a case using the wrong volume or page number,citing a statute with an erroneous section number or without anecessarytitlenumbererrorslikethesecannotbeexplainedawaybytheintricaciesofcitation.Theirnegativeimpactonreadersispalpable.Consider the frustration you experience when you are given anerroneous or partial street address or an email address that failsbecauseofatypo;ajudgesreactiontoanerroneouscitationislikelytobequitesimilar.

Since, in many cases, the standard retrieval formula for a citeddocument includesanabbreviation,asmall setofabbreviationsmustbemastered as soon as possible.Aminimum set includes those thatrepresent the reporters for contemporary federal decisions, those thatrepresent codified federal statutes and regulations, and those thatrepresent the regional reporters of state decisions. Whenever yourresearchiscenteredinthelawofaparticularstate,youwillwantalsotomemorizetheabbreviationsthatrepresentthecasereports,statutorycompilations,andregulationsofthatstate.

Lesscriticalintermsoffunctionbutnomoredifficulttomasteraretheabbreviationsthatindicatethedecidingcourtwhenthatinformationisnotimplicitinthenameofthereporter.YoushouldstrivetomastertheabbreviationsforthecircuitsoftheU.S.CourtsofAppealsandthosefortheU.S.DistrictCourts.Anytimeyourresearchiscenteredinthe

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lawofaparticularstateyouwillwanttomastertheabbreviationsforitsdifferentcourts.

Lastandleastaretheconventionsforreducingthespaceconsumedbycasenamesandjournaltitles.IncludingthefullwordEnvironmentalin a case name rather than the abbreviation Envtl. is, standing byitself,atrivialoversight.Aconsistentfailuretoabbreviateontheonehand or the use of idiosyncratic or inconsistent abbreviations on theother can produce inconvenience for the reader. Since your aim innearly all law writing will be to persuade your reader, to win yourreaderover,youdonotwanttoirritateortoconveyanimpressionofcarelessness. Therefore, a final review of ones citations against thestandard abbreviations and omissions set forth in one the dominantmanualsor a local equivalent is an important step. In time, youwillfindthatyouhaveinternalizedmostofthoserules.

Writing legal citation follows thorough legal research. As you carryout your research, your notes should capture all the information youwillneedtowritethenecessarycitations.Thatentailsrecordingalltherequireditemsforafullcitation.Itdoesntmeanthatyoushouldtakethe time in themidst of research to check proper abbreviations; thatcanbealaterstep.Whatyouwillwanttoachieve,assoonaspossible,isknowledgeofwhat informationelementswillbe required ina fullcitation. Knowing what to note or copy at the time you do yourresearch will save you from having to pay return visits to sourcessimply to determine which circuit decided a particular case, whatparagraph or page numbers are associated with the portion of adecision supporting your point, or how recently the statutorycompilationonwhichyouarerelyingwasupdated.

Learningtoreadlegalcitationshouldbeyourfirstgoal.Sinceyouaresurroundedbycitationsinanycasesorarticlesyouread,thatshouldbeeasy.Eventhisrequiresanactiveframeofmind,however;itiseasytoskimpastcitations.Asyoureadlegalmaterialexerciseyourgrowingcommand of legal citation by asking yourself occasionally about a

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citedsource:What is it?HowwouldIretrieveit?Andwhenyouarereadinginanenvironmentthatpermitsreadyaccess tocases,statutesor other cited material and you are curious about a point on whichtherearecitedreferences(oryourheadsimplyneedsachangeofpace)follow a citation or two.Reading and following citations should notrequireuseofamanual.

Ultimatelyyouwillbeabletowritemostcitationswithoutuseofthisreferenceoramanualmostbutnotall.TheoldandtheunusualwilldriveeventhemostexperiencedlegalwriterbacktothepagesofTheBluebook,theALWDGuidetoLegalCitation,orTheIndigoBookand,instateswhereoneexists,alocalcitationguide.

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1-500.CitationinTransition:FromProprietaryPrintCitationstoVendor-andMedium-NeutralSchemes

None of the major citation manuals gives much hint of the intensepolicy debate over citation norms or the dramatic changes inprofessionalpracticecatalyzedbytheshiftfromprinttodigitalmedia.Overthepasttwodecades,onlineanddisc-basedlawcollectionshavebecome primary research tools for most lawyers and judges.Simultaneously, the number of alternate sources of individualdecisions, regulations, and statutes has exploded. Today, in manyjurisdictions, legal research is carriedoutbymeansof at least ahalfdozen competing versions of appellate decisions distributed in print,online,andondisc.Becauseofthesechanges,therehasbeengrowingpressureonthoseultimatelyresponsibleforcitationnorms,namelythecourts,toestablishnewrulesthatnolongerpresupposethatsomeonepublishers print volume (created over a year after the decisions orstatutesitcontainswerehandeddownorenacted)isthekeyreference.Somejurisdictionshaveresponded;manymorearesuretofollow.Onthe other hand, work habits and established practices die hard,especiallywhentheyalignwithvestedcommercialinterests.

In 1996, the American Bar Association approved a resolutionrecommending that courts adopt a uniform public domain citationsystemequallyeffectiveforprintedcasereportsandforcasereportselectronically published on computer disks or network services. Itproceeded to layout theessentialcomponentsof sucha system.TheAmericanAssociationofLawLibrarieshadpreviouslygoneonrecordforvendorandmedianeutralcitation.Anincreasingnumberofstatecourts have adopted citation schemes embodying the core elementsrecommended by these national bodies. For example, North Dakotastate court opinions released after January 1, 1997 are to be citedaccordingtothefollowingNorthDakotaSupremeCourtrule:

Whenavailable,initialcitationsmustincludethevolumeand

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initialpagenumberoftheNorthWesternReporterinwhichtheopinionispublished.TheinitialcitationofanypublishedopinionoftheSupremeCourtreleasedonorafterJanuary1,1997,containedinabrief,memorandum,orotherdocumentfiledwithanytrialorappellatecourtandthecitationinthetableofcasesinabriefmustalsoincludeareferencetothecalendaryearinwhichthedecisionwasfiled,followedbythecourtdesignationofND,followedbyasequentialnumberassignedbytheClerkoftheSupremeCourt.Aparagraphcitationshouldbeplacedimmediatelyfollowingthesequentialnumberassignedtothecase.Subsequentcitationswithinthebrief,memorandumorotherdocumentmustincludetheparagraphnumberandsufficientreferencestoidentifytheinitialcitation.

N.D.R.Ct.11.6(b).

TheRuleprovidesexamples,e.g.:

Smithv.Jones,1997ND15,600N.W.2d900(fictional).Smithv.Jones,1996ND15,21,600N.W.2d900(fictional).

FordecisionsoftheNorthDakotaCourtofAppeals,theformulaisthesamewith the substitutionof NDApp for ND.As intended, thesystem facilitates precise and immediate reference to a portion of aNorthDakotaappellatedecisionthatisaseffectivewhetherthereaderfollows it using the courts ownWeb site or one of the commercialonlineservicesorfindsitinavolumeoftheNorthWesternReporter.Since the key citation elements, including paragraph numbers, areembeddedineachdecisionbythecourt,theyarecarriedoverintothatprint reporter and electronic research services. As a complementarystep, theNorthDakota SupremeCourtWeb site furnishes theNorthWestern Reporter citations for all decisions in its database, whichcurrently reachesback through1966.Consequently, researchers neednot consult a commercial source to obtain the volume and page

28

numbersassociatedwithfivedecadesofdecisions.

While the formats and other details vary slightly, other jurisdictionshave implemented case citation schemes employing the same basicstructurecasename,year,court,sequentialnumber,and(withintheopinion) paragraph number or numbers. In addition toNorthDakotathese include Colorado, Maine, Montana, New Mexico, Oklahoma,South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. In 2009Arkansasbegantodesignateitsappellatedecisionsinthisway,whileretainingpagenumberswithinthecourt-releasedpdffileasthemeansforpinpointcites.Fourotherstates,Louisiana,Mississippi,Ohio,and,mostrecently,Illinois,haveadoptedmedium-neutralcitationsystems,butalongsignificantlydifferentlines.Atthefederallevel,theprogresshas, to date, beenminimal.TheU.S.Court ofAppeals for theSixthCircuitbegantoapplymedium-neutralcitationstoitsowndecisionsin1994, but it has never directed attorneys to use them nor employedthem itself in referring to prior decisions that have appeared in theFederal Reporter series. Among district courts, the District of NewHampshirestandsalone.Since2000some,althoughunfortunatelynotall, of its substantive opinions have carried case designations in theformat 2017 DNH 239. The courts judges use these citations indecisions,andlocalcitationrulescalluponlawyerstoemploythemaswell. (See2-230.)Forawhilesomejudgesof theDistrictofSouthDakotafollowedasimilarpattern.Thatendedin2008.

