The Indigo Book

Second Edition

An Open and Compatible Implementation of
A Uniform System of Citation

NOT AFFILIATED WITH OR AUTHORIZED BY
THE BLUEBOOK® A UNIFORM SYSTEM OF CITATION®

Manifest

Status

This document, published on September 9, 2021, is the beta-d6c206c release of Indigo Book 2.0. Errors and omissions may be sent to jromig@emory.edu.

Publisher and License

This file was published by Public.Resource.Org, Inc., (“Public Resource”) a California nonprofit corporation registered under I.R.C. § 501(c)(3). Contact information for Public Resource is at https://public.resource.org/about/.

Public Resource does not charge for or restrict access to any materials we post. This document is published under a CC-0 public domain dedication—“No Rights Reserved” and we waive all copyright and related rights in this work.

Cover Art

The cover art is courtesy of the Library of Congress Digital File LC-DIG-ppmsca-38347. The item is a WPA poster design on blue background created as part of the Federal Art Project between 1936 and 1941. There are no known restrictions on publication of this item.

Statement of Nonaffiliation

NOT AUTHORIZED BY NOR IN ANY WAY AFFILIATED WITH: The Columbia Law Review Association, Inc., The Harvard Law Review Association, the University of Pennsylvania Law Review, The Yale Law Journal Company, Inc., or The Bluebook® A Uniform System of Citation®.

Attribution

Cite as: Sprigman and Romig et al., The Indigo Book: A Manual of Legal Citation, Public Resource (2d ed. 2021).

Formats

This document is available in HTML AND PDF formats.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. A. BACKGROUND RULES
  3. R1  Scope and Format of Standard Legal Documents
  4. R1.1   Standard Legal Documents
  5. R1.2   Academic Legal Documents
  6. R2. Typeface Standards
  7. R2.1  Italicized Components of Legal Citations
  8. R2.2  Additional Italicized Words in Textual Sentences
  9. R3   In-Text Citations
  10. R3.1  Three Options for In-Text Citations
  11. R3.2   Citation Sentences
  12. R3.3  Citation Clauses
  13. R3.4   Citations Embedded in Sentences
  14. R4  Signals
  15. R4.1   Function of Signals
  16. R4.2   Categories of Signals
  17. R4.3   Combinations of Signals
  18. R4.4   Authorities Cited Within Each Signal
  19. R4.5  Capitalization of Signals
  20. R4.5.1   Signals that start citation sentences
  21. R4.5.2    Signals in citation clauses within textual sentences
  22. R4.6   Signals for Supporting Authority
  23. R4.6.1    No signal
  24. R4.6.2   E.g.,
  25. R4.6.3  Accord
  26. R4.6.4  See
  27. R4.6.5   See also
  28. R4.6.6  Cf.
  29. R4.6.7   See generally
  30. R4.7     Signal for Comparison: Compare …  with …
  31. R4.8  Signals for Contradictory Authority
  32. R4.8.1    Contra
  33. R4.8.2   But see
  34. R4.8.3    But cf.
  35. R5  Pages, Sections, Paragraphs, and Related Subdivisions
  36. R5.1   Pages
  37. R5.1.1     Single pages
  38. R5.1.2   Spans of pages
  39. R5.1.3    Footnotes, figures, historical notes, and tables
  40. R5.2  Sections, Subsections, and Related Subdivisions
  41. R5.2.1   Sections
  42. R5.2.2   Subsections
  43. R5.2.3    Spans of sections, subsections, and scattered subsections
  44. R5.3  Paragraphs
  45. R6  Full and Short Citations
  46. R6.1   Full Citations
  47. R6.2   Short Citations
  48. R6.2.1   Short citations derived from the full citation
  49. R6.2.2   Use of Id.
  50. R6.2.3   Use of supra
  51. R7 Abbreviations
  52. R7.1   Abbreviations Generally
  53. R7.2  Ordinal Abbreviations in Citations
  54. R7.3  Textual References
  55. R8 Quotations
  56. R8.1  General Principles for Quotations
  57. R8.1.1    Quotation marks
  58. R8.1.2    Punctuation with quotations
  59. R8.1.3  Citation placement
  60. R8.2 Alterations of Quotations
  61. R8.2.1   Omission of letters
  62. R8.2.2   Mistakes in the original quotation
  63. R8.2.3    Substitution of letters or words
  64. R8.2.4    Use of parenthetical clauses to indicate changes to quotation
  65. R8.2.5    Parentheticals to indicate quotations within quotations
  66. R8.2.6   Unnecessary parentheticals
  67. R8.3  Omissions in Quotations
  68. R8.3.1    Ellipses generally
  69. R8.3.2  Omission from the beginning of a quoted sentence
  70. R8.3.3  Omission in the middle of a sentence
  71. R8.3.4  Omission Within a quotation as a phrase or clause
  72. R8.3.5  Omission at the end of a sentence
  73. R8.3.6  Omission of a footnote or citation
  74. R8.3.7  Omission of full sentences following the quoted material
  75. R9   Block Quotations
  76. R9.1  Basic Form of a Block Quotation
  77. R9.2  Formatting of Block Quotations
  78. R10   Explanatory Parentheticals
  79. R10.1  Capitalization in Parentheticals
  80. R10.1.1  Paraphrases and other original parentheticals
  81. R10.1.2  Quotations in parentheticals
  82. R10.2  Format and Order of Parentheticals Showing the Weight of Authority 
  83. B. CASES
  84. R11  Full citation
  85. R11.1  Elements of a Full Citation
  86. R11.1.1   Parallel citation
  87. R11.1.2   Parentheticals
  88. R11.1.3  Prior or subsequent history of the case
  89. R11.2    Case Names Italicized
  90. R11.3    Comprehensive Case-Name Abbreviations in Citation Sentences and Clauses
  91. R11.3.1  Common word abbreviations (citation sentences and clauses)
  92. R11.3.2  Geographical abbreviations (citation sentences and clauses)
  93. R11.3.3   Discretionary abbreviations (citation sentences and clauses)
  94. R11.4  Limited Case-Name Abbreviations in Textual Sentences
  95. R11.5  General Case Name Truncation for All Contexts
  96. R11.5.1  Surname
  97. R11.5.2  First-named party on each side of the “v.”
  98. R11.5.3  Commonly recognized abbreviations
  99. R11.5.4  Nicknames  
  100. R11.5.5  Et al.
  101. R11.5.6  Multiple business designations
  102. R11.5.8  United States as a party
  103. R11.5.9  State or commonwealth as a party
  104. R11.5.10  Municipalities
  105. R11.5.11  Prepositional phrases with locations
  106. R11.5.12  “The”
  107. R11.5.13  Commissioner of Internal Revenue
  108. R11.5.14  Unions
  109. R11.5.15  Multiple dispositions
  110. R11.5.16  Mandamus
  111. R11.5.17  Cases known by a distinct name
  112. R11.6  Volume Number, Reporter, First Page
  113. R11.6.1  Overview of volumes, reporters, and pages
  114. R11.6.2  Reporter and series
  115. R11.6.3  Parallel citation in state court documents
  116. R11.7  Pincites
  117. R11.7.1  Multiple pages
  118. R11.7.2  Span of pages
  119. R11.7.3  Paragraph numbers in medium-neutral cases
  120. R11.7.4  Citing a footnote
  121. R12  Court and Year
  122. R12.1  Overview of Court and Year
  123. R12.2   Court Abbreviations
  124. R12.3  Intermediate appellate departments or divisions
  125. R12.3.1  General rule of omission
  126. R12.3.2  Exceptions for including intermediate appellate department or division  
  127. R12.3    Duplicative Court and Year Information
  128. R12.3.1  Court indicated by reporter
  129. R12.3.2  Year indicated in medium-neutral citation
  130. R12.4   Special Note on Pending and Unreported or Unpublished Cases
  131. R12.4.1  Pending cases in LEXIS and Westlaw or other commercial database
  132. R12.4.2  Opinions only available online, but not in a commercial database
  133. R13  Weight of Authority and Explanatory Parenthetical
  134. R13.1   Parenthetical for Weight of Authority
  135. R13.2  Optional Explanatory Parenthetical
  136. R14  History of the Case
  137. R14.1  Subsequent History
  138. R14.2  Required Explanatory Phrases
  139. R14.2.1  Direct subsequent history of the litigation
  140. R14.2.2  Indirect subsequent history and legislative or constitutional subsequent history
  141. R14.3  Renamed Cases
  142. R14.4  Enslaved Persons
  143. R15  Short Form Citation for Cases
  144. R15.1  Short Citations in Text
  145. R15.2     Short Citations In Citation Sentences and Clauses
  146. R15.2.1  When a short form may be used
  147. R15.2.2  Form of short citations
  148. R15.2.3  Exceptions to using the first party of the case name
  149. R15.2.4  Shortening party names
  150. R15.3   Id.
  151. R15.3.1  Id. with immediately preceding citation (same page of case)
  152. R15.3.2  Id. with immediately preceding citation (different page)
  153. R15.3.3  Id. forbidden with string citations and ambiguous references
  154. C. STATUTES, RULES, REGULATIONS, AND OTHER LEGISLATIVE & ADMINISTRATIVE MATERIALS
  155. R16  Federal Statutes
  156. R16.1  Basic Citation Forms for Federal Statutes
  157. R16.1.1   United States Code
  158. R16.1.2   Year optional for current sections of the United States Code
  159. R16.1.3  Historical citations to the United States Code
  160. R16.1.4  Unofficial annotated U.S. codes
  161. R16.1.5  Year in unofficial U.S. code citations
  162. R16.1.6  Parallel citations to original section numbers
  163. R16.2  Short Citations
  164. R17    State Statutes
  165. R17.1  Official State Codes
  166. R17.2  Forms of Citation to State Codes
  167. R17.2.1  Basic citations to state codes
  168. R17.2.2  State codes by subject matter
  169. R17.3  Year of State Code
  170. R17.4  Statutes Not in Force
  171. R17.5   Short Citations
  172. R18  Rules of Procedure and Evidence, Restatements, and Uniform Acts
  173. R18.1  Rules of Evidence and Procedure
  174. R18.1.1  Federal and state rules
  175. R18.1.2  Uniform rules
  176. R18.1.3  Abbreviations
  177. R18.2  Restatements, Model Rules, and Uniform Acts
  178. R18.3  Uniform Commercial Code
  179. R18.4  Other Uniform Laws and Similar Sources
  180. R19   Administrative Rules and Regulations
  181. R19.1  Federal Rules
  182. R19.1.1  General format for administrative rules
  183. R19.1.2  C.F.R. parts
  184. R19.1.3  Optional name
  185. R19.2  State Regulations
  186. R19.3  Agency Adjudications, Arbitrations, Orders, and Other Actions
  187. R19.3.1   Adjudications
  188. R19.3.2  Arbitrations
  189. R19.3.3  Parallel citations
  190. R19.3.4  Pincites
  191. R19.4  Proposed Rules
  192. R19.5  Comments Filed with Agencies
  193. R19.5.1  Comments generally
  194. R19.5.2  Comments with subsequent agency response
  195. R20   Federal Taxation Materials
  196. R20.1  Internal Revenue Code
  197. R20.1.1  I.R.C.
  198. R20.1.2  Title 26 of the United States Code
  199. R20.1.3  Unofficial codes
  200. R20.2  Treasury Regulations
  201. R20.3  Treasury Determinations
  202. R20.4  Private Letter Rulings
  203. R21   Legislative Materials
  204. R21.1  Federal Bills and Resolutions
  205. R21.2  Enacted Federal Bills and Resolutions
  206. R21.3  State Bills and Resolutions
  207. R21.4  Committee Hearings
  208. R21.4.1  Congressional committee hearings
  209. R21.4.2  State committee hearings
  210. R21.5  Federal Congressional Reports
  211. R21.5.1  Report citations 
  212. R21.5.2  Other legislative materials
  213. R22  Short Form Citation of Legislative and Administrative Materials
  214. R22.1    General short-citation forms
  215. R22.2  Id.
  216. R23  Sources and Authorities: Constitutions
  217. R23.1  United States Constitution
  218. R23.3  State Constitutions
  219. R23.4  Short Forms
  220. D. COURT & LITIGATION DOCUMENTS
  221. R24   Documents Filed in the Same Case
  222. R24.1  Document Title
  223. R24.2  Pincites to Page, Page and Line, or Paragraph
  224. R24.2.1  Pincites to the appellate record 
  225. R24.2.2  Page and line pincites
  226. R24.2.3  Commas
  227. R24.3  Date of Document
  228. R24.4  Electronic Case Filing Number
  229. R24.5  Parentheses or Brackets
  230. R25  Court or Litigation Documents from Other Cases
  231. R25.1  General Format in Published Cases
  232. R25.2  Pending or Undecided Cases
  233. R25.3  Oral Argument Audio and Transcripts
  234. R26   Short Form Citation for Court and Litigation Documents
  235. R27  Capitalization in Court Documents and Legal Memoranda
  236. R27.1   Capitalizing Court
  237. R27.2  Party Designations in a Litigation
  238. R27.3  Titles of Court Documents
  239. R27.4  Types of Documents Not Capitalized
  240. E. BOOKS & NON-PERIODICALS
  241. R28  Full Citation for Books & Non-Periodicals
  242. R28.1  General
  243. R28.2  Author Name or Names
  244. R28.2.1  Exact names
  245. R28.2.2  Multiple authors
  246. R28.2.3  Title of the publication
  247. R28.2.4  Pincite
  248. R28.2.5  Edition, editor or translator, and year of publication
  249. R29  Short Form Citation for Books & Non-Periodicals
  250. R29.1  Id.
  251. R29.2  Supra
  252. F. JOURNALS, MAGAZINES, & NEWSPAPER ARTICLES
  253. R30   Full Citation for Journals, Magazines & Newspaper Articles
  254. R30.1   Journal Citations
  255. R30.1.1  Consecutively paginated journals (such as law reviews)
  256. R30.1.2  Journals and magazines with standard pagination
  257. R30.1.3  Pincites with standard pagination
  258. R30.1.3  Student-written material in law journals
  259. R30.2  Authors
  260. R30.2.1  Name as listed
  261. R30.2.2  Two authors
  262. R30.2.3  Multiple authors
  263. R30.2.4  No listed author
  264. R30.3  Journal Titles
  265. R30.3.1  Abbreviated titles
  266. R30.2.2  Prepositions, articles, commas, and colons
  267. R30.2.3  Online supplements
  268. R30.2.4  Evolving journal titles and series designation
  269. R30.4  Newspaper Articles
  270. R30.4.1  Print-based citation to newspaper article
  271. R30.4.2  Citation to newspaper article online
  272. R31  Short Form Citation for Journals, Magazines & Newspaper Articles
  273. R31.1    Id.
  274. R31.2    Supra
  275. G. INTERNET SOURCES
  276. R32   General Principles for Internet Sources
  277. R32.1  Authenticated, Official, and Exact Copies
  278. R32.2  Print Sources Also Available on the Internet
  279. R32.3  Print Sources Reproduced on the Internet
  280. R32.4  Webpages and Internet Sources
  281. R33  Basic Formula for Internet Sources
  282. R33.1  Author Name(s)
  283. R33.1.1  Personal author
  284. R33.1.2  Institutional authors
  285. R33.1.3  Forum authors
  286. R33.1.4  Unavailable author name
  287. R33.2  Content Title
  288. R33.2.1  Specific webpage title
  289. R33.2.2  Shortened content title
  290. R33.2.3  Comments and other related pages
  291. R33.3  Main Website Title
  292. R33.3.1  Overall title
  293. R33.3.2  Abbreviation
  294. R33.4  Pincite
  295. R33.4.1  Paginated electronic publication, or publication of print version
  296. R33.5  Date & Time
  297. R33.5.1  Time not needed
  298. R33.5.2  Last visited
  299. R33.6  URL
  300. R33.6.1  Entire URL preferred
  301. R33.6.2
  302. R33.6.3  Archived URL
  303. R33.6.4  Multiple URLs
  304. R33.7  Social media
  305. R34   Short Form Citations for Internet Sources
  306. J. TABLES
  307. T1 Federal Materials
  308. T1.1    Federal Judicial Materials
  309. T1.2  Federal Statutory Materials
  310. T2   Federal Administrative and Executive Materials
  311. T3  U.S. States and Other Jurisdictions
  312. T4  Required Abbreviations for Services
  313. T4.1  Service Publisher Names
  314. T4.2  Service Abbreviations
  315. T5  Required Abbreviations for Legislative Documents
  316. T6. Required Abbreviations for Treaty Sources
  317. T7. Required Abbreviations for Arbitral Reporters
  318. T8. Required Abbreviations for Intergovernmental Organizations
  319. T9. Required Abbreviations for Court Names
  320. T10. Required Abbreviations for Titles of Judges and Officials
  321. T11. Required Abbreviations for Case Names in Citations, Periodical Titles, and Institutional Authors (Common Words)
  322. T12. Required Abbreviations for Geographical Terms
  323. T12.1. U.S. States, Cities and Territories
  324. T12.2 Australian States and Canadian Provinces and Territories
  325. T12.3 Countries and Regions
  326. T13. Required Abbreviations for Document Subdivisions
  327. T14. Required Abbreviations for Explanatory Phrases
  328. T15. Required Abbreviations for Institutional Names in Periodical Titles
  329. T16. Required Abbreviations for Publishing Terms
  330. T17. Required Abbreviations for Month Names
  331. T18.  Abbreviations for Litigation Documents
  332. T19  Cross-References for Academic Legal Documents
  333. T20   Table of Citation Guides
  334. T20.1   General Legal Citation Guides (Online)
  335. T20.2  Country-Specific Citation Guides
  336. K. CODICIL
  337. L. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Introduction

Welcome to The Indigo Book 2.0—a free, Creative Commons-dedicated implementation of the uniform system of citation commonly used in United States legal documents.

The Indigo Book (2d ed. 2021) isn’t the same as The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation (21st ed. 2020), but it does implement the same system of citation that The Bluebook does. The scope of The Indigo Book’s coverage is roughly equivalent to The Bluebook’s “Bluepages”—that is, The Indigo Book covers legal citation for U.S. legal materials, as well as books, periodicals, and Internet and other electronic resources. For the materials that it covers, anyone using The Indigo Book will produce briefs, memoranda, law review articles, and other legal documents with citations that are compatible with the Uniform System of Citation. Although law students, scholars, and legal professionals sometimes talk about legal citation as if it is truly uniform, the fact is that legal citation has never actually been a uniform national system. Accordingly, The Indigo Book also provides insight into some of the discretionary preferences and jurisdiction-specific variations found in legal citation throughout the United States.

Unlike The Bluebook and competitor citation manual The ALWD Guide to Legal Citation, The Indigo Book is free, in two senses. The Indigo Book is given to you free of charge. The Indigo Book is also free of the restrictions of copyright. You are free to copy and distribute this work, and to improve on it. As with the 2016 version, we are releasing this version of The Indigo Book under a Creative Commons “CC0” public domain dedication that allows you to use it, copy it, distribute it, and modify it. The Indigo Book welcomes the Juris-M project for automating legal citations, built in connection with the citation formats provided in the First Edition of The Indigo Book and in progress with updates reflecting this Second Edition.

The first edition of The Indigo Book was compiled by a team of students at the New York University School of Law, working under the direction of Professor Christopher Jon Sprigman and published in 2016. The second edition of The Indigo Book was compiled by Professor Jennifer Murphy Romig with assistance from students at the Emory University School of Law, and published in 2021. In the five years since the first edition of The Indigo Book, U.S. citation practices have continued to expand and fragment. The proliferation of citation formats has taken place via both official channels, such as the North Carolina Supreme Court’s adoption of medium-neutral citation format; and unofficial practices, such as the growing use of (cleaned up) as a parenthetical to replace (internal citations and quotation marks omitted), as promoted by Washington, D.C. lawyer Jack Metzler.

This Second Edition of The Indigo Book, like the first one, continues to take its inspiration from the 10th edition of The Bluebook, published in 1959:

The primary purpose of a citation is to facilitate finding and identifying the authority cited. The rules set forth in this booklet should not be considered invariable. Whenever clarity will be served, the citation form should be altered without hesitation; whenever a citation would not amplify the identification of the authority referred to, no citation should be given.

In that spirit, we hope you will take The Indigo Book, use it, enjoy it, and continue to improve it.

Professor Jennifer Murphy Romig
Emory University School of Law

A. BACKGROUND RULES

R1  Scope and Format of Standard Legal Documents

The Uniform System of Citation has split into two main branches, with somewhat different citation rules for each. The Indigo Book is a resource for legal citations in standard legal documents.

R1.1   Standard Legal Documents

The Indigo Book states the rules and provides examples for standard legal documents. We define standard legal documents as documents created for practical law-related purposes such as court filings, legal memoranda, legal analysis, and other forms of legal information that require or benefit from a technically precise and commonly understood citation format. The legal citations for standard legal documents using The Indigo Book adhere to a generally consistent national standard.
Many state courts and local legal communities use citation formats that vary from this common standard, more so for state and local citations than for federal citations. Table T3 provides selective information on state variations. In customizing legal citations for a local audience, consult Table T3 as well as local court rules, customs, and expertise.

R1.2   Academic Legal Documents

Academic legal documents include articles for publication in law reviews, generally authored by law professors and law students enrolled in J.D. programs. The Uniform System of Citation treats law review articles and standard legal documents differently, requiring different fonts and imposing additional footnote rules. Citations in standard legal documents and law review articles provide the same information about legal sources, and a short cross-reference highlighting key font differences is provided in Table T20. A full treatment of formal citation formats for law review articles is outside the scope of The Indigo Book.

R2. Typeface Standards

R2.1  Italicized Components of Legal Citations

In legal citations, italicize the following components, whether placed in footnotes or textual sentences:

Case names—in both full and short citations—and procedural phrases (such as In re and Ex parte) embedded in the case names
Book titles
Article titles
Certain titles in legislative materials such as committee hearings
Introductory signals (examples: e.g., see, cf.,and accord)
Explanatory phrases that introduce subsequent case history (examples: aff’d or cert. denied)
Cross references, (examples: infra, supra and id.)
Words and phrases that introduce related authority (e.g., reprinted in and available in)
Example:
The Supreme Court’s practice of allowing modifications after opinions’ initial release has at times extended beyond typographical corrections to substantive changes. Richard Lazarus, The (Non)Finality of Supreme Court Opinions, 128 Harv. L. Rev. 540, 544 (2014).

R2.2  Additional Italicized Words in Textual Sentences

In the textual sentences of standard legal documents, also italicize the following components and words:

Publication titles (e.g., The Onion)
Words that are italicized in the original quotation, with no need to add the parenthetical (emphasis in original); and
All words that would be italicized in the text (e.g., foreign words that are not commonly used in English language documents).
Example:
As Adam Liptak reported in The New York Times, the Supreme Court sometimes corrects and modifies its opinions after their initial release. Adam Liptak, Final Word on U.S. Law Isn’t: Supreme Court Keeps Editing, N.Y. Times, May 25, 2014, at A1, https://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/25/us/final-word-on-us-law-isnt-supreme-court-keeps-editing.html.

Indigo Inkling

The typewriter was invented around the 1860s. The first edition of The Bluebook is from 1926. Typewriters of that era did not support italics or boldface. If you wanted to emphasize text, your sole option was to underline. Throughout The Indigo Book, you'll see us italicizing text rather than underlining, because that’s how we do it in the 21st Century. For an archaic look or where local court rules require, underlining is a good option. If you have a choice, we believe italics are easier to read and should be the preferred method.

While we’re on the subject of formatting text, we also urge writers to format their quotations using all the benefits of modern word processing. Specifically, use well-formatted “smart quotes” (shown here) that curl around the quoted material, rather than "dumb quotes" (shown here) that are the same whether opening or closing a quote.

