Legal Citation

Legal Citation

THIS MODULE CONTAINS:

1. Lecture Concepts

2. Illustrations

3. Research Exercise (go to: http://www.lexisnexis.com/icw/)

If you would like to modify this module, all Lessons in their entirety are on the LexisNexis® Law School Faculty Web site located at: http://www.lexisnexis.com/lawschool/. A LexisNexis Web Course titled Lessons in Legal Research is now available and new LexisNexis Legal Research and Writing Tutorials will be available in August 2004.

Legal Citation
Lecture Concepts
OVERVIEW

THE IMPORTANCE OF LEGAL CITATIONS
Illustration #1: Understanding Legal Citations: Selected Examples.

· Legal citations follow uniform formats for referring to legal materials, which enables readers to find cited sources quickly and easily.

· Judges and their clerks routinely check the accuracy of claims that a prior case supports the advocate’s position.

· Because proper citation form is expected of legal professionals, citing legal materials incorrectly can damage your credibility as an advocate.
LEGAL CITATION GUIDES

OVERVIEW
Illustration #2: Legal Citation Resources

For a list and description of numerous sources that can help you master proper citation form, see Illustration #2.
MAIN SOURCES OF LEGAL CITATION STANDARDS

Illustration #3: The Bluebook v. The ALWD Citation Manual: What’s the Difference?

A. The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation

· Historically, the guide on which most legal professionals rely for how to structure legal citations

B. The ALWD Citation Manual: A Professional System of Citation

· Offered as a new alternative to The Bluebook by the Association of Legal Writing Directors (ALWD)

· Simplifies some citation rules

Illustration #4: Uniform Citation Standards Information

C. The Uniform Citation Standards established by the American Bar Association
THE LEXISNEXIS SERVICES
Illustration #5: Using the Get a Document feature on the LexisNexis services

Illustration #6: Selected Citation Formats: Print and Electronic

· The LexisNexis services allow you to retrieve documents even when you have less than the complete citation.

Legal Citation
Illustration #1
UNDERSTANDING LEGAL CITATIONS: SELECTED EXAMPLES

CASES

U.S. Supreme Court Decision

Conforms with Bluebook and ALWD

Lower Federal Court Decision

Conforms with Bluebook and ALWD

Universal Case Citation

LAW REVIEW ARTICLES (Law Review footnote example)

Conforms with Bluebook and ALWD

STATUTES

Public Law

Conforms with Bluebook; under ALWD, Popular Name is italicized.

U.S. Code Section

Conforms with Bluebook and ALWD

REGULATIONS

Promulgated regulations in the Federal Register

Conforms with ALWD

Codified regulations in the Code of Federal Regulations

Conforms with Bluebook and ALWD

Legal Citation
Illustration #2
LEGAL CITATION RESOURCES

The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation, 17th ed.

· Compiled by the Law Review editors of Columbia, Harvard, University of Pennsylvania, and Yale

· Provides citation formats for most U.S. law sources

ALWD Citation Manual: A Professional System of Citation by Darby Dickerson

· Published by the Association of Legal Writing Directors

· Offered as an alternative to The Bluebook

Introduction to Basic Legal Citation by Peter W. Martin (Cornell Law School)

· A Web guide to legal citation: www.law.cornell.edu/citation

· Covers the rules in the 17th edition of The Bluebook

User’s Guide to The Bluebook, Rev. for the 16th ed. by Alan Dworsky

· Covers the essential elements of The Bluebook

· Works with appropriate edition of The Bluebook

The University of Chicago Manual of
Legal Citation (Referred to as
The Maroon Book)

· Edited by the University of Chicago Law Review and the University of Chicago Legal Forum

· Created as a practical alternative to The Bluebook

Universal Citation Guide

· Authored by the American Association of Law Libraries in 1999

· Suggests a vendor-neutral approach to legal citation

· Seeks to facilitate the citing of legal materials on the Internet and to end requirements that legal citations reflect the print representation of legal documents.

· Not the same as ABA uniform citation standards (see Illustration #4)

Bieber’s Dictionary of Legal Abbreviations Reversed: A Dictionary of Terms and Titles With Their Abbreviations

· Provides the standard abbreviation for legal publications

· More comprehensive than the tables of abbreviations provided in The Bluebook

Interactive Citation Workbook

· Authored by Tracy L. McGaugh, Christine Hurt and Kay G. Holloway

· Covers both The Bluebook and ALWD citation standards

Legal Citation
Illustration #3
THE BLUEBOOK VS THE ALWD CITATION MANUAL: WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?