A few jurisdictions have moved to official electronic publication ofcase reports without altering traditional volume and page numbercitation. Putnam v. Scherbring, decided by the Nebraska SupremeCourtinSeptember2017,hasbeen297Neb.868fromthemomentof its release. The citation refers to the decisions volume and pagenumberinabookthatwillneverbeprinted.OfficialpublicationoftheNebraskaReportshasmovedonline.Itsvolumesarenowvirtual.Eachdecisionbeginsafreshpage.Whenthepagecountclimbsto1,000orso,thenextnominalvolumeisbegun.

29

Given theirquitedifferent structure, codified statutesand regulationslend themselves to vendor- and medium-neutral citation. Evolvingprofessionalpractice,influencedbytheprevalenceofelectronicmedia,is reducing thehold thatcertainpreferredprinteditionsonceheldonstatuteandregulationcitations.(See2-335,2-410.)Foragrowingnumber of U.S. jurisdictions, official publication is now online. AUniformElectronicLegalMaterialAct,enactedinoveradozenstates,setsoutstandardsofauthenticationandpreservationforstatesmakingthisshift.

30

http://www.uniformlaws.org/Act.aspx?title=Electronic+Legal+Material+Act

1-600.WhoSetsCitationNorms

Thereisnonationalcitationstandard-settingauthority,anddespitethetendency of citation manuals to attach the word rule to specificcitationpractices,theirauthoritativereachis,atbest,limitedtoasinglesector thosewritingforparticular journals,editingmaterial for oneor another commercial publisher, submitting briefs to a particularcourt. For most law writing, the relevant citations norms are set bywidelyacceptedprofessionalusage.

The citationmanual created by the editors of four law journals, theColumbia Law Review, theHarvard Law Review, theUniversity ofPennsylvania Law Review, and The Yale Law Journal, invariablyreferred to as TheBluebook, was for decades the most widely usedcodification of national citation norms.Now in its twentieth edition,TheBluebook governs the citation practices of the majority of U.S.student-edited law journals and has, through its successive editions,shapedthecitationeducationandresultingcitationhabitsofmostU.S.lawyers.

ThenewerALWDGuidetoLegalCitation(6thed.2017)hasgainedawide following in U.S. law schools. Since it aims to reflect currentusage, itscurrenteditionishighlyconsistentwithTheBluebook.TheIndigoBook first released in 2016 also strives for conformity toTheBluebookssystem.

Amuchearliercompetingacademicproject,TheUniversityofChicagoManual of Legal Citation, which called itself the Maroon Book,offeredadistinctlydifferentandlessrigidsetofrules.Firstpublishedin1989, it failed towinasignificant followingoraffectprofessionalpractice except insofar as it recognized the importance of leaving afairamountofdiscretiontopractitioners,authors,andeditors.Id.at9.

Insomestates,thenormssetoutinnationalmanualsaresupplemented

31

or overridden by court rules about the content, composition, andformat of legal memoranda and briefs. Most often such rules arelargelyconsistentwithnationalnormsbutsetoutspecialandtypicallymoredetailedrulesforthecitationofcases,statutes,andregulationsofthe state in question. Some of these state-specific rules call forinclusionofanadditionalcitationelement, suchasamedium-neutralorotherofficialcasecitation.Othersrequireless,as,forexample,notcalling for repetitionof the statenameor its abbreviation inall statestatutorycitations,thatbeingsuppliedbyimplication.Onlyahandfulofthesecourtrulessetoutamarkedlydifferentcitationformat.Whilecourt-mandated citation rules of this sort formally apply only todocumentsfiledwiththespecifiedcourts, theyarelikelyto influenceprofessionalcitationpracticewithinthestatemoregenerally.

Courts not only shape local citation norms by their rules governingbriefformat,theirpoliciesforpublicationanddisseminationaffectthemeansofcitation.Onlyacourtcaneffectivelyestablishthemeansforvendor-andmedium-neutralcitationofitsdecisions.Courtsthatleavetheassociationofanenduring,citableidentificationforeachdecisionanditspartstoacommercialpublisher,bydefault,forcetheuseofthedominantpublishersprintcitationscheme.

Somecourts,includingboththeSupremeCourtandcourtsystemsinanumber of states, retain full editorial responsibility for citable, finalandofficialversionsoftheiropinions.Generallyimplementedthrougha public court reporters office, this function invariably gives rise todetailed citation norms, aswell as other rules of style, that apply todecisionsdistributedbythecourt.Wherethecourtscitationformatissignificantly different from national norms, as it is, for example, inNew York, that may or may not influence lawyer citation practice.Courtsseriouslyimplementingmedium-neutralcitationnotonlyattachthenecessarydecisionIDandparagraphnumberingtoeachdecision,butuseitincitingpriorcases.

The largecommercialpublishersalsohave theirowndistinctcitation

32

practices, in part designed to reinforce brand. A judges citation toButner v.United States, 440U.S. 48, 55 (1979) when reported inWestsNational Reporter System becomes Butner v. United States,440U.S.48,55,99S.Ct.914,59L.Ed.2d136 (1979).AnnotationsandsummariesintheLexisNexisLawyersEditionofSupremeCourtdecisionscitetothatpublishersUnitedStatesCodeServicee.g.,15U.S.C.S.637(d).

Asnoted in thediscussionofmedium-neutralcitation, two importantnationalbodies, theAmericanBarAssociation (ABA)andAmericanAssociationofLawLibraries(AALL),havesoughttopersuadecourts,publishers, and lawyers to implement citation standards that are nottied to print or to any specific publishers offerings. TheAALL hasgonefurtherandpublishedaUniversalCitationGuide.Thisguidesetsout ablueprint for courts designingmedium-neutral citation schemesfortheirowndecisions,aswellascomplementaryapproachestoothertypes of legal authority that can be implemented simply throughprofessionalacceptance.SeeAALL,UniversalCitationGuide(ver.2.12002).

In the end, most of legal citation, like most of any language, isestablished by constantly evolving usage, reinforced in some cases,alteredinothers,bythemembersofdistinctcommunities.

33

http://archives.library.illinois.edu/erec/AALL_Archives/8501490a/citation2.pdf

2-000.HOWTOCITE

2-100.HowtoCiteElectronicSources

While the principal citation referenceworks still treat the citation ofelectronicallyaccessedsourcesasthoughtheywereexceptionalcases,increasingly online sources, disc, and e-book publications constitutenotonlyprintalternatives,butpreferredorevenprimaryandofficialdistribution channels. This is true for judicial opinions, statutes,regulations, journal articles, and government reports of many kinds.Not only aremany legalmaterials now available in paired print andelectronic editions put out by a single publisher, but sources haveproliferated.Today,itisfarlesslikelythanitwasonlyafewyearsagothat thepersonwritinga legaldocumentand thatdocuments readerswillbeworkingfromexactlythesamesourceinthesameformat.

Thisshiftmakesitimportantthat,whereverpossible,acitationfurnishsufficient information about the cited material to enable a reader topursue the reference without regard to format or immediate source.Withthemostfrequentlycitedmaterialscases,constitutions,statutes,regulations, and recent journal articles this is typically not achallenge since most legal information distributors, whethercommercial, public, or nonprofit, endeavor to furnish all the datanecessaryforsource-andmedium-independentcitation.

Solongasyouareabletofurnishallthecitationinformationcalledforby section 2-200, there is no need to indicatewhether you relied onanyoneofnumerousonlinesources,ane-bookoradiscinsteadofoneof the several print editions for the text of a U.S. Supreme Courtdecision.Similarly,yourcitationstoprovisionsoftheU.S.Codeoracomparablecompilationofstatestatutesneednotindicatewhetheryouaccessed them in print or from an electronic source, nor need youindicate that you accessed a law journal article on LexisNexis,Westlaw,HeinOnlineorthejournalsownInternetsite.

34

Citations making specific reference to an electronic source arenecessary onlywhen the citedmaterial is notwidely available frommultiple sources and identifying a specific electronic source is likelysignificantlytoaidreadersaccesstoitorwhenversionsarelikelytovary.