R3   In-Text Citations

R3.1  Three Options for In-Text Citations

For standard legal documents, in-text citations can be rendered in three ways:

R3.2   Citation Sentences

Citations in standard legal documents often follow complete text sentences.

Examples:
Under the due process requirement, there must be “some definite link, some minimum connection, between a state and the person, property or transaction it seeks to tax.” Miller Brothers Co. v. Maryland, 347 U.S. 340, 344-345 (1954).
Electronic signatures have the same legal effect as signatures signed with pen and ink. The Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 7001-7006.

Citations following sentences can be single citations or, when appropriate, several sequential citations separated by a semicolon (known as a “string citation”). These string citations can utilize citation signals consistent with Rule R4 to show the relationship of the citation to the textual sentence.

Example:
Prior to 2018, Supreme Court precedent had required a seller to have a physical presence within a state as a requirement of state taxation. See Quill Corp. v. North Dakota, 504 U.S. 298 (1992); National Bellas Hess, Inc. v. Dep’t of Rev. of Ill., 386 U.S. 753 (1967).

R3.3  Citation Clauses

Some citations in standard legal documents are placed as citation clauses within sentences. Use citation clauses to cite sources and authorities that relate to only a section of the sentence. A citation clause directly follows the claim it relates to. It may include a signal to indicate the relationship of the cited source to the claim.

Separate citation clauses from the text with commas. Do not add additional capital letters beyond the required capitalization of the sources being cited.

Examples:

Federal law attempts to address online privacy generally, 18 U.S.C. §§ 2510-2523, and children’s privacy specifically, 15 U.S.C. §§ 6501-6505.

Although detailed regulations apply to children’s privacy online, 16 C.F.R. pt. 312, significant gaps remain in both federal and state law.

R3.4   Citations Embedded in Sentences

Citations can be embedded into the grammatical structure of a textual sentence in a variety of ways. Because citations embedded in sentences are read as part of the sentence’s grammatical flow, the rules for abbreviating case names are different and more restrictive than for citation sentences and clauses.

Examples:

Since Nelson v. Sears, Roebuck & Co., 312 U.S. 359, 366 (1941), the Court has eschewed the idea that a constitutional right could be grounded in “the practical opportunities for tax avoidance.

In Nelson v. Sears, Roebuck & Co., the Court first eschewed the idea that a constitutional right could be grounded in “the practical opportunities for tax avoidance.” 312 U.S. 359, 366 (1941),

The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998, 15 U.S.C. §§ 6501-6505 (COPPA) was the first federal law specifically protecting children under the age of 13.

Indigo Inkling

Traditionally, the citations within standard legal documents have been integrated into the main body text. These citations may be placed directly after textual sentences, in citation sentences; as citation clauses within sentences; or textually embedded within sentences. Traditionally, law review articles present their citation support via extensive footnotes in a distinctive format with three different font styles (roman, italics, and Small Caps).

Some courts and lawyers are now producing standard legal documents using footnotes rather than in-text citations. Legal scholar, speaker, and advocate Bryan A. Garner is the best-known proponent of footnotes in standard legal documents, arguing that in-text citations interfere with textual flow and disguise bad writing. Others such as Professor Alexa Chew argue that in-text citations are superior because they integrate source information into the text, a process that can be accomplished with style and grace. The Indigo Book provides citation rules that can be used for either in-text or footnoted citations in standard legal documents.

The original edition of The Indigo Book advised writers to use footnotes only when allowed by a court’s local rules. This remains good advice, although we note that some writers use footnotes when not expressly prohibited by a court’s local rules. Rule R3 has been modified to more fully accommodate the writer’s discretion. As with many discretionary choices, writers should select an approach based on the document’s purpose, audience, and overall context.

R4  Signals

R4.1   Function of Signals

A signal represents the relationship between the author’s assertion and the source or sources cited following that assertion, a relationship that can run the gamut from supporting it directly to supporting the exact opposite of that assertion. To show this relationship, the signal begins the citation sentence or clause.

R4.2   Categories of Signals

There are four basic categories of signals:

Category

Signals

Signals for Supporting Authority

[No signal]

E.g.,

Accord

See

See also

Cf.

Signal for Comparison

Compare <citation to source(s), separated with “and” if multiple> with <citation to source(s), separated with “and” if multiple>

Signals for Contradictory Authority

Contra

But see

But cf.

Signals for Background Material

See generally

R4.3   Combinations of Signals

When more than one category of authority is used in the same citation, they should be ordered according to categories of signals. As shown in the table above, the categories follow a logical order: supporting authority is provided before comparative and contradictory authority, and general background.

In citation sentences, signals in the same category are listed within a single sentence, and each one is marked off by semicolons. Signals in separate categories, however, are listed in separate citation sentences.

  Example:

Justice Scalia once noted that “the Constitution sometimes insulates the criminality of a few in order to protect the privacy of us all.” Arizona v. Hicks, 480 U.S. 321, 329 (1987). But see Maryland v. King, 569 U.S. 435, 462-463 (2013) (acknowledging the existence of “programmatic searches of either the public at large or a particular class of regulated but otherwise law-abiding citizens” such as motorist checkpoints).
In citation clauses, all signals (regardless of category) are listed within a single citation clause and separated by semicolons.

  Example:

Justice Scalia once noted that “the Constitution sometimes insulates the criminality of a few in order to protect the privacy of us all,” Arizona v. Hicks, 480 U.S. 321, 329 (1987); see also Maryland v. King, 569 U.S. 435, 481 (2013) (Scalia, J., dissenting) (“Solving unsolved crimes is a noble objective, but it occupies a lower place in the American pantheon of noble objectives than the protection of our people from suspicionless law-enforcement searches.”); and later applied that principle to limit police use of thermal imaging technology, see Kyllo v. United States, 389 U.S. 27 (2001); cf. United States v. Jones, 565 U.S. 400 (2012) (invalidating use of a GPS tracking device for long-term surveillance).

R4.4   Authorities Cited Within Each Signal

For the order of authorities cited after (and thus within each signal), order them in a helpful and logical manner, and use a semicolon in between each one.

Indigo Inkling

String citations are not always desirable or appropriate, especially in standard legal documents. Judge Ruggero J. Aldisert of the Third Circuit describes string citations as “generally irritating and useless.” Alexa Chew, Stylish Legal Citation, 71 Ark. L. Rev. 823, 858 n. 214 (2019) (quoting Judge Aldisert in Winning on Appeal: Better Briefs and Oral Arguments 57 (2d ed. 2003). On the other hand, after a carefully crafted proposition drawn from several authorities, a string cite may be “the right tool for the job.” Id. at 859.

When a string citation is appropriate, the writer must decide how to order the authorities in the string. In relatively recent years, academic legal documents have followed an elaborate hierarchy, which essentially consists of the following: constitutions before statutes, state statutes in alphabetical order by state, federal cases before state cases, legislative materials before regulatory materials, and all other primary materials, then followed by secondary materials. See The Indigo Book Rule R10 (1st ed. 2016); The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation Rule 1.4 (20th ed. 2015). This hierarchy often does, in fact, provide the most logical order; it seems unwise to cite Wikipedia before the United States Constitution, for example. But this hierarchy may not always fit the situation. The Uniform System of Citation is evolving to encompass more flexibility and discretion in a few pockets here and there, such as the basic principle that authorities cited in a string within a single signal should be placed in a helpful and logical order.

R4.5  Capitalization of Signals

R4.5.1   Signals that start citation sentences

The signal is capitalized at the beginning of a citation sentence.

Example:
Unbelievable as it may be, the Supreme Court has weighed in on the issue of whether a tomato is a fruit or vegetable. See Nix v. Heden, 149 U.S. 304 (1893).
R4.5.2    Signals in citation clauses within textual sentences

The signal is left in lowercase at the beginning of a citation clause.

Example:
Even seemingly trivial issues, see, e.g., Nix v. Heden, 149 U.S. 304 (1893) (addressing the question of whether tomatoes are fruits or vegetables), can sometimes merit input from the Supreme Court.

R4.6   Signals for Supporting Authority

R4.6.1    No signal

A citation does not need an added signal if—

The source makes the same assertion as the sentence it is supporting.
Example:
To impose the death penalty on an individual who is criminally insane is unconstitutional. Ford v. Wainwright, 477 U.S. 399, 410 (1986).
The assertion is a direct quotation from the source.
Example:
States are prohibited from “inflicting the penalty of death upon a prisoner who is insane.” Ford v. Wainwright, 477 U.S. 399, 410 (1986).
The source is referred to in the assertion.
Example:
In cases like Roper, Atkins, and Ford, the Supreme Court has established certain classes of individuals upon which the death penalty may not be imposed. Roper v. Simmons, 543 U.S. 551, 575 (2005); Atkins v. Virginia, 536 U.S. 304, 321 (2002); Ford v. Wainwright, 477 U.S. 399, 410 (1986).
R4.6.2   E.g.,

Use e.g., if the cited source is one of multiple sources to make the same assertion. The citation may include however many sources the author finds to be helpful. Note that the comma in the signal e.g., should not be italicized.

Examples:
In a criminal case, the state bears the burden of proving the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. E.g., State v. Purrier, 336 P.3d 574, 576 (Or. Ct. App. 2014).
Prior to the Supreme Court’s decision in Riley v. California, 573 U.S. 373 (2014), several circuits had generally allowed the police to conduct warrantless searches of cell phones of individuals under arrest. E.g., U.S. v. Murphy, 552 F.3d 405, 411 (4th Cir. 2009); U.S. v. Finley, 477 F.3d 250, 260 (5th Cir. 2007).

E.g., may also be used following any other signal, such as See or Contra in which case an italicized comma should separate the two signals.

R4.6.3  Accord

Accord is used when more than one source substantiates a proposition, but the text quotes just one of them. Use accord as the introductory signal for the non-quoted sources. Also, accord may be used as the introductory signal for indicating that the law of one jurisdiction is consistent with the law of another.

Examples:
Colorado law makes it the “duty of every corporation or person who has reasonable grounds to believe that a crime has been committed to report promptly the suspected crime to law enforcement authorities.” Colo. Rev. Stat. § 18-8-115 (2020); accord Lunsford v. Western States Life. Ins., 919 P.2d 899, 901 (Colo. App. 1996) (interpreting the reasonable-grounds standard as lower than the probable-cause standard enabling police to make a warrantless arrest).
Under Colorado law, witnesses have a limited duty to report crimes. Colo. Rev. Stat. § 18-8-115 (2020); accord Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 268, § 40 (2020).
R4.6.4  See

See is used when an authority does not directly state but clearly supports the proposition. See is used instead of no signal when an inferential step is required to connect the proposition to the authority cited.

Example:  
Citizens have less training than police on detecting crime and no authority to detain other individuals; thus, citizens’ duty to report crime is based on reasonable grounds to believe a crime has been committed, rather than the more exacting probable cause standard. See Lunsford v. Western States Life. Ins., 919 P.2d 899, 901 (Colo. App. 1996) (interpreting the reasonable-grounds standard to be less than the probable-cause standard enabling police to make a warrantless arrest).
R4.6.5   See also

See also is used for additional sources that support an assertion. Use see also when authority that states or clearly supports the assertion has already been cited or discussed. The use of a parenthetical is recommended with see also.

Example:  
Slayer statutes prevent killers from reaping rewards from committing homicide. Lunsford v. Western States Life Ins., 908 P.2d 79, 83 (Colo. 1995); see also Bennett v. Allstate Ins. Co., 722 A.2d 115, 117 (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div. 1998) (interpreting New Jersey’s slayer statute to mandate that “an intentional killer will not be permitted to benefit, directly or indirectly, from his wrongful act”).
R4.6.6  Cf.

Cf. indicates support by analogy to the assertion. It may also be used where the source is related but requires some interpretive work to connect to the assertion. Cf. may also be used within a string citation to provide another source that is analogous to the previously cited source in that string. Always use a parenthetical with cf. to explain the logical connection required for the argument.

Examples:
Attorneys have an ethical duty of competence, but under Model Rule of Professional Conduct 1.1 comment 3, that duty may be relaxed in emergency situations. Cf. Carter v. Reese, 2016-Ohio-4559, 70 N.E.3d 478 (holding that Good Samaritan law protects from liability anyone giving medical or nonmedical emergency aid, not only healthcare workers providing medical aid).
Slayer statutes seek to eliminate any financial incentive to commit murder by prohibiting insurance proceeds to the killer. E.g., Unif. Prob. Code § 2-803; cf. N.Y. Exec. Law § 632-a (2020) (seizing profits from publications by certain incarcerated felons).
R4.6.7   See generally
See generally is used for useful background material. It is recommended that you use a parenthetical with see generally in order to explain the authority’s relevance to the proposition.
Example:  
The slayer rule is a product of common law principles prohibiting killers from profiting their crimes. See generally Restatement (Third) of Restitution and Unjust Enrichment § 45(2) (Am. L. Inst. 2011) (“A slayer's acquisition, enlargement, or accelerated possession of an interest in property as a result of the victim's death constitutes unjust enrichment that the slayer will not be allowed to retain.”).

R4.7     Signal for Comparison: Compare …  with …

Compare … with … is used when the relationship of multiple authorities will demonstrate or offer support for the proposition. It is highly recommended that each authority in the comparison be explained with a parenthetical in order to make the relationship and argument clear to the reader.

Each portion of the compare   with … signal may contain multiple sources. Separate these sources using commas and italicized and between the penultimate and ultimate citation in the list.

Example:
The 20th Century saw sweeping changes in the definition and scope of the Due Process Clause. Compare Lochner v. New York, 198 U.S. 45 (1905) (showing the Supreme Court’s historical interpretation of the Due Process Clause as solely protecting an individual’s right to contract), with McDonald v. Chicago, 561 U.S. 742 (2010) (incorporating the Second Amendment using the Due Process Clause), BMW of North America, Inc. v. Gore, 517 U.S. 559 (1996) (utilizing the Due Process Clause to reduce punitive damages), and Dolan v. City of Tigard, 512 U.S. 374 (1994) (limiting the zoning and ordinance powers of local governments under the Due Process Clause).

Insert a comma before the with. As with all citation sentences, insert a period to conclude the citation sentence. It is theoretically possible to conclude with a semicolon and continue with more signals and citations in the order listed within this rule, but it is probably not advisable. See our Indigo Inkling on string citations.

R4.8  Signals for Contradictory Authority

R4.8.1    Contra
Contra is used when a cited authority directly conflicts with the proposition it follows. Contra is the opposite signal to no signal.
Examples:
The Bluebook efficiently formulates and expresses the rules of legal citation for a variety of audiences. Contra Richard A. Posner, The Bluebook Blues, 120 Yale L.J. 950, 951 (2011) (“It is a monstrous growth, remote from the functional need for legal citation forms, that serves obscure needs of the legal culture and its student subculture.”).
The Bluebook is a “monstrous growth, remote from the functional need for legal citation forms.” Richard A. Posner, The Bluebook Blues, 120 Yale L.J. 950, 951 (2011). Contra David Ziff, The Worst System of Citation Except for All the Others, 66 J. Leg. Educ. 668 (2017) (reviewing The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation (Columbia L. Rev. Ass’n et al. eds, 20th ed. 2015) (“Perhaps The Bluebook survives because it’s not so terrible after all. Perhaps The Bluebook works quite well for the task it was designed to perform.”).
R4.8.2   But see

But see is used for authority that, while not directly contradicting the main proposition, nonetheless clearly opposes it. But see is the opposite signal to see.

Example: The Supreme Court noted in Packingham v. North Carolina, 137 S. Ct. 1730 (2017), that the internet functions as a public square. But see Manhattan Cmty. Access Corp. v. Halleck, 13o S. Ct. 1921 (2019) (holding that New York’s public access television channel is not a state actor bound by the First Amendment).
R4.8.3    But cf.

Prepare yourself, and use this one sparingly: But cf. indicates that the cited source supports an assertion that is similar to the opposite of the main assertion. It follows that But cf. is the opposite signal to cf. indicating support by analogy. Always use a parenthetical with but cf. to explain the logical connection required for the argument. This is the weakest signal for contrary authority.

Example:  The bar exam is the only professional-licensure exam that bears so little relationship to the education that precedes it or the professional work that follows it. But cf. Michael Riscica, Why (Smart & Talented) People Fail the Architect Exam, Architizer, https://architizer.com/blog/practice/details/5-reasons-why-smart-and-talented-people-fail-the-architect-exam/ (last visited June 1, 2021) (“There is no correlation between success in architecture school and success with completing the exam. In fact, I truly believe that the creativity that brought you success in architecture school will be your biggest handicap with studying for the [architecture registration exam].”)

R5  Pages, Sections, Paragraphs, and Related Subdivisions

R5.1   Pages

A legal citation usually refers not only to a source in general, but to specific points within that source—whether a page, a footnote on a page, a section or sub-section, or a numbered paragraph. Citations must include specific reference to the point within the source being referred to. For cases, these specific references are known as pincites.

R5.1.1     Single pages

Refer to the source’s page by its number or numbers. Do not use p. or pp. to indicate a page reference.

Examples:
The Supreme Court held that a state cannot copyright its official annotated code because “whatever work that judge or legislator produces in the course of his judicial or legislative duties is not copyrightable” Georgia v. Public.Resource.org, Inc., 140 S. Ct. 1498, 1513 (2020).
Chief Justice Roberts rejected the idea that states can maintain and copyright a “first-class” official annotated code, in contrast to its “economy-class” unannotated code. Id. at 1512.
Elizabeth Porter & Kathryn Watts, Visual Rulemaking, 91 N.Y.U. L. Rev. 1183, 1240 (2016).
R5.1.2   Spans of pages

Refer to a span of pages with a hyphen (-), an en dash (–), or the word “to” if needed for clarity. Note that an en dash is the proper standard for providing a span of pages in a formal legal publication, but hyphens are commonly used in practice. Drop all digits except the last two, unless needed for clarity.

Examples:
Elizabeth Porter & Kathryn Watts, Visual Rulemaking, 91 N.Y.U. L. Rev. 1183, 1240-41 (2016).
Porter & Watts, supra, at 1240-41.
Selmon v. Hasbro Bradley, Inc., 669 F. Supp. 1267, 1272-73 (S.D.N.Y. 1987).
McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 799-801 (1973).

Indigo Inkling

Hyphens, en dashes, and em dashes are three separate marks with mostly separate functions in citations and sentences. These marks all comprise short, horizontal lines that—with the help of glasses and/or a magnifying glass—you will see have microscopically varying lengths.

Hyphens (shortest in length) are used for phrasal adjectives (e.g., “laser-sharp focus,” “larger-than-life character,” and compound words (e.g., “daughter-in-law,” “over-the-counter”). Hyphens are also a feature of many statutory citation formats, such as Ala. Code § 27-14-24 and O.C.G.A. § 33-24-41. Meticulously preserve hyphens when they are intrinsically part of a citation, such as 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(a)(1). Hyphens are commonly used for page ranges in standard legal documents.

En dashes (longer than hyphens, shorter than em dashes) are used for ranges of values (e.g., page ranges) and contrasting or connected pairs of words (e.g., Sarbanes–Oxley Act), especially in academic legal documents.

Em dashes (longest in length) are used for inserting a break in a thought; isolating a concluding phrase; setting on a parenthetical explanation or amplification; and signaling a collection of ideas. Here’s one example: “When her new Volkswagen was finally delivered—nearly three months after it was ordered and following the revelation of VW's massive scheme of emissions control fraud—Alice decided she didn't want it.”

R5.1.3    Footnotes, figures, historical notes, and tables

Cite a footnote on a page by providing the page, one space, the abbreviation “n.”, and the footnote number. Follow the same format for figures, historical notes, tables, and similar features. Refer to Table T13 for abbreviations such as “fig.” for “figure.” Do not add a space between the abbreviation and the number or letter designating the figure, footnote, historical note, or table.

Examples:
Elizabeth Porter & Kathryn Watts, Visual Rulemaking, 91 N.Y.U. L. Rev. 1183, 1239 n.270 (2016).
Cunningham v. State, 822 S.E.2d 281, 285 n.4 (Ga. 2018) (Hunstein, J.) (“And that’s all she wrote.”).
U.S. v. Rentz, 777 F.3d 1105, 1110 fig. (10th Cir. 2015) (Gorsuch, J.) (diagramming 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)).

R5.2  Sections, Subsections, and Related Subdivisions

R5.2.1   Sections

Cite a section with the section symbol (§) followed by a space and the section number.

  Examples:

  21 U.S.C. § 343.

  21 C.F.R. § 164.150 (2020).

  Restatement (Third) of Agency § 2.01 (Am. L. Inst. 2006).

Indigo Inkling

The symbol “§” means “section,” and “§§” is the plural form. The section symbol can be inserted as a special character. Computer-keyboard shortcuts create the § symbol with just a few key strokes: [Option-6] on an Apple keyboard or [Alt-0167] on a Windows keyboard using the numeric keypad. Setting up a customized keyboard shortcut may be a good option for Windows users who generate legal citations on a regular basis. If using a mobile device, you may be able to insert a section into text such as by tapping and holding the “&” key.

R5.2.2   Subsections

Specifically cite a subsection using the punctuation in the original source, and using the original capitalization style. Do not remove or alter parentheses or hyphens or dashes in the original source’s citation.

  Examples:

  42 U.S.C. § 2000ff–5(a).

  42 U.S.C. § 2000ff–1(b)(2)(A).

  42 U.S.C. § 2000ff(2).

  Col. Rev. Stat. § 7-74-102(2)(b)(I) (2021).

  21 C.F.R. § 133.3 (2021).

R5.2.3    Spans of sections, subsections, and scattered subsections

Use a hyphen, en dash (–), or the word “to” to indicate a span of sections or subsections. In a span or collection of scattered sections, include the last portion of a citation and omit the identical first part, unless repetition of all portions is needed for clarity. Do not use “et seq.” for a span of sources.

Examples:
18 U.S.C. §§ 3681-82.
The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008, 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000ff to 2000ff-11.
O.C.G.A. §§ 51-30-20 to -26 (2021).

Use the source’s formal title for a collected span of sections, such as parts in the Code of Federal Regulations. Table T13 provides the abbreviation for the subdivision “Part.”

Example:
21 C.F.R. pt. 133 (2020).

Use a comma to indicate scattered sections within a source.

Example: 
16 N.Y. Codes, Rules & Regs. §§ 895.1(f), 895.4(b) (2021).

R5.3  Paragraphs

Sources organized into formal paragraphs should be cited with specific reference to the paragraph referred to in the cited proposition.

Examples:
Miller Aff. ¶ 8, Jan. 12, 2015.
In re N.A., 2021-NCCOA-2, ¶ 11.

R6  Full and Short Citations

R6.1   Full Citations

Provide a full citation to a source the first time it is cited. Refer to the rules in The Indigo Book for examples of each source in full-citation form.

R6.2   Short Citations

Legal citation provides frequent specific citations not just to sources as a whole, but to specific pages within sources. In some standard legal documents, every textual sentence is followed by a citation to a supporting legal source. Short-citation forms allow frequent citation in a less intrusive and repetitive way, since many full citation forms are quite long.

R6.2.1   Short citations derived from the full citation

Short-form citations enable various sources to used throughout a passage without repeating the entire full citation every time. Short-form citations generally identify the source and pincite, using a form that follows from the full citation form, while not repeating every detail from the full citation.

Every full citation has at least one short form that can be used later in a document after the initial full citation. Refer to the source-specific rules in the Indigo Book for short-citation form examples of each source.

R6.2.2   Use of Id.

Use the short form Id. (capitalized in a citation sentence after a text sentence) or id. (uncapitalized within a sentence as citation clause) to support a statement where it refers to the same exact source cited in the immediately preceding citation. Id. can be used for statutes, regulations, cases, and most other sources.

Id. can be used alone, to indicate the same page of the same source. It can be used with a new pincite to a page, section, or other subdivision, to indicate a different portion of the immediately preceding source. Id. can also refer to a preceding citation that is itself Id. or another short form of a citation.

