Law Review/Journal Research Assistance

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Examples of citations are given below. Click on any element of the citation (e.g. case name, date, etc.) for a fuller explanation of the relevant rules for citation.

Cases (Rule 10)	Constitutions (Rule 11)	Statutes (Rule 12)	Legislative Materials (Rule 13)
Administrative and Executive Materials (Rule 15)	Treatises (Rule 15)	Periodicals (Rule 16)	Internet (Rule 18)
Other Resources

General Tips:

• Look at the FRONT inside cover for quick reference for law review footnotes. Inside are sample citations and corresponding rules. (Do not use the back cover or BluePages section, which provides samples for practitioners.)
• Check citations (particularly difficult or obscure ones) against the same or similar citations in other law reviews or journals that use the Bluebook e.g. the Columbia Law Review, the Harvard Law Review, the University of Pennsylvania Law Review, and the Yale Law Journal. You should check a recent law review article as some Bluebook rules have changed over time. See Susan W. Fox, Citation Form: Getting it Right, 74 FLA. B.J. 85 (2000).
  
• Use the detailed index at the back to find the exact citation format you are looking for.
• Keep in mind that the primary purpose of a footnote is to enable the reader to locate the source material.
• Be aware of the rules governing order of citations in footnotes, signals and parentheticals.

Format of the Bluebook

The Bluebook is divided into numbered rules dealing with citation of particular types of material as follows. The BluePages at the beginning are Practitioners' and Law Clerks' Notes and do not follow Law Review citation style, so refer to the detailed white pages and the tables. Appendixes at the back of the Bluebook provide jurisdictional tables and abbreviations. These have been greatly expanded in the 18th edition; they are white with a blue stripe down the right side of the page.

Generally, Massachusetts is used in state examples. In addition, we have provided links to online and print resources describing the Bluebook and resources distinguishing the Bluebook and ALWD. For more specific information, it is important to check the Bluebook itself.

Cases (Rule 10)

In Footnotes:

• Supreme Court Case:
  Baker v. General Motors Corp., 522 U.S. 222, 228 (1998).
• Federal Court of Appeals Case:
  In re. Equip. Servs., Inc., 290 F.2d 739 (4th Cir. 2002), aff'd sub nom., Lamie v. U.S. Trustee, 124 S. Ct. 1023 (2004).
• Federal District Court Case (published):
  Phillips v. Pembroke Real Estate, Inc., 288 F. Supp. 2d 89 (D. Mass. 2003).
• Federal District Court Case (unpublished):
  Grim v. Murphy, No. 03-11542, slip op. at 7 (D. Mass. Oct. 24, 2003).
• State High Court Case:
  Wesson v. Leone Enters., Inc., 774 N.E.2d 611 (Mass. 2002).
• State Appeals Court Case:
  Korper v. Weinstein, 783 N.E.2d 877 (Mass. App. Ct. 2003).
• Electronic Cite:
  Machado v. Leahy, No. BRCV200200514, 2004 WL 233335, at *5 (Mass. Super. Jan. 3, 2004).

Parenthetical information (Rule 10.6.1):

• Dissenting opinion:
  Peterson v. Comm'r of Revenue, 806 N.E.2d 78, 86 (Mass. 2004) (Marshall, C.J., dissenting).
• Parenthetical information about weight of authority:
  Commonwealth v. Gallego, 772 N.E.2d 587 (2002) (unpublished table decision).

In Text:

Rules for citing case names in text are substantially similar to those for footnotes, except that case names are italicized.

In Buckhannon Bd. and Care Home, Inc. v. West Virginia Dept. of Health, 532 U.S. 598 (2001), the Supreme Court held that a party did not qualify as a "prevailing party" for purposes of recovering attorneys' fees where the other party voluntarily agreed to change their behavior.

Do not use abbreviations from table T.6 for case names in text; the only abbreviations you can use are the eight listed in Rule 10.2.1(c).

Constitutions (Rule 11)

• United States Constitution:
  U.S. Const. art. III, § 2.
• United States Constitution (Amendment):
  U.S. Const. amend. XX, § 4.
• State Constitution:
  Mass. Const. pt. 1, art. XII.

Note: The only short citation that can be used with constitutions is id.

Statutes (Rule 12)

In Footnotes:

• Federal Code:
  42 U.S.C. §§ 12101-12213 (2000).
• Federal Code (name and section number):
  Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act of 1980 § 3, 42 U.S.C. § 1997a (2000).
• Federal Session Law:
  Magnuson-Moss Warranty-Federal Trade Commission Improvement Act (Lemon Law), Pub. L. No. 93-637, 88 Stat. 2183 (codified at 15 U.S.C. §§ 2301-2312 (2000)).
• Internal Revenue Code:
  I.R.C. § 162 (2000).
• State Code:
  Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 93A, § 105 (1997 & Supp. 2003).
• State Session Law:
  Act of June 13, 1946, No. 537, § 11, 1946 Mass. Acts 537, 569 (codified as amended at Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 56, § 59 (1991)).