The relevant citation principles follow; section 3-100 provides basicexamples.

35

2-110.ElectronicSourcesCoreElements[BB|ALWD|IB]

Principle1:Citetomaterialasitisdenominatedandorganizedforprintunlessmuchbetteraccessisavailableelectronically.Evenwhereanelectronicsourceisused,iftheoriginalmaterialisformattedforprint,citeinrelationtotheprintversion,butfollowthatreferencewithaparallelcitationtotheelectronicsourceifthatislikelytoaidretrieval.Likelytoaidretrievalshould,ofcourse,beconsideredfromthestandpointofexpectedreadersoftheworkinwhichthecitationwillappear. e.g.

SteveKenney&JohnBorking,TheValueofPrivacyEngineering,2002(1)J.Info.L.&Tech.,http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/law/elj/jilt/2002_1/kenny.

AmericanBarAssociation,SectiononLegalEducationandAdmissionstotheBar,Statistics,http://www.americanbar.org/groups/legal_education/resources/statistics.html(lastvisitedDec.14,2017).

FangCaietal.,WorldBank,TheElderlyandOldAgeSupportinRuralChina:ChallengesandProspects(2012),availableathttp://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/769231468215685476/The-elderly-and-old-age-support-in-rural-China-challenges-and-prospects.

Acosta-Robledov.FurielAutoCorp.,No.14-1693(MEL),slipop.(D.P.R.Oct.26,2015),https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/USCOURTS-prd-3_14-cv-01693/pdf/USCOURTS-prd-3_14-cv-01693-4.pdf.

Butsee2-115(1)!

36

http://law.resource.org/pub/us/code/blue/IndigoBook.html#SG

Principle 2: The citation should consist of all the elements requiredforthebasicdocumenttype(e.g.,case,constitution,statute,regulation,article, report, or treatise), and as complete an ID or address for theonlineelectronicsourceasisnecessaryforretrieval.(IfGoogleoritsalternativeswillretrievetheciteddocument,afullURLshouldnotbenecessary.)

Examplesofappropriateaddressinformationinclude:

thefullURLofaWeb-baseddocument. e.g.acommercialdatabaseretrievalcitation(e.g.,Westlaw,Lexis,orBloombergLawcitation). e.g.




Acosta-Robledov.FurielAutoCorp.,No.14-1693(MEL),2015BL352643(D.P.R.Oct.26,2015).

Acosta-Robledov.FurielAutoCorp.,No.14-1693(MEL),U.S.Dist.LEXIS138709(D.P.R.Oct.26,2015).

Acosta-Robledov.FurielAutoCorp.,No.14-1693(MEL),2015WL5918730(D.P.R.Oct.26,2015).

Butsee2-115(2)!

37

Wherenouniqueaddressisavailableindicatethesourceincluding,ifapplicable, the database identification information in a parenthetical,e.g.

(BloombergLaw)(Westlaw,LegalNewspapers)(LexisNexisCD)(ebook).

Similarly, if a completeURL is either unavailable or unwieldy and aWebsearchonthetitlewillnotretrievethedocument,provideabaseURLplusthestepsnecessarytoaccessitinparentheses,e.g.

(followData&Researchlink;thenfollowPolicyResearchReportslink).

38

Principle3:Adateshouldbefurnishedforanelectronicsourcewhenthedocumentcitationdoesnotitselfcarrythatinformationunambiguously.Thatdateshouldbethestatedcurrentthroughdateorreleasedateforadisc,thethroughdateforonlinesourcesifavailableoralastmodifiedorlastupdateddateifoneisfurnishedforthecitedmaterialor,failingallelse,alastvisitedoraccesseddate.Wheresuchadateisrequired,itshouldbeplacedattheendofthecitationinaparenthetical. e.g.

Ifthereisalreadyaparentheticalincludingsourceanddatabaseinformation(seeabove),thetwoshouldbecombined,separatedbyacomma. e.g.


AmericanBarAssociation,SectiononLegalEducationandAdmissionstotheBar,Statistics,http://www.americanbar.org/groups/legal_education/resources/statistics.html(lastvisitedDec.14,2017).



MatthewBenderPracticeGuide:FederalPretrialCivilProcedureinCalifornia6.08(LexisNexisCD,2017).

39

2-115.ElectronicSourcesPointsofDifferenceinCitationPractice

Point1:Priortothe2015edition,TheBluebookcalledforthephraseavailableat(initalics)tobeinsertedatthebeginningofparallelInternetcitations.Sincethathasbynowbecomeembeddedinjudicialpractice,itwillverylikelycontinue.Numerouscourtsthatemploytheformat,includingthenationshighest,donotitalicizethephrase.Others,NewYorkbeingone,placeaparallelelectronicaddress(URL,commercialdatabasecite,databaseidentifier)inparenthesesorbracketsprecededbyavailableat. e.g.

Point2:Thecourtsofsomestates,OhioandMontanaamongthem,favoraccessedorlastaccessedoverlastvisited.Thoseofmostemploythephraselastupdatedratherthanlastmodified. e.g.

AmericanBarAssociation,SectiononLegalEducationandAdmissionstotheBar,Statistics,http://www.americanbar.org/groups/legal_education/resources/statistics.html)(lastvisitedDec.14,2017).

AmericanBarAssociation,SectiononLegalEducationandAdmissionstotheBar,Statistics,http://www.americanbar.org/groups/legal_education/resources/statistics.html)(accessedDec.14,2017).[PertheformatusedbyMontanaandOhiocourts.]

FangCaietal.,WorldBank,TheElderlyandOldAgeSupportinRuralChina:ChallengesandProspects(2012),availableathttp://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/769231468215685476/The-elderly-and-old-age-support-in-rural-China-challenges-and-prospects.[PertheformatusedbytheU.S.SupremeCourt.]

FangCaietal.,WorldBank,TheElderlyandOldAgeSupportinRuralChina:ChallengesandProspects(2012)[availableathttp://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/769231468215685476/The-elderly-and-old-age-support-in-rural-China-challenges-and-prospects].[PertheformatusedbyNewYorkcourts.]

40

2-120.ElectronicSourcesVariantsandSpecialCases

Scholarlyarticlesfrequentlyappearonlinepriortotheirappearanceinprint.Indeed,someareneverprinted.Often,theyareissuedinaninstitutionsworkingpaperseries.Wherethatisthecase,theworkingpaperdesignationandnumbershouldbeincludedinthecitationintheparenthesescontainingthedate. e.g.

JamesGrimmelmann,TheStructureofSearchEngineLaw45(NewYorkLawSchoolLegalStudiesResearchPaperNo.06/07-23,2007),http://ssrn.com/abstract=979568.

41

2-200.HowtoCiteJudicialOpinions

In the U.S. legal system, judicial opinions are probably the mostfrequentlycitedcategoryoflegalmaterial.Thearticulatedgroundsofpast judicial decisions are, inmany instances, binding precedent forcurrently litigated matters. Under other circumstances, they arepersuasive authority. In either event, if on point, they should becited.Inthecontextoflegalcitation,judicialopinionsarecommonlyreferredtoascasesandorganizedcollectionsofopinionsarecalledlaw reports or case reports. Most cited cases are opinions ofappellatecourts;however,trialcourtrulingsonquestionsoflawdoonoccasion produce decisions lawyers may wish to cite, despite theirlimitedforceasprecedent.

Prior to the eraof electronic informationdissemination,manycourtsthatproducedlargenumbersoflegalopinionsselectedonlyafractionofthemforpublicationinlawreports.Theremainingunpublishedcases were, as a practical matter, unavailable for citation. Theappearance of online systems ready, even eager, to pick up anddistributeunpublisheddecisionsforcedcourtstobecleareraboutthestatus of decisions they view as merely involving the routineapplicationofsettledlaw.See2-250.

Since the decisions of American courts generally deal withmultipleissues and tend to be lengthy, recounting pre-litigation facts andprocedural events of limited relevance to the points for which theymightbecited,itisrarelyenoughsimplytocitethecase.Undermostcircumstances, a full case citation should include a reference to aspecific portion or portions of the opinion. A reference that merelydirectsthereadertoadecisionoftheU.S.SupremeCourtandnomorehasagreaterlikelihoodoffrustratingthanpersuading.Itisanalogousto route directions that identify the city or neighborhood but fail tofurnishacompletestreetaddress.

42

The relevant citation principles follow; section 3-200 provides bothbasic examples and sample case citations from all major U.S.jurisdictions.

