The Bluebook: Uniform Citation for Legal Reference
The Bluebook style guide was established in 1926 and is compiled by the editors of the
Columbia Law Review, the Harvard Law Review, the University of Pennsylvania Law Review,
and The Yale Law Journal (2010). To learn more about this citation, please click here.
When to cite legal sources
When you rely on and use legal sources and legal
authorities in your own work, The Bluebook
provides a systematic citation form to cite, or
attribute, outside references.
Figure 1. The Supreme Court of the United
States of America.
Legal citation follows the discussion from the
source: It is clear that only personal rights that can
be deemed "fundamental" or "implicit in the
concept of ordered liberty” are guaranteed
personal privacy Palko v. Connecticut, 302 U.S.
319, 325 (1937).
How to cite legal sources
The order of the citation is important because each part identifies something in the
reference that can lead the reader to the original source as you found it.
Each legal source has its own particular order to follow and specific information that must be
included in the citation. Please consult The Bluebook for additional information.
According to The
Bluebook’s
website,
generations of
judges, lawyers,
legal scholars, and
paralegals have
used this citation
style for over 80
years!
In fact, you can
take interactive
tours of The
Bluebook that
showcase topics
such as how to
search and find
citation guidance
quickly, how to
familiarize
yourself with The
Bluebook, and
how to use
authoritative tips
from the Editors.
How to cite cases
A general case citation is as follows: Tom Reed Gold
Mines Co. v. United E. Mining Co., 39 Ariz. 533 (1932).
Always underline or italicize case names:
Smith Corp. v. Doe Inc.
The “v.” is lowercase, is followed by a period, and is
not “vs.”:
Paradise v. Parker,
Follow case names by a comma, which is not
underlined or italicized:
Arizona v. Fulminante,
Figure 2. Judge's gavel and American flag.
These video
tutorials come in
high-resolution
and mediumresolution
formats. To take
these tours,
please click here
to find a list of
videos and topics.
Kaplan University Writing Center Resource Library  Bluebook Citation Primer by Deborah Zeringue  October 2010  Page 1
How to Cite Cases?
Do not include parties' first names, unless they are the name of a corporation:
Baker v. John Smith Inc.,
If there is more than one plaintiff or defendant, use only the first party on each side.
Do not abbreviate United States in a case name:
United States v. Michigan,
Some words may be abbreviated, but do not abbreviate them if they are the first word of a party.
Refer to the Bluebook for common abbreviations.
How to Cite Federal Cases?
U.S. Supreme Court: Cite to U.S. If it's not yet published there, cite to S. Ct., L. Ed., U.S.L.W., or
LEXIS, in that order of preference. Do not include parallel cites:
Smith & Jones, Inc. v. Couch, 401 U.S. 313 (1985).
U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeal: Cite to F., F.2d, or F.3d. Note no space between the F. and the
number. Include the circuit in the cite:
Davis v. Everett, 102 F.2d 24 (9th Cir. 1954).
U.S. District Courts: Cite to F. Supp. Note the space between the F. and the Supp. Include the
district in the cite:
Flanders v. Glissandi, 913 F. Supp. 885 (C.D. Cal. 1996).
How to Cite State Cases?
Cite to the regional reporter. Include the court in the citation:
Hoyt, Inc. v. Irving-Johnson Corp., 425 P.2d 976 (Cal. App. 1976).
Kearney v. Lovejoy, 777 P.2d 1024 (Cal. 1993).
How to Cite Cases Available Only in Lexis?
Vaughn v. Wilson, No. 95-124, 1995 U.S. Sup. Ct. LEXIS 3255, at *16 (1995).
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How to Cite Quotations?
Always give the exact page of a quote (i.e. pinpoint citation), even when paraphrasing:
"The Fourth Amendment protects people, not places." Katz v. United States, 375 U.S. 76, 82
(1965).
How to Cite Statutes?
Federal Statutes: Cite to United States Code (U.S.C., the official citation) or U.S.C.A. (the unofficial,
annotated version of the United States Code). To learn more about the difference between U.S.C.
and U.S.C.A. citation, please review Hofstra Law School’s helpful handout.
12 U.S.C. § 1986 (West 1996).
12 U.S.C.A. § 1986 (1996).
State Statutes: The form varies by state.
Cal. Pen. Code § 187 (West 1989).
Neb. Stat. Ann. § 212-414(b) (West 1990).
A.R.S. § 1-101 (2005).
How to Cite Constitutions and Amendments?
Federal:
U.S. Const. amend. XX
U.S. Const. art. I, § 2, cl. 3
State:
Cal. Const. art. XIV
How to Cite Secondary Sources?
Books: John Knight, A Jury of Twelve, 225 (1st. ed. 2001).
Periodicals: Mary A. Jones, The Best of Trial Briefs, 28 Neb. L. Rev. 102 (2006).
Kaplan University Writing Center Resource Library  Bluebook Citation Primer by Deborah Zeringue  October 2010  Page 3
Encyclopedias: 16 C.J.S. Evidence § 12 (1996).
Dictionaries: Black's Law Dictionary, 826 (7th ed. 1998).
Annotations: Tom McCannon, Annotation, Searches and Warrants, 79 A.L.R.2d 1257 (1995).
How to Cite Court Rules?
Federal:
Fed. R. Civ. P. 12 (b)(6).
Fed. R. Crim. P. 7(b).
State:
Haw. Fam. Ct. R. 106.
N.J. Ct. R. 3:8-3.
How to Cite Electronic Sources?
American Bar Association. Section on Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar. Legal Education
and Bar Admission Statistics, 1963 – 2005, available at http://www.abanet.org/legaled/stats.html,
(last visited Oct. 18, 2006).
Miscellaneous Tips and Tricks
When a cite is in the middle of a sentence, follow it with a comma.
In Yon v. Sambaed, 421 U.S. 119 (1992), the Supreme Court held that …
When a cite is at the end of a sentence, follow it with a period.
This decision was overruled in Ankeny v. Burnside, 102 F.2d 65 (3d Cir. 1942).
When you have a string cite (several cases cited in a row) separate the cases with semicolons. Cite
federal cases first, then state cases, and cite higher courts before lower ones.
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Several courts have held that the sun rises in the east. Caruthers v. Druid, 414 U.S. 9 (1992);
Major v. Minor, 2 F. Supp. 1245 (S.D.N.Y. 1912); California v. Parker, 421 P.2d 198 (Cal. App.
1978).
To delete one or more words within a quote, use ellipses. At the end of a sentence, follow the
ellipses by a period.
"The time has come … to talk of many things." Lewis Caroll, Alice in Wonderland 56 (1872).
Never start a sentence with ellipses. If you start a quote in the middle of a sentence, or if you
substitute letters or words in a sentence, use brackets.
"[M]y troubles seemed so far away." Paul McCartney, Yesterday 2 (1966).
When one authority is quoting from another, indicate it.
"Citations stink." Brennan v. Marshall, 102 F. Supp. 1234, 1236 (D. Mass. 1984) (quoting
Scalia v. Thomas, 313 U.S. 653, 655 (1976)).
For more information about legal citation, please see The Bluebook.
Kaplan University Writing Center Resource Library  Bluebook Citation Primer by Deborah Zeringue  October 2010  Page 5