In Text:

Statutes in textual discussions are in plain text. U.S.C. may be abbreviated but names of acts and state statutes are not. The § becomes the word "section." For more information, see the table in Rule 12.9 (p.113) of the Bluebook.

Legislative materials (Rule 13)

In Footnotes:

• Federal Bill:
  Can-Spam Act of 2003, S. 877, 108th Cong. § 3 (2003).
• Federal Resolution:
  H.R.J. Res. 22, 107th Cong. (2001).
• Federal Committee Hearing:
  Benefits for U.S. Victims of International Terrorism: Hearing on S. 1275 Before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, 108th Cong. 2-5 (2003) (statement of William H. Taft, IV, Legal Advisor, Dept. of State).
• Federal Report:
  H.R. Rep. No. 99-226, at 8 (1985), reprinted in 1985 U.S.C.C.A.N. 278, 289.
• Federal Congressional Debate:
  150 Cong. Rec. S1195, S1198 (statement of Sen. Bond).
• State Bill:
  H.R. 344, 183rd Gen. Ct. (Mass. 2003).

Note 1: The short citation for legislative materials omits information about number of congress and date, e.g. H.R. 22. A short cite can only be used if a full citation can be found in one of the preceeding 5 footnotes (Rule 13.7(c)).

Note 2: In the text of an article abbreviations for legislative materials are not used, e.g. a senate bill would be referred to as as Senate Bill 223.

Administrative and executive materials (Rule 14)

In Footnotes:

• Executive Orders:
  Exec. Order No. 13,083, 3 C.F.R. 137 (1998).
• Federal Regulation (in Code of Federal Regulations):
  FEC Sunshine Regulations, 11 C.F.R. § 2 (2003).
• Federal Regulation (specific section and subsection in Code of Federal Regulations):
  8 C.F.R. § 240.58(b) (2003).
• Treasury Regulations:
  Treas. Reg. § 1.170A-6 (as amended in 2001).
• Federal Register Citation (Final Regulation):
  H.I.P.A.A. Enforcement Rule, 68 Fed. Reg. 18,895 (April 17, 2003) (to be codified at 45 C.F.R. pt. 160).
• Federal Register Citation (Proposed Rule):
  Department of Homeland Security Human Resources Management System, 69 Fed. Reg. 8,029 (proposed February 20, 2004) (to be codified at 5 C.F.R. pt. 9701).
• Administrative Decisions:
  Albertson's, Inc., 332 N.L.R.B. 1132 (2000).
• Tax Court Decisions:
  Fono v. Commissioner, 79 T.C. 680 (1982).
• Revenue Rulings:
  Rev. Rul. 95-55, 1995-2 C.B. 313.

Note: In the text of an article, a C.F.R. section is cited Title, C.F.R., part, section, and subsection. Regulations in the Federal Register can be cited by name (see the table in Rule 14.4 (p.137)).

Treatises (Rule 15)

• One author:
  Russ VerSteeg, Law in the Ancient World 65 (2002).
• Two authors:
  Victor E. Schwartz & Evelyn F. Rowe, Comparative Negligence 22 (2002).
• Three or more authors:
  Rebecca J. Cook et al., Reproductive Health and Human Rights: Integrating Medicine, Ethics, and Law 56-64 (2003).
• Chapter in Collection:
  Patricia F. Julianelle, Children Affected by Domestic Violence: Safety at School and School Restraining Orders, in Protecting Children in a Changing World: Advocacy Strategies for Children's Rights 32, 35-39 (Susan F. Cole et al. eds., 2003).

Periodicals (including Law Reviews) (Rule 16)

• Non-Student Law Review article:
  Jack Greenberg, Diversity, the University, and the World Outside,103 Columbia L. Rev. 610 (2003).
• Student-Authored Law Review article (signed):
  David C. Fortney, Note, Thinking Outside the "Black Box": Tailored Enforcement in Environmental Criminal Law, 81 Texas L. Rev. 1609 (2003).
• Student-Authored Law Review article (unsigned):
  Case Comment, Antitrust Scrutiny of Monopolists' Innovations: Berkey Photo, Inc. v. Eastman Kodak Co., 93 Harvard L. Rev. 408 (1979).
• Magazine article:
  Gene Epstein, In the School of Life When Will We See Ph.D's in Common Sense?, Barron's, June 18, 2001, at 34, 36.
• Newspaper article:
  Charles Lane, Law Curbing U.S.-Funded Attorneys is Rejected, ; Wash. Post, Mar. 1, 2001, at A4.

Internet and online citation (rule 18)

Rule 18 of the bluebook has been expanded for the 19th edition.  The following presents a guide to the rules, including examples.  For any questions, however, please make sure to refer to the 19th edition, as there have been extensive revisions. 

Authenticated documents, exact copies

Rule 18.2.1 allows citation to an authenticated, official, or exact copy of a document as though it is the original print source, without appended URL information.

If the document is practically unavailable, citation should be made as if to the printed source, but indicating the online location of the copy by appending the URL directly to the end of the citation.