For a quick start introduction or review, there is also a companionvideotutorial,CitingJudicialOpinionsinBrief:http://www.access-to-law.com/citation/videos/citing_judicial_opinions.html.Itruns8.5minutes.

2-210.CaseCitationsMostCommonForm[BB|ALWD|IB]

Principle:Thecoreofacasecitationconsistsoffourelements:

Element(a)-Thepartiesnames(oftenreferredtoasthecasenameorlessfrequentlythetitle,style,orcaptionofthecase) e.g.

Namesareitalicizedorunderlined(5-100)andboileddownusinganextensivesetofomissions(4-300)andabbreviations(4-100),withalowercasev.replacingversus, e.g.

andacommaseparatingthiscomponentfromthenext. e.g.

Czapinskiv.St.FrancisHosp.,Inc.,2000WI80,236Wis.2d316,613N.W.2d120.

KootenaiEnvtl.Alliance,Inc.v.PanhandleYachtClub,Inc.,671P.2d1085(Idaho1983).

43

http://www.access-to-law.com/citation/videos/citing_judicial_opinions.htmlhttp://law.resource.org/pub/us/code/blue/IndigoBook.html#SB

Element(b)-AtleastoneretrievalIDoraddressforthecase(oftenitselfreferredtoastheciteorcitation)consistingof:

amedium-neutralcitation,ifprovidedbythecourt,(2-230)e.g.

failingthat,oneconstructedof:thereportervolumenumberandreportername(abbreviated)(4-400)andthefirstpageofthecaseinthatvolume. e.g.

Ifthereferenceistoaportionoftheopinion(asinmostinstancesitshouldbe),theparagraphnumberornumbersofthatportion(withamedium-neutralcitation)orthepagenumberornumbersofthatpartshouldfollowthecaseretrievalIDoraddress,setoffbyacomma.(Citationstooneormorespecificpointorpointsinanopinionarecommonlyreferredtoaspinpointorjumpcitations.)e.g.

Czapinskiv.St.FrancisHosp.,Inc.,2000WI80,19,236Wis.2d316,613N.W.2d120.

KootenaiEnvtl.Alliance,Inc.v.PanhandleYachtClub,Inc.,671P.2d1085,1092(Idaho1983).

44

InsomesituationsonlyoneIDorreportercitationisrequired.Inothers,twoormoreshouldbeprovidedinparalleli.e.,insuccessionseparatedbycommas. e.g.

Mostcourtsthathaveimplementedmedium-neutralcitationformatscallforcontinueduseofprint-basedcaseIDsinparallel,whenavailable,althoughnotparallelpinpointpagessincetheparagraphnumbersservethatpurposeequallyinprint.e.g.

45

Whenstatecasesarecitedtoacourtinthesamestate,moststaterulesrequirethatparalleladdressesbeprovidedifthecaseisreportedinbothanofficialstatereporterandaWestregionalreportertheofficialreporteraddresscomingfirst,theregionalreporteraddresssecond,thetwoseparatedbyacomma.Here,too,parallelpinpointpagesaregenerallynotnecessarysincemostonlinesystemscontainthepaginationofbothreporters.Whencitedtocourtsofanotherjurisdiction,statedecisionsthatappearinaregionalreportergenerallyneedbecitedonlytothatreporter.Thiscanmeanthatthesamedecisionwill,whencitedwithinitsstate,haveadifferentcitationformthanwhencitedinotherjurisdictions. e.g.

Czapinskiv.St.FrancisHosp.,Inc.,2000WI80,19,236Wis.2d316,613N.W.2d120.

KootenaiEnvtl.Alliance,Inc.v.PanhandleYachtClub,Inc.,105Idaho622,632,671P.2d1085(1983).[CitedtoanIdahocourt]

KootenaiEnvtl.Alliance,Inc.v.PanhandleYachtClub,Inc.,671P.2d1085,1095(Idaho1983).[Citedtoacourtinsomeotherjurisdiction]

Butsee2-215(1)!

46

Element(c)Thedate e.g.

TheyearofdecisionisenclosedinparenthesesifithasnotalreadyappearedinthecaseID. e.g.



47

Element(d)Thecourt

InanyreferencewherethecourtissufficientlyidentifiedbythecaseIDorreporterasforexampleWIorWis.noadditionalreferenceisnecessary. e.g.Theregionalreporterscoveringnumerousstatesandthereporterscontainingdecisionsofthelowerfederalcourtsdonotsufficientlyidentifythecourtforaparticularcase.Consequently,thatinformationmustbeadded.Courtidentificationisplaced,inabbreviatedform,intheparenthesescontainingtheyearofdecision. e.g.Theabbreviationforastatestandingalonesignifiesadecisionofthejurisdictionshighestappellatecourt.Forthatreasonnonotationatallisrequiredwhenthestateisindicatedinareportername.Forexample,(Kan.1976)indicatesa1976decisionoftheKansasSupremeCourtwhileadecisionoftheKansasCourtofAppealswouldbeindicatedby(Kan.Ct.App.1984)andadecisionoftheKansasSupremeCourtcitedtotheofficialreporterwouldsimplyshowthedate.Butsee2-215(2)!Whethertoindicatewhichofseveralcircuits,districts,divisionsordepartmentsofacourtrenderedadecisiondependsbothonthecourtandthecontextforthecitation.WhichcircuitoftheU.S.CourtsofAppealsorwhichU.S.DistrictCourthandeddownadecisionisalwaysindicated.Withadecisionfromanintermediatelevelstatecourt,theinformationshouldbeincludedinanysettingwhereitbearsonthecitationsauthorityorisotherwiseimportant.Thus,inastatewherethedecisionsofonedepartmentorcircuitarenotbindingonanotherone,citationsshouldidentifytheunitthatdecidedacase. e.g.

48



Comm.toPreventMun.Bankr.v.Renne,77F.3d488(9thCir.1996).

Perlmanv.SwissBankCorp.ComprehensiveDisabilityProt.Plan,979F.Supp.726(N.D.Ill.1997).

IBMv.UniversalTranscon.Corp.,191A.D.2d536,595N.Y.S.2d106(2dDept.1993).

Whencitingthesamedecisioninanotherstatetherewouldbenoneedtodoso.

49

2-215.CaseCitationsPointsofDifferenceinCitationPractice

Point 1:Whether to use parallel case citations and, if not, whichcitation to use is a subject on which court rules often speak. Thepractice setouthere is consistentwithmostof them,althougha fewstate rules call for citations of decisions from other jurisdictions toincludebothanofficialreporterreference,ifany,andaWestregionalreporter reference. The rules of a few others allow citation to thestates official reports without a parallel citation to the regionalreporter.

Point2:TheU.S.SupremeCourtandanumberofstatecourtsrejectthe practice of including Ct. when abbreviating state intermediateappellatecourts.InAlaska,forexample,anddecisionsoftheSupremeCourttheabbreviationusedforthatstatescourtofappealsisAlaskaApp.ratherthanAlaskaCt.App.

Point 3: The U.S. Supreme Court (and numbers of lower federalcourtsfollowingitslead)employsmoreeconomicabbreviationsofthecircuitsoftheU.S.CourtofAppealsandU.S.DistrictCourtdistricts.Instead of 2dCir. and 9th Cir. its decisions refer to CA2 andCA9. Insteadof D.R.I., S.D.N.Y., and N.D. Ill. its decisionsrefertoRI,SDNY,andNDIll.

2-220.CaseCitationsVariantsandSpecialCases[BB|ALWD|IB]

Most case citations refer to opinions that have already appeared inestablishedprintreportersandtheirconformedelectroniccounterparts.Opinionsforwhichthatisnottrueeitherbecausetheyareveryrecentor because the court or publisher of the relevant reporter did notconsiderthedecisionimportantenoughforsuchdisseminationcallforalternativeidentification.Thechallengeinsuchasituationistofurnishthe reader sufficient information to enable retrieval of the document

50

http:law.resource.org/pub/us/code/blue/IndigoBook.html#R12.4

from one or more specialized sources. (This is one of the problemsaddressed by medium-neutral citation systems. See 2-230.) Thefollowing alternatives can be used.While they are listed in order oftraditionalpreference,theultimatechoiceshouldbemadeintermsoftheintendedreaderslikelyaccess.(Beforecitingadecisionthatisnotpublished because of the courts own judgment about its limitedprecedential importance,besuretoconsult thecourtsrules.See 2-250.)

