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Citation Guide

Legal Citation Basics

Citing in a consistent, uniform manner is crucial in the legal field for two reasons: 
  1.  The reader needs to quickly and accurately locate and verify the information found in legal arguments and theories. 
  2.  A citation system informs the reader of the authority of the referenced legal material. Basically, the reader can follow the citation history to determine if the argument is based on good law. 

The two most often used citation systems in the United States are The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation and the ALWD Guide to Legal Citation. Click the links to check availability at the library. 

The BluebookALWD Guide to Legal Citation

Examples

Citing Court Cases

You'll need:

  • The name of the case
  • The source where you found the case
  • The court where the case was decided
  • The year the decision took place

Format: 

Case Name, Source page number (Court year) (additional information as needed).

Example: 

United States ex rel. Gerald Mayo v. Satan and His Staff, 54 F.R.D. 282 (W.D. Pa. 1971).

 

Note on abbreviation: Bluebook outlines A LOT of abbreviations. In the example above, notice the abbreviations - Names of the source and the court are also generally abbreviated; Federal Rules Decisions is shortened to “F.R.D.”, and the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania is abbreviated to “W.D. Pa.” Check The Bluebook for common abbreviations if you're unsure. 

Citing Constitutions

You'll need: 

  • The abbreviated constitution title
  • The abbreviated subdivision, for example
    • art. = article
    • para. = paragraph
    • § = section

Format: 

Constitition Title subdivision, subdivision (additional information as necessary)

Example: 

Tenn. Const. art. IX, §3 (repealed 1927). 

Citing Statutes, Laws, and Codes

You'll need: 

  • The title of the act
  • The source in which it is found
  • The year in which it was enacted (session laws) OR the year in which the source was published (codes).
  • The chapters or section(s) § being referred to.

Format: 

Act Title, Source § number (year) (additional information as needed). 

Example: 

Utah Crim. Code § 76-7-104 (1973) (repealed 2019).

Citing Bills and Resolutions

You'll need: 

  • Title of bill if needed
  • Document number
  • Term and session of the legislative body
  • Relevant sections
  • Year published
  • For bills passed in state legislative bodies rather than federal, you should also include the state.

Format: 

Act Title, Document Number, Term # Legislative Body, Session § number (State year).

Example: 

Student Protection Act, H.R. 2625, 113th Cong. § 3 (2013).

Citing Hearings

You'll need: 

  • The full title as published
  • The relevant bills, if any
  • The committee
  • The term & session of the legislative body
  • The year of publication
  • The name and titles of the individual providing a statement
  • Relevant page numbers

Format: 

Title: Hearing on Bill Before the Committee, Term & Session page numbers (year) (statement of Firstname Lastname, Titles).

Example: 

Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations for 2003: Hearing before the H. Subcomm. on Education Appropriations, 107th Cong. (2002) (statement of Elmo Monster, Sesame Street Muppet).

Short Form Citations

Once you have cited a given authority in full once, you may use a short-form citation throughout the rest of your paper. The specific content of a short form citation is flexible, but varies by the type of authority being cited. For example, constitution and hearing citations do not have a short form - but court cases, statutes, laws, and codes do. 

Check the Purdue OWL Bluebook page for more information on short form formatting. 

Further Resources

Here are some resources that walk you through legal citation: 

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