Where parallel citations are appropriate, i.e. where it would substantially improve access, citations may be provided introduced with the explanatory phrase available at.

18.2.2 Direct citation to internet sources:

• Known author: Eric Posner, More on Section 7 of the Torture Convention, The Volokh Conspiracy (Jan. 29, 2009, 10:04 AM), http://www.volokh.com/posts/1233241458.shtml
• No author: Pavement Planning New Album Release, Glide Magazine (Nov. 06, 2009), http://www.glidemagazine.com/articles/55317/pavement-planning-new-album-release.html.
• Institutional author: The Butterfly Conservatory, Am. Museum of Natural History, http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/butterflies/?src=h_h (last visited Nov. 25, 2009).
• No Institutional Author Necessary (obvious from domain name): Dunkin’ Donuts, http://www.dunkindonuts.com (last visited Feb. 1, 2009)
• Comments: Martinned, Comment to More on Section 7 of the torture Convention, The Volokh Conspiracy(Jan. 29, 2009, 11:02 AM), http://www.volokh.com/posts/1233241458.shtml

18.2.2(c) Date and Time

The date should be provided  as it appears on the internet site.  If there is no date associated with the specific subject matter, “last updated” or “last modified” dates should be supplied ina  parenthetical after the URL.  Where the material is undated, the date that the website was last visited should be placed in a parenthetical after the URL. 

Blogs and other frequently updated sites should incude a timestamp.  When the citation is to a comment, or is otherwise identifiable by the time, the timestamp noted on the comment should be used.

18.2.2 (d) The URL

Where possible cite to the entire URL as it appears in the address bar.  If the URL is unwieldy, or if the source can only be accessed by submitting a query, explain how to access the specific information. 

• E.g. http://wjsrc.urban.org/noframe/wqs/q_data_1.htm#2001 (follow “2001: AOUSC out” hperlink; then follow “Offenses: TTSECMO” hyperlink)

18.3 Commercial Electronic Databases

18.3.1 Cases: A citation should include the name of the case, the docket number, the unique document identifier (if the database provides one – Westlaw, Lexis, and Bloomberg do), screen or page number preceded by an asterisk, court name, and full date of the decision. 

• e.g. Shelton v. City of Manhattan Beach, no. B171606, 2004 WL 2163741 at *1 (Cal. Ct. App. Sept. 28, 2004). 

If the name of the database is not clear, include it parenthetically at the end of the citation

• e.g. Staats v. Brown, No. 65681-9, 2000 WA 0042007 ¶ 25 (Wash. Jan. 6, 2000) (VersusLaw)

18.3.2 Constitutions and Statutes: Cite constitutions and statutes according to rule 12.  In the date parenthetical, give the name of the publisher, and the name of the database and currency information. 

• e.g. Wash. Const. art. 1, § 2 (West, Westlaw through Nov. 2003 amendments).

18.3.3 Legislative, Administrative and Executive Materials: Cite according to rules 13 and 14.  Following the citation, include any unique identifying codes – i.e. the WL or LEXIS number.  If the name of the database is unclear, include it in a parenthetical at the end of the citation.

• e.g. FTC Credit Practices Rule, 16 C.R.R. § 444.1 (2000), WL 16 CFR s 444.1
• e.g. H.R. 3781, 104th Cong. § 2(b) (1996) 1996 CONG US HR 3781 (Westlaw)

18.3.4 Books, Periodicals, and Other Secondary Materials: cite according to rules 15-17, and include a citation to the database following “available at.”  Include any unique identifying number.

• e.g. Justice Minister Calls for Solving Int’l Legal Conflicts, Japan Econ. Newswire Plus, April 22, 1991, at 1, available at DIALOG, File No. 612.

Resources explaining Bluebook Citation:

• Introduction to Basic Legal Citation (LII 2007)
  An excellent website authored by Peter Martin of Cornell University providing information on both Bluebook and ALWD citation, along with many examples.

Resources distinguishing the ALWD Manual and the Bluebook:

• Comparison of Selected ALWD and Bluebook Rules
  A helpful chart provided by Hastings College of Law outlining differences between ALWD citation format and Bluebook format.

• The Bluebook and ALWD: Citing Basic Secondary and Primary Sources
  Examples of basic ALWD citations and corresponding Bluebook citations. Prepared by a Boston University reference librarian.

Foreign Law Resources:

Rule 20 in the Bluebook deals with foreign materials, and has been greatly expanded in the 19th edition. Rule 21 has been completely rewritten and provides citation conventions in the foreign and international legal fields.

• International Legal Citation Manual
  The editors of the Global Studies Law Review at Washington University are developing a manual for international citation with links to citations for legal materials from various countries worldwide.

Print Resources:

• Dworsky, Alan L., User's Guide to the Bluebook (2006) (RESERVE: KF245 .D853 2006) (Revised for the 18th edition).

Note: There are several online Bluebook tutorials, e.g. the Interactive Citation Workshop by Lexis or the CALI lesson, "Citation Form for Briefs and Legal Memoranda." However, all of these are geared toward the practitioner. Therefore, you will need to be careful in using them.