FEDERAL CITATION CHEAT SHEET Federal District Court Cases Smith v. Jones, 157 F. Supp. 2d 189, 200 (D. Mass. 1989). Case Name General Rules for case names are at Bluebook pages 96-103. Case names are underlined or in italics. When placing a citation after the end of the sentence, abbreviate words according to Table 6. But, when placing a citation in the text of a sentence, only a few common terms are abbreviated: &, Ass’n, Bros., Co., Corp., Inc., Ltd., and No. (See Bluebook p. 99.) Reporter To the extent that they are published, district court cases are usually found in the Federal Supplement (first, second, or third series). Spacing is: [space]F.[space]Supp.[space]2d[space] Rules for spacing between abbreviations can be found on Bluebook pages 87-88. Important note: District The spacing shown is required for Bluebook form. But, there is now an exception for documents filed with the court for which there is a word limit. In such cases, you may “scrunch” all of the characters in the reporter abbreviations together. There is always a “D.” for district. If there is only one district court in the state, there is only a “D.” But, in states with more than one district, the “D.” is proceeded by another initial to indicate the district within the state. There is never a space between the letters indicating the district. For example: S.D. - Southern District N.D.- Northern District C.D. - Central District M.D. - Middle District State Names of states are abbreviated using the abbreviations in Table 10. There is a space between the district and the state, unless the state abbreviation is two one-letter initials. See Bluebook pages 87-88. S.D.N.Y. S.D.[space]Cal. Year The year is always included in the parenthesis. United States Court of Appeals Cases Smith v. Jones, 157 F.3d 189, 200 (9th Cir. 1989). Case Name Same as district court cases. Reporter To the extent that they are published, Court of Appeals cases are found in the Federal Reporter (first, second, or third series). There is no space between the “F.” and the series number (2d or 3d). Circuit Always indicate the circuit. There is a space between “Cir.” and the circuit number. The ordinal indicating the circuit number does not use superscript. Year The year is always included in the parenthesis. United States Supreme Court Cases Smith v. Jones, 157 U.S. 189, 200 (1989). Case Name Same as district court cases. Reporter All United States Supreme Court cases are published. Cite to United States Reports, if therein. Otherwise, cite to reporters as listed on Bluebook page 227. Year The year is always included in the parenthesis. CALIFORNIA CITATION CHEAT SHEET California Court of Appeal Cases Smith v. Jones, 157 Cal. App. 4th 189, 200 (2015). Case Name General Rules for case names are at Bluebook pages 96-103. Case names are underlined or in italics. When placing a citation after the end of the sentence, abbreviate words according to Table 6. Except when placing a citation in the text of a sentence, only a few common terms are abbreviated: &, Ass'n, Bros., Co. Corp., Inc., Ltd., and No. (See Bluebook p. 99.) Reporter The official reporter for the California Court of Appeal is California Appellate Reports, abbreviated as “Cal. App.” (series one to five). Spacing is: [space]Cal.[space]App.[space]2d[space] Rules for spacing between abbreviations can be found on Bluebook pages 87-88. Important note: The spacing shown is required for Bluebook form. But, there is now an exception for documents filed with the court for which there is a word limit. In such cases, you may “scrunch” all of the characters in the reporter abbreviations together. California Rules of Court, rule 3.1113(c) requires citations be to the “official reporter.” Local rules take priority over the Bluebook’s Table One. Year Only the year is included in the parenthesis. California Supreme Court Cases Smith v. Jones, 157 Cal. 5th 189, 200 (1989). Case Name Same as Court of Appeal. Reporter The official reporter for the California Supreme Court is California Reports, abbreviated as “Cal.” (series one to five). Spacing is: [space]Cal.[space]2d[space] Important note: The spacing shown is required for Bluebook form. But, there is now an exception for documents filed with the court for which there is a word limit. In such cases, you may “scrunch” all of the characters in the reporter abbreviations together. Year Only the year is included in the parenthesis.