In general, do not use id. if it causes confusion or does not save space. For example, id. cannot be used after a string citation, even to refer to the final source listed in that string. Do not use id. to refer to appellate-record citations such as R. at 2. It may be used for sources with longer names in litigation documents, so long as the reference remains clear.

Id. can be used to refer to the immediately preceding citation in either in-text citations or footnotes. Each of the full and short citations in the examples above could be placed instead into footnotes. Id. is typically not used more than four times sequentially in footnotes.

R6.2.3   Use of supra

Supra may be used as part of a short-form citation with secondary sources such as books, periodicals, internet sources. Legislative hearings may be referred to with supra. Do not use supra with primary sources such as cases, statutes, constitutions, and most legislative materials (hearings excepted). Also do not use supra with Restatements, model codes, or regulations.

Apart from its use in selected legal citations, supra may also be used as an internal cross reference.

Examples:
Full citation:
Anjali Vats, The Color of Creatorship: Intellectual Property, Race, and the Making of Americans (2020).
Short citation in a standard legal document using in-text citations:
  Vats, supra, at 100.
Short citation in an academic legal document with footnotes:
  Vats, supra note 5, at 100.

Indigo Inkling

In academic legal documents using footnotes, a “preceding five” norm has developed wherein one may continue to use a short form citation as long as the full citation appears in one of the previous five footnotes.

There has been some variation in the application of this rule; for example, some practitioners will continue to use the short form throughout an entire article or brief unless they need to use “id.” repeatedly, in which event they follow the “preceding five” rule to avoid potential ambiguity. However, none of these conventions are absolute. Short-citation forms should be used in a clear, consistent, and helpful manner.

R7 Abbreviations

R7.1   Abbreviations Generally

Legal sources are often long and unwieldy. The tables at the back of The Indigo Book provide various resources for finding appropriate and required abbreviations.

Table T1, Table T2, and Table T3 provide information and abbreviations relevant to federal and state primary-source citations.
Table T4 provides abbreviation for looseleaf services compiling cases and other legal sources in frequently updated topical collections.
Table T5 provides legislative abbreviations.
Tables T6, T7, and T8 provide abbreviations for international, treaty, and arbitration sources.
Table T9 and Table T10 provide abbreviations for specific types of U.S. courts and the titles of judges and officials.
Table T11 is of particular interest to many law students and others grappling with cases and periodical citations. It provides common-word abbreviations used in case names and for institutional authors and periodical titles. Table T12 provides geographical abbreviations.
Table T13 provides abbreviations for document subdivisions, and Table T14 provides abbreviations for explanatory phrases.
Table T15 provides abbreviations for specific institutional names in periodical titles, and thus these abbreviations take precedence over any conflicting common-word abbreviations for institutional names from Table T12. For example, the American Bar Association is ABA, not Amer. Bar. Ass’n, when used as an institutional author.
Table T16 provides abbreviations for publishing terms such as editor and translator. Table T17 provides abbreviations for the months of the year, needed in some periodical citations and in slip-opinion citations and other cases found online rather than in reporters (thus requiring exact dates).
Table T18 is new to the Second Edition of The Indigo Book and provides abbreviations for litigation documents such as citing an affidavit or petition for certiorari.
Table T19 is also new and shows selective examples of how the Uniform System of Citation produces citations in standard and academic formats—in other words, a guide to converting the practical citations in The Indigo Book into a citation for an academic legal document (a law review). This Table is certainly not comprehensive but provides a quick view into the font differences within the two branches of the Uniform System of Citation.
Finally, Table T20 provides selective citations to additional online citation guides.

R7.2  Ordinal Abbreviations in Citations

Ordinal abbreviations, most commonly found in the court/year parenthetical of a case citation, do not use superscripts. See Rule R11 generally and Table T1 for the United States Courts of Appeals (i.e. the various federal circuit courts). Abbreviations for courts in the “second” and “third” district use ordinal style references 2d and 3d, respectively, within citations.

Examples:
1st Dist.
2d Cir.
3d Dist.
4th Cir.
Incorrect:
2nd, 2nd, 3rd, 3rd
4th Cir.
5th Dist.

R7.3  Textual References

Citations incorporated into textual sentences—as opposed to citation sentences, clauses, and footnotes—use different abbreviation rules to preserve readability. See Rule R3 (general guidance on citation sentences and textual sentences incorporating citations) and Rule R11.4 (abbreviation rules for case names in textual sentences).

When not providing a precise citation at all, but referring to a court in a textual sentence, spell out the court’s name consistent with common practice. See Rule R27 on capitalizing “Court” in court documents and legal memoranda.)

Example:
The Second Circuit has decided many fair-use cases.
The Florida Supreme Court overruled the Fourth District Court of Appeal’s previous holding on judges’ use of Facebook.

R8 Quotations

R8.1  General Principles for Quotations

R8.1.1    Quotation marks

Quotations of 49 words or less should be designated with double quotation marks that open and close the quotation. Do not use quotation marks around block quotations (see Rule R9 for block quotations.)

Examples:

The Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of a consumer-deception claim against a legal publisher: “Under the circumstances, plaintiffs, or any reasonable consumer, could not have been materially misled to believe that defendant guaranteed Part III of the Tanbook was complete and accurate at any given time.”

The court ruled that “a consumer acting reasonably under the circumstances here would not have believed that defendant represented that the section at issue, containing rent control statutes and regulations, was current and accurate for its one-year shelf life.”

R8.1.2    Punctuation with quotations

Punctuation that is part of the quoted text should appear inside the quotation marks. When the quotation is embedded into the sentence using a comma or a period added by the writer at the end of the quotation, that comma or period also appears inside the quotation marks (even though it is not part of the actual quoted text from the source). Punctuation added to a quotation anywhere other than at the end of the quoted material is an alteration that should be indicated with brackets.

Examples:

  Legal professionals are “merely a subclass of consumers.”

Given that legal professionals are “merely a subclass of consumers,” New York’s consumer deception law does apply to them.
R8.1.3  Citation placement

Insert a citation sentence for the quoted material after the end of the sentence. Insert the citation as a clause if needed for clarity about which portion of the sentence is attributable to the source. Citations can be full citations or short citations, as appropriate to the surrounding context.

Examples:
“[A]nnotations published by legislators alongside the statutory text fall within the work legislators perform in their capacity as legislators.” Georgia v. Public.Resource.org, 140 S. Ct. 1498, 1509 (2020).
The Supreme Court overruled prior precedent about online retailing in light of of “the day-to-day functions of marketing and distribution in the modern economy,” Wayfair v. South Dakota, 138 S. Ct. 2080, 2094 (2018), but has not applied similar reasoning to jettison other precedent.

R8.2 Alterations of Quotations

R8.2.1   Omission of letters

Place an empty bracket at the end of a common root word to indicate the change.

Example:
“The court dismissed the claim[].”
R8.2.2   Mistakes in the original quotation

To acknowledge a significant mistake in the original quotation, keep the problematic word or phrase and follow it with [sic] to indicate this to the reader.

Example:
“The Copyright Office are [sic] a department of the Library of Congress.”
R8.2.3    Substitution of letters or words

Any substitutions into quoted material should be bracketed. This includes words which might add clarity and context, and changes to the capitalization of letters

Example:
“[T]he [Copyright] Office is a department of the Library of Congress.”
R8.2.4    Use of parenthetical clauses to indicate changes to quotation

Use the following phrases attached to a legal citation following a quotation, to indicate changes made to that quotation:

(emphasis added)
(alteration in original)
(citation omitted)
(emphasis omitted)
(internal quotation marks omitted)
(footnote omitted)
R8.2.5    Parentheticals to indicate quotations within quotations

When using a quotation within a quotation, you can either (1) attribute it to the original source with a parenthetical, or (2) acknowledge it by signaling that its citation has been omitted.

  Examples:

Just as the Supreme Court has held that an official statement of the case, syllabus, or headnote prepared by judges “fall within the ‘work they perform in their capacity as judges,’ so too annotations published by legislators alongside the statutory text fall within the work legislators perform in their capacity as legislators.” Georgia v. Public.Resource.org, 140 S. Ct. 1498, 1509 (2020) (quoting Banks v. Manchester, 128 U.S. 244, 253 (1888)).
“Although the annotations are not enacted into law through bicameralism and presentment, the Commission's preparation of the annotations is under Georgia law an act of ‘legislative authority,’ and the annotations provide commentary and resources that the legislature has deemed relevant to understanding its laws.” Id. (citation omitted).
R8.2.6   Unnecessary parentheticals

The following should not be indicated in a parenthetical:

(Emphasis in original)

No parenthetical is needed for a quotation that was copied verbatim, including italics or underlined emphasis, from the original source.

(Citation omitted) or (Footnote omitted)

No parenthetical is needed for a citation or footnote call number that follows the end of a sentence in the quoted text. Citations omitted from within a quoted sentence should, however, be indicated parenthetically.

Indigo Inkling

Dealing with quoted material can be minutely technical, as with parentheticals such as (citation omitted, internal quotation marks removed, and second emphasis omitted). To simplify and streamline citations and replace the granular detail of such parentheticals, attorney Jack Metzler has proposed and promoted a shorter parenthetical to handle such situations: (cleaned up). The parenthetical (cleaned up) after a quotation and citation indicates essentially that the writer has adjusted the citation’s mechanics to the situation and will not list and elaborate on each mechanical modification, but is indicating to the reader that small tweaks have been made for clarity and convenience.

The (cleaned up) parenthetical has not become part of the Uniform System of Citation—yet. It has, however, actually been used in thousands of federal and state judicial opinions. See Jack Metzler, Cleaning Up Citations, 18 J. App. Prac. & Process 142 (2017). The (cleaned up) approach is not without its critics, though, who argue that transparently meticulous care with quotations enhances the writer’s credibility and does not unduly distract readers. Writers will need to make individual decisions whether to consider (cleaned up), depending on their role and their audience. Apart from these individual decisions, the (cleaned up) parenthetical provides yet more evidence that legal citation can and does evolve not just through the periodic publication of citation rules but through practice and dialogue within the legal community.

R8.3  Omissions in Quotations

R8.3.1    Ellipses generally

An omission is indicated by an ellipsis where the words are omitted:  . . .

The ellipsis in legal writing is represented by three periods and four spaces.

Insert a space after the last letter of the preceding phrase, a space between each period, and a space before the first letter of the following phrase. Rules R8.3.2-R8.3.7 contain rules and examples for incorporating ellipses in various situations.

R8.3.2  Omission from the beginning of a quoted sentence

When omitting the beginning of a quoted sentence, do not use an ellipsis. Instead, capitalize the first letter and place it in brackets. If the first letter of the quoted material is already capitalized, no change is needed, but—as with all quotes—ensure that the quotation is accurate in context. 

Example:
“[T]he actual knowledge provision turns on whether the provider actually or subjectively knew of specific infringement, while the red flag provision turns on whether the provider was subjectively aware of facts that would have made the specific infringement objectively obvious to a reasonable person.”
R8.3.3  Omission in the middle of a sentence

When omitting the middle of a quoted sentence, insert an ellipsis to indicate the omission.

Example:
“The difference between actual and red flag knowledge is . . . between a subjective and an objective standard.”
R8.3.4  Omission Within a quotation as a phrase or clause

If there is an omission within the quotation, mark the omission with an ellipsis.

Example:
Exxon Mobil Corp. v. Allapattah Servs., Inc., 545 U.S. 546, 571 (2005) (noting that “[t]he distinguished jurists who drafted the Subcommittee Working Paper . . . agree that this provision, on its face, overrules Zahn.”).
R8.3.5  Omission at the end of a sentence

When omitting the end of a quoted sentence, insert an ellipsis between the last letter quoted and the punctuation mark of the original quote.

Example:
“The difference between actual and red flag knowledge is thus not between specific and generalized knowledge . . . .”

When omitting material at the end of one sentence and the beginning of the next sentence, use one ellipsis to mark the omission but include the final punctuation mark of the first sentence as well as bracket and capitalize the first letter of the following sentence.

Example:
“The difference between actual and red flag knowledge is thus not between specific and generalized knowledge . . . . [T]he red flag provision turns on whether the provider was subjectively aware of facts that would have made the specific infringement objectively obvious to a reasonable person.”
R8.3.6  Omission of a footnote or citation

When omitting a footnote or citation from quoted material, do not insert an ellipsis. Do insert a parenthetical indicating the omission immediately after the citation to the quoted source. See Rule R8.2.6.

R8.3.7  Omission of full sentences following the quoted material

When omitting material following a final punctuation mark, do not use an ellipsis.

Example:
“The difference between actual and red flag knowledge is thus not between specific and generalized knowledge, but instead between a subjective and an objective standard.”

Indigo Inkling

The ellipsis is traditionally made with four spaces and three periods . . . but computers have keyboard shortcuts to produce an ellipsis that constitutes one single character. For example, option-semicolon on an Apple keyboard produces … as its ellipsis shortcut.  While the ellipsis shortcut character is not officially sanctioned in any citation manual, some practitioners use it freely in court filings.

Non-substantive tweaks to citations to meet a word count appear to be a modest but burgeoning trend. The 21st edition of The Bluebook breaks with tradition in allowing writers to omit previously required spaces in a citation such as 123 F. Supp. 2d 456, turning it into 123 F.Supp.2d 456. This unspaced citation may look incorrect to many legal readers. But if a legal writer is making choices to meet a difficult word count, we submit that the ellipsis shortcut key may be a worthwhile tradeoff as well.

R9   Block Quotations

R9.1  Basic Form of a Block Quotation

Set off quotations consisting of 50+ words into a block quotation, followed by the citation if not apparent from the introduction to the block quotation:

  Example:

Georgia minimizes the OCGA annotations as non-binding and non-authoritative, but that description undersells their practical significance. Imagine a Georgia citizen interested in learning his legal rights and duties. If he reads the economy-class version of the Georgia Code available online, he will see laws requiring political candidates to pay hefty qualification fees (with no indigency exception), criminalizing broad categories of consensual sexual conduct, and exempting certain key evidence in criminal trials from standard evidentiary limitations—with no hint that important aspects of those laws have been held unconstitutional by the Georgia Supreme Court. See OCGA §§ 21-2-131, 16-6-2, 16-6-18, 16-15-9 (available at www.legis.ga.gov). Meanwhile, first-class readers with access to the annotations will be assured that these laws are, in crucial respects, unenforceable relics that the legislature has not bothered to narrow or repeal. See §§ 21-2-131, 16-6-2, 16-6-18, 16-15-9 (available at https://store.lexisnexis.com/products/official-code-of-georgia-annotated-skuSKU6647 for $412.00).
Georgia v. Public.Resource.org, 140 S. Ct. 1498, 1512 (2020).

R9.2  Formatting of Block Quotations

Block quotations are single spaced.
Include a single line space after the block quotation, and resume the spacing convention in the surrounding document text.
Indent both left and right.
Block quotations should be formatted with “full justification.” The right and left margins of the block quotation are fully justified, meaning aligned on the left margin and on the right margin. The aligned left and right margins give the block quotation its appearance as a rectangular “block” of text on the page.
Do not use quotation marks surrounding the block quotation. The block format itself indicates that the material is a quotation, and quotation marks around a block would be redundant. (Exception: Use quotation marks if the entire block quotation is itself a quotation within the source being quoted, and indicate the internal quotation and source parenthetically after the block.)
In general, internal quotation marks should appear as in the original.  
The citation following a block quotation should start at the line’s left margin, without any indentation. This citation can be a full citation or a short citation, as the circumstances dictate. It should include a pincite to the page or pages where the quoted material is found.

R10   Explanatory Parentheticals

Sometimes, it is helpful to include extra information to explain the relevance of certain citations. Explanatory parentheticals may consist of phrases typically started with a present participle such as (holding . . . ), direct quotations from the source, or short statements. Parentheticals also provide information about the weight of the authority cited, particularly with cases.

R10.1  Capitalization in Parentheticals

R10.1.1  Paraphrases and other original parentheticals

If not quoting the authority, do not begin an explanatory parenthetical with capital letter.

Example:
Dr. Seuss Enters., L.P. v. Penguin Books USA, Inc., 109 F.3d 1394 (9th Cir. 1997) (holding that publisher’s asserted parody of O.J. Simpson murder trial was substantially similar to copyrighted work).
R10.1.2  Quotations in parentheticals

If quoting the authority, only begin parenthetical with capital letter and end with a period when the parenthetical quoted is or reads as a complete sentence.

Example:
See Ty, Inc. v. Publ’ns Int’l Ltd., 292 F.3d 512, 520 (7th Cir. 2002) (“[T]he shortage that creates the secondary market stampedes children into nagging their parents to buy them the latest Beanie Babies, lest they be humiliated by not possessing the Beanie Babies that their peers possess.”).

R10.2  Format and Order of Parentheticals Showing the Weight of Authority 

Some citations need to provide other types of parentheticals about the source itself, and these source-related parentheticals are given before explanatory parentheticals.

Examples of source-related parentheticals include information about a judicial opinion’s weight of authority as (per curiam) or (en banc), information about the source as a quote such as information being omitted or emphasis added, information about a source being quoted within the source, and bracketed definitions of the source as a short-form citation, such as [hereinafter “Color of Creatorship”].

The source-related parentheticals are followed by the explanatory parenthetical, if any; and last, the prior or subsequent history (see Rule R14) as shown in this order of parenthetical types:

(date) [hereinafter <short name>] (en banc) (<Lastname, J.>, concurring) (plurality opinion) (per curiam) (alteration in original) (emphasis added) (footnote omitted) (citations omitted) (quoting <another source>) (internal quotation marks omitted) (citing <another source>), http://www.domainname.com (explanatory parenthetical), prior or subsequent history.

B. CASES

Indigo Inkling 

The format of traditional case citations derives from the historical print publication of bound reporters, such as West’s National Reporter System. The citation elements are based on the reporter’s volume number, title of the reporter including series number, and first page of the cited case. In June 2021, the famous reporter of federal appellate cases, the Federal Reporter, 3d published its last volume, turning over to the first volume of a new series, the Federal Reporter, 4th. Citations for federal appellate cases decided in the latter half of 2021 and beyond will be assigned citations along the lines of 123 F.4th 456. The Federal Reporter, 3d is a set of books for sale by West Publishing, and Federal Reporter, 4th no doubt will be as well. Most researchers do not lay their hands on these books, much less purchase them; still, the elements of traditional case citation derive directly from the West publication system.

Starting in the early 1990s, some states began adopting public-domain citations, also known as neutral citations, vendor-neutral citations, medium-neutral citations, and universal citations, because they do not rely on specific proprietary bound publications. A medium-neutral citation looks something like this: These states are shown in Table T3. The Indigo Book encourages the use of public domain citations. When giving a public domain citation, also include a parallel citation to the appropriate print reporter if possible. For example: Curlee by and through Becerra v. Johnson, 2021-NCSC-32, 856 S.E.2d 478.

R11  Full citation

R11.1  Elements of a Full Citation

When providing a full citation to a case, you should generally include the following, with the court and year enclosed within a single set of parentheses:

Italicized case name followed by an unitalicized comma
volume number, reporter, first page of the case in the reporter
comma, space, and pincite to an exact page
abbreviated court name (if not precisely apparent from the name of the reporter)
year

Case citations may also include the additional components such as a signal, subsequent history, parallel citations, and explanatory parentheticals. These additional components are sometimes required and sometimes discretionary, as determined by the case’s characteristics, the way the citation is supporting the text, applicable court rules, or other audience expectations.

Examples (federal):
Manhattan Cmty. Access Corp. v. Halleck, 139 S. Ct. 1921 (2019).
Seltzer v. Green Day, 725 F.3d 1170 (9th Cir. 2013).
Leonard v. Pepsico, Inc., 88 F. Supp. 2d 116, 127 (S.D.N.Y. 1999).
Examples (state):
SciGrip, Inc. v. Osae, 838 S.E.2d 334 (N.C. 2020).
People v. Lucero, 747 P.2d 660 (Colo. 1987).
Mercer Univ. v. Stofer, 841 S.E.2d 224 (Ga. Ct. App. 2020).

R11.1.1   Parallel citation

A case citation may also include parallel citation to another print reporter or online location for the case, such as a medium-neutral citation. When the print reporter unambiguously indicates the identity of the court, omit the court from duplication at the end of the citation. When the medium-neutral citation unambiguously indicates the court and year, either or both elements may be omitted from further duplication at the end of the citation.

Examples:

State ex rel. Pilarczyk v. Geauga Cty., 2019-Ohio-2880, 157 Ohio St. 3d 191, 134 N.E.3d 142.

USA Power LLC v. PacifiCorp, 2016 UT 20, 372 P.3d 629.

R11.1.2   Parentheticals

A case citation may also include one or more parentheticals after the main citation elements. Parentheticals, if any, ordered according to the following functions: (indicating the weight of authority such as en banc) (indicating the source of a quotation or cited assertion in the main assertion being supported) (indicating explanatory information), if required or permitted as shown in Rule R10.

Examples:

Barking Hound Village, LLC v. Monyak, 787 S.E.2d 191, 198 (Ga. 2016) (“the unique human-animal bond, while cherished, is beyond legal measure”).

Toolson v. N.Y. Yankees, Inc., 346 U.S. 356 (1953) (per curiam) (affirming baseball’s exemption from the scope of federal antitrust laws).

R11.1.3  Prior or subsequent history of the case

A case citation may also include prior or subsequent history, if required by Rule R14.

Example:

Leonard v. Pepsico, Inc., 88 F. Supp. 2d 116, 127 (S.D.N.Y. 1999), aff’d, 210 F.3d 88 (2d Cir. 2000) (per curiam).

R11.2    Case Names Italicized

In formatting a case citation, italicize everything in the case name, but don’t italicize the comma at the end of the case name.

R11.3    Comprehensive Case-Name Abbreviations in Citation Sentences and Clauses

Citation sentences and clauses stand apart from the traditional prose text, as shown in Rule R3. In citation sentences and clauses, use extensive word and geographical abbreviations as indicated in Table T11 and Table T12.

R11.3.1  Common word abbreviations (citation sentences and clauses)

Abbreviate common words in case names according to Table T11.

Correct (in a citation sentence):
Cont’l Paper Bag Co. v. E. Paper Bag Co.
Incorrect (in a citation sentence):
Continental Paper Bag Company v. Eastern Paper Bag Company
R11.3.2  Geographical abbreviations (citation sentences and clauses)

In citation sentences and clauses, abbreviate geographical locations according to Table T12. Do not abbreviate a geographical place if it is one of the parties in the case.

Correct (in a citation sentence):
Church of Scientology of Cal. v. Blackman
Incorrect (in a citation sentence):
Church of Scientology of California v. Blackman
Correct (in a citation sentence):
South Dakota v. Fifteen Impounded Cats 
Incorrect (in a citation sentence):
S.D. v. Fifteen Impounded Cats
R11.3.3   Discretionary abbreviations (citation sentences and clauses)

If the resulting abbreviation is not ambiguous, words of eight or more letters may be abbreviated to save substantial space in citation sentences. As a guide, remember that citation sentences and clauses stand apart from the prose text they support, and thus can prioritize efficiency over readability; but clarity and preciseness are still a factor.

R11.4  Limited Case-Name Abbreviations in Textual Sentences

Textual sentences—i.e. grammatical prose for the reader, as opposed to citation “sentences” and clauses interspersed between textual sentences—may include case names and full or short case citations. When including a case name within a textual sentence, case-name abbreviations are sharply limited. The purpose is to prioritize sentence readability over citation efficiency. Case names within textual sentences should abbreviate well-known acronyms and the eight words listed in the table below.

Abbreviations of Case Names Within Textual Sentences

Abbreviation

Word

&

and

Ass’n

Association

Bros.

Brothers

Co.

Company

Corp.

Corporation

Inc.

Incorporated

Ltd.

Limited

No.