Alternative1:Withcasesavailableinaprintlooseleafserviceoranelectronicequivalent,theminimumIDoraddress(followingthepartiesnames(2-210(a))consistsof:

afullservicecitation,thecourt(abbreviated),andthefulldate. e.g.

Alternative2:Withcasesavailableinelectronicformatbutnotyetinfinalform,theminimumIDoraddress(followingthepartiesnames(2-210(a))consistsof:

thedocketnumber,acitationtotheelectronicsource(2-100),thestarpagenumber(s)assignedbythesourceforapinpointcite,thecourt(abbreviatedandonlytotheextentnotcommunicatedbytheonlinecitation),andthefulldate. e.g.

Butsee2-225(1)!

51

Alternative3:Withcasesavailableonlyfromthecourtinslipopinionform,theminimumaddress(followingthepartiesnames(2-210(a))consistsof:

thedocketnumber,thephraseslipop.(forslipopinion),thecourt(abbreviated),andthefulldate. e.g.

Flammev.WolfIns.Agency,[Insurance]Auto.L.Rep.(CCH)18,307(Neb.Nov.8,1991).

Collinsv.UnitedStates,3Fed.Est.&GiftTaxRep.(CCH)60,060(W.D.Okla.Jan.31,1991).

Marksv.Hochhauser,No.16-4029,2017BL425598at*4-7(2dCir.Nov.29,2017).

Marksv.Hochhauser,No.16-4029,2017U.S.App.LEXIS24086at*10-16(2dCir.Nov.29,2017).

Marksv.Hochhauser,No.16-4029,2017WL5760345at*4-5(2dCir.Nov.29,2017).

FreeRangeContent,Inc.v.GoogleInc.,No.14-cv-02329-BLF,slipop.at4(N.D.Cal.Aug.25,2015).

Butsee2-225(2)!

52

2-225.CaseCitationsMorePointsofDifferenceinCitationPractice

Point1:SomecourtsomitthedocketnumberfromcitationstocasesthatareinLEXISorWestlaw.Whilethatsavesamodestamountofspace,inclusionofthedocketnumberfacilitatesaccesstothedecisionbythoseusinganotherelectronicsource,whetheritbeacompetingcommercialonlinesystemorthecourtsownWebsite. e.g.

Point2:Whenthedecisioniscertaintoappearinanestablishedreporterbuthasnotyetbeenpublished,somecourtsincludeaskeletalprintcitationwiththreeunderlinedspacestakingtheplaceofthemissingvolumeandpagenumbers.Thatpracticemakessenseonlywhenthecitingtextwill,atsomelaterpoint,berevisedtofillinthegaps. e.g.

Marksv.Hochhauser,No.16-4029,2017U.S.App.LEXIS24086at*10-16(2dCir.Nov.29,2017).[PerTheBluebookandALWDGuidetoLegalCitation.]

Marksv.Hochhauser,___F.3d___,2017U.S.App.LEXIS24086at*10-16(2dCir.Nov.29,2017).[Perthepracticeofsomecourts.]

Marksv.Hochhauser,___F.3d___,2017WL5760345at*4-5(2dCir.Nov.29,2017).[Perthepracticeofsomecourts.]

2-230.Medium-NeutralCaseCitations[BB|ALWD|IB]

In 1996, the American Bar Association approved a resolutionrecommending that courts adopt a uniform public domain citationsystemequallyeffectiveforprintedcasereportsandforcasereportselectronically published on computer disks or network services andlayingouttheessentialcomponentsofsuchamedium-neutralsystem(see 1-500). The American Association of Law Libraries had

53

http://law.resource.org/pub/us/code/blue/IndigoBook.html#SB

previouslygoneonrecordforvendorandmedianeutralcitationandhas since issued aUniversalCitationGuide that details an approachconsistent with that urged by the ABA. An increasing number ofjurisdictionshaveadoptedcitationschemesembodyingsomeoralloftheelementsrecommendedbythesenationalbodies.NorthDakotaisrepresentative.Itscourtrulesstateinrelevantpart:

Whenavailable,initialcitationsmustincludethevolumeandinitialpagenumberoftheNorthWesternReporterinwhichtheopinionispublished.TheinitialcitationofanypublishedopinionoftheSupremeCourtreleasedonorafterJanuary1,1997,containedinabrief,memorandum,orotherdocumentfiledwithanytrialorappellatecourtandthecitationinthetableofcasesinabriefmustalsoincludeareferencetothecalendaryearinwhichthedecisionwasfiled,followedbythecourtdesignationofND,followedbyasequentialnumberassignedbytheClerkoftheSupremeCourt.Aparagraphcitationshouldbeplacedimmediatelyfollowingthesequentialnumberassignedtothecase.Subsequentcitationswithinthebrief,memorandumorotherdocumentmustincludetheparagraphnumberandsufficientreferencestoidentifytheinitialcitation.

N.D.R.CTRule11.6(b).

TheRulesuppliesexamples,e.g.:

Smithv.Jones,1997ND15,600N.W.2d900(fictional).Smithv.Jones,1996ND15,21,600N.W.2d900(fictional).

FordecisionsoftheNorthDakotaCourtofAppeals,theformulaisthesame with the substitution of ND App for ND. In jurisdictionsadopting such a vendor- and medium-neutral citation scheme, thatscheme should be used, together with one or more parallel reportercitationsasmay,indeed,berequiredbycourtruleorlocalpractice.

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While the formats and other details vary slightly, several otherjurisdictions have implemented case citation schemes employing thesamebasicstructurecasename,year,court,sequentialnumber,and(within the opinion) paragraph number or numbers. In addition toNorthDakotatheseincludeColorado,Maine,Montana,NewMexico,Oklahoma, SouthDakota,Utah,Vermont,Wisconsin, andWyoming.In 2009 Arkansas began to designate its appellate decisions in thisway,whileretainingpagenumberswithinthecourt-releasedpdffileasthemeansforpinpointcites.Fourotherstates,Louisiana,Mississippi,Ohio, and, most recently, Illinois, have adopted medium-neutralcitationsystems,butalongthesignificantlydifferentlinesnotedbelow.Atthefederallevel,theprogresshas,todate,beenminimal.TheU.S.CourtofAppealsfortheSixthCircuitbegantoapplymedium-neutralcitations to its own decisions in 1994, but it has never directedattorneys to use them nor employed them itself in referring to priordecisions that have appeared in theFederalReporter series. Amongdistrictcourts,theDistrictofNewHampshirestandsalone.Since2000some,althoughunfortunatelynotall,of itssubstantiveopinionshavecarriedcasedesignationsintheformat2017DNH239.Thecourtsjudges use these citations in decisions, and local citation rules calluponlawyerstoemploythemaswell.

Ohioscasenumberingapproachoperatesacrosstheentirestatecourtsystem rather than court by court, with the result that successivedecisionsofthestatesupremecourtmaybenumbered3957and3995.(These system-wide numbers are assigned by the states reporter ofdecisions.)Illinois,Louisiana,andMississippiusethedocketnumberas the case ID rather than generating a new one based on year anddecision sequence. In addition, Louisiana, like Arkansas, uses slipopinion page numbers rather than paragraph numbers for pinpointcitation. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit does thesame.

Most jurisdictions adopting a medium-neutral system have done so

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prospectively only. Citations to cases that pre-date the changemuststillemployreportervolumeandpagenumbers.Twostates,however,have retrofitted all past reported decisions with neutral citations andparagraph numbers. The court rules of one of them, Oklahoma,stronglyencouragetheuseoftheprint-independentcitationsforthoseoldercases,andthestatesappellatecourtsmodelthepractice.InNewMexicotheneutralcitationsystemhas,since2013,beenrequiredforcitationstoopinionsdatingallthewaybackto1852.

A few jurisdictions have moved to official electronic publication ofcase reports without altering traditional volume and page numbercitation. Putnam v. Scherbring, decided by the Nebraska SupremeCourtinSeptember2017,hasbeen297Neb.868fromthemomentof its release. The citation refers to the decisions volume and pagenumberinabookthatwillneverbeprinted.OfficialpublicationoftheNebraskaReportshasmovedonline.Itsvolumesarenowvirtual.Eachdecisionbeginsafreshpage.Whenthepagecountclimbsto1,000orso,thenextnominalvolumeisbegun.