THE ALWD CITATION MANUAL

THE BLUEBOOK

Introduction clearly explains the purpose and use of citations; the organization of the manual; and the role of local citation rules.

Introduction explains the structure of The Bluebook; gives a general statement on the use of citations; and includes a section which analyzes typical legal citations.

Emphasizes the practical everyday rules used by real attorneys.

Emphasizes citation rules used by law review authors.

Citation formats are the same regardless of where they appear.

Distinguishes between case citations appearing in legal memoranda, court documents, law review articles, and law review footnotes.

"Fast Format" pages at the beginning of each section.

Quick reference guide in front and back covers.

"Sidebars" provide background information and help users avoid common problems. Contains diagrammed examples of citations.

Detailed explanations of citation form variations. Contains diagrammed examples of citations.

Includes a Web site (www.alwd.org), which posts updates and clarifications to the manual.

Several companion guides and explanatory resources are available.

Contains a sample legal memorandum to show how the citations are used in context.

Historically accepted as the main source for legal citation information.

SAMPLE CITATIONS

ALWD Format
BLUEBOOK FORMAT

(using court document formats)

Brown v. Bd. of Educ., 349 U.S. 294, 297 (1955).

Brown v. Bd. of Educ., 349 U.S. 294, 297 (1955).

18 U.S.C. § 1965 (2000).

18 U.S.C. § 1965 (2000).

Michael J. Gerhardt, The Federal Impeachment Process: A Constitutional and Historical Analysis 19 (Princeton U. Press 1996).

Michael J. Gerhardt, The Federal Impeachment Process: A Constitutional and Historical Analysis 19 (1996).

L. Ray Patterson, Legal Ethics and the Lawyer’s Duty of Loyalty, 29 Emory L.J. 909, 915 (1980).

L. Ray Patterson, Legal Ethics and the Lawyer’s Duty of Loyalty, 29 Emory L.J. 909, 915 (1980).

Hope Viner Samborn, Navigating Murky Waters, 85 A.B.A. J. 28 (July 1998).

Hope Viner Samborn, Navigating Murky Waters, A.B.A. J., July 1998, at 28.

This chart has been adapted from an article discussing the ALWD manual, Steven D. Jamar, The ALWD Citation Manual: A Professional System for the Law, 8 Persp. 65 (2000), a West Group Publication. When originally written, the illustration reflected the 16th edition of The Bluebook, but has been modified to reflect changes to The Bluebook’s 17th edition. The article is also at http://www.law.howard.edu/faculty/pages/jamar/scholarship/alwdciterev.htm.

Legal Citation
Illustration #4
UNIFORM CITATION STANDARDS

WHAT IS MEANT BY "UNIFORM CITATION STANDARDS"?

· The Uniform Citation System, recommended by the American Bar Association (ABA) and others, uses sequential decision numbers and internal paragraph numbers within each decision to identify pinpoint citations.

· The numbers are created by the court and included in a decision at the time it is released to the public.

· This type of citation system is equally adaptable to print and electronic case reports.

WHAT WOULD A UNIFORM CITATION LOOK LIKE?

A citation for a hypothetical decision of a federal court of appeals would be

ADVANTAGES & DISADVANTAGES TO A UNIFORM CITATION SYSTEM

ADVANTAGES

DISADVANTAGES

Offers a uniform way of representing the substantive elements of a citation.

Conversion of current reporting system could be quite costly.

Creates citations that are vendor and media neutral.

This type of public domain system may result in less product innovation from the private sector, which could potentially result in fewer tools and information for the consumer.

Keeps pace with new computer technologies that enable case law to be distributed in a timely and efficient manner.

If each court is free to design its own system, citations could become more confusing.

Legal Citation
Illustration #5
USING THE GET A DOCUMENT FEATURE ON THE LEXISNEXIS SERVICES

Through the LexisNexis services, you can retrieve the full text of many different types of documents using their citations.

