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Bluebooking 101

A legal citation follows a standard format which allows a lawyer to refer to legal authority so that other lawyers or judges can locate the document. It involves abbreviations which almost amount to a form of code. A legal citation seeks to identify the

Secondary Sources

American Law Reports, R.16.7.6 at 156

  1. Author’s full name
  2. The title of the article (italics)
  3. The volume number
  4. The abbreviated name/series
  5. The page number at which the article begins
  6. Pinpoint cite, if applicable
  7. The year the A.L.R. article was published (in parenthesis)
  8. Example: H. H. Henry, Annotation, Liability For Injury To Property Inflicted By Wild Animal, 57 A.L.R.2d 242 (1958)

Books, R15, at 138

  1. Volume number, if applicable
  2. Author’s full name
  3. The title of the book (underlined – not in the 18th)
  4. The section number or paragraph number or page number
  5. Edition number, if applicable (in parenthesis)
  6. The year of publication (in parenthesis w the edition number)
  7. Example: K.N. Llewellyn and E. Adamson Hoebel, The Cheyenne Way 141 (1941).

Encyclopedias, Page 17; R15.8, at 144

  1. The title or volume number
  2. The abbreviated name of the encyclopedia
  3. The title of the article (italicized)
  4. The section number or page number
  5. The year of the edition cited (in parenthesis)
  6. Example: 4 Am. Jur. 2d Animals § 96 (1995)

Periodicals, R.16, at 147

  1. Author’s full name
  2. The title of the article (italics)
  3. The volume number of the law review
  4. The abbreviated name of the law review
  5. The page number at which the article begins
  6. The year the law review was published (in parenthesis)
  7. Example: Peter Morrisette, Is There Room for Free-Roaming Bison in Greater Yellowstone, 27 Ecology Law Quarterly 467 (2000)