2-240.CaseCitationsConditionalItems[BB|ALWD|IB]

The core of a case citation includes at least two items thatcommunicateby theirabsence. Inotherwords,acasecitation is readwith the expectation that ifcertain things have occurred theywill bereportedasadditionalelementsofareference.Citationsthataresilentonthesesubjectsaretakenasrepresentingthatthosefactsareabsent.

A citation consisting only of the core items represents that a clearholdingofamajorityofthecourtstandsforthepropositionwithwhichthewriterhasassociatedit. Italsorepresents that therehavebeennolegal proceedings in the case occurring after the cited opinion thataffectitsauthority.Finally,withacourtthatreleasesbothpublishedandunpublishedornon-precedentialdecisions, in the absenceofany indication otherwise, the citation of a decision represents that it

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hasnotbeendesignatedunpublishedornon-precedential.

Principle1:Ifthecitationistoadissenting,concurring,orpluralityopinionortodictum,thatfactshouldbereportedinseparateparenthesesfollowingthedate. e.g. .

Principle2:Iftherehavebeenoneormoresubsequentactionsinthecasecited,citationstothoseactionsshouldbereportedfollowingthecoreitems,precededbyanabbreviationindicatingthenatureoftheaction(4-200). e.g. However,denialsofcertioraribytheU.S.SupremeCourtorofsimilardiscretionaryappealsbyothercourtsneednotbereportedunlesstheyarerecent(withinthepasttwoyears)orotherwisenoteworthy.

Principle3:Ifthedecidingcourtreleasesbothpublishedandunpublishedornonprecedentialdecisionsandthelattercarrylessweight,decisionsofthatcategoryshouldhavethecharacterizationgiventhembythecourtplacedinparenthesesfollowingthedate. e.g.

CityofIndianapolisv.Edmond,531U.S.31,50(2000)(Rehnquist,C.J.,dissenting).

Edmondv.Goldsmith,183F.3d659(7thCir.1999),affd,531U.S.31(2000).

Davisv.Barnhart,No.05-10980,2005U.S.App.LEXIS22201(11thCir.Oct.12,2005)(unpublished).

ThatisunnecessarywithU.S.CourtofAppealsdecisionscitedtoWestsFederalAppendixReportersinceitcontainsonlyunpublisheddecisions.Beforecitinganunpublisheddecision,however,see2-250.

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2-250.CitingUnpublishedCases[ALWD]

Electronic distribution of judicial opinions has givenwide access todecisions that the issuing courts did not view as important orprecedential. A courts withholding of such decisions from printpublication once effectively limited dissemination, but no longer.Whilesection2-220outlinestheformattouseincitingunpublishedcases, court rules may well instruct that decisions the court hasaffirmativelydesignatednottobepublishedshouldnotbecitedatall(oratleastnotunlesstheybeardirectlyonasubsequentmatteras,forexample,throughresjudicata).Thismaybetrueevenifadecisionhasinfactbeenpublishedinprint.Since2001,thathasbeenthecasewithmany U.S. Court of Appeals unpublished decisions because ofWestsFederalAppendixReporter.Beforeyouciteadecisionthatthedeciding court has labeled unpublished or nonprecedential, youshouldconsultthatcourtsrulesonthispoint.

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2-300.HowtoCiteConstitutions,Statutes,andSimilarMaterials

IntheUnitedStates,constitutionsandstatutesarestructuredinawaythat allowscitationof relevantprovisionswithout regard tohowanyparticular version or edition has been printed or electronicallydistributed. In this fundamental sense, they are and long have beenvendor- and medium-neutral. That is because articles, sections,clauses, and subsections rather than volumes and page numbersidentifyspecificpassages.Thisholds for such similar legalmaterialsaslocalordinances,ontheonehand,andinternationalagreements,onthe other. While these several types of legal materials share thisstructural quality, constitutions and statutes differ dramatically fromoneanother inonekey respect frequencyofchange.ThecompiledenactmentsofCongressandthelegislaturesofthestatesareconstantlysubject to amendment.This reality raises a risk, althoughnot a largeone inmost situations, that the text of the statute to which a writerrefersandthetextconsultedbyareaderfollowingthewriterscitation,at some later date,maybe different or that the provisions governingthequestionbeingaddressedarenotthosecontainedinthemostup-to-date sources. These risks are a consequence of the possibility ofintervening legislative change per se compounded by the amount oftime it takes some publishers or disseminators to enter legislativechangesin theirstatutorycompilations.Addressingthesepossibilitiescallsforbothwriterandreadertopayseriousattentiontothedateofthecompilationreliedonbythewriter.Thereaderwillassumethatacitation to the provisions of a constitution or codified statute isreferring to theversion in force at the time thewritingwaspreparedunlessitincludesadateelementorotherparentheticalnotethatclearlyindicatesotherwise.

The relevant citation principles follow; section 3-300 provides bothbasicexamplesandsamplesfromallmajorU.S.jurisdictions.

For a quick start introduction or review, there is also a companion

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video tutorial, Citing Constitutional and Statutory Provisions inBrief:http://www.access-to-law.com/citation/videos/citing_const_statutes.html.Itruns14minutes.

2-310.ConstitutionCitations[BB|ALWD]

Principle:A citation to a provision of either the federal or a stateconstitutionconsistsoftwoelements:

Element(a)-Thenameoftheconstitution(Thenameconsistsoftheabbreviationofthejurisdictione.g.,U.S.forUnitedStates,N.Y.forNewYork(4-500)andConst.) e.g.

Element(b)-Thecitedpart(Partsoftenincludearticles(abbreviatedart.),amendments(abbreviatedamend.)andclauses(abbreviatedcl.),inadditiontosections().) e.g.

Nopunctuationseparatesthenameoftheconstitutionfromthefirstpartidentifier;commasseparatesuccessivesubparts.Nothingisitalicizedorunderlined.Nodateisrequiredunlessthecitationistoaprovisionorversionoftheconstitutionnolongerineffect. e.g.

U.S.Const.art.III,2,cl.2.

U.S.Const.amend.XVIII,2(repealed1933).

N.Y.Const.art.I,9,cl.2.

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2-320.StatuteCitationsMostCommonForm[BB|ALWD|IB]

Statutoryprovisionsare,wheneverpossible,citedtocompilations.Forany U.S. jurisdiction, there is usually a single codification scheme,orderingsectionsintotopicallyclusteredunits,eventhoughtheremaybemultipleversionsof thecodeorcompilation,printandelectronic,public and commercial. Until the recent proliferation of electronicsources, citation norms favored citation to one particular printcompilationforeachjurisdiction.Mostcitationmanualsstillappeartodo so, but practice is rapidly adjusting to the reality that electroniccompilations are commonly more up-to-date and more widely usedthan print ones, that increasing numbers of U.S. jurisdictions havedesignated a publicly compiled, online version of their code asofficial,andthatup-to-dateprintcompilationsfromotherstatesaremaintained in very few law libraries. It is also true that in mostjurisdictions no single source, public or private, is universally reliedupon.

Principle 1: The core of a citation to a codified federal statutoryprovisionconsistsofthreeelements:

Element(a)-ThetitlenumberfollowedbyaspaceandU.S.C.(forUnitedStatesCode)followedbyaspacee.g.

Element(b)-Thesectionnumber,includingalldesignationsofsmallerunits(letteredornumberedsubsections,paragraphs,subparagraphs,andclauses)precededbythesectionsymbolandspace e.g.

42U.S.C.405(c)(2)(C)(ii).

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Element(c)-DateIftheprovisionbeingcitediscurrentlyineffectandhasnotbeenthesubjectofrecentchange,nodateelementneedbeincluded.However,iftheprovisionbeingcitedhas,bythetimeofwriting,beenrepealedoramendedorifithasonlyrecentlybeenenactedorrevised,thedateofacompilationthatcontainsthelanguagecitedshouldbeprovidedinparentheses.Unlessthecitationscontextfurnishestheinformation,aparenthicalnoteidentifyingtheamendinglegislationandclarifyingwhetherthecitationreferstotheversionineffectbeforeorafterthechangemaybecalledfor. e.g.

42U.S.C.405(c)(2)(C)(ii).

42U.S.C.402(r)(2)(2017)(asamendedin2015byPub.L.No.114-74).

42U.S.C.402(r)(2)(2012)(priortothe2015amendment).

Thepreciseformthisinformationtakeswillbegovernedbytheforminwhichthecompilationpresentsitsasofdate.

No punctuation separates these elements. Nothing is italicized orunderlined.

Butsee2-335!

