Bluebooking Do’s and Don’tsTODD 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 five-

footnote 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); or3. 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should be omitted unless they are the subject of discussion ◦ en banc◦ in banc◦ 2-1 decision◦ mem.◦ per curiam◦ unpublished table decision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, DBut D does not need a pincite

Be Matlock Not Barry

• Checks Sources for proper signal use

• Finds the best pincite• Inserts parentheticals when

needed

• 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), available at http://qcode.us/codes/santamonica/.

Internet (continued) Online newspaper articles (Rule 16.1)

Pamela Mendels, A Case of Spam and Free Speech at Intel, N.Y. TIMES (Dec. 11, 1998), http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/12/cyber/cyberlaw/11law.html.

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: JAMARemember to use all the tables for abbreviation purposes,

including T13 for periodicals

Be Casey Not Lionel

• 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.

• Doesn’t use abbreviations in case names

• Doesn’t short cite secondary sources

• Blows deadlines• Hogs all the pizza

Questions?