Number

Example:
In McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, the Supreme Court held that in a disparate treatment case, the plaintiff bears the initial burden of establishing a prima facie case of employment discrimination. 411 U.S. 792 (1973).
Example:
According to Texas Department of Community Affairs v. Burdine, once the plaintiff has established a prima facie case, there is a rebuttable presumption of unlawful discrimination. 450 U.S. 248, 254 (1981).

R11.5  General Case Name Truncation for All Contexts

The rules and examples below are given without the comprehensive abbreviations required by Rule R11.3 for case names in citation sentences and clauses, to clarify that these truncations are used in all contexts including textual sentences. In citation sentences and clauses, the examples below would incorporate extensive word and geographical abbreviations following Table T11 and Table T12.

R11.5.1  Surname

When referring to a case with an individual’s name in the case name, use the person’s full family name (i.e., their surname). Delete first name and initials, except when the full name of the person is in a language that lists the surname first, or when referring to the name of a business or where the court has abbreviated the party’s surname (as is common in cases involving minor children as parties).

Examples:
Van Leeuwen v. Souto de Moura
James T. Kirk & Assocs. v. Luke S.
Smith v. Jones
Xu Lanting v. Wong
James T. Kirk & Assocs. v. Klingon Corp.
Luke S. v. Leia S.

R11.5.2  First-named party on each side of the “v.”

Only include the surname of the first-listed party of the plaintiffs and the surname of the first-listed party of the defendants. Do not use “et al.” to indicate omitted additional parties.

R11.5.3  Commonly recognized abbreviations

Abbreviate commonly recognized agencies and organizations by their initials, such as the SEC and the ACLU.

Examples:
Red Lion Broad. Co. v. FCC, 395 U.S. 367 (1969).
FBI v. Abramson, 456 U.S. 615 (1982).

Indigo Inkling

Legal citation allows—and indeed requires—abbreviation of commonly recognized organizations, such as NASA for the National Aeronautical and Space Administration and FBI for Federal Bureau of Investigation. (Obscure factoid: NASA is an abbreviation because it is drawn from the first letter of each word but pronounced as a word, whereas FBI is a sub-type of abbreviation called an initialism because it is drawn from the first letter of each word with each letter articulated separately in the spoken abbreviation.) But what, exactly, meets the standard for being commonly recognized? One useful test is to look at recent, credible journalism as a gauge of what is commonly known. For example, the New York Times abbreviates Environmental Protection Agency as EPA but does not abbreviate Fish and Wildlife Services as FWS. Another test is to informally survey at a handful of recent cases. For example, PETA and the USDA are used in case names, suggesting that they are commonly recognized, at least for legal-citation purposes.

But don’t overdo it with the acronyms; keep in mind the scolding Judge Silberman issued in a case before the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit: “The use of obscure acronyms, sometimes those made up for a particular case, is an aggravating development of the last twenty years.” Delaware Riverkeeper Network v. FERC, 753 F.3d 1304, 1321 (D.C. Cir. 2014) (Silberman, J., concurring). With this judge’s aggravation in mind, use only those abbreviations and acronyms that are easy to understand and make the reader’s work easier. 

R11.5.4  Nicknames  

Delete nicknames and aliases listed after a party name.

Correct:   Jackson v. Leviston
Incorrect:   Curtis James Jackson III, p/k/a 50 Cent v. Lastonia Leviston
R11.5.5  Et al.

Do not add “et al.” to indicate the omission of other parties not listed. Delete “et al.” even if used in a case caption indicating multiple parties.

Correct:   Zurich American Insurance Co. v. Nokia, Inc.
Incorrect:   Zurich American Insurance Co. et al. v. Nokia, Inc.
R11.5.6  Multiple business designations

Omit terms such as “L.L.C.” and “Inc.” that indicate the party is a business when that fact is made clear because the party name includes a word such as “Co.” or “Inc.”

Correct:   A.H. Robins Co. v. Piccinin
Incorrect:   A.H. Robins Co., Inc. v. Piccinin

When you see “on the relation of,” “on behalf of,” and similar expressions, replace with “ex rel.

Correct:  State ex rel. Plain Dealer v. Ohio Department of Insurance
Incorrect:  State on behalf of Plain Dealer v. Ohio Department of Insurance

When you see “in the matter of,” “petition of,” and similar expressions, replace with “In re.”

Correct:   In re National Football League Players’ Concussion Injury Litigation
Incorrect:   In the Matter of National Football League Players’ Concussion Injury Litigation.

Bankruptcy cases sometimes contain multiple case names including both a procedurally based name with “In re” and an adversary case name. In such cases, use the adversary case name followed parenthetically in the case name with the procedurally based name:

Example:  Farmers Cooperative Co. v. Ernst & Young, Inc. (In re Big Sky Farms Inc.)

In non-bankruptcy cases, do not use “In re” when the case name also contains the name of an adversary; use the adversary name.

R11.5.8  United States as a party

Spell out “United States” when it is a named party. Omit “of America.”

Correct:   United States v. Ninety Five Barrels, More or Less
Incorrect:   U.S. v. Ninety Five Barrels, More or Less

Note that “United States” may be abbreviated as “U.S.” when used as an adjective for an agency, in citation sentences and clauses.

R11.5.9  State or commonwealth as a party

Omit “People of,” “State of,” and “Commonwealth of,” unless citing a court located in that state, in which case retain only “People,” “State,” or “Commonwealth.”

Correct:   International Shoe v. Washington, 326 U.S. 310 (1945).
Incorrect:   International Shoe v. State, 326 U.S. 310 (1945).
Incorrect:   International Shoe v. State of Washington 326 U.S. 310 (1945).
Correct:  Commonwealth v. Miller, 987 A.2d 638 (Pa. 2009).
Incorrect:   Commonwealth of Pa. v. Miller, 987 A.2d 638 (Pa. 2009). 
R11.5.10  Municipalities

Include phrases such as “Town of” and “City of” when such phrases are the first part of the name of a party. Omit phrases such as “Town of” and “City of” if the phrase appears in the middle or end of the name of a party.

Correct:   C & A Carbone v. Town of Clarkston
Incorrect:   C & A Carbone v. Clarkston
Correct:   Matter of Chestnut Ridge v. Town of Ramapo
Incorrect:   Matter of Village of Chestnut Ridge v. Town of Ramapo
R11.5.11  Prepositional phrases with locations

Include prepositional phrases designating national or larger geographical areas.

Correct:   Republic of Korea v. Ahn
Incorrect:   Republic v. Anh
Incorrect:  Korea v. Ahn

Include prepositional phrases indicating location after a municipal category such as “City of” or “Town of.”

  Correct:  Florida Beach Advertising, LLC v. City of Treasure Island

Incorrect:  Florida Beach Advertising, LLC v. City

Include prepositional phrases indicating location when the phrase is part of a business or organizational name.

  Correct:   Chattanooga Restaurant Partnership, Inc. v. City of Chattanooga Beer Bd.

Incorrect:  Chattanooga Restaurant Partnership Inc. v. City

Correct:  Kolibash v. Committee on Legal Ethics of the W.Va. Bar
Incorrect:  Kolibash v. Committee on Legal Ethics
Correct:   Dam Things from Denmark v. Russ Berrie & Co.
Incorrect:   Dam Things v. Russ Berrie & Co.

Include prepositional phrases indicating location to avoid a party name with only one word.

Correct:   ACLU of N.D. v. Jones
Incorrect:   ACLU v. Jones

Omit other prepositional phrases indicating location. Omit geographical information after a comma in a case name.

Correct:   Stevenson v. Board of Trade
Incorrect:   Stevenson v. Board of Trade of Colorado
Correct:   California Board of Commerce v. City of Sacramento
Incorrect:   California Board of Commerce v. City of Sacramento, California
R11.5.12  “The”

Delete “the” as the first word of a party’s name. Make an exception if the party is “The Queen” or the “The King,” or when referring to the established popular name in a citation or citation clause. Also retain “the” if it is part of the name of the object of an in rem action.

Correct:   International Society for Krishna Consciousness of California, Inc. v. City of Los Angeles
Incorrect:   International Society for Krishna Consciousness of California, Inc. v. The City of Los Angeles
Correct:   In re the Snug Harbor
Incorrect:   In re Snug Harbor
Correct:   The Railroad Commission Cases
Incorrect:   Railroad Commission Cases
R11.5.13  Commissioner of Internal Revenue

The Commissioner of Internal Revenue should be cited as “Commissioner” (abbreviated as “Comm’r” in citation sentences and clauses).

Correct:   Plainfield-Union Water Co. v. Commissioner
Incorrect:   Plainfield-Union Water Co. v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue
Incorrect:   Plainfield-Union Water Co. v. CIR
Incorrect:   Plainfield-Union Water Co. v. IRS
R11.5.14  Unions

Generally, follow the case name as reported. Widely known acronyms are allowed. But generally, omit additional information after the first full union designation.

Correct:  Union Pacific Railroad Co. v. Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers
Incorrect:  Union Pacific Railrod Co. v. Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, General Committee of Adjustment, Central Region
R11.5.15  Multiple dispositions

For cases with multiple dispositions, include an italicized identifier if useful. In subsequent references to or citations of that case, the identifier can replace the full case name.

Examples:
Liriano v. Hobart Corp. (Liriano II), 92 N.Y.2d 232 (1998).
Liriano v. Hobart Corp. (Liraino III), 170 F.3d 264, 266 (2d Cir. 1999) (citing Liriano II, 92 N.Y.2d at 236–37).
R11.5.16  Mandamus

If a mandamus action is known by the name of the judge against whom the writ is sought, that name can be indicated in an italicized parenthetical.

Example:
Jones v. U.S. District Court (Smith), 89 U.S. 233 (2011).
R11.5.17  Cases known by a distinct name

If a case is known both by the reported name and a distinct short form name, always include the reported name in a full citation. The short name may be included in italics in a parenthetical.

Example:
Industrial Union Department, AFL-CIO v. American Petroleum Institute (The Benzene Case)

Indigo Inkling

There are multiple ways to incorporate a case citation in the text of an article, brief, or other written work. In the example below, the case name is stated in the text and the rest of the citation is included as a separate sentence.

In McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, the Supreme Court held that in a disparate treatment case, the plaintiff bears the initial burden of establishing a prima facie case of employment discrimination. 411 U.S. 792 (1973).

Alternatively, one can include the entire citation in-text as follows:

In McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792 (1973), the Supreme Court held that in a disparate treatment case, the plaintiff bears the initial burden of establishing a prima facie case of employment discrimination.

There is no strict rule here, so choose whichever method will be clearer to the reader.

R11.6  Volume Number, Reporter, First Page

The citation should include the volume number of the reporter, the abbreviated name of the reporter, and the first page of the case in that reporter.

Example:
Terrible v. Terrible, 534 P.2d 919 (Nev. 1975).
R11.6.1  Overview of volumes, reporters, and pages

This table provides an overview of federal and state citations, with the citation given at left and the full corresponding volume, reporter, and page number at right. Imagine books on the shelf with the name of the reporter and volume number shown on the book’s spine. Open that volume to the page given, to find the beginning of the case.

Citation

Reporter

Demosthenes v. Baal, 495 U.S. 731 (1990).

Vol. 495, p. 731 of United States Reports

United States v. $124,570 U.S. Currency, 873 F.2d 1240 (9th Cir. 1989).

Vol. 873, p. 1240 of Federal Reporter, Second Series

Gucci America, Inc. v. Guess?, Inc., 831 F. Supp. 2d 723 (S.D.N.Y. 2011).

Vol. 831, p. 723 of Federal Supplement, Second Series

Hamburger v. Fry, 338 P.2d 1088 (Okla. 1958).

Vol. 338, p. 1088 of Pacific Reporter, Second Series

Camp v. Superman, 119 Vt. 62 (1955).

Vol. 119, p. 62 of Vermont Reports

R11.6.2  Reporter and series

Federal and state jurisdictions are listed in Table T1 (federal cases) and Table T3 (state cases), including the reporters where their cases are published. Here is a key overview of the reporters containing federal and state cases.

United States Supreme Court cases are printed in the official United States Reports, cited as <vol.> U.S. <page>. The publication of the United States Reports is significantly delayed from opinions’ decision date. When there is no U.S. citation available, use the Supreme Court Reports (abbreviated S. Ct.).

Cases decided by the United States Circuit Courts are printed in the Federal Reporter, Fourth Series (F.4th) starting with cases in July 2021, then F.3d, F.2d, and F. for older cases.

Federal district court cases are printed in the Federal Supplement, Second Series (F. Supp. 2d), and F. Supp. for older cases.

Federal cases not selected for publication may be available in the Federal Appendix or other unofficial reporters.

For state cases, choose the reporter listed in Table T3 for state cases whenever available. The standard national citation practice is to cite to the West National Reporter System although many states have a state-specific official reporter or official public-domain citation system (not reliant on a private publisher’s system). Local customs and court rules vary from the standard national citation practice, as represented in Table T3.

Indigo Inkling

For citations to state cases, the case reporter prioritized by Rule R11.3 and Table T3 may not always be available to researchers using open-access legal information. For example, an internet site providing free access to cases may provide citation information for the official state reporter in that state, rather than the West National Reporter prioritized in the table.

If you are attempting to conduct case research using free open-access sources, do your best to adhere to utilize the preferred reporter in Table T3. It may be necessary to use a reliable second choice, such as the official state reporter or the state’s official medium-neutral citation format. Try to find cases as published in a reporter with a stable citation, rather than the original slip copy published by the court the day it decided the case.

R11.6.3  Parallel citation in state court documents

When submitting documents to state courts, follow the local rules for citations, selectively indicated in Table T3. State courts’ local rules often require a parallel citation: i.e., a citation to both the official state reporter, followed by the unofficial regional and/or state-specific reporter. Each reporter will have different page numbers, so provide a pincite for each. Also, when the official reporter title makes the state or court name apparent, don’t include it again in parentheses.

Example (without pincites):

Harden v. Playboy Enterprises, Inc., 261 Ill. App. 3d 443, 633 N.E.2d 764 (1993).

Example (with pincites):

Harden v. Playboy Enterprises, Inc., 261 Ill. App. 3d 443 444, 633 N.E.2d 764, 765 (1993).

R11.7  Pincites

Each case citation, whether full or short, should include a pincite to direct the reader to the specific page being cited.

In a full citation to a case, include a pincite after the first page where the case is found in the reporter. If the pincite is the first page of the opinion, be sure to still include it by just repeating the number. Pincites are required in both full and short citations when those citations support a reference to a specific page of the case. See Rule R15 on short citations for cases and Rule R6 on full and short citations generally.

Pincites can be used to identify the page source for content of an explanatory parenthetical. Pincites can also be used to identify the page source for content in the textual sentence supported by the citations sentence or clause that follows.

Examples:
Mattel, Inc. v. MCA Records, Inc., 296 F.3d 894, 908 (9th Cir. 2002) (“The parties are advised to chill.”).
Judicial attempts at humor are not new. As the Georgia Court of Appeals quipped in the mid-1970s, “The D.A. was ready. His case was red-hot. Defendant was present, His witness was not.” Brown v. State, 216 S.E.2d 356, 356 (Ga. Ct. App. 1975) (reversing conviction).
Judicial humor is not new, e.g., Brown v. State, 216 S.E.2d 356, 356 (Ga. Ct. App. 1975); and neither is academic critique of it as generally “a dreadful thing,” William Prosser, The Judicial Humorist vii (1952).  
R11.7.1  Multiple pages

Use a comma or commas to indicate a pincite to multiple non-sequential pages.

Example:
Gordon v. Secretary of State of New Jersey, 460 F. Supp. 1026, 1026, 1028 (D.N.J. 1978) (dismissing a complaint charging that plaintiff, by reason of his illegal incarceration in jail, had been deprived of the office of the President of the United States).
R11.7.2  Span of pages

Use a hyphen or en dash to indicate a pincite to a span of pages.

Example:
Helton v. State, 311 So. 2d 381, 382-84 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1975) (reciting the prosecutor’s closing arguments in a parody of “’Twas the Night Before Christmas”).
R11.7.3  Paragraph numbers in medium-neutral cases

Use a paragraph symbol and the paragraph number to pincite to a case published in medium-neutral format. To refer to a span of paragraphs in the case, use two paragraphs symbols and numbers indicating the cited span, separated by a hyphen or en dash.

Examples:
Couch v. Durrani, 2021-Ohio-726, ¶ 9 (Ct. App. 2021).
Couch v. Durrani, 2021-Ohio-726, ¶ ¶ 9-15 (Ct. App. 2021).
Id. at ¶ 18.
R11.7.4  Citing a footnote

To cite a footnote, provide a page number followed immediately with a footnote number, using “n.” to show footnote number. There is no space between “n.” and the footnote number.

Example:  
Cunningham v. State, 822 S.E.2d 281, 285 n.4 (Ga. 2018) (Hunstein, J.) (“And that’s all she wrote.”)

R12  Court and Year

R12.1  Overview of Court and Year

Citations should include both the deciding court and the year of decision in parentheses. Use Table T1 for federal cases and Table T3 for state cases. If these tables do not provide the needed abbreviation information, construct an abbreviation using Table T9 and Table T12 for court and geographical abbreviations.

Examples:

Learning Curve Toys, Inc. v. PlayWood Toys, Inc., 342 F.3d 714 (7th Cir. 2003).

Mattel, Inc. v. MGA Ent. Inc., 782 F. Supp. 2d 911 (C.D. Cal. 2011).

Barking Hound Villege, LLC v. Monyak, 787 S.E.2d 191 (Ga. 2016).

Alexander v. Gen. Acc. Fire & Life Assurance Corp., 98 So. 2d 730 (La. Ct. App. 1957).

R12.2   Court Abbreviations

See Table T1 for how to abbreviate the names of all U.S. federal courts. See Table T3 for how to abbreviate the names of U.S. state courts. The chart here shows common examples.

Court

Guidance on Reporter Selection and Court Abbreviation

Example

United States Supreme Court

Use U.S. if the opinion is published in the United States Reports.

If not, use S. Ct.

Refer to Table T1 for additional options if U.S. and S. Ct. do not apply.

Two Pesos, Inc. v. Taco Cabana, Inc., 505 U.S. 763 (1992).

Google LLC v. Oracle Am., Inc., 141 S. Ct. 1183 (2021).

United States Courts of Appeals

Either F., F.2d, F.3d, or F.4th depending on the decision.

Batman v. Commissioner, 189 F.2d 107 (5th Cir. 1951).

Nance v. United States, 299 F.2d 122, 124 (D.C. Cir. 1962) (“How do you know it was me, when I had a handkerchief over my face?”).

United States District Courts

Either F. Supp. or F. Supp. 2d depending on the decision.

Frigaliment Importing Co. v. B.N.S. Int’l Sales Corp., 190 F. Supp. 116, 117 (S.D.N.Y. 1960).

Cartier v. Aaron Faber Inc., 512 F. Supp. 2d 165 (S.D.N.Y. 2007).

State High Courts

Cite to the regional reporter for the region in which the court sits, if the opinion appears there. If not, cite to the state’s official reporter, as listed in Table T3. The state’s preferred official reporter may be a public domain (i.e., medium neutral) citation.

See Table T3.

Terrible v. Terrible, 534 P.2d 919 (Nev. 1975).

State v. One 1970 2-Door Sedan Rambler, 136 N.W. 59 (Neb. 1974).

Other State Courts

Cite to the regional reporter for the region in which the court sits, if the opinion appears there. If not, cite to the state’s official reporter in Table T3. The state’s preferred official reporter may be a medium-neutral citation. See Table T3. Use Tables T9 and T12 to construct an abbreviation if not contained in Tables T1 and T3.

Brown v. Swindell, 198 So. 2d 432, 434 (La. Ct. App. 1967).

State v. Stroud, 30 Wash. App. 392 (1981).

State v. Russell, 2020-Ohio-5108 (Ohio Ct. App. 2020).

R12.3  Intermediate appellate departments or divisions
R12.3.1  General rule of omission

In general, do not indicate the departments or divisions of intermediate appellate courts.

Correct Example:

Hamel v. Emp. Sec. Dep't, 966 P.2d 1282 (Wash. Ct. App. 1998).

Incorrect Example:

Hamel v. Emp. Sec. Dep't, 966 P.2d 1282 (Wash. Ct. App., Div. 2 1998).

R12.3.2  Exceptions for including intermediate appellate department or division  

Where intermediate appellate departments or divisions are relevant to the point being made in the text, or where local the court rules require citations to include this information. See Table T3 for more information on state jurisdictions such as Florida and Texas where this information is required.

Indigo Inkling

Court abbreviations in case citations convey crucial information. For example, a case citing “N.Y.” refers to the highest court in the state of New York—the New York Court of Appeals. But “N.Y. Sup. Ct.” is the proper abbreviation for the New York Supreme Court—which some will be surprised to know is the name of the trial-level court in the state of New York, not the state high court. Generally see Table T12 for the correct abbreviation for each state; and specifically see Table T3 and official state-court websites to confirm the name and level of each court. Finally, refer to Table T9 for general court abbreviations.

R12.3    Duplicative Court and Year Information

R12.3.1  Court indicated by reporter

If the identity of the court is clearly and unambiguously indicated by the reporter’s name, do not include the court in the parenthetical information with the year. When writing to a court and governed by local rules requiring parallel citations, the court’s identity may be indicated by required parallel citation information.

Examples:

Kewanee Oil Corp. v. Bicron Co., 416 U.S. 470 (1974).

Wexler v. Greenberg, 399 Pa. 569, 160 A.2d 430 (1960).

R12.3.2  Year indicated in medium-neutral citation

When using a medium-neutral citation format (alone or in a parallel citation), if the year of the decision is clearly and unambiguously indicated by the citation format, do not duplicate the year in the parenthetical information.

Examples:

Water & Energy Sys. Tech., Inc. v. Keil,1999 UT 16, 979 P.2d 829.

Failor v. Megadyne Med. Prods., Inc., 2009 UT App. 179, 213 P.3d 899.

R12.4   Special Note on Pending and Unreported or Unpublished Cases

Some opinions are so new and pending that they have not yet been assigned to reporters. These early opinions are referred to as “slip opinions,” presumably because they are (or historically, were) rendered on slips of paper rather than in printed bound volumes.

Some opinions are designated “not for publication” by the issuing court, and will never be assigned an official reporter citation. Pending and unreported cases generally can be found in one of the following three source below.

R12.4.1  Pending cases in LEXIS and Westlaw or other commercial database

Citations to these electronic databases are similar to regular citations, using the database code from LEXIS or Westlaw as a substitute for the (non-existent) reporter citation. Pending-case citations have two additional components: (a) add the docket number before the database code, and (b) include the full calendar date of the decision in the following parenthetical, not just the year. Pincites are indicated with “at” and a * attached to the page number.

Citations to these electronic databases should be formatted as follows: <Case Name>, <case docket number>, <database identifier and electronic report number>, at *<star page number> <(court, full date)>.

Example:

Yates v. United States, No. 13–7451, 2015 U.S. LEXIS 1503, at *40 (Feb. 25, 2015).

Example:

State v. Green, No. 2012AP1475–CR, 2013 WL 5811261, at *7 (Wis. Ct. App. Oct. 30, 2013).

R12.4.2  Opinions only available online, but not in a commercial database

Some cases, particularly ones that are immediately pending, may initially be accessed only through a court’s website. If so, include the exact docket number or numbers, as well as the URL.

Do not underline the URL or create a hyperlink. Remove the link if needed for formatting, as working hyperlinks are not a part of the Uniform System of Citation. (This rule may need to be honored more in the breach, at the writer’s discretion. Understand that a blue underlined hyperlink is not compliant with the Uniform System of Citation but might be more appreciated in context.)

Example:

Macy’s Inc. v. Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc., No. 1728, slip op. at 1 (N.Y. App. Div. Feb. 26, 2015), http://www.nycourts.gov/reporter/3dseries/2015/2015_01728.htm.

