- Notes on Bluebook Citations
- Bluebook Legal Citation
- Bluebook Citation for Books, Reports, and Other Non-periodical Materials
- Bluebook Article Citation
- Bluebook Citation Websites and Electronic Media
- Bluebook Citation for Other Sources
What is Bluebook Citation Style?
The Bluebook style is exclusively used for legal papers, so it can be somewhat complicated due to its focus on simple citations of various court documents. The form is a blend of in-text and footnote-based formats as its citations are located in the text but appear more similar to footnote-based ones. You have to provide the author’s full name, the name of the book, the year of publication, and the page number for the relevant quotation or citation. As such, Bluebook shares some similarities with most other citation styles while closely emulating few to none.
Why You Need to Cite Your Sources
You may be familiar with the need to cite information, but many places also require you to follow a strict guide and a specific style while doing so. Here are some reasons why both of these aspects are critical for your writing and overall career:
- The point of a paper is to show your understanding of the topic and then reach additional conclusions from there. You demonstrate this awareness by citing works in the field that support or oppose your findings.
- The sources you use have to warrant the trust of a reader, meaning that scholars should generally acknowledge them. Peer review is an essential practice that differentiates high-quality sources from inferior ones.
- When you reference a source, you have to identify what it is and where it may be found in a form that is easy for the reader to understand. Hence, you should adhere to the template lest you commit some mistake that makes the citation unusable.
- Ultimately, if you are caught plagiarizing, whether intentionally or not, you will be severely punished. You may even be expelled from a college or a university or be fired from your organization, receiving a bad mark on your record that will severely tarnish it.
General Principles of Bluebook Formatting
- Use any acceptable professional font, such as Times New Roman, Arial, Courier New etc.
- Italics are used in the body of the text for source names and stylistic purposes
- Citations are designed to help the reader locate a source
- Bluebook citation style is designed for both students and researchers to be used in academic writing (The Whitepages) and practitioners (clerks, lawyers, and other legal professionals) to be used in non-academic legal documents (The Bluepages)
- Citation format of the Whitepages and the Bluepages differs in typeface and elements of citation
- The permissive use of Small Capitals was new to the last edition of The Bluebook published in 2015. As the rule change is still new, many readers of your documents are not yet accustomed to the change, or might not even be aware of it. To them, the citation may look “wrong.” As with any optional Bluebook rule, consider your reader first. If you think the reader may believe the citation is wrongly formatted, forego the use of Small Capitals . Ask your instructor or supervisor what style is preferred.
- Case names in text are written in italics while in citations, they are written in normal font
- Case names in text and in citations also differ by the extent to which the case name is abbreviated
- If Whitepages guidelines fail to cover how to format the source, refer to Bluepages rules.
- If no information on citing a particular type of document is available, cite it in accordance with the format of the closest alternative
Notes on Bluebook Citations
- In law reviews, all citations must be included as footnotes
- The footnote number should appear after the final punctuation of the quotation
- In some procedural documents, citations can be made in a citation sentence or a citation clause
- Introductory signals, such as e.g., accord, see, see also, Cf., and others are used to indicate the relationship between the citation and the text or other citations.
- If no signal word is used, this means that the information was directly stated or cited by the chosen authority
- Id. and short names are used to refer to sources that were mentioned recently
- Same source and page in two or more footnotes: Id.
- Same source in two or more footnotes, different page numbers: Id., page number.
- Same source used within the past 5 citations: Short citation (different for each document type).
Bluebook Footnote Citation
Bluebook Legal Citation
Cases
American Hospital Association v. Becerra, 596 U.S. 137, 145-146 (2022)
When citing legal cases, you need to include the following information (in the given order):
- First party vs. Second party
- Reporter volume number
- Reporter abbreviation
- First page of the case
- Specific page referred to
- Deciding court (omit when it coincides with the reporter)
- Date of decision
If a decision has not been reached yet, include as much information as you can in place of the date of decision. For example, if a case was filed but not decided, include the filing date. If the case involves an interim order, whether published or unpublished, include an appropriate mark (order granting preliminary injunction) at the end of the citation in parentheses.