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Principle 2: The core of a citation to a codified state statutoryprovision consists of the same basic elements in a slightly differentorder. Unlike citations to the U.S. Code which begin with a titlenumber,references tomost statecodes leadoffwith thenameof thestatecode(abbreviated):

Element(a)-Thenameofcode(abbreviated)followedbyaspace e.g.

Element(b)-Thenumberofthesectionorpart,usingthedivisionidentifiersofthejurisdictionscode(Insomestatesmajordivisionsofthecodearedesignatedbynameratherthanbynumber.) e.g.

IowaCode602.1614.

Cal.Prob.Code141.

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Element(c)-DateIftheprovisionbeingcitediscurrentlyineffectandhasnotbeenthesubjectofrecentchange,nodateelementneedbeincluded.However,iftheprovisionbeingcitedhas,bythetimeofwriting,beenrepealedoramendedorifithasonlyrecentlybeenenactedorrevised,thedateofacompilationthatcontainsthelanguagecitedshouldbeprovidedinparentheses.Unlessthecitationscontextfurnishestheinformation,aparenthicalnoteidentifyingtheamendinglegislationandclarifyingwhetherthecitationreferstotheversionineffectbeforeorafterthechangemaybecalledfor.Thepreciseformthisinformationtakeswillbegovernedbytheforminwhichthecompilationrelieduponpresentsitsasofdate. e.g.

IowaCode602.1614.

IowaCode1606(1)(a)(2017).

IowaCode1606(1)(a)(2012)(priorto2013amendment).

Cal.Prob.Code13100(2017).

Cal.Prob.Code13100(2010)(priorto2011amendment).

Butsee2-335!

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2-330.StatuteCitationsConditionalitems

Principle1:Ifpossible,thereferenceshouldbegiveningenericformatusingtheframeworkofthethejurisdictionsdesignatedofficialcodificationsuchastheUnitedStatesCodeorIowaCode.Ifanunofficialcodificationisreliedupon,somestillfavorusingthatproductsbrandedabbreviationifdifferentfromtheofficialcode(U.S.C.A.orU.S.C.S.ratherthanU.S.C.;IowaCodeAnn.ratherthanIowaCode)andplacingthepublishersname,brand,oronlinesource(abbreviated)aheadofthedateinformationinaconcludingparenthetical. e.g.

42U.S.C.402(r)(2)(OfficeofLawRevisionCounselDec.11,2017).

42U.S.C.A.402(r)(2)(WestlawcurrentthroughPub.L.No.115-89).

42U.S.C.S.402(r)(2)(LexisNexiscurrentthroughPub.L.No.115-89,approvedNov.21,2017).

42U.S.C.402(r)(2)(BloombergLawcurrentthroughPub.L.No.115-89,approvedNov.21,2017).

IowaCodeAnn.602.1606(1)(a)(Westlawcurrentthroughendof2015Reg.Sess.).

Butsee2-335!

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Principle2:Thereaderofastatutorycitationwillexpectthatitreferstothestatuteascurrentlyinforceunlessthereferencesaysotherwise.Ifthatisnotthecaseortheprovisionhasonlyrecentlybeenenacted,adateforthecompilationrelieduponshouldbefurnished.Thepreciseformthisinformationtakeswillbegovernedbytheforminwhichthecompilationpresentsitsasofdate. e.g.

IowaCodeAnn.602.1606(1)(a)(Westlawcurrentwithlegislationfromthe2017Reg.Sess.).

Cal.Prob.Code13100(2010)(priorto2011amendment).

Butsee2-335!

2-335.StatuteCitationsPointsofDifferenceinCitationPractice

Point1:BothTheBluebookandtheALWDGuidetoLegalCitationdirectawritertocitetoapubliclyproducedorsupervisedstatutorycompilation(generallyreferredtoasanofficialcode)iftheprovisionsreferredtoarecontainedinit.Inothercases,conventionalpractice,encouragedbythemajorpublishersandreflectedinbothcitationguides,istoidentifythepublisherofacommerciallyproducedstatutorycompilation,and,withthetwoprincipalannotatedversionsoftheUnitedStatesCode,touseabbreviationsoftheirbrandnames(U.S.C.A.andU.S.C.S.).Especially,assourcesandversionshavemultiplied,however,usagehasmovedtowardthecitingofstatutesbymeansoftheirgenericorofficialdesignationwithoutregardtothesourceactuallyusedbythewriter.Iffollowedrigorously,thisapproachinvolvesdroppingthesuperfluousnotation(Ann.),whichsimplyindicatesthatthecoderelieduponwasannotated,andleavingthepublishersnameorbrandoutoftheconcludingparentheses.

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Mich.Comp.Lawsx(year).

Ind.Codex(year).[PublishersbrandandAnn.omitted.]

Theexistenceornonexistenceofannotationsinthecompilationreliedonbythewriterhasnobearingonthestatutorylanguageitself,and,asaconsequenceoftheshiftsinownershipandbrandingthathaveoccurredincommerciallawpublishingandthedivergencebetweenprintandelectronicversionsofcompilationsbearingthesamebrand,referencestothepublisherarenolongerstraightforward.

While this is the practice of nearly all appellate courts and mostlawyers,neitherTheBluebooknortheALWDGuidetoLegalCitationgoes so far.Whileboth removebrandingelements from thename ofstate (but not federal) statutory compilations, they still includereferencestothepublisherinaconcludingparenthetical.BothmanualsalsoincludeAnn.whenthecitedcodeisannotated.

To illustrate, the official compilation of Indiana statutes is regularlycited Ind. Code x. According to The Bluebook and the ALWDGuide to Legal Citation citations to the commercial compilation ofIndiana statutes long known as Burns Indiana Statutes Annotatedshould take the form Ind.CodeAnn. x (LexisNexis year)whilethose to Wests Annotated Indiana Code should read Ind. CodeAnn.x(Westyear).

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Point2:Whileitisthepracticeintheopinionsofandbriefssubmittedtonearlyall federalcourtsandamajorityofstatecourts toomit anydateelementfromstatutecitationsunlesstheprovisionshavebeenorare likely to be subject to amendment, both The Bluebook and theALWDGuide to Legal Citation call for the routine inclusion of theyear or some alternative indication of the cited compilations cutoffdate.Very likely this reflects thedegree towhich they remainboundbyaprintparadigmandtheirfocusonlawjournalpublication.

Point3:Astandardandrecurringcomponentofstatestatuteandregulationcitationsisanabbreviationofthestatename.Oneareaofcitationpracticeonwhichthereiswidespreadstatevariationistheabbreviationofastatescodewhencitedbyortothatstatesowncourts.Theabbreviationsusedontheexamplesinthisintroduction(3-320),likethedominantnationalcitationreferences,arefullenoughtodistinguishunambiguouslybetweenacitationtoaprovisionoftheAlaskaStatutesandonetoasimilarlynumberedsectionofthecodesofAlabama,ArizonaandArkansas.Whencontextleaveslittleornodoubtaboutwhichstatesstatutesarebeingcited,thecasewithbriefssubmittedtoanddecisionsrenderedbythecourtsofaparticularstate,significantcitationspacecansavedwithlittleornolossbyhavingthestatenamesuppliedbyimplication.

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ASx.[PerAlaskaSupremeCourtcitationpracticewhencitingtoAlaskaStatutes.]

KRSx.{PerKentuckySupremeCourtcitationpracticewhencitingtoKentuckyRevisedStatutes.]

R.C.x.[PerOhioSupremeCourtcitationpracticewhencitingtoOhioRevisedCode.]

IndecisionsoftheAlaskaSupremeCourtandbriefssubmittedtoit,ASiscommonlyusedinsteadofAlaskaStat.;inKentuckyitisunderstoodthatKRSstandsforKentuckyRevisedStatutesandnotstatutesofthestateofKansas.Attheextreme,thisformofstate-specificcitationdialectleavesoffallexplicitreferencetothestate.AreferenceinanOhiobrieftoR.C.isunderstoodasreferringtoOhiosRevisedCode;oneinaNewYorkbrieftoasectionoftheGeneralMunicipalLawandoneinaCaliforniabrieftoasectionofthePenalCodeareunderstoodasreferringtotherespectivestatescodifiedstatutes.