Indigo Inkling

Pending case citations can change day to day, at least if you are strictly following the Uniform System of Citation. The example provided in Rule 12.4.2 would be valid for a citation created late in the evening on February 26, 2015, or the next day—in other words, before this case was distributed to research platforms and published in various reporters. Once once a case becomes available on a commercial database, use that citation in the legal citation to comply with the Uniform System of Citation. (We note that this would make the citation arguably more accessible to lawyers and court staff with access to commercial databases, but less available to the general public lacking such premium access.)

And then, if that case is formally “reported” by the court and assigned a reporter designation, both of these citations would become incorrect and superseded by the standard citation to the volume, reporter, and page. Even that official citation might change years later, if that case were overruled or otherwise subsequently negated, requiring negative history to be appended under Rule R14. Two key principles to boil all this down are: (1) cite the most authoritative source available to you at the moment you create the citation; and (2) cite “good law” or protect your reader by indicating a required caveat about whatever you are citing.

R13  Weight of Authority and Explanatory Parenthetical

R13.1   Parenthetical for Weight of Authority

To highlight information regarding the weight of the cited authority (such as for concurring and dissenting opinions), insert an additional parenthetical after the date parenthetical. Remember to separate the parentheticals with a space.

Examples:

United States v. Leggett, 23 F.3d 409 (6th Cir. 1994) (unpublished table decision).

Ward v. Rock Against Racism, 491 U.S. 781 (1989) (Marshall, J., dissenting).

Harris v. State, 887 S.W.2d 514 (Ark. 1994) (per curiam).

Dep’t of Revenue v. James B. Beam Distilling Co., 377 U.S. 341, 349 (1964) (7–2 decision) (Black, J., dissenting).

R13.2  Optional Explanatory Parenthetical

To provide a supporting partial quotation or to explain the proposition for which the case stands, insert an explanatory parenthetical. See Rule R10 on the order of explanatory parentheticals with other parenthetical material and subsequent history.

Examples:

Stambovsky v. Ackley, 572 N.Y.S.2d 672, 674 (App. Div. 1991) (“[A]s a matter of law, the house is haunted.”).

People v. Foranyic, 74 Cal. Rptr. 2d 804, 807 (Ct. App. 1998) (holding that police have probable cause to detain someone they see riding a bike at 3 a.m., carrying an axe).

Dep’t of Revenue v. James B. Beam Distilling Co., 377 U.S. 341, 349 (1964) (7–2 decision) (Black, J., dissenting) (disagreeing with Justice Goldberg as to the relative merits of bourbon and scotch).

R14  History of the Case

R14.1  Subsequent History

When citing a case, include the subsequent history of the case, subject to several exceptions. Refer to Table T14 for how to abbreviate explanatory phrases when introducing case history. Italicize the explanatory phrase.

Indigo Inkling

The United States is a common law system, where court decisions play an important role in defining what the law is. To figure out the difference between good law and bad law, we have to look at the case’s subsequent history to make sure it was not vacated or reversed on the point being relied upon in a cited assertion. These types of important subsequent history are required by the Uniform System of Citation. On the other hand, some subsequent history is generally unimportant and should be omitted from the citation. Examples include the denial of a motion for reconsideration, or the denial of a petition for certiorari in a case decided more than two years ago. See Table T3 for some state-specific variations, and of course follow local practice and local court rules on subsequent history.

Note that subsequent history is the history of that particular case in litigation. If a different case (unrelated parties but a similar legal issue) later overrules an older case’s holding, that case is no longer good law for that point—but subsequent history is not involved in the citation. This is but one example of how legal citation overlaps with legal analysis itself. If a writer is citing a case that was later overruled, the writer should not simply polish the citation’s mandatory subsequent history, but rather re-consider why to cite that “bad law” in the first place.

R14.2  Required Explanatory Phrases

Include subsequent history when necessary to protect credibility or clarify the weight of authority for the statement the citation supports. This includes most subsequent history except denials of rehearings or discretionary appeals. This also includes history on remand (which, by its nature, advances the litigation but does not change the law issued from a higher court on appeal), unless relevant to the point being made.

R14.2.1  Direct subsequent history of the litigation

Always incorporate the following explanatory phrases when applicable, italicized, followed by a comma and the citation information for the subsequent history. Include other subsequent history commensurate with this list, to indicate the weight of authority and whether the primary case being cited is good law for all or any points.

Required Subsequent History

aff’d

Case was affirmed by a higher court in the same litigation.

cert. granted

Case is subject to a pending petition for certiorari that the higher court has granted.

rev’d

Case has been reversed. Note this subsequent history can be combined with rev’d en banc where applicable.

rev’d on other grounds

Case has been reversed on a different ground other than the one for which it is being cited.

cert. denied

(only when citing a case decided less than two years ago, to show finality or for a specific point)

Case was potentially subject to a petition for certiorari, which was in fact filed but denied (thus showing this case’s finality).

vacated

vacated as moot

Case was vacated and is no longer good law. Use vacated as moot where the court so indicates.

Examples:

In re Verizon Internet Servs., Inc., 257 F. Supp. 2d 244 (D.D.C. 2003), rev’d on other grounds, Recording Indus. Ass’n of Am., Inc. v. Verizon Internet Servs., Inc., 351 F.3d 1229 (D.C. Cir. 2003).

—Note: This subsequent history is always required because the primary case being cited has been reversed on at least one basis.

B.L. v. Mahanoy Area Sch. Dist., 964 F.3d 170 (3d Cir. 2020), cert. granted, No. 20-255 (Jan. 8, 2021).

—Note: This would be an appropriate citation while the Supreme Court’s decision and opinion remained pending. After the opinion, it is unlikely that this citation would be needed since the Supreme Court opinion itself is the final authority. The citation for cert. granted could replace the docket number with a Lexis or Westlaw database code referring directly to the grant of certiorari.

The district court’s decision withstood all layers of federal-appellate review. Energy & Env't Legal Inst. v. Epel, 43 F. Supp. 3d 1171 (D. Colo. 2014), aff’d, 793 F.3d 1169 (10th Cir. 2015), cert. denied, 577 U.S. 1043 (2015).

—Note: This denial of certiorari is included because it is integral to the sentence’s claim. This denial of certiorari would be appropriate even after the two-year period for including denial of petitions for certiorari had expired.

R14.2.2  Indirect subsequent history and legislative or constitutional subsequent history

Include indirect history from other subsequent litigations or collateral litigation, when the indirect history is directly negative or necessary for the point being made. The clearest example is overruled by <x>.

Include subsequent history when a case is superseded by statute or by a constitutional amendment. The subsequent legislative or constitutional history may be noted through a further (discretionary) subsequent history notation of a case recognizing it as such.

Examples:

Hemerley v. Am. Fam. Mut. Ins. Co., 379 N.W.2d 860 (Wis. Ct. App. 1985), overruled by Hull v. St. Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 586 N.W.2d 863 (Wis. 1998).

Schuster v. Derocili, 775 A.2d 1029 (Del. 2001), superseded by statute, 19 Del. Code Ann. 712(b) (2005), as recognized in Yatzus v. Appoquinimink Sc. Dist., 458 F. Supp. 2d 235 (D. Del. 2006).

R14.3  Renamed Cases

When the case has a different name in the subsequent history, provide the new case name after the italicized phrase “sub nom.” (“under the name of”). There is no comma after sub nom.

Example:
Lerman v. Comm’r, 939 F.2d 44 (3d Cir. 1991), rev’d sub nom. Horn v. Comm’r, 968 F.2d 1229 (D.C. Cir. 1992).

Do not provide the new case name if either the parties’ names are merely reversed or if the subsequent history is simply a denial of certiorari or rehearing:

Correct:
United States v. Schmuck, 840 F.2d 384 (7th Cir. 1988), aff’d, 489 U.S. 705 (1989).
Incorrect:
United States v. Schmuck, 840 F.2d 384 (7th Cir. 1988), aff’d, Schmuck v. United States, 489 U.S. 705 (1989).

R14.4  Enslaved Persons

When the case involved an enslaved person or people as parties or at issue in the case, add a parenthetical so indicating.

Example:

Rives & Owen v. Wilborne, 6 Ala. 45, 47 (Ala.) (1844) (enslaved people at issue).

Indigo Inkling

Legal citation is not just a set of formatting rules, but an expression of ethics, an expression extending far beyond the dictate to literally cite one’s sources. The ethical dimensions of legal citation encompass its broader impacts such as how these rules socialize new lawyers-in-training, how they function within the legal world, what they represent about law and its practitioners, what they omit, and what effects they cast over the law’s sphere of influence. See, e.g., Susie Salmon, Shedding the Uniform: Beyond a “Uniform System of Citation” to a More Efficient Fit, 99 Marq. L. Rev. 763 (2016); Jennifer Elisa Chapman, Citation Ethics: Toward an Ethical Framework of Legal Citation (May 29, 2021), Yale Law Library Citation and the Law Symposium (forthcoming 2021), available at https://ssrn.com/abstract=3856202. Citation of cases involving enslaved persons are one example. Historically, these cases were cited no differently than any other case. As of January 2021, the latest printing of The Bluebook (21st ed.) added a rule to expand the citation for such cases, which must now include a parenthetical indicating that a enslaved person or people were parties or at issue in the case. This Second Edition of The Indigo Book expresses this rule as well, andwelcomes the continued examination of legal citation rules and practices.

R15  Short Form Citation for Cases

R15.1  Short Citations in Text

Once a case has been cited in full, you may refer to the case by a short-citation form. Specifically, you may refer to the case name in a textual sentence and provide shortened citation information after the sentence.

For the case name, use the chosen party’s name—usually the first-named party’s name—consistent with these rules for selecting a short-form citation and consistent with the abbreviation rules in Rule R11 for all case names (full citation or short citation).For the citation format, include the volume of the reporter, the reporter, the word “at” and the pincite to the page being cited.

Within the text sentence or (preferably) after the text sentence, provide a truncated citation sentence in the form of <volume> <Name of Reporter> at <pincite>.

Examples:

The court in Fenton also held the lower court erred in awarding damages based on loss of fair market value of property due to the flying balls. 233 N.E.2d at 219.

As the court further noted in Fenton, 233 N.E.2d at 219, the lower court erred in awarding damages based on loss of fair market value of property due to the flying balls.

R15.2     Short Citations In Citation Sentences and Clauses

Case names can be long, so various short-citation forms must be used when referring to the same case repeatedly in sequence or in scattered, interspersed references. Id. is the preferred reference if it can be used as noted below, because it is the most concise. But other short forms are frequently required for interspersed references throughout a legal document.

R15.2.1  When a short form may be used

Once a case has been cited in full, you may refer to the case by a short-citation form. Specifically, you provide a short-form citation sentence or clause with truncated information compared to the full citation. The reference must be unambiguous, and the full citation must be easily accessible earlier in the text.

Discretion may be applied to repeat the full-citation form later in a document when useful to the reader, such as after five short-form uses of id., five footnotes using id., or after a new heading or page break.

R15.2.2  Form of short citations

In general, the short citation uses the first-named party in the case name. As with full citations, the case name is italicized but the comma after the case name is not italicized. The shortened citation form omits the “v.” (for versus) and second-named party after the “v.” The shortened citation form also omits the first page of the case as found in the reporter, and simply provides an “at” with the pincite.

For cases, a short form citation usually includes: <The First Party of the Case Name>, <volume number> <Reporter> at <pincite>. As shown in Rule R15.1, if the shortened case name is incorporated into the textual sentence, do not repeat that shortened name in the short-form citation after the textual sentence.

Examples (where case name not part of preceding textual sentence):

Fenton, 233 N.E.2d at 219.

Malletier, 500 F. Supp. 2d at 281.

R15.2.3  Exceptions to using the first party of the case name

Do not use the first party of the case name if that party either is a geographical or governmental unit or a party name that is used for multiple cases. Choose the second party name if needed to avoid confusion.

Examples:

United States v. Carmel, 548 F.3d 571 (7th Cir. 2008) becomes Carmel, 548 F.3d at 573.

Gonzalez v. Raich, 545 U.S. 1 (2005) becomes Raich, 545 U.S. at 8.

R15.2.4  Shortening party names

Shorten a long party name, but only if the shortening saves significant useful space and if the reference remains clear. Use a [hereinafter <x>] designation if needed.

Examples:

Home Depot USA, Inc. v. Jackson, 139 S. Ct. 1743, 1744 (2019) becomes Home Depot, 139 S. Ct. at 1744.

A Book Named “John Cleland’s Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure” v. Attorney Gen. of Mass., 383 U.S. 413, 418 (1966) [hereinafter, Memoirs] can then become Memoirs, 383 U.S. at 418.

R15.3   Id.

R15.3.1  Id. with immediately preceding citation (same page of case)

If you are citing to the same case referenced in the immediately preceding citation, use id. as the short form citation. Id. by itself refers to the same case and same pincite in that case.

Example:

When the author of a work is a judge or legislator, it carries the force of law and cannot be copyrighted. Georgia v. Public.Resource.org, 140 S. Ct. 1498, 1513 (2020). To hold otherwise would be to discourage the use of “official legal works that illuminate the law we are all presumed to know and understand.” Id.

R15.3.2  Id. with immediately preceding citation (different page)

If you are referring to the immediately preceding case, but to a different page, use id. at <pincite>.

Example:

Fair use is ultimately a legal question because the question “primarily involves legal work.” Google LLC v. Oracle Am., Inc., 141 S. Ct. 1183, 1199 (2021). Although it may involve “subsidiary factual questions,” the ultimate question is legal rather than factual. Id. at 1200.

R15.3.3  Id. forbidden with string citations and ambiguous references

Id. should be used only if the preceding citation cites to one source.

Correct:

In examining the third factor—the proximity of the parties’ products in the marketplace—courts assess whether the parties occupy “distinct merchandising markets.” Naked Cowboy v. CBS, 844 F. Supp. 2d 510, 517-18 (S.D.N.Y. 2012). For example, would an unsophisticated viewer confuse the source of the long-running daytime television series with another party’s street performances or his souvenirs? Id.

Incorrect:

In examining the third factor—the proximity of the parties’ products in the marketplace—courts assess whether the parties occupy “distinct merchandising markets.” Hormel Foods Corp. v. Jim Henson Prods., Inc., 73 F.3d 497, 504 (2d Cir. 1996); Naked Cowboy v. CBS, 844 F. Supp. 2d 510, 517-18 (S.D.N.Y. 2012). For example, would an unsophisticated viewer confuse the source of the long-running daytime television series with another party’s street performances or his souvenirs? Id.

Correct:

In examining the third factor—the proximity of the parties’ products in the marketplace—courts assess whether the parties occupy “distinct merchandising markets.” Hormel Foods Corp. v. Jim Henson Prods., Inc., 73 F.3d 497, 504 (2d Cir. 1996); Naked Cowboy v. CBS, 844 F. Supp. 2d 510, 517-18 (S.D.N.Y. 2012). For example, would an unsophisticated viewer confuse the source of the long-running daytime television series with another party’s street performances or his souvenirs? Naked Cowboy, 844 F. Supp. 2d at 517-18.

Indigo Inkling

The short form id.—capitalized as Id. when it starts a citation sentence—can be used only to refer to the immediately preceding citation. The standard for what is immediately preceding is strict indeed. Do not use id. simply because a full citation has been given somewhere previously in the text. Id. can follow a single citation; a string citation terminates the opportunity to use id. next. Indeed, any reference by name to an intervening authority, even without an actual citation, also terminates the opportunity to use id. next.

There is one exception to this strict construction of when to use id. If the preceding citation includes a parenthetical citing a case within that parenthetical, that citation-within-a-citation does not foreclose the use of id. In that scenario, id. may be used to cite back to the immediately preceding citation to which the citation-within-a-citation is attached. Thus, a source cited parenthetically does not become the immediately preceding citation. This is structurally different from a string citation. Do not use id. after a string citation, even to attempt to refer to the final citation in the string.

C. STATUTES, RULES, REGULATIONS, AND OTHER LEGISLATIVE & ADMINISTRATIVE MATERIALS

R16  Federal Statutes

Indigo Inkling

Federal statutes, like most state statutes, use the § symbol to indicate the specific codified section. Traditionally, the section symbol is always followed by a space—for example, § 107 or §§ 106-107 for a span of sections.

Even though the Uniform System of Citation dictates a space between § and the section number, sometimes in practice that space is intentionally and systematically omitted. The United States Supreme Court itself does not use the space, and some SCOTUS briefs do while others do not (per an unscientific review of 2021 opinions and briefs). The decision may be strategic in briefs subject to a word-count rule such as the 13,000-word maximum imposed by Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 32. The Bluebook, however, does not on its face permit this deviation.

The Bluebook has very recently, however, acknowledged the role of word counts in another context: whether to keep the space between F. and Supp. in F. Supp. or between S. and Ct. in S. Ct. This space is technically required by the Uniform System of Citation’s rule that adjacent capitals like S.E. may be closed up, but a capital may not close up with an abbreviation that is not a single capital, like Ct. in S. Ct. As of 2020, The Bluebook’sBluepages Rule B6 softened its stance, advising writers they may close up other traditionally expected spaces in S. Ct. and F. Supp. 2d so as to conserve space. In a potentially controversial (?) stance, we submit that closing up the space between the section symbol and section number may be an equivalent acceptable deviation from traditional citation mechanics, for writers facing word-count pressure. The Supreme Court and members of the Supreme Court Bar do it even when holding a client’s case in their hands. So maybe you can too.

R16.1  Basic Citation Forms for Federal Statutes

R16.1.1   United States Code

For citations to the current United States Code (the official code of the United States and thus the preferred citation), cite the title, the United States Code, the section symbol or symbols, and section number or numbers being cited. The name of the Act being cited may be included before the citation, if appropriate.

<title> U.S.C. § <section number>.

<Name of Act [optional]>, <title> U.S.C. § <section number>.

Examples:

17 U.S.C. § 107.

18 U.S.C. § 1030.

Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, 21 U.S.C. §§ 301-399i.


R16.1.2   Year optional for current sections of the United States Code

The year in a United States Code citation is optional if the citation refers to the current codified statute. Omitting the year from a U.S.C. citation indicates the most current version of the federal statute being cited, whether that current version is published in the codified edition or a more recent supplement issued to amend the codified edition.

R16.1.3  Historical citations to the United States Code

The U.S.C. is codified once every six years, with various supplements issued in the interim six years between codification. For historical citations to previous versions of the United States Code, citations should be to the appropriate codifying year (e.g., 2000, 2006, 2012). Cite the most recent edition that includes the version of the statute being cited. If you are citing to a historical version of a statute first published in a supplement published in the interim period between official codifications, be sure to consult the supplements, indicate the supplement’s title and year of publication in the citation.

Example:

Communications Act of 1934, 47 U.S.C. § 223 (2012 & Supp. I 2013).

R16.1.4  Unofficial annotated U.S. codes

If the U.S.C. cite is not available, then cite to an unofficial code such as U.S. Code Annotated or U.S. Code Service. The citation form is

<title> U.S.C.A. § <section number> (West).

<title> U.S.C.S. § <section number> (LexisNexis).

R16.1.5  Year in unofficial U.S. code citations

As with the United States Code, the year is not required in citations to the current code.

Examples:

5 U.S.C.A. § 572 (West).

5 U.S.C.S. § 572 (LexisNexis).

For citations where the date is relevant or for historical code citations, indicate the date parenthetically. The date consist of the year through which the code section is current, or may include “current through” an exact date or legislative session, if relevant.

Examples:

5 U.S.C.A. § 572 (West 2021).

5 U.S.C.S. § 572 (LexisNexis current through July 22, 2021).

R16.1.6  Parallel citations to original section numbers

The original section numbering of enacted legislation does not inherently correspond to the section numbering in codified statutes. When naming and citing an Act in its original enacted form and in its codified form, include parallel citations to original section number in the Act, and the codified location.

Use the following form: <Name of Statute> <original section number>, <title> <Abbreviation for Name of Statutory Code> § <section number> <(<Name of Publisher, but only if citing unofficial code> <year published>)>.

Examples:

Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act § 202, 17 U.S.C. § 271(e).

Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 § 103, 17 U.S.C.A. § 1201 (West).

R16.1.7  Official session laws

If neither a United States Code or unofficial annotated code citation is available, then cite to the Public Law Number and parallel official session laws (i.e., the Statutes at Large). Omit the year of passage if it is part of the Act’s name. For a citation without a pincite, use the following format: <Name of Statute,> Pub. L. No. <____>, <volume> Stat. <page number> <(year passed)>.

The citation may include pincite to the specific section in the original Act and the page in the session laws. For a citation with a pincite, use the following format: <Name of Statute,> Pub. L. No. <____>, <original section number>, <volume> Stat. <page number>, <page pinpoint> <(year passed)>.

Examples:

Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Pub. L. No. 111-148, § 1101, 124 Stat. 119, 141-43 (2010).

Family Sponsor Immigration Act of 2002, Pub. L. No. 107-150, 116 Stat. 74.

R16.2  Short Citations

After a full citation to the United States Code or alternative (or session laws), a short form may be used. These short citations may take various forms but must clearly identify the reference including the pincite.

Examples:

§ 107.

Id.

Id. § 106.

First Step Act of 2018 § 401.

§ 401, 132 Stat. at 5220.

Indigo Inkling

“Session laws” are a bound collection of all statutes enacted by a given legislature, each volume collecting statutes chronologically in the year they were passed. The Statutes at Large (“Stat.”) is the official compilation for federal session laws. Generally, only cite to session laws if the official or unofficial code is unavailable or insufficient, or if you need to refer to the historical fact of the statute’s enactment.

R17    State Statutes

R17.1  Official State Codes

You should cite state statutes to official codes if at all possible. State code compilations are ranked by order of preference shown in Table T3. State code citations may require the publisher’s name, as shown in Table T3.

R17.2  Forms of Citation to State Codes

R17.2.1  Basic citations to state codes

A citation to a state code must include the code’s name (abbreviated) and identifying information such as the code volume and section number being cited.   State-code formats vary by state. See Table T3. The citation must also include a parenthetical providing the publisher’s name if necessary for an unofficial citation, as shown in Table T3; and the current year of that code. State code citations are never underlined (even if they appear underlined in online hyperlinked sources.)

Examples:

Fla. Stat. § 90.506 (2020).

O.C.G.A. § 51-3-22 (2020).

18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 30.3 (2020).

R17.2.2  State codes by subject matter

Some state codes use subject-matter abbreviations in their citation formats. Follow Table T3 and the abbreviations shown there to cite such codes.

Examples:

Tex. Est. Code Ann. § 251.107 (West 2019).

N.Y. Arts & Cult. Aff. Law § 60.03 (McKinney 2020).

R17.3  Year of State Code

Provide the year of the state code’s edition or publication date in a parenthetical. Do not include the year the statutory provision was passed.

  Example:

  Del. Code tit. 8, § 145 (2021).

  Ohio Rev. Code Ann. § 2927.27 (2021).

Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Ann. § 27.001 (West 2021).

Indigo Inkling

The Uniform System of Citation requires full citations of state statutes to include the code’s publication date, unlike citations to the United States Code. But in many state jurisdictions, common practice suggests—or local court rules require—omitting the publication year of the state code. Consult Table T3 and state-specific rules and resources.

R17.4  Statutes Not in Force

To cite a statute no longer in force, refer to its most recent available citation. The citation must also include a parenthetical indicating the statute’s subsequent negative history.

Example:

Ala. Code § 13A-12-5(a)(1) (repealed 2015).

R17.5   Short Citations

State codes may be cited in a short form after the first full citation, using a short form that clearly identifies what is being cited. The short form may include most of the full citation except the publisher and year. Or the short form may take an even more truncated format if clear.

Examples:

§ 27.001.

Id.

Id. § 209.

