For example, under the entries for arizona you have. Use small caps to write united states constitution. Do not abbreviate united states if that is the partys whole name. Statutes bluebook legal citation tarlton law library. Name of the case underlined or italicized and abbreviated according to rule 10. Error to the circuit court for the district of kentucky. There are quite a few rules in the ap stylebook for state names and ap style state abbreviations. In wi, the official code is the wisconsin statutes. Abbreviations bluebooking tips and resources libguides at. The following citation resources may be informative.
The district courts were established by congress under article iii of the united states constitution. Bluebook questions possible not safe for honor code. Thus far, this guide has described how to cite cases in long form, i. The term dates back to the 15th century, when large blue velvetcovered books were used for recordkeeping by the parliament of the united kingdom. United states is the only federal court to officially report its cases. You should give the statutes name and original section number only if it is commonly cited that way or if it would aid the identification of the statue. The bluebook requires citation only to the official report supreme court opinions are also published in three unofficial reporters. Cases bluebook legal citation tarlton law library at. When citing supreme court cases, you must cite to the official supreme court reporter, united states reports. Omit the as the first word of a partys name unless it is part of the name of the object of an in rem action. One of the keys to citing statutes properly is knowing where to find the proper legal citation abbreviations. All of the information you need to properly abbreviate state courts and state court reporters is in table t. In its publications, the mla uses the abbreviation us.
The most popular abbreviation for united states of america is. The associated press stylebook, the usage guide for most united states newspapers, counsels the use of abbreviations for most state names, when appended to a city name for example, santa ana, calif. When the united states is a party, do not abbreviate it. But before getting into that, lets get it out of the way first to note that if your usage of the country name is a noun, spell it out rather than abbreviating it. I made a failing grade on a united states map when i was a sixthgrader 1964 because i used an informational document from the post office to label the states. The blue book of united states history hardcover january 1, 1927 by blue book author see all formats and editions hide other formats and editions. Take a look at the list below to find which common words in case names are abbreviated according to the bluebook and how you should abbreviate them. Deciding court, jurisdiction date of decision united states v. The most popular abbreviation for united states is. A uniform system of citation is a legal style guide.
State abbreviations bb alwd ib state abbreviations 1. Also abbreviate states and united states when they are in the name of the author of a book, article, report, letter, speech, and so forth. Listed below are some guidelines to help you choose the proper abbreviation. Capitalizing the word states when using the word states or the states in writing, the capitalization of states will. The bluebook treats agency andor organization abbreviations as optional while at the same time treating the. United states supreme court how is united states supreme. Citations in textual sentences or citation sentences. As of march 2014, cases decided on or before october 3, 2008 are available in united states reports. The series number is an essential part of the title. Price new from used from hardcover, 1927 please retry.
Welcome to the state and local documents task force sldtf guide for state blue books and state encyclopedias. The courts hear civil and criminal cases, and each is paired with a bankruptcy court. Government printing office style manual says that united states should be spelled out unless it is used as an adjective for government intentionally capitalized, a government agency, or a general noun, in which case the abbreviation should include periods. The extent to which it might be advisable to use the full form will depend on the formality of the document in which it appears. Case name abbreviations table 6 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z. United states or geographical units listed in table 10 if the full name of the party. It is a composite of those contained in the bluebook and the alwd guide to legal. What should you abbreviate when short citing a case.
Hat tip to eva resnicow, aka editrix lex, who brought this bluebook change to my attention since the eighteenth edition, the bluebook has included internal quotation marks omitted among the parenthetical expressions listed in rule 5. Citing cases bluebook rules dulaneybrowne library at. That is the bluebook rule addressing the broader question of how to signal any number of alterations a writer might make to a. In case names, spell out states and united states only when they are the whole case name. However, if the sentence contains the name of another country, the. You can either spell out united states or abbreviate it, with periods or without. United states sanitary commission civil war era forerunner of the red cross.