2-340.StatuteCitationsVariantsandSpecialCases[BB|ALWD|IB|IB|IB]

Special Case 1 Session Laws:Dont cite a statute to the sessionlaws(thecompiledenactmentsofalegislativebodyduringaparticularsession) ifacodifiedversionwillserveyourpurposes.Thisprincipleconfinessessionlawcitationsto:

veryrecentenactments(provisionsnotyetcodifiedeveninsupplementsorpocketpartsoronlineversions),enactmentsthatarenotcodifiedbecausetheyarenotofgeneralapplicability,situationswherethereferenceistoenactmentitselfortoprovisionsthathavesincebeenrepealedormodified,

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provisionsthataresoscatteredacrossthecodethatareferencetothesessionlawsismoreefficient,andthoserarecasesinwhichthelanguageinthecodifiedversiondiffersinsomesignificantwayfromthesessionlaws.

Asessionlawreferenceconsistsof:thenameofthestatute(orifnotnamedActof[date]),itspubliclawnumber(Pub.L.No.)orequivalentstatedesignation,andthesource.Inthecaseofarecentenactmentthiswillmostlikelybeelectronic. e.g. See2-110.Whereaprintsourceisusedthereferenceconsistsofavolumeoryearnumberfollowedbythenameofthepublication,abbreviated(Stat.orU.S.C.C.A.N.inthecaseofafederalact)andapagenumber.e.g.

HousePageBoardRevisionActof2007,Pub.L.No.110-2,121Stat.4.

HousePageBoardRevisionActof2007,Pub.L.No.110-2,http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PLAW-110publ2/pdf/PLAW-110publ2.pdf.

HealthRiskLimitsforPerfluorooctanoicAcidandPerfluorooctaneSulfonate,2007Minn.Lawsch.37,https://www.revisor.mn.gov/laws/?id=37&doctype;=Chapter&year;=2007&type;=0.

Theyearofenactment,inparentheses,isincludedincaseswherethatinformationisimportantandithasnotalreadyappearedaspartofthename.

Butsee2-335!

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SpecialCase2Bills:Billsarecitedeitherwhentheysupportapointabout the legislative history of an enactment or when the referenceconcernsproposedlegislationthatwasnotenacted.

SpecialCase3NamedActs:Somestatutesarecommonlyreferredtobyname,andinanumberofthesecases,sectionreferencesfromtheoriginallegislationarestillwidelyused.Suchreferencesshouldneversubstituteforacorereferencetothelegislationascodified, e.g.

SocialSecurityAct205(a),42U.S.C.405(a).

buttheycanbeaddedtoit.

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Special Case 4 The Internal Revenue Code: An importantexception to the general norms for citation of federal statutes allows(butdoesnotrequire)referencestotheInternalRevenueCodetobeintheform:I.R.C.___.Thisisasubstitutefor26U.S.C.___.

SpecialCase5UniformActsandModelCodes:Whenauniformactormodelactorcodehasbeenadoptedbyastateandisbeingreferredtoasthelawofthatstate,itiscitedlikeanyotherstatelaw.Whenareferenceistotheuniformlawormodelcodeapartfromitsadoptionandinterpretationinaparticularstate,thecitationshouldconsistofthenameoftheuniformlaworcode(asabbreviated),sectionnumber,andtheyearthatlaworcode(ormajorsubpart)waspromulgatedorlastamended. e.g. InthecaseofuniformlawsaparallelcitationtotheUniformLawsAnnotated(U.L.A.)maybehelpful. e.g.

U.C.C.2-202(amended2003).

Unif.ProbateCode2-107(amended1990),8(I)U.L.A.87(1998).

ModelBus.Corp.Act10.01(2002).

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ThemostrecenteditionofTheBluebookprescribesaddingthenameofthesponsoringentityorentities,abbreviated,intheconcludingparenthetical.FormostuniformlawsthatwouldbeUnif.LawCommn,butbecauseofthedistinctivehistoryoftheUniformCommercialCodeitwouldinthecaseoftheU.C.C.requireaddingAm.LawInst.&Unif.LawCommn.FortheModelBusinessCorporationsActtheresultinginsertionwouldbeAm.BarAssn.e.g.

U.C.C.2-202(Am.LawInst.&Unif.LawCommnamended2003).

Unif.ProbateCode2-107(amended1990),8(I)U.L.A.87(1998).

ModelBus.Corp.Act10.01(Am.BarAssn2002).

Todatethisnewrequirementhasfoundlittlesupportinprofessionalcitationpractice.NordoesthesixtheditionoftheALWDGuidetoLegalCitationappearfullytoembracethechange.

2-350.LocalOrdinanceCitations[BB|ALWD]

Ordinancesgoverningcities,towns,orcountiesarecitedlikestatutes.Justasthestandardformforacitationtoastatestatuteincludesthenameofthestate(abbreviated),anordinancecitationisprefacedbythenameofthepoliticalsubdivisionitgoverns. e.g.

Cincinnati,Ohio,MunicipalCode302-3.

DesMoines,Iowa,MunicipalCode8.04.040.

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2-360.TreatyCitations[BB|ALWD|IB]

Principle1:Thecoreofacitationtoatreaty,internationalconvention,orotherinternationalagreementconsistsofthreeelements:

Element(a)-Thenameofthetreatyoragreementfollowedbyacommaandaspace e.g.

Element(b)-Thedateofsigningorapprovalfollowedbyacommaandaspace e.g.

Element(c)-Asourceforthetextlikelytobeaccessibletothereader e.g.

NorthAmericanFreeTradeAgreement,U.S.-Can.-Mex.,art.705(3),Dec.17,1992,32I.L.M.289(1993).

UnitedNationsConventionontheRightsoftheChild,Nov.20,1989,http://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/crc.aspx.

GenevaConventionRelativetotheTreatmentofPrisonersofWar,art.4.A.3,Aug.12,1949,75U.N.T.S.135.

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Principle2:Threeadditionalelementsmaybeappropriate:

Element(a)-Conventionsthataretheproductofaninternationalorganizationshouldeitherincludetheorganizationsnameaspartofthenameoftheagreementorbeprecededbythatname. e.g.

Element(b)-Solongastherearenomorethanthreepartiestotheagreement,theirnames(abbreviated)shouldbelisted,setoffbycommasandseparatedbyhyphens,followingtheagreementsname. e.g.

Element(c)-Whencitingtoaportionoftheagreement,thecitedsubdivision,asdesignatedintheagreement,shouldbeincludeddirectlyfollowingthetreatynameandparties,iflisted.e.g.

NorthAmericanFreeTradeAgreement,U.S.-Can.-Mex.,art.705(3),Dec.17,1992,32I.L.M.289(1993).

UnitedNationsConventionontheRightsoftheChild,Nov.20,1989,http://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/crc.aspx.

GenevaConventionRelativetotheTreatmentofPrisonersofWar,art.4.A.3,Aug.12,1949,75U.N.T.S.135.

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2-400.HowtoCiteRegulations,OtherAgencyandExecutiveMaterial

Regulationsandotheragencymaterial,particularlytheoutputofstateagencies, have become dramatically more accessible as printdistribution has been supplemented or supplanted by onlinedissemination. Print compilations of agency regulations in even thelargest states tended to be expensive and hard to keep up-to-date,characteristicsthatconfinedthemtolargelawlibraries.Nownearlyallagency regulatory material is accessible on the Internet, much of itfrompublic,non-feesources.Mostadjudicativeagenciesarealsonowplacing their decisions at a publicWeb site. Greater accessibility isleadingtomorefrequentcitationofthiscategoryofprimarymaterial.

The relevant citation principles follow; section 3-400 provides bothbasicexamplesandsamplesfromallmajorU.S.jurisdictions.

For a quick start introduction or review, there is also a companionvideotutorial,CitingAgencyMaterialinBrief:http://www.access-to-law.com/citation/videos/citing_agency_material.html.Itruns12minutes.

2-410.RegulationCitationsMostCommonForm[BB|ALWD|IB]

Likestatutes,agencyregulationsarecitedtocodificationsifpossible.

Principle 1:The core of a citation to a codified federal regulationconsistsofthreeelements:

Element(a)-ThetitlenumberfollowedbyaspaceandC.F.R.(forCodeofFederalRegulations)followedbya

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space e.g.

Element(b)-Thesectionnumberprecededbythesectionsymbolandaspace

Element(c)-ThedateIftheprovisionbeingcitediscurrentlyineffectandhasnotbeenthesubjectofrecentchange,nodateelementneedbeincluded.However,iftheprovisionbeingcitedhas,bythetimeofwriting,beenrevokedoramendedorifithasonlyrecentlybeenissuedorrevised,thedateofacompilat