R18  Rules of Procedure and Evidence, Restatements, and Uniform Acts

R18.1  Rules of Evidence and Procedure

R18.1.1  Federal and state rules

Cite current federal or state rules by indicating the abbreviation of the source, followed by the rule number. Do not use a section symbol (§) when citing rules of evidence or procedure, unless using a jurisdiction-specific citation form that requires it. Do not include a date for current rules of evidence or procedure. Include the date of repeal if citing a historical rule no longer in force, and other appropriate information in a parenthetical.

Examples:

Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(1).

Fed. R. App. P. 1.

Mo. R. Civ. P. 67.01.

N.J. R. Evid. 406.

R18.1.2  Uniform rules

Cite uniform rules in the same manner as for state or federal rules. Follow how the rules indicate they should be cited as well as how they are in fact cited.

R18.1.3  Abbreviations

In citation sentences and clauses, follow customary abbreviations for the rules being cited. As with all state citations, local customs and rules may differ.

Examples:

Rules by Name

Abbreviation (national and local)

Federal Rules of Civil Procedure

Fed. R. Civ. P.

Federal Rules of Evidence

Fed. R. Evid.

New Jersey Rules of Evidence

N.J. R. Evid. (national)

N.J.R.E. (local)

Missouri Rules of Civil Procedure

Mo. R. Civ. P. (national)

Rule (local)

Uniform Rules of Evidence

Unif. R. Evid.

R18.2  Restatements, Model Rules, and Uniform Acts

Cite Restatements by indicating the title of the particular Restatement cited, including the ordinal edition such as Restatement (Third) spelled out Follow the title and edition with the number of the section being cited and, parenthetically, the publisher and the year that edition was published. Use the following form: Restatement (<spelled ordinal>) of <Subject Matter> <: Subject-Matter Subtitle (if applicable)> § <section number> (<publisher> <year published>).

A comment may be indicated by its letter designation after the Restatement section. Comments are abbreviated “cmt.”

Examples:

Restatement (Second) of Trusts § 46 (Am. L. Inst. 1959).

Restatement (Third) of the Law Governing Lawyers § 2 cmt. e (Am. L. Inst. 2000).

Restatement (Third) of Prop.: Servitudes § 7.1 (Am. L. Inst. 2000).

Indigo Inkling

The recent history of Restatement citations is a good case study in how citation formats evolve and are influenced by user feedback and various interests. As of the 19th edition of The Bluebook, published in 2010, Restatement citations followed a fairly slim format: Restatement (Second) of Trusts § 46 (1959). The next edition, published in 2015, added the requirement of parenthetically indicating the institutional author along with the year in citations to Restatements, Uniform Acts, and Model Rules. See Richard L. Revesz, The American Law Institute and the Bluebook, The ALI Reporter (Fall 2015), at 3, https://www.ali.org/news/articles/ali-reporter-fall-2015/ (noting that this new citation format was added to The Bluebook at the request of the American Law Institute to protect the American Law Institute’s brand and the influence of its work). This relatively recent requirement may be appropriate in scholarly legal writing and is used by law reviews closely implementing the latest version of The Bluebook. It does, however, not appear to have been widely adopted by courts or in other practical and public contexts as of 2021.

R18.3  Uniform Commercial Code

Citations to the Uniform Commercial Code take the following form: U.C.C. § <section number> (<publisher> <year published>). In scholarly work, add the publisher in the first full citation to a Uniform Commercial Code citation: (Am. L. Inst. & Unif. L. Comm’n 1977).

Example:

U.C.C. § 9-105.

R18.4  Other Uniform Laws and Similar Sources

Use a similar format for other uniform laws, following the general abbreviations in Table T11.

Examples:

Unif. Trade Secrets Act § 1(4) (Unif. L. Comm’n 1985) (as amended).

U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual § 6A1.5 (U.S. Sentencing Comm’n 2018).

R19   Administrative Rules and Regulations

R19.1  Federal Rules

R19.1.1  General format for administrative rules

Citations to federal administrative rules and regulations take the following form for citing a section. Provide as specific and precise a citation as the source allows.

<title number of C.F.R. provision> C.F.R. § <section number> <(year published)>.

Examples:

36 C.F.R. § 272.1 (2020).

21 C.F.R. § 133.113 (2020).

R19.1.2  C.F.R. parts

Citations to a part (that is a particular, defined “Part”) of the C.F.R. take the following form.:

<title number of C.F.R. provision> C.F.R. pt. <part number> <(year published)>.

R19.1.3  Optional name

If the regulation is generally referred to by name or listing the name and/or the name of the agency issuing the regulation would otherwise improve clarity, include it at the beginning of the citation. Citations to administrative rules and regulations that include the regulation name take the following form:

<Name of the Regulation and/or Name of the Agency Promulgating the Regulation>, <title no. of C.F.R. provision> C.F.R. § <section number> <(year published)>.

Examples:

DOE Employee Standards of Conduct with Regard to Privacy, 10 C.F.R. § 1008.3 (2020).

FDA Standards of Identity for Food, 21 C.F.R. Parts 130 to 169 (2020).

R19.2  State Regulations

Cite state regulations following the federal format when permitted by the structure and form of the state’s source material. State regulations vary widely from state to state in their structure and form; thus, the appropriate citation to a state regulation—particularly for use within that state—may require consulting a state-specific citation manual such as those listed in Table T3.

Examples:

State Regulation

Uniform System of Citation Format

State-Specific Format

Missouri Code of State Regulations Title 15, Section 30-200.030, updated as of 2020

Mo. Code Regs. Ann. tit. 15, § 30-200.030 (2020).

15 CSR 30-200.030.

New Jersey Administrative Code Section 2:16-1.1, updated as of 2020

N.J. Admin. Code § 2:16-1.1 (2020).

N.J.A.C. 2:16-1.1.

R19.3  Agency Adjudications, Arbitrations, Orders, and Other Actions

R19.3.1   Adjudications

Agency adjudications are similar to case citations but more streamlined. Use only the first-listed private party. Omit all procedural words such as “In re” and similar. See Table T2 of The Indigo Book for specific guidance on citing agency adjudications and arbitration citations.

Example:

Tegna, Inc., 367 N.L.R.B. No. 71 (Jan. 17, 2019).

R19.3.2  Arbitrations

Agency arbitrations follow the format for case citations (Rule R11) if they have adversary parties and the citation for an agency adjudication (Rule R19.3.1) if they do not. Indicate the arbitrator’s name and abbreviated title Arb. at the end of the citation.

R19.3.3  Parallel citations

Provide a citation to an official or unofficial reporter if available. If an official publication is not available at all or not yet for the adjudication, cite to the agency’s website using a similar format to citing unpublished cases (Rule R11.3.4) and electronic sources (Rule R32). A citation to a proprietary database is permitted and may be helpful but is not required.

Examples:

Landrys Inc., 199 L.R.R.M. (BL) ¶ 2103 (N.L.R.B. Div. of Judges June 26, 2014).

Online Political Files of Trending Media, Inc., File No.: POL-070121-27365113 (FCC Feb. 12, 2021) (order and attached consent decree), https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-21-156A1.pdf.

Ronnie v. Office Depot, Inc., Arb. Case No. 2019-0020, ALJ Case No. 2018-SOX-00006 (Dep’t of Labor Sept. 29, 2020), https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/OALJ/PUBLIC/ARB/DECISIONS/ARB_DECISIONS/SOX/19_020_SOXP.PDF.

Amazon, Inc. and Amazon Logistics, Inc., File No. 1923123, 2021 WL 489846 (FTC Feb. 2, 2021) (agreement containing consent order), https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/cases/amazon_flex_order_with_no_signatures.pdf.

R19.3.4  Pincites

Pincite to specific pages in the document by using page numbers, paragraph numbers, star pagination to proprietary page numbers, or another appropriate pincite reference. See Rule R5.

R19.4  Proposed Rules

Include the proposed rule’s title, citation to the Federal Register, and date of proposal:

<Title of Proposed Rule> , <Volume> Fed. Reg. <Page> , <(proposed on <date rule was proposed>)> (to be codified at <intended C.F.R. citation>)>, <URL where Proposed Rule can be found>.

If the proposed rule is not yet included in the Federal Register, provide a citation to the agency’s website including docket number if available and URL.

R19.5  Comments Filed with Agencies

R19.5.1  Comments generally

Include the commenter’s name and the proposed rule that is the subject of comment, followed by the exact date and URL:

<Commenter’s name>, Comment on <Proposed Rule Being Commented Upon, including optional citation in the Federal Register (<date>) <(date of comment filed)>, <URL of Comment if available and helpful>.

Include the docket number or comment number in the citation, if applicable and helpful.

Examples:

Georgia Dep’t of Agric., Public Submission on the FDA’s Comprehensive, Multi-Year Nutrition Innovation Strategy (Aug. 23, 2018), https://www.regulations.gov/comment/FDA-2018-N-2381-0690.

Georgia Dep’t of Agric., Public Submission on the FDA’s Comprehensive, Multi-Year Nutrition Innovation Strategy (83 Fed. Reg. 30180 (June 27, 2018)) (comment submitted Aug. 23, 2018), https://www.regulations.gov/comment/FDA-2018-N-2381-0690.

R19.5.2  Comments with subsequent agency response

When citing a comment in which administrative procedure requires an agency response and when the agency has in fact issued its response, supplement or replace the URL of the comment standing alone to add citation information for the rule appendix or other source containing both the comment and the agency response.

Indigo Inkling

Citations to agency sources must build on the fundamentals of legal citation, while adapting the special conventions of administrative-law practice and the relevant agency or agencies. Fundamentally, all legal citations should provide the correct information including title, issuing agency, date, and indexing information such that the source can be found and the reader can assess the source in context. Special conventions of administrative-law practice vary by federal and state agency. Specialty conventions may include omitting information (such as a date where it is superfluous), citing to agency-specific sources rather than general federal sources, or citing general federal sources plus additional parallel citations, cross-references, and/or URLs. Those who work frequently with a particular agency will often rely more heavily on the agency’s website or other sources than on general publication in the Federal Register. 

For example, a generic citation to agency work by the Federal Communications Commission might look like this, following the overall Uniform System of Citation:

Rates for Interstate Inmate Calling Services, 85 Fed. Reg. 67,450 (Oct. 23, 2020) (to be codified at 47 C.F.R. pt. 64); Rates for Interstate Inmate Calling Services, 85 Fed. Reg. 67,480 (proposed Oct. 23, 2020) (to be codified at 47 C.F.R. pt. 64).

But an attorney or policy advocate knowledgeable about FCC customs might cite the source more like the following, knowing that the Federal Register documents are only a summary of the FCC's full document, released more than two months after the FCC's initial release of the document, and missing the separate statements of FCC commissioners on the document:

Rates for Interstate Inmate Calling Services, Report and Order on Remand and Fourth Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, WC Docket No. 12-375, 35 FCC Rcd. 8485 (Aug. 7, 2020), https://www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-seeks-reduce-rates-and-charges-inmate-calling-services-0.

Table T1 provides more detailed information about federal-agency practice, and Table T3 provides information on state-specific administrative-law citations (acknowledging that comprehensive treatment of state practice is beyond the scope of The Indigo Book). For work focused on particular agencies, any overall source expressing the Uniform System of Citation should be supplemented by obtaining agency-specific citation guides, studying recent samples of work in that agency, and working with experienced practitioners. For these examples, we are grateful to Blake Reid, Clinical Professor and Director of the Samuelson-Glushko Technology Law & Policy Clinic at the University of Colorado School of Law.

R20   Federal Taxation Materials

R20.1  Internal Revenue Code

Citations to the Internal Revenue Code take either of two forms—the United States Code or the Internal Revenue Code (which inherently refers to Title 26 of the United States Code). Either way, these citations do not include the year when the citation refers to the current year of the Code.

R20.1.1  I.R.C.

Citations to the code itself take the following form: I.R.C. § <section number> .

R20.1.2  Title 26 of the United States Code

Citations to Title 26 of the United States Code, which is where the Internal Revenue Code is codified, take the following form: 26 U.S.C. § <section number>.

Examples:

I.R.C. § 312.

26 U.S.C. § 312.

R20.1.3  Unofficial codes

Indicate the publisher if citing to an unofficial code. Do not indicate the year when citing the current unofficial code, but do include the year if citing a past edition or dated supplement.

R20.2  Treasury Regulations

The Department of the Treasury issues Treasury Regulations pursuant to § 7805 of the Internal Revenue Code. Treasury Regulations are codified in Title 26 of the Code of Federal Regulations (“C.F.R.”), but should be cited as “Treas. Reg.” according to the following form: Treas. Reg. § <section number> <(year published)>. If the regulation is temporary, then begin the citation with Temp. Treas. Reg. instead.

Examples:

Treas. Reg. § 1.414(r)-8 (1994).

Temp. Treas. Reg. § 1.274-5T(6) (1985).

R20.3  Treasury Determinations

Cite Revenue Rulings (“Rev. Rul.”), Revenue Procedures (“Rev. Proc.”), and Treasury Decisions (“T.D.”) to the following sources, in the following order of preference: (1) Cumulative Bulletin (“C.B.”); (2) Internal Revenue Bulletin (“I.R.B.”); then (3) Treasury Decisions Under Internal Revenue Laws (“Treas. Dec. Int. Rev.”).

Examples:

Rev. Rul. 81-225, 1981-2 C.B. 12.

Rev. Proc. 97-27, 1997-21 I.R.B. 11.

T.D. 2135, 17 Treas. Dec. Int. Rev. 39 (1915).

R20.4  Private Letter Rulings

Cite Private Letter Rulings using the following format: I.R.S. P.L. R. <ruling number> (<exact date>).

Example:

I.R.S. P.L.R. 202121010 (May 28, 2021).

R21   Legislative Materials

R21.1  Federal Bills and Resolutions

If unenacted, cite as follows: <name of bill, if helpful>, <abbreviation from the list below> <bill number>, <number of the Congress> <section, if not citing the entire bill> <year of publication>, with additional information when needed to distinguish between different versions of the bill in a given Congress. Abbreviate the names of subcommittees and committees according to the form set out in Table T5, Table T11, and Table T12. As shown below, select an abbreviation based on the type of bill or resolution:

Type

Abbreviation

Senate Bill

S.

House Bill

H.R.

Senate Resolution

S. Res.

House Resolution

H.R. Res.

Senate Joint Resolution

S.J. Res.

House Joint Resolution

H.R.J. Res.

Senate Concurrent Resolution

S. Con. Res.

House Concurrent Resolution

H.R. Con. Res.

Senate Executive Resolution

S. Exec. Res.

Examples:

S. 812, 108th Cong. (2003).

Clinical Social Work Medicare Equality Act of 2001, S. 1083, 107th Cong. § 2(b) (2001).

ABLE Act of 2014, H.R. 647, 113th Cong. (as passed by House, Dec. 3, 2014).

H.R. 1746, 111th Cong. § 2(c)(4) (as reported by H. Comm. on Transp. and Infrastructure, Apr. 23, 2009).

H.R. Res. 431, 114th Cong. (2015).

S.J. Res. 12, 109th Cong. (2005).

Indigo Inkling

Every two years, a new Congress is constituted, based on the two-year term for Members of Congress set forth in Article 1, Section 2 of the United States Constitution. Each of these Congresses has its own number, and that number is crucial in legislative-history citations. The 2021-22 Congress (elected in 2020) is the 117th Congress. Public Laws enacted by this Congress and signed by the President will follow a citation format such as Pub. L. 117-1 (the first act to be enacted sequentially by the 117th Congress). The 2019-2020 Congress (elected in 2018) was the 116th Congress. Those Public Laws would follow a citation format such as Pub. L. 116-25 (the twenty-fifth act to be passed by the 116th Congress); and so on. Likewise other legislative documents use the number of that Congress as a core piece of the citation. Online resources for government-document research seem to be constantly in flux; consult Congress.gov or Govinfo.gov for more information.

R21.2  Enacted Federal Bills and Resolutions

Once enacted, bills and joint resolutions are statutes subject to codification and should be cited as such following Rule R16.1. For citations to the legislation’s history (rather than as a codified statute), cite them as unenacted bills or resolutions. Cite enacted simple resolutions and concurrent resolutions as if they were unenacted, but add an “(enacted)” parenthetical if it would be helpful.

R21.3  State Bills and Resolutions

Cite state bills and resolutions as follows: <number of bill or resolution>, <number, or year if unnumbered, of the legislative body>, <number or designation of the legislative session> (<name of state, abbreviated as in Table T12 and year of enactment or publication, if unenacted>).

Example:

L.D. 3, 127th Leg., Reg. Sess. (Me. 2015).

R21.4  Committee Hearings

R21.4.1  Congressional committee hearings

Cite committee hearings as follows: <full title of hearing>: Hearing on <bill number, if any> Before the <name of committee or subcommittee>, <number of the Congress> <optional pincite to page number> <year of publication> <name and title of speaker>.   For the names of subcommittees and committees, abbreviate according to the form set out in Table T5, Table T11, and Table T12. For the names of individuals, use Table T10.

R21.4.2  State committee hearings

For state committee hearings, cite as follows: <full title of hearing>: Hearing on <bill number, if any> Before the <name of committee or subcommittee>, <number of the legislative session> <optional pincite to page number> <abbreviation for the state’s name from Table T12> <year of publication> <name and title of speaker>. Use the same abbreviation resources as for Congressional committee hearings.

Examples:
Cell Tax Fairness Act of 2008: Hearing on H.R. 5793 Before the Subcomm. on Commercial and Administrative Law of the H. Comm. on the Judiciary, 110th Cong. 12 (2008) (statement of Zoe Lofgren, Member, H. Comm. on the Judiciary).
Welfare and Poverty in America: Hearing before the S. Comm. on Fin., 114th Cong. (2015) (statement of Dr. Pamela Loprest, Senior Fellow, Urban Institute).
Testimony from invited guests addressing the use of eminent domain in the State: Hearing before the Assemb. Commerce and Econ. Dev. Com., 2006–2007 Sess. 5 (N.J. 2006) (statement of Guy R. Gregg, Assemblyman).
Hearing on L.D. 319 Before the Health and Human Servs. Comm., 127th Leg., Reg. Sess. (Me. 2015) (statement of Susan Lamb, Executive Director, Maine Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers).

R21.5  Federal Congressional Reports

R21.5.1  Report citations 

Cite numbered federal reports as follows: <name of house, in small caps> Rep. No. <number of the Congress, followed by a hyphen and the number of the report>, <at optional pincite> <year of publication> <parenthetical to indicate conference report, if applicable>.

Examples:

S. Rep. No. 106-261, at 441 (2000).

H.R. Rep. No. 110-803, at 105 (2008) (Conf. Rep.).

R21.5.2  Other legislative materials

Citations to federal and state non-statutory legislative materials, including legislative history and unenacted bills, aren’t expressed in a uniform manner, but generally include the following elements:

title, if available,
name of legislative body, abbreviated
section number, page no. or number of report
number of Congress and/or legislative session
(publication year)
(if the bill or resolution was enacted). Only include this additional parenthetical if the bill was enacted; if unenacted, you don’t need to add anything extra.

Examples:

Paycheck Fairness Act, H.R. 11, 111th Cong. § 203 (2009).

American Clean Energy and Security Act, H.R. 2454, 111th Cong. (2009).

S. 2318, 112th Cong. (2013) (enacted).

R22  Short Form Citation of Legislative and Administrative Materials

R22.1    General short-citation forms

For subsequent citations in the same general discussion after a first full citation, short forms that clearly identify the source are permissible.

R22.2  Id.

Id. may be used to identify the immediately preceding source consistent with Rule R6. Id. can be used for different subsections of the same code title and section, or for different code sections within the same title. A subsequent citation to a different title of that code necessitates a more complete short-form citation than Id.

Full citation

Id. citation
for same provision

Id. citation
for different provision
within same title

7 U.S.C. § 7101.

Id.

Id. § 7102(26).

9 C.F.R. § 54.1 (2014).

Id.

Id. § 151.9.

R23  Sources and Authorities: Constitutions

R23.1  United States Constitution

Citations to the federal Constitution follow a simple form, using abbreviations from Table T12 (state names) and Table T13 (document subdivisions).

For current Constitutional provisions, do not include a date. Parenthetical information may be added consistent with Rule R10, such as for repeal or amendment.

The format is as follows: <U.S. Const.> <cited section of constitution, abbreviated> <number of article or amendment in Roman numeral form> <§ and pinpoint, if applicable> <(additional information, if needed)>.

Examples:

U.S. Const. amend. XIII, § 1.

U.S. Const. amend. XVIII (repealed 1933).

U.S. Const. pmbl.

R23.3  State Constitutions

Citations to state constitutions are expressed the same format, substituting the abbreviated name of the state following Table T12 and document subdivisions in Table T13.

Examples:

Ariz. Const. art. XVI, § 2.

N.D. Const. art. III, § 1.

R23.4  Short Forms

Federal and state constitutions do not have a shorter alternative form for use after the first full citation. They should be cited in full each time used.   It is permissible, however, to use id. for sequential citations to the same constitutional provision.

D. COURT & LITIGATION DOCUMENTS

R24   Documents Filed in the Same Case

At the trial stage, court and litigation documents take a variety of forms such as pleadings, affidavits, discovery requests and responses, motions, and court orders, just to name a few. In federal court, court and litigation documents must be filed with the federal government’s Case Management/Electronic Case Files system maintained via the PACER system at pacer.uscourts.gov. Thus, federal court documents have a traditional document name and, typically, a pincite to a paragraph or other specific location, as well as an ECF number.

On appeal, the record below may become a formal numbered “Record” with its own page references. Documents for use on appeal may also take the form of an appendix or joint appendix.

R24.1  Document Title

Consult the document abbreviations in Table T18. Follow it in the absence of more specific rules or guidance from local rules. When abbreviating document names, other abbreviations may be employed for long words (typically seven or more letters) if clear and helpful to the reader. Always abbreviate an official record, such as the appellate record, to “R.” Do not abbreviate if the abbreviation would confuse the reader.

Examples:

Compl. for Copyright Infringement ¶ 11.

Def.’s Second Am. Answer at ¶ 28.

Jones Dep. 8:24-9:5.

Def. Acme’s Resp. to Pl. Morrison’s Req. for Admis. No. 2.A.

R. at 22.

J.A. at 137.

R24.2  Pincites to Page, Page and Line, or Paragraph

For court and litigation documents other than an appellate record, provide the exact page, paragraph, and—where line numbers are available such as in deposition transcripts—the line being referred to. Do not use “p.” before a page number, but refer to pages with “at <x>.”

R24.2.1  Pincites to the appellate record 

Generally cite the appellate record with an “at.” Record citations also sometimes omit the “at” to save on a word count. Most importantly, be accurate and be internally consistent.

Examples:

R. at 2.

R. 2.

R24.2.2  Page and line pincites

Use a colon to separate page and line.

Example:

Smith Dep. 5:21–6:10.

R24.2.3  Commas

Use commas if necessary to avoid confusion. When abbreviating both a document name and an exhibit to that document, add a comma after the Exhibit reference before the pincite.

Example:

Smith Dep. Ex. 12, at 3.

R24.3  Date of Document

Include the date of the document if the date is particularly relevant or if omitting the date could cause confusion.

Examples:

Miller Aff. ¶ 8, Jan. 12, 2015.

Pl.’s Br. 4–5, May 7, 2014.

Trial Tr. vol. 3, 45, Mar. 5, 2015.

R24.4  Electronic Case Filing Number

Include an ECF number whenever a document has been filed electronically. Find the ECF number on PACER, a federal case management system that assigns each case document a document number. Use the page number on the original document, not the page reference added by the ECF system upon filing.

Examples:

Pl.’s Compl. ¶ 12, ECF No. 147.

Sanchez Dep. 1:1–2, Jan. 3, 2005, ECF No. 8.

R24.5  Parentheses or Brackets

Citations to court or litigation documents may stand alone as citation sentences or clauses, or may be enclosed in parentheses or brackets. If using parenthesis or brackets, place the period outside the closing parenthesis or closing bracket.

