MGMT 260-05 : Introduction to Law
Gerard O'Connor, Spring 2019
Legal citations
Why is citation important?
- To demonstrate the authenticity of a claim.
- To enable a reader to easily locate the cases, statutes, regulations or other material cited in legal documents.
Legal citations often appear as a number, an abbreviation of the publication in which the document is found followed by another number:
Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, 558 U.S. 310 (2010)
558 U.S. 310 (2010) is the citation to the court case Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. This case was decided in 2010 and can be found in volume 558 at page 310 in the United States Reports. If it's a state level case, the state will be noted in the brackets.
Federal laws might be cited as follows: TITLE U.S.C. § SECTION. For example, 47 U.S.C. § 21 refers to Telecommunications (Title 47), Submarine cables; willful injury to; punishment (section 21).
Citing legal sources
Web sites
- Introduction to Basic Legal Citation (2016)This free, online guide by Cornell's Legal Information Institute is indexed to both the ALWD guide and the 19th edition of The Bluebook. It also documents the many respects in which contemporary legal writing, very often following guidelines set out in court rules, diverges from the citation formats specified by those academic texts.
- Bluebook GuideFree, online guide to Bluebook citations by Georgetown Law Library.
Books
- The Bluebook: A Uniform System of CitationCall Number: Ref. desk KF245 .B58ISBN: 0615361161Publication Date: 201019th edition. The Bluebook is the standard reference source for American legal citation.
- User's Guide to the Bluebook by Alan L. Dworsky; Brian ChristiansenCall Number: KF245 .D853 2010ISBN: 9780837738383Publication Date: 2010Revised for 19th edition. Because the Bluebook can seem exceedingly complex, the User's Guide provides simplified instructions and examples for the casual user.
- ALWD Guide to Legal Citation by Association of Legal Writing Directors Staff; Coleen M. BargerCall Number: KF245 .A45 2014ISBN: 9781454828754Publication Date: 20145th edition.
Citation abbreviations
- Index to Legal Citations and Abbreviations (2nd ed., 1993)6th floor: KD 400 .R35 1993
- Prince's Dictionary of Legal Citations by Mary Miles PrinceCall Number: KF246 .P73 2006ISBN: 9780837736075Publication Date: 20067th edition.
Citation managers
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