TO RETRIEVE A DOCUMENT FOR WHICH YOU HAVE THE CITATION:

1. Sign on to the LexisNexis services.

2. Select Get a Document and make sure the Citation tab is selected.

3. Enter the citation in the open field.
Make sure the radio button next to Full Text is selected.

4. Click Get.

Legal Citation
Illustration #6
SELECTED CITATION FORMATS: PRINT AND ELECTRONIC

SOURCE

ALWD FORMAT

BLUEBOOK FORMAT

LEXISNEXIS FORMAT

U.S. Supreme Court Case

Brown v. Bd. of Educ., 349 U.S. 294, 297 (1955).

Brown v. Bd. of Educ., 349 U.S. 294, 297 (1955).

349 us 297

U.S. Code Section

18 U.S.C. § 1965 (2000).

18 U.S.C. § 1965 (2000).

18 usc 1965

Law Review article

Cass R. Sunstein, Affirmative Action, Caste, and Cultural Comparisons, 97 Mich. L. Rev. 1311, 1315 (1999).

Cass R. Sunstein, Affirmative Action, Caste, and Cultural Comparisons, 97 Mich. L. Rev. 1311, 1315 (1999).

97 mich l rev 1315

Legal Periodical

Hope Viner Samborn, Navigating Murky Waters, 85 A.B.A. J. 28 (July 1998)

Hope Viner Samborn, Navigating Murky Waters, A.B.A. J., July 1998, at 28.

85 abaj 28

CFR Section

31 C.F.R. § 515.329 (2002).

31 C.F.R. § 515.329 (2002).

31 cfr 515.329

Federal Register

64 Fed. Reg. 35988 (July 2, 1999).

64 Fed. Reg. 35,988 (July 2, 1999).

64 fr 35988

Administrative adjudications

Reichold Chems., Inc., 91 F.T.C. 246 (Fed. Trade Comm. 1978).

Reichold Chems., Inc., 91 F.T.C. 246 (1978).

91 ftc 246

Attorney General Opinions

39 Op. Atty. Gen. 509 (1940).

39 Op. Att’y Gen. 509 (1940).

39 op atty gen 509

Public Law

Economic Espionage Act of 1996, Pub. L. No. 104 – 294, 110 Stat. 3488 (1996).

Economic Espionage Act of 1996, Pub. L. No. 104 – 294, 110 Stat. 3488.

104 pl 294

Legal Citation
A Research Exercise

To review or test how well you’ve learned citation format, go to the Interactive Citation Workstation, located at http://www.lexisnexis.com/icw/. Select an exercise and complete it online. You’ll get feedback for each answer you submit, including hints to help you review the rules for any erroneous citations you entered.

The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation, 17th ed.	· Compiled by the Law Review editors of Columbia, Harvard, University of Pennsylvania, and Yale · Provides citation formats for most U.S. law sources
ALWD Citation Manual: A Professional System of Citation by Darby Dickerson	· Published by the Association of Legal Writing Directors · Offered as an alternative to The Bluebook
Introduction to Basic Legal Citation by Peter W. Martin (Cornell Law School)	· A Web guide to legal citation: www.law.cornell.edu/citation · Covers the rules in the 17th edition of The Bluebook
User’s Guide to The Bluebook, Rev. for the 16th ed. by Alan Dworsky	· Covers the essential elements of The Bluebook · Works with appropriate edition of The Bluebook
The University of Chicago Manual of Legal Citation (Referred to as The Maroon Book)	· Edited by the University of Chicago Law Review and the University of Chicago Legal Forum · Created as a practical alternative to The Bluebook
Universal Citation Guide	· Authored by the American Association of Law Libraries in 1999 · Suggests a vendor-neutral approach to legal citation · Seeks to facilitate the citing of legal materials on the Internet and to end requirements that legal citations reflect the print representation of legal documents. · Not the same as ABA uniform citation standards (see Illustration #4)
Bieber’s Dictionary of Legal Abbreviations Reversed: A Dictionary of Terms and Titles With Their Abbreviations	· Provides the standard abbreviation for legal publications · More comprehensive than the tables of abbreviations provided in The Bluebook
Interactive Citation Workbook	· Authored by Tracy L. McGaugh, Christine Hurt and Kay G. Holloway · Covers both The Bluebook and ALWD citation standards