Examples:

J.A. at 182.

(Resp. Br. 18).

[R. at 7].

R25  Court or Litigation Documents from Other Cases

Dockets and litigation documents are widely available now in commercial databases and other platforms. This rule describes how to cite litigation documents in other documents, not for litigation in that particular case, which is governed by Rule R24. This rule does, however, draw on Rule R24 as a partial basis for the citation, with additional citation information as shown here.

R25.1  General Format in Published Cases

After citing to the document according to Rule R24 above, add the full citation for the case where it comes from, and the case docket number in parentheses. An additional citation to a commercial database may be added (optional).

<Name of document> <pincite> , <Citation to case in which document was filed> (<docket number in parenthesis>), <optional commercial database identifier or webpage URL>.

Example:

Compl. 5, Parsell v. Shell Oil Co., 421 F. Supp. 1275 (D. Conn. 1976) (Civ. No. B-700).

Pl.’s Resp. to Defs.’ Mot. for Summ. J. 14, Martinez-Mendoza v. Champion Int’l Corp., 340 F.3d 1200 (11th Cir. 2003) (No. 06-19139).

Brief for Brendan Keefe in His Official Capacity as Investigative Reporter for 11Alive Atlanta, and WXIA-TV as Amici Curiae in Support of Respondent, Georgia v. Public.Resource.org, Inc., 140 S. Ct. 1498 (2020) (No. 18-1150), 2019 WL 5391110.

R25.2  Pending or Undecided Cases

If there has been no decision in the case you’re citing, then provide the name of the document and pincite, followed by the docket number, the date in parentheses, and other optional information to direct the reader.

<Name of document> <pincite>, <Name of case>, <docket number>, (<exact date of document being cited>) <optional commercial database identifier or webpage URL>.

Examples:

Compl. 2, Jones v. Smith, No. 09-230 (9th Cir. Apr. 17, 2015), ECF No. 2.

Pet. for Writ of Cert. at 6, Crowe v. Ore. St. Bar, No. 20-1678 (May 27, 2021), https://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/crowe-v-oregon-state-bar/.

R25.3  Oral Argument Audio and Transcripts

Provide the title indicating Oral Argument for an audio citation and Transcript for a transcript citation. Pincite to the minute or page. Provide the case name, citation of the case, and the year parenthetically.

Examples:

Oral Argument at 32:50, Georgia v. Public.Resource.org, 140 S. Ct. 1498 (2020) (No. 18-1150), https://www.oyez.org/cases/2019/18-1150.

Transcript of Oral Argument at 5, Ramos v. Louisiana, 140 S. Ct. 1390 (2020) (No. 18-5924), https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2019/18-5924_4gcj.pdf.

R26   Short Form Citation for Court and Litigation Documents

Use a short form citation for court documents when the full citation is close enough to be useful and the short form used is clear and helpful. Note that court documents may be cited using supra. Don’t use “id.” for court documents, unless it saves a lot of space. In particular do not use id. for record citations.

Examples:

Full Form (Original citation)

Short Form Citation (subsequent reference)

Pl.’s Resp. to Defs.’ Mot. for Summ. J. at 14, Martinez-Mendoza v. Champion Int’l Corp., 340 F.3d 1200 (11th Cir. 2003) (No. 06-19139).

Pl.’s Resp. to Defs.’ Mot. for Summ. J. at 14, Martinez-Mendoza, 340 F.3d 1200 (No. 06-19139).

Decl. of Martha Woodmansee at 7, Salinger v. Colting, 641 F. Supp. 2d 250 (S.D.N.Y. 2010) (No. 09 Civ. 05095).

Decl. of Martha Woodmansee at 7, Salinger, 641 F. Supp. 2d 250 (No. 09 Civ. 05095).

R27  Capitalization in Court Documents and Legal Memoranda

R27.1   Capitalizing Court

Capitalize “Court” in each of the following situations:

Referring to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Referring to or addressing the court receiving the document you are submitting.
Naming the court in full.

Examples:

The Court held that the Official Code of Georgia Annotated is a government edict that cannot be copyrighted by the State of Georgia.

The U.S. Court of Federal Claims held jurisdiction.

The Aalmuhammed court explained that the word author “is traditionally used to mean the originator or the person who causes something to come into being.”

This Court is being asked to expand the definition of “author” far beyond the statutory text.

R27.2  Party Designations in a Litigation

Capitalize “Plaintiff,” “Defendant,” “Appellant” and “Appellee,” unless you are referring to parties from other litigation.

Example (in the case involving this plaintiff as a party):

The Plaintiff does not have a cognizable copyright interest in her acting performance.

Example (referring to a different litigation):

In Bobbs-Merrill, the plaintiff-copyright owner sold its book with a printed notice announcing that any retailer who sold the book for less than one dollar was liable for copyright infringement.

R27.3  Titles of Court Documents

In litigation filings, use the capitalized and unabbreviated title of any litigation document in that case, when referring to it in full in a textual sentence. A litigation document may also be referred to in a citation sentence in a full or short form, in which case it should be capitalized but abbreviated.

  Example:

  The Plaintiff’s Motion for Reconsideration should be denied.

  Pl.’s Mot. Recons. at 4.

R27.4  Types of Documents Not Capitalized

Do not capitalize the name for a type of court document, such as an injunction, petition, etc.

E. BOOKS & NON-PERIODICALS

R28  Full Citation for Books & Non-Periodicals

R28.1  General

A full citation to a book or other non-periodical is made up of the following elements:

Volume number (if the book is in a set of more than one volume)
Author name or names
Title of the Publication
Parenthetically, edition and editor information, if applicable; and year

Examples:

1 Melville B. Nimmer & David Nimmer, Nimmer on Copyright § 1.01[B][1][a] at 1–14–15 (2019).

Matthew Reidsma, Masked by Trust: Bias in Library Discovery (2019).

Lawyers in Practice: Ethical Decision Making in Context (Leslie C. Levin & Lynn Mather eds., 2012).

Joseph Williams & Joseph Bizup, Style: Ten Lessons in Clarity and Grace (12th ed. 2016).

R28.2  Author Name or Names

Use standard roman type (not italicized) for the author name or names.

R28.2.1  Exact names

In general, list the names of the authors as listed on the publication, such as by including listed first names and middle initials in addition to surnames. Use titles that follow an author’s name (Sr.) but not titles that precede them (Hon.)

R28.2.2  Multiple authors

For two authors, list them in the same order as on the publication separated by “&.” For more than two authors, you may list all of the authors with “&” before the last. Or you may use “et al.” after the first-named author.

Indigo Inkling

The “et al.” option for books and law review articles with multiple authors may be a space-saving option, but it may also effectively erase the contribution of co-authors other than the first-named. This citation erasure may occur qualitatively (in how the article is remembered) and/or quantitatively (in various empirical citation rankings). University of Pennsylvania Law School professor Dave Hoffman has argued that all authors should be included in the full citation, and indeed a number of law reviews have rejected the et al. option. Professor Hoffman calls this approach the Fair Citation Rule.

Short-forms for books and law review articles may be based on just the first-named author, an approach consistent with the spirit of efficient short-form citations. But the Fair Citation Rule can be followed in short citations as well, an approach that is less efficient but more representative of the work.

R28.2.3  Title of the publication

Place the publication title in italics.

R28.2.4  Pincite

Include the exact page number being cited immediately after the name of the publication. Do not use “at” before the pincite in a full citation. When citing a work organized using sections or paragraphs, use those instead, adding a page number only if helpful.

Example:

Marc A. Franklin et al., Mass Media Law Cases and Materials 472 (8th ed. 2011).
R28.2.5  Edition, editor or translator, and year of publication

The full citation to a book publication has up to four elements in the required parenthetical, in the following order:

Editor (designated as “ed.”)
Translator (designated as “trans.” and also including the name of the publisher of the translated edition)
Edition number
Year

If listing an editor or a translator, then follow the name with the designation “ed.,” or “trans.,” respectively. Do not place a comma before the designation of ed. or trans., but do include a comma after that designation and before the year of publication.

Examples:

Gabriel García Márquez, One Hundred Years of Solitude (Gregory Rabassa trans., Harper & Row 2003) (1967).

Roger Angell, This Old Man, in The Best American Essays 2015 (Ariel Levy & Robert Atwan eds., 2015).

R29  Short Form Citation for Books & Non-Periodicals

R29.1  Id.

Id. may be used for references to books or non-periodical material cited in the immediately preceding citation, assuming that citation contains only one source. Update the page number you’re referring to within that source, as needed, by using “Id. at <x>.”

Do not use id. for internal cross references, or for citing back to a body of collected works when actually citing a single work from that body.

R29.2  Supra

Use “supra” when you’ve used the full citation before, but it’s not the immediately preceding citation. Use a shortened title if you cite to multiple sources from the same author. Where a source has more than two authors, short citation forms using supra may use the first-named author and “et al.” to refer to other named authors, regardless of whether the first full citation has done so. You may retain all the authors if desired for giving credit.

The short form supra can be used in references to an earlier-cited work where “id.” does not apply. Citations built using supra should include:

the author’s last name
an unitalicized comma followed by italicized supra and followed by another unitalicized comma
the word “at” and the specific page being pincited.

Examples:

Full:

Id.:

Supra

B.F. Skinner, Beyond Freedom and Dignity 32 (2002).

Id. at 21.

Skinner, supra, at 21.

3 Melville Nimmer & David Nimmer, Nimmer on Copyright § 12.01 (Rev. ed. 2015)

See id. § 14.02.

See Nimmer & Nimmer, supra, § 14.02

Graham C. Lilly et al., Principles of Evidence 122 (6th ed. 2012)

Id. At 88–103

Lilly, supra, at 90

F. JOURNALS, MAGAZINES, & NEWSPAPER ARTICLES

R30   Full Citation for Journals, Magazines & Newspaper Articles

R30.1   Journal Citations

R30.1.1  Consecutively paginated journals (such as law reviews)

Citations to consecutively paginated journals (that is, journals in which page numbering is continued from the last issue) take the following form:

<Author’s Name(s)>, <Italicized Title of the Article>, <volume number, if applicable> <Name of Publication, abbreviated> <page number of first page of article cited>, <pincite, if citing to specific point> <(year published)>.

Follow Rule R30.2 below for author name rules and Rule R30.3 for abbreviating the name of the publication.

Example:

Liz Brown, Bridging the Gap: Improving Intellectual Property Protection for the Look and Feel of Websites, 3 N.Y.U. J. Intell. Prop. & Ent. L. 310, 351 (2014).

R30.1.2  Journals and magazines with standard pagination

Citations to journals and magazines with standard pagination (that is, where pagination re-starts for every issue) take the following form:

<Author’s Name(s)>, <Italicized Title of the Article>, <Name of Publication, abbreviated>, <full date of publication>, at <page number of first page of article cited>.

Example:

Jack Dickey, The Power of Taylor Swift, Time, Nov. 24, 2014, at 13.

R30.1.3  Pincites with standard pagination

A pincite to a specific page may be added after the page number of the article’s first page, in the following form: , <pincite>.

Example:

Jack Dickey, The Power of Taylor Swift, Time, Nov. 24, 2014, at 13, 17.

R30.1.3  Student-written material in law journals

Citations to material written by students in law journals such as comments and notes take the following form:

<Author’s Name(s), if signed with more than initials>, <Designation of Piece>, <Italicized Title of the Article>, <volume number, if applicable> <Name of Publication, abbreviated> <page number of first page of article cited>, <pincite, if citing to specific point> <(year published)>.

Examples:

Amanda Levendowski, Note, Using Copyright to Combat Revenge Porn, 3 N.Y.U. J. Intell. Prop. & Ent. L. 422 (2014).

Victoria Nemiah, Note, License and Registration, Please: Using Copyright “Conditions” To Protect Free/Open Source Software, 3 N.Y.U. J. Intell. Prop. & Ent. L. 358, 361 (2014).

Comment, Law and Lawns: Mandatory Water Restrictions and Substantive Due Process, 7 Calif. L. Rev. 138 (1972).

Indigo Inkling

Many sources such as newspapers and magazines are available both in a traditional hard-copy publication and an online format. Although the online site is almost certainly easier to find and read, traditional legal citation prioritizes the hard-copy publication for law reviews, magazines, and similar periodical sources. Newspapers are treated differently as shown in Rule R30.4.

R30.2  Authors

R30.2.1  Name as listed

Show the author’s name beginning with first name, initials if indicated on the publication, and last name followed by any name suffixes (Jr., III) indicated on the publication title.

R30.2.2  Two authors

For two authors, indicate their names in the order shown on the publication, separated by an ampersand. Do not insert a comma before the ampersand.

R30.2.3  Multiple authors

For more than two authors, all authors may be listed with an ampersand before the last name; or all but the first may be omitted and replaced by “et al.” Indicate all authors when relevant the point being made, or when recognition of all authors is desirable.

R30.2.4  No listed author

When no author is listed at the beginning or end of the publication source, skip the author field and begin the citation with the publication’s title. 

R30.3  Journal Titles

R30.3.1  Abbreviated titles

Use the abbreviations for common institutional names as listed in Table T15 if the name is listed. If the institutional name is not listed in Table T15, use abbreviations as listed in Table T11 and Table T12. If the periodical title has an abbreviation in it, use the abbreviation. If the word is not found in any of these tables, do not abbreviate the word in the abbreviated title.

R30.2.2  Prepositions, articles, commas, and colons

For journals not listed in the tables, streamline the journal title with these grammar mechanics. Do not use the words “a,” “at,” “in,” “of,” and “the” in the abbreviated title. Do, however, use the word “on.” If the title consists of “a,” “at,” “in,” “of,” or “the” followed by a single word, do not abbreviate the remaining word. Omit all commas in abbreviated titles, but retain other punctuation. If a periodical title has a colon followed by words, omit all that from the abbreviated title.

Use discretion to format a journal title differently when the journal identifies its own abbreviated title differently, particularly for legal journals (as opposed to those from other disciplines using other citation conventions).

Examples:

“Sociological Journal of Law” becomes “Socio. J. Law”

“Law Journal on the Litigation World” becomes “L.J. on Litig. World”

“Journal at Legal Crossroads” becomes “J. Legal Crossroads”

R30.2.3  Online supplements

To cite an online supplement to a print publication, use the proper abbreviation for the print publication, followed by the name of the online supplement.

R30.2.4  Evolving journal titles and series designation

If a periodical has been renumbered into a new series, indicate that by prefacing the series number with “(n.s.)”. Use the title of the periodical on the issue you are citing, even if the name of the periodical has changed.

R30.4  Newspaper Articles

Citations to newspaper articles traditionally required the print-based citation, but now may use either the print-based citation or the online citation with exact date and URL consistent with Rule R32.

R30.4.1  Print-based citation to newspaper article

Citations to newspaper articles take the following form: <Author’s Name(s), if signed>, <Italicized Title of the Article>, <Name of Publication, abbreviated>, <full date of publication>, at <number of first page of article>. Add a designation after the author’s name such as “editorial,” where appropriate.

Examples:

Charlie Savage, U.N. Commission Presses U.S. on Torture, N.Y. Times, Nov. 14, 2014, at A6.

Vikas Bajaj, Editorial, Rules for the Marijuana Market, N.Y. Times, Aug. 5, 2014, at A20.

R30.4.2  Citation to newspaper article online

Examples:

Charlie Savage, U.N. Commission Presses U.S. on Torture, N.Y. Times (Nov. 14, 2014), https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/14/world/europe/un-commission-presses-us-on-torture.html.

Vikas Bajaj, Editorial Rules for the Marijuana Market, N.Y. Times (Aug. 5, 2014), https://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/05/opinion/high-time-rules-for-the-marijuana-market.html.

R31  Short Form Citation for Journals, Magazines & Newspaper Articles

R31.1    Id.

Use “id.” when referring to the source cited in the immediately preceding citation. Id. can be used to refer to the same source as in a preceding citation that is itself also id., but do not repeat id. more than four times sequentially. After the fourth id., add more information by repeating the full citation or providing a short citation with supra.

Id. may be used by itself to indicate the same page of the same source, or with “at” to indicate a different page of that source.

R31.2    Supra

Use “supra” when you’ve used the full citation before, but it’s not right next to the sentence you will provide the citation for now. Use a shortened title if you cite to multiple sources from the same author. Where a source has more than two authors, short citation forms using supra may use the first-named author and “et al.” to refer to other named authors, regardless of whether the first full citation has done so. You may retain all the authors if desired for giving credit.

Example (in-text citation):

Robbins, Painting with Print, supra, at 112.

Example (footnote):

Baumeister et al., Bad Is Stronger than Good, supra note 5, at 325.

G. INTERNET SOURCES

R32   General Principles for Internet Sources

R32.1  Authenticated, Official, and Exact Copies

When an authenticated, official, or exact copy of a document is available online, cite as if to the equivalent print source (i.e., URL information should not be included).

Authenticated copy: source that uses some authenticating tool, such as a digital signature. This is generally the preferred version.
Official copy: version of document designated “official” by a federal, state, or local government.
Exact copy: unaltered online reproduction of the entirety of a printed source, including pagination.

R32.2  Print Sources Also Available on the Internet

For sources that are available in a non-internet source, append the URL to the end of the citation if doing so would make accessing the source significantly easier.

Example:

Daniel E. Ho & Frederick Schauer, Testing the Marketplace of Ideas, 90 N.Y.U. L. Rev. 1160, 1175 (2015), http://www.nyulawreview.org/sites/default/files/pdf/NYULawReview-90-4-Ho_Schauer.pdf.

R32.3  Print Sources Reproduced on the Internet

For Internet sources that have the characteristics of a print source, cite as if you were citing the print source, and append the URL to the end of the citation. Internet sources have the characteristics of a print source when the following conditions are met: the source has all the information needed to cite it according to another rule, and the source has a fixed, permanent pagination (such as a PDF).

R32.4  Webpages and Internet Sources

For citations directly to webpages and other Internet sources that do not exist in any other printed format, follow the formula in Rule R33 below.

Indigo Inkling

Note that many of the Internet citation rules are little more than common sense (that’s a compliment, not a dig). For example: include the URL that most directly links your reader to the authority, as you don’t want to send readers on a wild goose chase through the recesses of the Internet in search of a source. For the sake of completeness, we include these rules below, even though most people would probably intuit them.

One internet citation rule is not common sense, however. Traditional legal citation does not underline the URL to indicate a hyperlink. (Indeed, if you are using italics for case names, titles, and such, nothing will be underlined anywhere in the document.) As you create a citation to an internet source, your word processor may helpfully add an underlined hyperlink with URL text turned a different color. For citation per the Uniform System of Citation, believe it or not, you should remove that formatting change. Depending on the situation, you might choose to leave the non-compliant (yet helpful) obvious hyperlink. You could remove the hyperlink altogether. Or you could change the formatting so the hyperlink works but is rendered in plain font, consistent with traditional legal citation.

R33  Basic Formula for Internet Sources

Citations to Internet sources follow this form: <Author Name>, <Title of Website Page>, <Main Website Title>, <pincite> <(Date source posted, with exact time of posting if available)>, <URL>.

R33.1  Author Name(s)

R33.1.1  Personal author

When available, use the name or names of the individual, personal authors of the source.

Example:

Kate Klonick, Facebook v. Sullivan, Knight First Amend. Inst. (Oct. 1, 2018), https:// knightcolumbia.org/content/facebook-v-sullivan.

R33.1.2  Institutional authors

When the name of the individual, personal author is unavailable, use the name of the institution associated with the source if one is clearly apparent. Institutional authors should be omitted if the website’s title makes the domain’s owner clear. Institutional authors should be abbreviated (see Table T12 and Table T11 for abbreviations). Excessively long institutional-author names may be truncated, such as by omitting prepositional phrases that are not needed for clear identification.

Examples:

The Pew Charitable Trusts, How Debt Collectors Are Transforming State Courts, Pew (May 6, 2020), https://www.pewtrusts.org/-/media/assets/2020/06/debt-collectors-to-consumers.pdf

Economic Liberty, Inst. for Just., https://ij.org/issues/economic-liberty/ (last visited July 6, 2021).

Community Standards Enforcement Report, Facebook (Nov. 2019), https://transparency.facebook.com /community-standards-enforcement

R33.1.3  Forum authors

For web posts and comments, use the actual name of the post author, or the username of the post author if the actual name is not available. For comments, the author of the comment should be included if available, but the author of the original post need not be cited.

R33.1.4  Unavailable author name

If the name of the author is unavailable in each of the above forms, it may be omitted from the basic formula. 

R33.2  Content Title

R33.2.1  Specific webpage title

Include the particular cited webpage as the source title (roughly equivalent to citing the title of an article). This title should be based on either the title bar or the heading of that page as viewed in the browser.

Examples:

Mike Masnick, Left Shark Bites Back: 3D Printer Sculptor Hires Lawyer to Respond to Katy Perry’s Bogus Takedown, TechDirt (Feb. 9, 2015, 12:27 PM), https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20150209/11373729960/left-shark-bites-back-3d-printer-sculptor-hires-lawyer-to-respond-to-katy-perrys-bogus-takedown.shtml.

Priority Legis.—U.S. House and Senate, Nat’l Cannabis Indus. Ass’n, https://thecannabisindustry.org/government-affairs/priority-legislation-us-senate/ (last visited July 6, 2021).
R33.2.2  Shortened content title

The content title should be informative but not unduly long, if possible without compromising clarity and precision.

R33.2.3  Comments and other related pages

Include the title of certain pages linked from main website when relevant, including postings, comments, and titles of subheadings (in italics). Where relevant, as in comments, subheadings should indicate their relationship to the page to which they are responsive.

Example:

Nasch, Re: Costumes, IP, and Ownership Rights, Comment to Left Shark Bites Back, TechDirt (Feb. 14, 2015, 9:55 AM), https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20150209/11373729960/left-shark-bites-back-3d-printer-sculptor-hires-lawyer-to-respond-to-katy-perrys-bogus-takedown.shtml.

R33.3  Main Website Title

R33.3.1  Overall title

Provide the internet source’s overall website title (roughly equivalent to the publication title in a periodical citation). Use the name of the home page; the title given in the blog’s header; or, in the unlikely event no name is given, the website’s top-level domain name (as distinct from the specific URL provided later in the citation).

R33.3.2  Abbreviation

Title should be abbreviated per Table T11, Table T12, and Table T15.

Example:

Priority Legis.—U.S. House and Senate, Nat’l Cannabis Indus. Ass’n, https://thecannabisindustry.org/government-affairs/priority-legislation-us-senate/ (last visited July 6, 2021).

R33.4  Pincite

R33.4.1  Paginated electronic publication, or publication of print version

Include when an electronic document preserves the pagination of a printed version. Cite to pages as they would appear on the document if printed.

Example:

James Huguenin-Love, Song on Wire: A Technical Analysis of ReDigi and the Pre-Owned Digital Media Marketplace, 4 N.Y.U. J. Intell. Prop. & Ent. L. 1, 4 (2014), http://jipel.law.nyu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/JIPEL-Winter-2014-Edition.pdf.

R33.5  Date & Time

Include the date of the webpage or publication, as published on the website. The date may be found at the top, similar to a byline or at the bottom similar to a sign-off. Include the exact time of publication if given.

Examples:

Laura Moy, Public Knowledge & Consumers Petition Copyright Office for Right to Unlock Access to Their Own Stuff, Public Knowledge Blogs (Nov. 3, 2014), https://www.publicknowledge.org/news-blog/blogs/public-knowledge-consumers-petition-copyright-office-for-right-to-unlock-ac.

Chris Cillizza, Winners and Losers of the 2014 Midterm Elections, Wash. Post Blogs (Nov. 5, 2014, 10:25 AM), http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2014/11/04/winners-and-losers-of-the-2014-election-early-edition/.