Bluebook rule 10 covers how cases should be cited in legal documents. Even though the question of how to abbreviate the united states seems straightforward, as it happens, theres more than one preferred way to write it. If a states name is standing alone or in conjunction with a city or town in your text, spell out the entire states name. Note also that apa style guidelines prefer the use of united states as a noun over america, and u. Trustee or united states trustee, but, representing the united states. A new edition of the official united states code is published every six years, with a cumulative supplement published annually. In this post, we will summarize all of the ap stylebook state abbreviations rules.
Name of the case underlined or italicized and abbreviated. Practices among publishers vary, however, and it is not incorrect to use u. Common abbreviations legal citation research guides at. According to wikipedia blue book or bluebook is a term often referring to an almanac or other compilation of statistics and information. The united states has more pet dogs than any other country in the world. State blue books and encyclopedias home libguides at.
According to rule 11, abbreviate united states as u. The abbreviation for the court is in the parenthetical after the name of the court. Abbreviate the words in t6 and geographical units according to t10. These tables give the various abbreviations for the u. Common mistakes bluebook citations libguides at william s. If you have any further questions regarding this issue, please contact our customer services counter at 602 3227200 or 520 2054200. The main rule that describes the short form for cases is rule 10. It is used in most united states law schools and court systems to properly cite and abbreviate court cases in parenthetical citation sentences of legal documents. To cite to a case in the united states reports, list the following five elements in order. The correct parenthetical for a seventh circuit case is 7th cir.
Supreme court case, you must cite to the official reporter, the united states reports, if the case is published therein table 1, p. How to abbreviate united states erin wright writing. In other words, all three of the examples below are correct, and you can choose the style that you like best. Initialisms are abbreviations that are pronounced one letter at a. Bt2 jurisdictionspecific citation rules and style guides.
Cases bluebook legal citation tarlton law library at tarlton law. Federal courts bluebook guide guides at georgetown law. In addition, abbreviate any state or smaller geographic unit included in a. Abbreviate states, countries, and other geographical units according to table t10 unless the geographical unit is a named party. The mla prefers to spell out the name united states in the main text of a work, in both adjective and noun forms. The small caps option is found in the font section of most word processing programs. These regional reporters contain appellate case law from all 50 states plus the district of columbia. Initialisms and acronyms are two types of abbreviations that are used to shorten phrases. Versus is first recorded in english, in a legal context, in the midfifteenth century. Ap suggests spelling out the names of alaska, hawaii, and all states with five or fewer letters. The number of district courts in a court of appeals circuit varies between one and thirteen, depending on. Because you will often cite a case and other legal materials multiple times in a document, the bluebook has established a short form for use in subsequent citations.
A citation to a case in the united states reports includes the following five elements. Small caps are different than all caps, and to properly cite an amendment to the united state constitution, you must use small caps. West publishes seven 7 regional reporters as part of the national reporter system. List of united states district and territorial courts. United states reports only publishes cases decided by the united states, thus united states reports cna only refer to a u. Part of the reason this issue is so confusing is that. Consult the blue pages, rule b12, if you are writing a brief or memo. Codes contain the statutes currently in force in a jurisdiction and are arranged topically. Never abbreviate united states when it is a named party. Also, abbreviate geographical units according to table 10 unless the geographical unit is the entire name of the party. The first nine rules in the bluebook apply to all of the other rules and they are all about style.
A full citation works well in a textual sentence as well as a citation sentence. West also publishes the california reporter and the new york supplement, which contain appellate case law from california and new york. Appeals from the district courts are made to one of the courts of appeals, organized geographically. How to cite the amendments in bluebook format legal beagle. According to, an abbreviation is a shortened or contracted form of a word or phrase, used to represent the whole, as dr. If possible, you should cite to the current official code or the supplement. Below is the list of standard docket text abbreviations adopted by this court, as well as a list of abbreviation codes for u. I hate the post offices twoletter state abbreviations. Bluebook guide 20th ed powerpoint from penn state law. United states may, but need not, be abbreviated as u. This article explains the capitalization of state names. Federal courts bluebook guide guides at georgetown law library.
1632 769 1518 833 1520 1641 1361 125 1362 1300 1257 494 1078 49 1570 792 554 637 794 633 565 251 1444 1340 939 1111 749 384 1129 858 1197 57 1014 663 1361 1270 1115 347 618 312 1105 913 856 1461 163