THE ALWD CITATION MANUAL	THE BLUEBOOK
Introduction clearly explains the purpose and use of citations; the organization of the manual; and the role of local citation rules.	Introduction explains the structure of The Bluebook; gives a general statement on the use of citations; and includes a section which analyzes typical legal citations.
Emphasizes the practical everyday rules used by real attorneys.	Emphasizes citation rules used by law review authors.
Citation formats are the same regardless of where they appear.	Distinguishes between case citations appearing in legal memoranda, court documents, law review articles, and law review footnotes.
"Fast Format" pages at the beginning of each section.	Quick reference guide in front and back covers.
"Sidebars" provide background information and help users avoid common problems. Contains diagrammed examples of citations.	Detailed explanations of citation form variations. Contains diagrammed examples of citations.
Includes a Web site (www.alwd.org), which posts updates and clarifications to the manual.	Several companion guides and explanatory resources are available.
Contains a sample legal memorandum to show how the citations are used in context.	Historically accepted as the main source for legal citation information.

*ALWD Format*	*BLUEBOOK FORMAT* (using court document formats)
Brown v. Bd. of Educ., 349 U.S. 294, 297 (1955).	Brown v. Bd. of Educ., 349 U.S. 294, 297 (1955).
18 U.S.C. § 1965 (2000).	18 U.S.C. § 1965 (2000).
Michael J. Gerhardt, The Federal Impeachment Process: A Constitutional and Historical Analysis 19 (Princeton U. Press 1996).	Michael J. Gerhardt, The Federal Impeachment Process: A Constitutional and Historical Analysis 19 (1996).
L. Ray Patterson, Legal Ethics and the Lawyer’s Duty of Loyalty, 29 Emory L.J. 909, 915 (1980).	L. Ray Patterson, Legal Ethics and the Lawyer’s Duty of Loyalty, 29 Emory L.J. 909, 915 (1980).
Hope Viner Samborn, Navigating Murky Waters, 85 A.B.A. J. 28 (July 1998).	Hope Viner Samborn, Navigating Murky Waters, A.B.A. J., July 1998, at 28.

ADVANTAGES	DISADVANTAGES
Offers a uniform way of representing the substantive elements of a citation.	Conversion of current reporting system could be quite costly.
Creates citations that are vendor and media neutral.	This type of public domain system may result in less product innovation from the private sector, which could potentially result in fewer tools and information for the consumer.
Keeps pace with new computer technologies that enable case law to be distributed in a timely and efficient manner.	If each court is free to design its own system, citations could become more confusing.

SOURCE	ALWD FORMAT	BLUEBOOK FORMAT	LEXISNEXIS FORMAT
U.S. Supreme Court Case	Brown v. Bd. of Educ., 349 U.S. 294, 297 (1955).	Brown v. Bd. of Educ., 349 U.S. 294, 297 (1955).	349 us 297
U.S. Code Section	18 U.S.C. § 1965 (2000).	18 U.S.C. § 1965 (2000).	18 usc 1965
Law Review article	Cass R. Sunstein, Affirmative Action, Caste, and Cultural Comparisons, 97 Mich. L. Rev. 1311, 1315 (1999).	Cass R. Sunstein, Affirmative Action, Caste, and Cultural Comparisons, 97 Mich. L. Rev. 1311, 1315 (1999).	97 mich l rev 1315
Legal Periodical	Hope Viner Samborn, Navigating Murky Waters, 85 A.B.A. J. 28 (July 1998)	Hope Viner Samborn, Navigating Murky Waters, A.B.A. J., July 1998, at 28.	85 abaj 28
CFR Section	31 C.F.R. § 515.329 (2002).	31 C.F.R. § 515.329 (2002).	31 cfr 515.329
Federal Register	64 Fed. Reg. 35988 (July 2, 1999).	64 Fed. Reg. 35,988 (July 2, 1999).	64 fr 35988
Administrative adjudications	Reichold Chems., Inc., 91 F.T.C. 246 (Fed. Trade Comm. 1978).	Reichold Chems., Inc., 91 F.T.C. 246 (1978).	91 ftc 246
Attorney General Opinions	39 Op. Atty. Gen. 509 (1940).	39 Op. Att’y Gen. 509 (1940).	39 op atty gen 509
Public Law	Economic Espionage Act of 1996, Pub. L. No. 104 – 294, 110 Stat. 3488 (1996).	Economic Espionage Act of 1996, Pub. L. No. 104 – 294, 110 Stat. 3488.	104 pl 294