Bluebooking
Do’s and Don’ts
TODD W. NOELLE
FALL 2014
Overview
Footnotes
Cite Pulling/Checking
Bluebook Formatting
Getting Started!
You are responsible for the accuracy and correct form of each citation.
◦ Skim the entire article—see how they use citations and footnotes.
◦ Often, academic authors turn in articles very limited citations.
◦ Find or obtain access to sources:
◦ Student Authors will have uploaded them on the Wiki
◦ SSEs will upload sources for Academic Articles on the Wiki prior to editing process.
Checking & Reflecting Substance
◦ Locate the Source and Verify the citation for accuracy. (This takes time)
Footnotes
Call numbers go after punctuation marks (except colons
and dashes). Rule 1.1(b).
This is sentence one.1
Sentence two contains two call numbers;2 however, only
one of these—this one3—is surprising. Recall one thing4: call numbers precede
colons and dashes.
Footnotes (continued)
Rule of five
◦ If you have not cited the source within the past five footnotes (in full or short
form, including id.), then cite the source in its long form. Rule 10.9.
◦ Note: you can have an unlimited string of id.’s.
◦ Sources in quoting and citing parentheticals are not included in the fivefootnote count.
Signals (Rule 1.2)
Use see (rather than no signal) when the cited authority clearly
supports the proposition, but there is an inferential step between
the authority cited and the proposition it supports. Use see when
you are applying law to the facts in your case.
Any introductory signal except “E.g.” requires an explanatory parenthetical for
the first citation.
Note the Order of Signals, Rule 1.3
Pincites
Pincites point the reader to the best source of the
information.
No pincite is required when “see generally” is used.
Use an en-dash (–) between page ranges
◦ Not a hyphen (-)
◦ Not an em-dash (—)
Parentheticals
Parentheticals are required when:
1. introductory signals are used (except “E.g.”);
2. the pincite is to a large page range (10 or
more pages); or
3. the citation is to a dissenting or concurring
opinion.
Parentheticals (continued)
DJCLPP Convention:
◦ Weight of authority and subsequent history parentheticals
should be omitted unless they are the subject of discussion
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
en banc
in banc
2-1 decision
mem.
per curiam
unpublished table decision
Parentheticals (continued)
Quoting Parentheticals:
◦ Nest parentheticals when a quoting parenthetical itself quotes another
source. Rule 10.6.3.
Kansas v. Crane, 534 U.S. 407, 409 (2002) (“[T]he statutory criterion for
confinement embodied in the statute’s words ‘mental abnormality or
personality disorder’ satisfied ‘substantive’ due process requirements.”
(quoting Kansas v. Hendricks, 521 U.S. 346, 356 (1997))).
Quoted Material (Rules 5.1-5.3)
Accuracy: Make sure the quotation is EXACT
Alterations: Follow the bluebook rules very
carefully.
Block Quotes: Any quote of more than fifty words
should be formatted as a block quote.
Clueless? Missing Source?
1. Check Prior Usage: Look to prior journal editions
or other journals.
2. Bracketed Notes: Anything you need to
communicate to the author or editor should be
typed into the text with a bold, bracketed note
and initials.
3. Ask the EE or the EIC! We’re happy to help!
4. If source is missing, find out why or see if you
can locate it. Inform the EE
Exercise
Which of the following need parentheticals?
◦ A: See Underhill v. Hernadez, 168 U.S. 250, 252 (1897)
◦ B: E.g., 4 WILLIAM BLACKSTONE, COMMENTARIES ON THE LAWS OF ENGLAND 68 (1769)
(emphasis added)
◦ C: Sosa v. Alvarez-Machain, 542 U.S. 692, 732 (2004)
◦ D: See generally BETH STEPHENS ET AL., INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS LITIGATION IN
U.S. COURTS (2d ed. 2008)
A, B, D
But D does not need a pincite
Be Matlock
• Checks Sources for proper
signal use
• Finds the best pincite
• Inserts parentheticals when
needed
Not Barry
• Doesn’t read the article
before starting BTL edits
• Forgets to use em-dashes
• Leaves blank pincites
Case Names (Rule 10.2)
When a case name is first referenced in the text of an article, do not
repeat the case name in its corresponding footnote.
State Cases (10.4 Court and
Jurisdiction)
Omit the name of the court if the court of decision is the
highest court of the state
◦ People v. Armour, 590 N.W.2d 61 (Mich. 1999).
◦ Not: People v. Armour, 590 N.W.2d 61 (Mich. Sup. Ct. 1999).
Omit the jurisdiction and the court abbreviation if
unambiguously conveyed by the reporter title:
◦ DiLucia v. Mandelker, 493 N.Y.S.2d 769 (App. Div. 1985).
◦ Not: DiLucia v. Mandelker, 493 N.Y.S.2d 769 (N.Y. App. Div. 1985).
Unpublished Cases (10.8.1)
Include the FULL date of the decision, not just the year.
