The bluebook requires citation only to the official report supreme court opinions are also published in three unofficial reporters. The abbreviation for a bankruptcy court is the same as for the district court with bankr. However, there is generally a significant lag between when the court decides a case and when it is published in the united states reports. The code for nebraska changed from nb to ne in november 1969 to avoid a conflict with new brunswick. Federal courts bluebook guide guides at georgetown law library. Oct 11, 2019 if the federal statute that you are citing is still in force, bluebook rule 12. If the federal statute that you are citing is still in force, bluebook rule 12. United states under the bluebook, use united states when the united states is a party do not use u. Common abbreviations and legal citation examples for selected. Appeals from the district courts are made to one of the courts of appeals, organized geographically. Federal statutes bluebook guide guides at georgetown law. There are generally four elements in a citation to a statute in the united states code. This is a proposed citation style to adapt the bluebook to the unique needs of.
Common bluebook citations for federal courts welcome. The insular areas of guam, the northern mariana islands, and the united states virgin islands each have one territorial court. Cases bluebook legal citation tarlton law library at. Mar 27, 2020 all of the information you need to properly abbreviate state courts and state court reporters is in table t. United states district court for the district of connecticut is the full name, but only abbreviate the last part. It also directs the writer to use and cite to official sources. Abbreviations to federal reporters legal abbreviations. The general bluebook rule is to follow the rules for a particular jurisdiction found in table t1. But before getting into that, lets get it out of the way first to note that if your usage of the country name is a noun, spell it out rather than abbreviating it. The bluebook has two different systems for abbreviating. The courts hear civil and criminal cases, and each is paired with a bankruptcy court. Case name abbreviations table 6 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z. A uniform system of citation is the basic citation resource for washington appellate court opinions except as noted below.
It is used in most united states law schools and court systems to properly cite and abbreviate court cases in parenthetical citation sentences of legal documents. This proposal covers citations to united states legal materialsu. Oct, 2017 united states or geographical units listed in table 10 if the full name of the party any word not listed in rule 10. To avoid duplications, some abbreviations are not intuitive. Browse the list of 3 878 united states abbreviations with their meanings and definitions. State abbreviations bb alwd ib state abbreviations 1. A uniform system of citation is a legal style guide. The basics of legal citation including citation styles bluebook and alwd.
For example, under the entries for arizona you have. The number of district courts in a court of appeals circuit varies between one and thirteen, depending on. The district courts were established by congress under article iii of the united states constitution. The correct parenthetical for a seventh circuit case is 7th cir. Please select united nations protocol and liaison service member states maintaining permanent missions at headquarters nonmember states having received a standing invitation to participate as observers in the sessions and the work of the general assembly and maintaining permanent offices at headquarters intergovernmental organizations having. There is a bankruptcy court for every united states district court.
List of united states district and territorial courts wikipedia. List of all most popular abbreviated united states navy terms defined. Use t10 to abbreviate states, countries, and other geographical units, unless the geographical unit is the entire name of the party e. General principles in the general principles section, the style sheet adopts the nineteenth edition of the bluebook as the basic citation resource. Bluebook questions possible not safe for honor code. Bluebook table t1 provides guidance on how to properly abbreviate reporter names. Name of the case underlined or italicized and abbreviated according to rule 10. However, it may be abbreviated as part of another partys name, like any other word in t. Also abbreviate states and united states when they are in the name of the author of a book, article, report, letter, speech, and so forth.
A hard copy of the blue book is published several times during the year and is available on demand from the united nations publications section. The bluebook is the resource all attorneys and legal scholars use to properly cite and format legal documents. Books, reports, treatises bluebook legal citation tarlton. The latest edition of the chicago manual of style is the authority for punctuation and style matters. Blue book online realtime version of the blue book, updated constantly this publication is prepared by the protocol and liaison service for information purposes only. Bt2 jurisdictionspecific citation rules and style guides. For more information, see the bluebook s front inside cover and rule 2. United states is the only federal court to officially report its cases. Periods not an intuitive section for guidance on abbreviations for agencies and organizations as the bluebook is largely silent on this issue. United states supreme court reports, lawyers edition. Oct, 2017 only abbreviate words in table 10 and table 16 when citation is used in a footnote. For a case that occurred in 2010 in the united states district court for the eastern district of new york for example, the abbreviation will be e.
