In a diverse and rapidly changing legal profession, the bluebook continues to provide a systematic method by which members of the profession communicate important information to one another about the sources and legal authorities upon. Abbreviations bluebooking tips and resources libguides at. Any other word of eight letters or more not on the following list may also be abbreviated if the abbreviation chosen saves substantial space and reasonably connotes the original word. Bt2 jurisdictionspecific citation rules and style guides.
Information and translations of bluebook in the most comprehensive dictionary definitions resource on. It seems that in addition to the normal seven character ellipsis the bluebook also has specific rules for the eight character ellipsis and the nine character ellipsis. For illustration purposes in this blog ill use to indicate a nonbreaking space. The first nine rules in the bluebook apply to all of the other rules and they are all about style.
Jul 19, 2019 there are currently twentyone rules on the basic standards of citation and how to cite specific legal documents. Youll find the tables at the very back of the bluebook, just before the index. The blue book of grammar and punctuation leans towards usage rules in cms along with other authoritative. Information and translations of blue book in the most comprehensive dictionary definitions resource on the web. 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. Bluepages tables are the goto for initial citation formation, and includes abbreviations for words commonly found in court documents and jurisdictionspecific citation rules. Abbreviations longer than a single letter, such as supp.
In a citation, the case name is called the running head and is covered by the rules discussed in part xiv of this style manual. What is the best font to accompany times new roman with appropriate capitalized fonts. However, the basic format of a case citation is as follows. Omit prepositional phrases of location unless the phrase begins a party name, is part of the full name of a business, or the omission would leave only one word in the partys name. The english rules section on hyphens in the blue book and our website discusses compound words. In sum, combine the abbreviations on page 499 and the state abbreviations in t1 to indicate the court.
Finally, the bluebook has an index in the back that will help you find applicable rules. The third section contains sixteen tables that provide information on the proper authorities to cite and lists of abbreviations. The first word of the case name is always spelled out in both systems, and the entire case name is spelled out in a textual sentence. Except for a few basic rules, spelling out numbers vs. Oct, 2017 state court decisions should only retain statecommonwealthpeople. Blue book definition of blue book by the free dictionary. Unfortunately, theres no simple trick to memorizing all the rules but over time youll get a feel for what looks right. It is a composite of those contained in the bluebook and the alwd guide to legal citation. United states and geographical units listed in table 10 unless the geographical unit is the entire name of the party. This table gives suggested abbreviations for citations of court documents and legal.
Generations of law students, lawyers, scholars, judges, and other legal professionals have relied on the bluebooks unique system of citation in their writing. In defense of the bluebook justia law blog june 8, 2011. The bluepages contain condensed versions of the full rules and are intended to provide easytocomprehend guidance for. The bluebook consists of four main sections the first section is the bluepages, which provide information on basic legal citation.
Search for abbreviation meaning, word to abbreviate, or lists of abbreviations. A compound word is formed when two or more words are combined to form a new word such as flowerpot. According to rule 1, to check whether a compound noun is two words, one word, or hyphenated, you may need to look it up in the dictionary. Here you will find guidance and examples of citation formats that you will use when writing your memoranda, briefs, and other court documents. Any word over eight letters may also be abbreviated if substantial space is saved and the result is clear.
The blue book of grammar and punctuation an easytouse guide with clear rules, realworld examples, and reproducible quizzes. Realize that the bluebook tries to cover every contingency. This guide presents bluebook exercises and instructions that are used in. This page provides bluebook a uniform system of citation, 19th ed. Chapter 4 pharmaceutical and medical terminology and. Rules for writing numbers the blue book of grammar and. When writing out a number of three or more digits, the word and is not necessary. The light abbreviation system only abbreviates eight words in a case name. Never use the two character postal abbreviations for states.
Bluebook layout bluebook guide guides at georgetown law. Table helps you construct the appropriate abbreviations for journalpublication titles. Blue pages this guide covers the bluebooks white pages, which provide citation rules for academic papers. For more on the topic, see the blue book of grammar and punctuation 2014. In writing, abbreviations are useful when you need to squeeze a lot of writing into a small space. What should you abbreviate when referring to a case in a citation sentence words in table 6 and rule 10. In other words, abbreviate only in citation sentences. Abbreviate the listed words wherever they appear in a partys name that is part of a citation. Undoubtedly, table 6 abbreviations for case names has become ridiculous, and the interaction between rules 16. As with any reference book, the bluebook becomes easier to use once you know where to find the information you need. In headings, capitalize the initial word, any word that immediately follows a colon, and. Look up the abbreviation for the state in table 10.