Westlaw:
◦ Int'l Snowmobile Mfrs. Ass'n v. Norton, No. 00-CV-229-B, 2004 WL 2337372,
at *3, *7 (D. Wyo. Oct. 14, 2004).
◦ Shelton v. City of Manhattan Beach, No. B171606, 2004 WL 2163741, at *1
(Cal. Ct. App. Sept. 28, 2004).
Lexis:
◦ Gibbs v. Frank, No. 02-3924, 2004 U.S. App. LEXIS 21357, at *18–19 (3d Cir.
Oct. 14, 2004).
◦ Chavez v. Metro. Dist. Comm'n, No. 3:02CV458(MRK), 2004 U.S. Dist. LEXIS
11266, at *5 n.3 (D. Conn. June 1, 2004).
Cases Pending Before the Supreme
Court (10.1)
Equal Emp’t Opportunity Comm’n v. Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical
Lutheran Church and Sch., 597 F.3d 769 (6th Cir. 2010), cert.
granted, 131 S. Ct. 1783 (U.S. Mar. 28, 2011) (No. 10- 553).
Citing Statutes
(Rule 12/DJCLPP Convention)
Journal Convention: cite to the U.S.C.A., NOT the U.S.C.
◦ Note: This rule does not apply if a case you are citing is citing or quoting the U.S.C.
rather than the U.S.C.A.
Citing Statutes (Continued)
Examples:
◦ 42 U.S.C.A. § 2000e-5(e)(1) (West 2013).
◦ White-Slave Traffic (Mann) Act, ch. 395, 36 Stat. 825 (1910) (codified as
amended at 18 U.S.C.A. §§ 2421–2424 (West 2013)).
Citing Briefs (Rule 10.8.3)
Decision that has not been rendered:
◦ Brief for the United States as Amicus Curiae Supporting Petitioners at 5,
Lewis v. City of Chicago, No. 08-974 (U.S. Nov. 30, 2009) [hereinafter Brief for
the United States].
Decision that has been rendered:
◦ Brief for the United States as Amicus Curiae Supporting Petitioners at 5,
Lewis v. City of Chicago, _ _ _ U.S. _ _ _ (2010) (No. 08-974) [hereinafter
Brief for the United States].
Citing Secondary Sources (Rule
16)
Full Cites
Elizabeth F. Emens, Integrating Accommodation, 156 U. PA. L. REV. 839,
894 (2008).
Bradford R. Clark, Note, Judicial Review of Congressional Section Five
Action: The Fallacy of Reverse Incorporation, 84 COLUM. L. REV. 1969,
1986 (1984).
FRANCES A. CAREY, ORGANIC CHEMISTRY 310 (Kent A. Peterson el al. eds., 6th
ed. 2006) [Rule 15]
Citing Secondary Sources (Rule
16)
Subsequent Cites
Emens, supra note 5, at 900.
Carey, supra note 10, at 400.
Always cross-reference subsequent citations!!!
Citing the Internet (Rule 18)
Two general types of internet citations:
1) “Direct” citation (Rule 18.2.2)
◦ Used for documents that exist only on the Internet or that are so difficult to obtain as
to be effectively unavailable in print.
◦ If the website is undated, the date the website was last visited should be placed in a
parenthetical after the URL.
Eric Posner, More on Section 7 of the Torture
Convention, VOLOKH CONSPIRACY
(Jan. 29, 2009, 10:04
AM), http://www.volokh.com/posts/1233241458.shtml.
Internet (continued)
2) “Available at” citation (Rule 18.2.3)
◦ Used for documents that exist in a printed medium.
◦ Most PDF documents should have “available at” citations.
EQUAL JUSTICE INITIATIVE, CRUEL AND UNUSUAL: SENTENCING 13- AND
14-YEAL-OLD CHILDREN TO DIE IN
PRISION 20 (2007), available
at
http://www.eji.org/eji/files/20071017cruelandunusual.
pdf.
SANTA MONICA, CAL., MUN. CODE ch. 3.20 (1976),
at http://qcode.us/codes/santamonica/.
available
Internet (continued)
Online newspaper articles (Rule 16.1)
Pamela Mendels, A Case of Spam and Free Speech
N.Y. TIMES (Dec. 11, 1998),
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/12/cybe
r/cyberlaw/11law.html.
at Intel,
Exercise
What is the correct abbreviation for the “Journal of the American
Medical Association”?
◦
◦
◦
◦
A: J. AMA
B: J. Am. Med. Ass’n.
C: JAMA
D: AMA L.J.
C: JAMA
Remember to use all the tables for abbreviation purposes,
including T13 for periodicals
Be Casey
• Cites to U.S.C.A.
• Always uses cross-references
• Notifies EE and ME about
conflicts ahead of time
• Comes to Bull McCabes after
orientation.
Not Lionel
• Doesn’t use abbreviations in
case names
• Doesn’t short cite secondary
sources
• Blows deadlines
• Hogs all the pizza
Questions?