Bluebook questions possible not safe for honor code top. District court cases covering the federal rules of civil procedure, criminal rules, evidence, and appellate rules. The united states code is the official publication mandated by the bluebook, u. In case names, spell out states and united states only when they are the whole case name. Cases bluebook legal citation tarlton law library at tarlton law. The light abbreviation system is used for case names appearing in the grammatical part of textual sentences and in complete sentences in footnotes. It is a composite of those contained in the bluebook and the alwd guide to legal.
This differs from the rule prohibiting the abbreviation of united states as part of a case name, discussed here in this guide. Citation sentences must additionally abbreviate the words in rule 10. Federal courts bluebook guide guides at georgetown law. Browse the list of 171 united states navy abbreviations with their meanings and definitions. Provides correct citation and abbreviation information for all united states jurisdictions, including federal, state, and territories. List of all most popular abbreviated united states terms defined. Thus, the abbreviation for the bankrupty court of the district of wyoming is. Federal statutes bluebook guide guides at georgetown.
United states postal abbreviations for states, military, commonwealths, and territories. Jan 09, 2018 united states code congressional and administrative news homeland security act of 2002, pub. For example, the abbreviation for the district of wyoming is. The listings relating to the permanent missions are based on information communicated to the protocol and liaison service by the permanent missions, and their publication is. Abbreviations bluebooking tips and resources libguides at. These codes do not overlap with the canadian subnational postal abbreviations. A citation informs the reader where the writer obtained. Deciding court, jurisdiction date of decision united states v. Federal court abbreviations bluebook quick reference. List of united states district and territorial courts. There are 94 active united states district and territorial courts. Jul 19, 2019 united states reports is an official publication of the united states government and the preferred reporter to cite for u. Common bluebook citations for federal courts welcome home. For quick reference, you may consult the examples of abbreviations material in tarltons finding a case guide.
Common mistakes bluebook citations libguides at william s. How to cite the amendments in bluebook format legal beagle. Even though the question of how to abbreviate the united states seems straightforward, as it happens, theres more than one preferred way to write it. Secretary of commerce approved the twoletter codes for use in government documents, the united states government printing office gpo suggested its own set of abbreviations, with some states left unabbreviated. Each of the 50 states has between one and four district courts, and the district of columbia and puerto rico each have a district court. If a constitution is referred to in a textual sentence, the citation must be written out fully, or the provision referred to by name. Pardoe, board member of the national audubon society about the need to exclude mute swans from the mbta. Feb 27, 2020 the bluebook, a uniform system of citation is the standard style guide for legal citation in the united states. Jul 19, 2019 a citation to a statute in the united states code generally contains the following four elements.
This page provides bluebook a uniform system of citation, 19th ed. Of course, a local court rule will trump the general bluebook rule. The postal abbreviation is the same as the iso 31662 subdivision code for each of the fifty states. Abbreviations bluebooking tips and resources libguides. A b c d e f gh i jk l m n o p qr s t u vwxyz show all. Basic bluebook citation for cases proficientwriters. The abbreviation for the court is in the parenthetical after the name of the court. Be sure to verify the components of a proper citation, especially the abbreviation. Take a look at the list below to find which common words in case names are abbreviated according to the bluebook and how you should abbreviate them. Basics of legal citations introduction to legal citation. Omitting the date or currency statement in the parenthetical for a citation to a statute found on westlaw or lexis advance. Listed below are some guidelines to help you choose the proper abbreviation.