How to Cite Legal Materials Follow the Bluebook style, as closely as you can. Below are examples based on the 18th edition of the Bluebook.
For more help and explanations, consult the latest edition of The Bluebook: A uniform system of citation, kept at
the Reference Desk [ KF 245. B88 ], or ask your professor.
For an APA style reference list, treat legal citations as works with no authors. Order them alphabetically
according to the first significant word or abbreviation in the entry.
► COURT CASES
The Supreme Court first applied the exclusionary rule to a state case in Mapp v. Ohio.
Reference list entry
Mapp v. Ohio, 367 U.S. 643 (1961) That is, the case was published in volume 367 of the U.S. reporter, starting on page 643.
If you are citing a particular page of a case, give the page number, e.g to indicate page 670 of this case:
Mapp v. Ohio, 367 U.S. 643, 670 (1961) Example 1. Text citation
Example 2. Text citation
Reference list entry
As federal Judge Bue asserted in Sierra Club v. Froehlke (1987),
Sierra Club v. Froehlke, 816 F.2d 205 (5th Cir. 1987)
Example 3. Text citation
The Supreme Court recognized in Durflinger v. Artiles (1981/1984) a duty of care to protect third parties from the dangers presented by an involuntary mental patient in state custody.
Reference list entry
Durflinger V. Artiles, 563 F.Supp. 322 (D.Kan. 1981), aff’d, 727 F.2d 888 (10th Cir.1984). Example 4. Reference list entry for an international law case available on the internet
The Prosecutor v. Clément Kayishema and Obed Ruzindana (Trial Judgement), ICTR‐95‐1‐T, International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), 21 May 1999, available at: http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/48abd5760.html ► STATUTES
In your text, give the popular or official name of the act and the year it was passed. Each word of the statute is
capitalized but not italicized.
Text citation To prevent people with disabilities from being discriminated against in the workplace, Congress passed the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Reference list entry for the 1990 statute (session law)
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, Pub. L. No. 101‐336, § 2, 104 Stat 328 (1991) Reference list entry for the current unofficial code, as published by commercial publisher
Equal Opportunity for Individuals with Disabilities, 42 U.S.C.A. § 12101 et seq. (West, 2005). Reference list entry for the current official code 42 U.S.C. § 12101 (2006) ►CONSTITUTIONS
E.g. for section 2 of the 14th amendment to the U.S. constitution: U.S. Const. amend. XIV, § 2. E.g. for section 12 of article 1 of a state constitution: S.C. Const. art. 1,§ 12. Text citation
► TESTIMONY AND HEARINGS
One of the most constructive steps that Washington could take to help families (Urban America’s Need, 1992) would be to …
Reference list entry
Urban America’s Need for Social Services to Strengthen Families: Hearing before the Subcommittee on Human Resources of the Committee on Ways and Means, House of Representatives, 102d Cong., 1 (1992). ► BILLS AND RESOLUTIONS
The number of a bill or resolution should be preceded by H.R. (House of Representatives) or S. (Senate).
Text citations Senate Bill 5936 (1992) might be the most important for providing funding to assist low‐income housing. One of the bills (S. 5936, 1992) would provide desperately needed operating funding to support low‐income housing. Reference list entry
S. 5936, 102d Cong. § 4 (1992)
Text citation
►EXECUTIVE ORDER
Under the authority of Executive Order 11609 (1994), the information should be provided…
Reference list entry
Exec. Order No. 11,609, 3 C.F.R. 586 (1971‐1975), reprinted as amended in 3 U.S.C. 301 app. at 404‐07 (1994). Text citation
Reference list entry
►FEDERAL REGULATION
This provision of FTC Credit Practices Rule (1999) affects only …
FTC Credit Practices Rule, 16 C.F.R. § 444 (1999)
►LAW REVIEW ARTICLE (note: Bluebook style differs from APA style)
Harriman, Edward, Confiscation of Enemy Private Property, 3 B. U. L. Rev. 156 (1923). ►TREATIES
Between 3 or fewer countries Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation U.S.‐Japan, Apr. 2, 1953, 4 U.S.T. 2063. Multilateral Geneva Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War, Aug. 12, 1949, 6 U.S.T. 3316, 75 U.N.T.S. 135. ►DOCUMENTS ON THE INTERNET
Cite as usual, followed by the URL if the item is only available on the internet:
Citation to a slip opinion available on the internet
Granite Rock Co. v. Teamsters, No. 08‐1214, slip op. (U.S. June 24, 2010), http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/09pdf/08‐1214.pdf Put “available at” in italics before the URL if the document is in print, but a parallel citation to an online
source would improve access for your reader:
Geneva Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War, Aug. 12, 1949, 6 U.S.T. 3316, 75 U.N.T.S. 135, available at http://www.icrc.org/ihl.nsf/FULL/375?OpenDocument [ES 8/2010. based on MK 2002]