Common bluebook citations for federal courts welcome. For example, the associated press ap stylebook is a guide specific for news media and journalists while the chicago manual of style cms is used by many book publishers and writers. The word at precedes the pincite page number, but rule 3. These rules pertain to case captions only, and do not apply to case citations. Bluebook is listed in the worlds largest and most authoritative dictionary database of abbreviations and acronyms the free dictionary. Basic layout bluebook 101 library guides at university of. The contraction technique takes the first three letters of a word plus the last letter. An apostrophe is used before the last letter but no period.
In some cases, it indicates that a word should not be abbreviated. Youll probably be using no more than 20% of the rules contained in the book. Americas two most influential style and usage guides have different approaches. This list does not include bluebook abbreviations for periodicals that have changed titles, ceased or are no longer indexed in. Common bluebook citations for federal courts welcome home. Looking for online definition of bluebook or what bluebook stands for. Citing secondary sources sample bluebook citations. These rules are found in t1 on page 235, in t7 on page 499, and in t1. Bluebook layout bluebook guide guides at georgetown. Essential bluebook rules law school writing center law school. The bluebook also has citation rules for legal memoranda and other practiceoriented materials the blue pages, which students in lrwa2.
It is a composite of those contained in the bluebook and the alwd guide to. The bluebook also has citation rules for legal memoranda and other practiceoriented materials the blue pages, which students in lrwa2 use for their memo assignments. Some of the most obscure bluebook rules or how to really. These tables give the various abbreviations for the u. Bluebook citation for llm students bluebook citation for. An official list of persons in the employ of the us government. Apr 09, 2020 in the beginning, youll probably be tabbing rules 6, 10 and 12 and table 1 and the beginning of the abbreviations section, tables 6 through 12. Basic layout bluebook 101 library guides at university. Apr 01, 2020 the bluepages and whitepages sketch out rules to follow, and leave it to the tables to fill in the details. Abbreviations of geographical terms, periodicals, publishing terms etc. The bluepages and whitepages sketch out rules to follow, and leave it to the tables to fill in the details. A uniform system of citation, a style guide, prescribes the most widely used legal citation system in the united states. For a number of words, but following no consistent pattern, both manuals occasionally employ contractions e. All words in case names, other than the first word of either partys name, is abbreviated if it is listed in table 6 on pages 30203 of the.
However, use the word and to express any decimal points that may accompany these numbers. When a case is referenced in a separate citation clause or sentence, follow all rules below, use ordinary roman type, and abbreviate any word contained in t. You can also use them in place of long or cumbersome phrases to make your sentences easier to read. For each word in the journalpublication title, look at both sections of table to see if there is an abbreviation listed for that word. Rules 20 foreign and 21igos, tables t2 foreign, t3 international, t4 treaties, t5 arbitration, t10 geographical terms, t words in. You can help protect yourself from scammers by verifying that the contact is a microsoft agent or microsoft employee and that the phone number is an official microsoft global customer service number. Forming abbreviations the bluebook uses two methods of abbreviating words. Set out below is a table of words and their abbreviations with links to examples. Bluebook definition, a register or directory of socially prominent persons. In addition, abbreviate any state or smaller geographic unit included in a. The blue book of grammar and punctuation leans towards usage rules in cms along with other authoritative texts and does not attempt to conform to the ap. Generally, there are no spaces between unilateral capitals, which are single letter or numerical abbreviations, such as 2d or s.
Policies and philosophies vary from medium to medium. Tech support scams are an industrywide issue where scammers trick you into paying for unnecessary technical support services. The tables in the bluebook provide abbreviations and full titles for. Citing cases bluebook guide guides at georgetown law. For example, if you are citing a secondary authority with a title, consult rule 8 capitalization, to know whether you need to capitalize certain words or not. Abbreviations not listed in book should be avoided unless substantial space will be saved and the resulting abbreviation is unambiguous. An abbreviation, simply put, is a shortened form of a word. The precise format of a case citation depends on a number of factors, including the jurisdiction, court, and type of case. With abbreviations at the end of a sentence ellipsis marks 53 with omitted words or sentences spacing.
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