Constitutions
U.S. Const. amend. §1.
Wash Const. art. II, § 11, cl. 4.
When citing constitutions, include the following information (in the given order):
- Abbreviation of the constitution cited
- Abbreviation for “amendment” (amend.), “article” (art.) or “clause” (cl.)
- Number of the amendment cited
- Section symbol and number
- If the cited provision has been repealed or amended, add amendment date in parentheses or in text
Note: a short form other than id. is not allowed when citing constitutions
Statutes
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, 2115 § 1 (2020)
CARES Act 2115 § 1
If you need to cite a statute, such as an act, use the following data (in the given order):
- Official name of the act
- The published source in which the act is located (if available)
- Section containing the statute (with section symbols)
- Optional: The year the source was published or the year the statute was passed
Bills and Resolutions
H.R. Res. 117, 117th Cong. (2023)
S. Res. 59, 118th Cong. (2023)
For bills and resolutions, use the following:
- The name of the bill (if applicable)
- The abbreviation of the house
- Bill number
- Congress number
- Section number
- Year of publication
Hearings
Building Regional Innovation Economies Part II, Hearing before the Subcomm. on Research and Technology of the Comm. on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives, 117th Cong. (2022)
Bluebook Citation for Books, Reports, and Other Non-periodical Materials
As a rule, when citing books, reports, and similar sources, you will need to provide:
- Volume number (if available)
- Author’s full name
- Title
- Page cited (pincite)
- Editor(s) and translator(s) names (if applicable)
- Edition number
- Year of publication
When there are two authors, separate them by an ampersand. For three and more authors, you may either list all or write the first author and add ‘et al.’
Following are some examples of different sources cited in the Bluebook format.
Book with one or two authors
Alexandre Kiss & Dina Shelton, International Environmental Law 201 (3rd ed. 2021).
Book with more than two authors
Robert V. Percival et al., Environmental Regulation: Law, Science, and Policy 133 (9th ed. 2022).
Or you may list all authors:
Robert V. Percival, Christopher H. Schroeder, Alan S. Miller & James P. Leape, Environmental Regulation: Law, Science, and Policy 137 (9th ed. 2022).
Book with editor or translator
The Making of Environmental Law 155 (Richard J. Lazarus ed., 2023).
Book with no author
Environmental Law in Taiwan 37-38 (Wolters Kluwer Law & Business 2023).
Note: include a publisher in parentheses
Multiple editions of the book
Rosemary Rayfuse et al., Research Handbook on International Marine Environmental Law 15 (2nd ed. 2023).
Chapter in an edited book
Write the author’s full name followed by the title of the chapter in italics, then add a comma and the word ‘in’ in italics, and the title of the book. Make sure to note the page on which the chapter begins and any pages where specific material is taken from.
Alexander Proelss, Fragmentation and Coherence in the Legal Framework for the Protection of the Marine Environment, in Research Handbook on International Marine Environmental Law 57, 61 (Rosemary Rayfuse et al. eds, 2nd ed. 2023).
Bluebook Article Citation
Scholarly journal article
Wesley G. Jennings & Nicholas M. Perez, The Immediate Impact of COVID-19 on Law Enforcement in the United States, 45 Am. J. Crim. Just. 690, 698 (2020).
For articles published in scholarly journals, include the following:
- Author’s name
- Article title in italics
- Journal volume number
- Abbreviated journal title
- First page of the article
- Specific page(s) cited
- Year of publication
When citing the same work more than once, use a shortened version: author’s last name, the word ‘supra’ in italics, the number of the note in which the full citation was given, and ‘at’ followed by page number.
Short form: Jennings & Perez, supra note 5, at 699.
Magazine Articles and Newspapers
Anton Troianovski, Adam Entous & Michael Schwirtz. Ukraine-Russia Peace Is as Elusive as Ever. But in 2022 They Were Talking. N.Y. Times, June 15, 2024, at 1.
For magazine and newspaper articles, provide the information as listed below:
- Author’s name
- Article title
- Magazine or newspaper title (shortened)
- Date of publication
- The word ‘at’ + First page
When citing the same work more than once, use a shortened version: author’s last name, the word ‘supra’ in italics, the number of the note in which the full citation was given, and ‘at’ followed by page number.
Short form: Troianovski et al. supra note 8, at 2.
Bluebook Citation Websites and Electronic Media
The Bluebook citation handbook strongly advises against including electronic sources in the bibliography if they can be cited as a printed source. The following examples are for reference only, and you should still check if a printed version of a source is available before citing it as an electronic source.
Web page
i24NEWS, Turkey Helped Russia Foil Second Terrorist Attack in Moscow – Report, https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/international/artc-turkey-helped-russia-foil-second-terrorist-attack-in-moscow-report (last visited June 18, 2024).
PDF document
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (2024), https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/73/wr/pdfs/mm7323a1-H.pdf
Blogs
Dave Owen, Juliana v. United States and the Passing of a Show Horse, Environmental Law Prof Blog (May 1, 2024), https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/environmental_law/2024/05/juliana-v-united-states-and-the-passing-of-a-show-horse.html.
Bluebook Citation for Other Sources
There are many other types of sources that you might be required to cite in the Bluebook format. Some examples will be included below. Sources that do not match any of the categories in the guide should be cited like the next best alternative included in the guide.
Note: Short forms for these sources should be created using the abbreviations “supra” or “id.”
Student-written law review materials
Mary Goldsmith, Comment, A Critique of the Strict Liability Standard for Determining Child Support in Cases of Male Victims of Sexual Assault and Statutory Rape, 240 U. Pa. L. Rev. 197, 200 (2023).
Proceedings, regular publications by institutes, and ABA section reports
Sarah Smith et al., Active Learning in a Large Undergraduate Course, 116 ASEE Aɴɴ. Cᴏɴғ. Exᴘ. Pʀᴏᴄ. 284 (2023).
Unpublished and forthcoming sources
Timothy M.E. Davis, Pulmonary Function Trajectories Over 6 Years and Their Determinants in Type 2 Diabetes: The Fremantle Diabetes Study Phase II, 47 Diabetes Care (forthcoming Aug. 2024).
E-mail correspondence
E-mail from Jen McCallister, Dir. of Operations, Orange Electronics, to Hannah Blake, Mag. of Operations, Orange Electronics (June 25, 2024, 11:55 EST) (on file with author).
Interviews
Telephone interview with Brian Moynihan, CEO, Bank of America (May 25, 2024).
Interview with Brian Moynihan, CEO, Bank of America, in New York (May 25, 2024).
Working papers
Jay P. Greene & Greg Forster, Public High School Graduation and College Readiness Rates in the United States 1 (Ctr. for Civic Innovation, Working Paper No. 3, 2003).
Note: “Ctr. for Civic Innovation” is the name of the sponsoring organization.
Tables and Figures in Bluebook Style
The Bluebook citation style is somewhat unique in its laissez-faire approach to the formatting of your paper. It exists to ensure that your citations are accurate and precise and limits itself to that task. As such, you are free to format tables and figures however you see fit. Nevertheless, it is probably best to follow some other styling format, so this guide will provide an example using the Chicago style of formatting (see figure 1).
Figure 1: Minnesota Supreme Court.
Source: The Courthouse: A Guide to Planning and Design, ncsc.org, https://www.ncsc.org/__data/assets/image/0023/25583/courtrooms-1.jpeg (last visited May 19, 2024).
Notably, Bluebook does not require the use of a bibliography, so a single mention of the reference in the text is sufficient. However, it has remarkably strict rules about referencing that you can find in the book that gives its name to the style. As many images and figures will be taken from online sources, you should remember a few basic guidelines. First, the format discourages the use of any strictly online resources. Second, if you are citing an electronic version of a print document, you can mention it as though you were using that print document. However, if that document is challenging to obtain, you should make it clear that you are using an electronic version in the reference. Lastly, you should think carefully before inserting tables or figures into a legal document, as they usually only contain formatted text.