R33.5.1  Time not needed

Omit time if the source is not updated throughout the day or if there is no time listed.

R33.5.2  Last visited

If no date is provided, add a parenthetical indicating the “last modified” or “last updated” date for the URL, or, if none of the above are provided, use the “last visited” date. Any date cited in one of these three formats should be placed after the URL in the citation.

Example:

ESPN, http://www.espn.go.com/ (last visited July 5, 2021).

R33.6  URL

R33.6.1  Entire URL preferred

Cite in its entirety unless the URL is especially long or unwieldy (a very high standard, given how long most URLs are).

R33.6.2

If the URL is too long and unwieldy, cite just to the root URL and include a parenthetical directing the user to the specific material cited.

Example:

Google Books Ngram Viewer, Google, https://books.google.com/ngrams (select corpus “English Fiction”; then search for “Arrakis”) (last visited Apr. 17, 2012).

R33.6.3  Archived URL

When helpful (such as to preserve a site that may change or to preserve a site for future readers), include URL to an archived version of the webpage in brackets.

Example:

Kevin Underhill, Gollum Experts to Testify, Says Court, Lowering the Bar (Dec. 4, 2015), http://www.loweringthebar.net/2015/12/gollum-experts.html [https://web.archive.org/web/20151208124302/http://www.loweringthebar.net/2015/12/gollum-experts.html].

R33.6.4  Multiple URLs

When a website is served by multiple URLs, use the primary one. When a source is published on multiple URLs (such as a law-firm website and a content aggregator), use the most authoritative and original website.

R33.7  Social media

Include the author’s name, handle or other identifying information parenthetically, the platform, parenthetical with the exact date and time posted, followed by the URL of the post.

Example:

American Bar Association (@ABAesq), Twitter (July 6, 2021, 8:11 PM), https://twitter.com/ABAesq/status/1412564952846581761?s=20.

Indigo Inkling

Even in an online world, the format of the printed page reigns supreme in legal citation. Thus, when a document is available in multiple formats, choose the citation format that best preserves the document as it would display if printed. For example, PDF is preferred over HTML. The benefit of these citations is allowing citations to specific page numbers (for pincites) regardless of whether it is being viewed digitally or in print.

R34   Short Form Citations for Internet Sources

After a full citation to an internet source, an appropriate short form may be used. Id. can be used to refer to an internet source, consistent with Rule R6. The short form supra can be used to shorten the full citation where id. is not appropriate.

A bracketed parenthetical also may also be used to provide a short-form definition, if needed to avoid ambiguity or to preserve clarity. When citing directly to Internet sources, the “hereinafter” bracketed parenthetical should come right after the URL or, if applicable, the “last visited” parenthetical. 

Example (full citation):

Chris Cillizza, Winners and Losers of the 2014 Midterm Elections, Wash. Post Blogs (Nov. 5, 2014, 10:25 AM), http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2014/11/04/winners-and-losers-of-the-2014-election-early-edition/.

Example (short form):

Cillizza, supra.

Example (full citation):

Superfan Suits, http://www.superfansuits.com/ (last visited Feb. 21, 2015).

Example (short form):

Superfan Suits, supra.

Example (full citation):

Full Citation: Ohio’s Official Online Publication of State Laws and Regulations, https://codes.ohi (last visited July 6, 2021) [hereinafter, “Ohio Official Online State Laws”].

Example (short form):

Ohio Official Online State Laws, supra.

J. TABLES

T1 Federal Materials

T1.1    Federal Judicial Materials

Materials

Date

Citation

United States Supreme Court (U.S.): Cite to U.S., if possible. If not, cite to S. Ct. If that’s not possible, cite to L. Ed. If you can cite to none of the above, cite to U.S.L.W.

United States Reports

91 U.S. to date

1875–date

U.S.

Wallace

1863–1874

e.g., 68 U.S. (1 Wall.)

Black

1861–1862

e.g., 66 U.S. (1 Black)

Howard

1843–1860

e.g., 42 U.S. (1 How.)

Peters

1828–1842

e.g., 26 U.S. (1 Pet.)

Wheaton

1816–1827

e.g., 14 U.S. (1 Wheat.)

Cranch

1801–1815

e.g., 5 U.S. (1 Cranch)

Dallas

1790–1800

e.g., 1 U.S. (1 Dall.)

Supreme Court Reporter

1882–date

S. Ct.

United States Supreme Court Reports, Lawyers’ Edition

1790–date

L. Ed., L. Ed. 2d

United States Law Week

1933–date

U.S.L.W.

United States Reports

1893–date

U.S.

Supreme Court Reporter

1893–date

S. Ct.

United States Supreme Court Reports, Lawyers’ Edition

1790–date

L. Ed., L. Ed. 2d

United States Law Week

1933–date

U.S.L.W.

Circuit Justices (e.g., Gorsuch, J., in chambers): Cite to U.S. if possible; otherwise, cite to S. Ct., L. Ed., or U.S.L.W. in that order of preference.

Some cases presided over by Circuit Justices are found in other reporters. After the citation, indicate the Circuit Justice and applicable circuit parenthetically as in this example:  (Jackson, Circuit Justice, 2d Cir. 1950).

United States Courts of Appeals (1st Cir., 2d Cir., 3d Cir., 4th Cir., 5th Cir., 6th Cir., 7th Cir., 8th Cir., 9th Cir., 10th Cir., 11th Cir., and D.C. Cir.): Cite to F., F.2d, F.3d, or F.4th

Federal Reporter

1891–date

F., F.2d, F.3d, F.4th

Federal Appendix

2001–date

F. App’x

Circuit Courts (e.g., C.C.S.D.N.Y., C.C.D. Cal.) (abolished 1912): Cite to F. or F. Cas.

Federal Reporter

1880–1912

F.

Federal Cases

1789–1880

F. Cas.

Temporary Emergency Court of Appeals (Temp. Emer. Ct. App.) (1971–1993), Emergency Court of Appeals (Emer. Ct. App.) (created 1942, abolished 1961), and Commerce Court (Comm. Ct.) (created 1910, abolished 1913): Cite to F. or F.2d.

Federal Reporter

1910–1993

F., F.2d

United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (Fed. Cir.) (created 1982), successor to the United States Court of Customs and Patent Appeals (C.C.P.A.) (previously the Court of Customs Appeals (Ct. Cust. App.)) and the appellate jurisdiction of the Court of Claims (Ct. Cl.):   Cite to F., F.2d, F.3d, or F.4th; else, cite to the official reporter.

Federal Reporter

1910–date

F., F.2d, F.3d, F.4th

Court of Claims Reports

1956–1982

Ct. Cl.

Court of Customs and Patent Appeals Reports

1929–1982

C.C.P.A.

Court of Customs Appeals Reports

1910–1929

Ct. Cust.

United States Court of Federal Claims (Fed. Cl.) (created 1992), formerly United States Claims Court (Cl. Ct.) (created 1982), and successor to the original jurisdiction of the Court of Claims (Ct. Cl.): Cite to one of the following reporters:

Federal Claims Reporter

1992–date

Fed. Cl.

United States Claims Court Reporter

1983–1992

Cl. Ct.

Federal Reporter

1930–1932

F.2d

1960–1982

F.2d

Federal Supplement

1932–1960

F. Supp.

Court of Claims Reports

1863–1982

Ct. Cl.

United States Court of International Trade (Ct. Int’l Trade) (created 1980), formerly United States Customs Court (Cust. Ct.) (created 1926):   Cite to the official reporters, if possible; if not, in the following order, cite to F. Supp., F. Supp. 2d, or F. Supp. 3d to Cust. B. & Dec. (an official publication), or to I.T.R.D. (BL).

Court of International Trade Reports

1980–date

Ct. Int’l Trade

Customs Court Reports

1938–1980

Cust. Ct.

Federal Supplement

1980–date

F. Supp., F. Supp. 2d, F. Supp. 3d

Customs Bulletin and Decisions

1967–date

Cust. B. & Dec.

International Trade Reporter Decisions

1980–date

I.T.R.D. (BL)

District Courts (e.g., D. Mass., S.D.N.Y.): Cite F. Supp., F. Supp. 2d, F. Supp. 3d, F.R.D., or B.R.

If the case is not published in the priority reporters above, cite to Fed. R. Serv., Fed. R. Serv. 2d, or Fed. R. Serv. 3d.   For cases before 1932, cite to F., F.2d, or F. Cas.

Use Table T9 for court abbreviations and Table T12 for geographical abbreviations to construct the proper abbreviation for the District Court, such as C.D. Cal. and D.N.M.

Federal Supplement

1932–date

F. Supp., F. Supp. 2d, F. Supp. 3d

Federal Rules Decisions

1938–date

F.R.D.

West’s Bankruptcy Reporter

1979–date

B.R.

Federal Rules Service

1938–date

Fed. R. Serv. (Callaghan), Fed. R. Serv. 2d (Callaghan), Fed. R. Serv. 3d (West)

Federal Reporter

1880–1932

F., F.2d

Federal Cases

1789–1880

F. Cas.

Citations to F. Cas. should give the case number parenthetically.

Example:  Davey v. The Mary Frost, 7 F. Cas. 11 (E.D. Tx. 1876) (No. 3591).

Bankruptcy Courts and Bankruptcy Appellate Panels (e.g.,   Bankr. N.D. Cal.; B.A.P. 1st Cir.), cite to B.R.; else, cite to a looseleaf service.

Bankruptcy Reporter

1979–date

B.R.

Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (J.P.M.L.) (created 1968) and Special Court, Regional Rail Reorganization Act (Reg’l Rail Reorg. Ct.) (created 1973): Cite to F. Supp., F. Supp. 2d., or F. Supp. 3d.

Federal Supplement

1968–date

F. Supp., F. Supp. 2d, F. Supp. 3d

Tax Court (T.C.) (created 1942), previously Board of Tax Appeals (B.T.A.), cite to T.C. or B.T.A.; else, cite to T.C.M. (CCH), T.C.M. (P-H), T.C.M. (RIA), or B.T.A.M. (P-H).

United States Tax Court Reports

1942–date

T.C.

Reports of the United States Board of Tax Appeals

1924–1942

B.T.A.

Tax Court Memorandum Decisions

1942–date

T.C.M. (CCH)

1942–1991

T.C.M. (P-H)

1991–date

T.C.M. (RIA)

Board of Tax Appeals Memorandum Decisions

1928–1942

B.T.A.M. (P-H)

United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Vet. App.), previously United States Court of Veterans Appeals (Vet. App.) (created 1988), cite to Vet. App.

West’s Veterans Appeals Reporter

1990–date

Vet. App.

United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces (C.A.A.F.), previously United States Court of Military Appeals (C.M.A.): Cite to C.M.A..

Decisions of the United States Court of Military Appeals

1951–1975

C.M.A.

West’s Military Justice Reporter

1978–date

M.J.

Court Martial Reports

1951–1975

C.M.R.

Military Service Courts of Criminal Appeals (A. Ct. Crim. App., A.F. Ct. Crim. App., C.G. Ct. Crim. App., N-M. Ct. Crim. App.), previously Courts of Military Review (e.g., A.C.M.R.), previously Boards of Review (e.g., A.B.R.): For cases after 1950, cite to M.J. or C.M.R. For earlier cases, cite to the official reporter.

West’s Military Justice Reporter

1975–date

M.J.

Court Martial Reports

1951–1975

C.M.R.

T1.2  Federal Statutory Materials

For statutory compilations, cite to the United States Code (U.S.C.)

United States Code

<tit. no.> U.S.C. § x

Note: 26 U.S.C. may be abbreviated as I.R.C.

26 I.R.C. §   x

United States Code Annotated

<tit. no.> U.S.C.A. § x (West)

United States Code Service

<tit. no.> U.S.C.S. § x (LexisNexis)

Session laws

United States Statutes at Large

<vol. no.> Stat. <page no.> (<year>)

For public laws before 1957, cite by chapter number; for subsequent public laws, cite by public law number.

Note that the year of the code section is not required, but may be included if appropriate to the citation context. The exact date of the unofficial publisher’s “current through” date may also be provided if relevant and helpful to the citation context.

T2   Federal Administrative and Executive Materials

Administrative Materials

Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (ASBCA)

Decisions: Cite decisions as: <case name>, ASBCA No. <decision number>, <citation to services> For citations to the Board of Contract Appeals Decisions (BCA), published by Commerce Clearing House, the publisher is not indicated and the volume number should be used to indicate the year of the decision.

Example: RMTC Sys., Inc., ASBCA No. 43466, 93-1 BCA ¶ 25,508.

Civilian Board of Contract Appeals (CBCA)

Decisions: Cite the same way as a citation for the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals, but include the opposing agency in the case name.

Example: G2G, LLC v. Dept. of Commerce, CBCA 4845-R, 15-1 BCA ¶ 36,163.

Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (ASBCA)

Decisions: Cite decisions as: <case name>, ASBCA No. <decision number>, <citation to services> For citations to the Board of Contract Appeals Decisions (BCA), published by Commerce Clearing House, the publisher is not indicated and the volume number should be used to indicate the year of the decision.

Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)

Decisions: Cite as <case name>, CFTC No. <docket number>, <secondary source if available> (<date>).

Example: Windjammer Capital LLC v. Glob. Futures Exch. & Trading Co., Inc., CFTC No. 14-R1, 2015 WL 9434227 (Dec. 22, 2015).

Interpretive Letters, No-Action Letters, and Exemptive Letters: Cite a service or an electronic database. Include the full name of the correspondent if available, the CFTC docket number, and the full date on which the letter became publicly available.

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)

Decisions: Cite as <case name>, CFPB No. <decision number>, <secondary source if available> (<date>).

Example: American Express Travel Related Servs., Inc., CFPB No. 2013-CFPB-0013 (Dec. 24, 2013).

Department of Agriculture (USDA)

Decisions: Cite to the Agriculture Decisions (Agric. Dec).

Example: Arizona Livestock Auction, Inc., 55 Agric Dec. 1121 (U.S.D.A. 1996).

Directives: Cite as: <issuing agency abbreviated according to table below> <directive number>, <directive title> (U.S.D.A. <year>).

Agricultural Marketing Service

AMS

Agricultural Research Service

ARS 218

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

APHIS

Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion

CNPP

Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service

CSREES

Economic Research Service

ERS

Farm Service Agency

FSA

Food and Nutrition Service

FNS

Food Safety and Inspection Service

FSIS

Foreign Agricultural Service

FAS

Forest Service

FS

Grain Inspection, Packers, and Stockyards Administration

GIPSA

National Agricultural Library

NAL

National Agricultural Statistics Service

NASS

National Institute of Food and Agriculture

NIFA

National Resources Conservation Service

NRCS

Risk Management Agency

RMA

Rural Development

RD

Rural Housing Service

RHS

Rural Utilities Service

RUS

Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

Decisions in Consistency Appeals Under the Coastal Zone Management Act: Citation format for decisions of the Secretary of Commerce under the Coastal Zone Management Act: Decision and Findings in the Consistency Appeal of <party name>, from an objection by <state or relevant state agency’s name> (Sec’y of Commerce <date>). If these decisions are not published in an official reporter; indicate the source where the decision is located.

Other NOAA Decisions: For decisions of administrative law judges in civil administrative law cases, cite to the Ocean Resources and Wildlife Reporter (O.R.W.); else cite to an appropriate secondary source.

Decisions of the Administrator for Appeals (NOAA App.) should so specify.

Department of Commerce, Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)

Decisions: For decisions of the Commissioner of Patents, cite to Decisions of the Commissioner of Patents (Dec. Comm’r Pat.) following Rule 19 but including all procedural phrases in party names.

For decisions of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (P.T.A.B.), cite as <case name>, No. <docket number>, <citation to secondary source> (P.T.A.B. <year>).

Use the U.S.P.Q.2d as the preferred secondary source in these citations if available, rather than a commercial database.

For decisions of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board that are not published but available on a website or otherwise, cite as Ex parte <Name>, decision of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, Patent No. <case xxx,xxx,xxx>, paper No. <xxx>, <xxx> pages. See Manual of Patent Examining Procedure 707.06.

For decisions of the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (T.T.A.B.), cite as: <case name>, <citation to secondary source> (T.T.A.B. <year>).

Use the U.S.P.Q.2d as the preferred secondary source in these citations if available, rather than a commercial database.

Pre-Sept. 16, 2012: For decisions by the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences (B.P.A.I.), cite as: <party name>, No. <docket number>, <citation to secondary source if available> (B.P.A.I. <date>).

Patents:

Cite the patent number and the date the patent was filed.

Example: U.S. Patent No. 8,112,504 B2 (filed Mar. 4, 2009)

The patent name and/or issuing date may be included if relevant.

System for disseminating media content representing episodes in a serialized sequence, U.S. Patent No. 8,112,504 B2 (filed Mar. 4, 2009) (issued Feb. 7, 2012)

For citations to a specific field of the title page, include the field code in brackets.

Example: U.S. Patent No. 8,112,504 B2, at [75] (filed Mar. 4, 2009)

For citations to a specific portion of patent text, a patent figure, or an item within a figure.

Example: U.S. Patent No. 8,112,504 B2, fig. 1, item 141 (filed Mar. 4, 2009)

Short form patent citations include an apostrophe followed by the last three digits of the patent number.

Example: ’504 Patent.

Trademarks:

For registered trademarks, cite as <TRADEMARK NAME>, Registration No. <registration number>.

Example: THE BLUEBOOK A UNIFORM SYSTEM OF CITATION, Registration No. 3,886,986.

For trademarks that have been filed, but not approved, cite as U.S. Trademark Application Serial No. <Serial Number> (filed <date>).

Example: U.S. Trademark Application Serial No. 86,680,743 (filed Jul. 1, 2015).

Official Gazette of the United States Patent Office (1872–1971)

Off. Gaz. Pat. Office

Official Gazette of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (1975–2002)

Off. Gaz. Pat. & Trademark Office

Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure

TMEP (Oct. 2018)

Manual of Patent Examining Procedure

MPEP (9th ed., Rev. 10.2019, June 2020)

Department of Education

Reports: Cite Institution of Education Sciences reports as Institution of Education Sciences, <title> <page> (<date>).

Example: Institute of Education Sciences, National Board for Education Sciences Annual Report 12 (2014).

Reports: Cite federal student aid proceedings as <case name>, U.S. Dep’t of Educ., No. <docket number> (<date>).

Example: Lincoln Univ., U.S. Dep’t of Educ., No. 13-68-SF (Mar. 16, 2015).

Department of Homeland Security, Bureau of Customs and Border Protection

The two official reporters of the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection and its predecessors are the Administrative Decisions Under Immigration and Nationality Laws (I. & N. Dec.) and the Customs Bulletin and Decisions (Cust. B. & Dec).

Department of Justice

Advisory Opinions: For published, formal advisory opinions, cite in the same manner as adjudications. Cite opinions from the Attorney General as Opinions of the Attorneys General (Op. Att’y Gen.).

Cite opinions from the Office of Legal Counsel as Opinions of the Office of Legal Counsel of the Department of Justice (Op. O.L.C.).

Examples:

Authority of Sec’y of Treasury to Compromise Final Judgments, 36 U.S. Op. Att’y Gen. 40 (1929)

Diversion of Water from Niagara River, 30 Op. Att’y Gen. 217 (1913).

U.S. Assistance to Countries that Shoot Down Civil Aircraft Involved in Drug Trafficking, 18 Op. O.L.C. 148, 165 (1994).

Cite precedent decisions of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) to Administrative Decisions Under Immigration and Nationality Laws (I. & N. Dec.) as published by the Department of Justice Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR).

Department of Labor

Decisions in Petition for Modification Cases Under Section 101(c) of the Mine Act, 30 U.S.C. § 811(c): Cite as <description of decision>, <case name>, Docket No. <docket number> (Dep’t of Labor <date>).

Note that these decisions have not been reported in any official reporter or service.

Decisions in Enforcement Actions Brought by the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs: Cite as <case name>, <docket number>, <description of decision> (Dep’t of Labor <date>).

Note that these decisions have not been reported in any official reporter or service.

Example: OFCCP v. Bank of Am., 97-OFC-16, Secretary's Decision and Order of Remand (Dep't of Labor Mar. 31, 2003).

Decisions by the Benefits Review Board: Cite to a service.

Example: Jones v. I.T.O. Corp. of Baltimore, 9 Ben. Rev. Bd. Serv. (MB) 583, 585 (1979).

Opinions: Cite as <Name of agency, Name of subagency if applicable>, <Title of Letter>, <Date>,<Further publication information or URL>.

Example: U.S. Dep’t of Labor, Wage and Hour Div., Opinion Letter FLSA2021-2 (Jan. 8, 2021), https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/opinion-letters/FLSA/2021_01_08_02_FLSA.pdf.

Department of the Interior

Cite agency decisions to Interior Decisions (Interior Dec.) or Interior and General Land Office Cases Relating to Public Lands (Pub. Lands Dec.). Where a board within the agency issues the opinion, note the board in the same parenthetical as the date, using these abbreviations:

Interior Board of Land Appeals

IBLA

Interior Board of Indian Appeals

DBIA

Interior Board of Contract Appeals

IBCA

Example: Shell Offshore, Inc., 94 Interior Dec. 69 (IBLA 1987).

Department of State

Reports: For reports of the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, cite as: U.S. Dep’t of State, Bureau of Democracy, H.R. and Lab., <title> <page> (<date>).

Example: U.S. Dep’t of State, Bureau of Democracy, H.R. and Lab., International Religious Freedom Report 14 (2014).

Department of the Treasury

Regulations: For Department of Treasury regulations, cite as <Treas. Reg.>, despite the fact that they are published under Title 26 of the C.F.R.

For unamended regulations, cite the year.

Example: Treas. Reg. § 1.41-2 (1989).

Indicate if the regulation is a temporary regulation by beginning the citation with Temp:

Example: Temp. Treas. Reg. § 5e.274-8 (1982).

For specific questions and answers, cite as:

Example: Treas. Reg. § 1.72-16(a), Q&A (3)(a) (1963).

If any subsection of the cited section has been amended or appears in substantially different versions, give the year of the most recent amendment. Follow this rule even if the particular subsection you are citing has never been amended.

Example: Treas. Reg. § 1.41-2 (as amended in 2001).

Indicate when the source of the amendment is relevant.

Example: Treas. Reg. § 1.41-2 (as amended by T.D. 8930, 65 FR 287).

For proposed Treasury regulations to the Federal Register, cite in the following manner:

Example: Prop. Treas. Reg. § 1.704-1, 48 Fed. Reg. 9871, 9872 (Mar. 9, 1983).

Treasury Determinations: Cite Revenue Rulings, Revenue Procedures, and Treasury Decisions to the Cumulative Bulletin (C.B.) or its advance sheet, the Internal Revenue Bulletin (I.R.B.), or to Treasury Decisions Under Internal Revenue Laws (Treas. Dec. Int. Rev.), in that order of preference.

The numbering of the Cumulative Bulletin is as follows:

By volume number from 1919 to 1921.
By volume number and part number from 1921 to 1936.
By year and part number from 1937 to date.

The abbreviations used are explained in the introductory pages of each volume of the Cumulative Bulletin.

Private Letter Rulings: Cite by number and the date issued, if available.

Technical Advice Memoranda: Cite by number and the date issued, if available.

General Counsel Memoranda: Cite by number and the date on which the memorandum was approved.

Other Treasury Determinations: For all other Treasury materials, cite to the Cumulative Bulletin, Internal Revenue Bulletin, or Internal Revenue Manual (IRM).

Delegation Orders (Deleg. Order)

Treasury Orders (Treas. Order)
Treasury Directives (Treas. Dir.)

Notices, Announcements, and News Releases

Otherwise cite by number and date issued.

Cases: For the Tax Court and Board of Tax Appeals, cite as those of a court, not of an agency.

Acquiescence: The following may be indicated in the case citation if the Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service has published an acquiescence (acq.), acquiescence in result only (acq. In result), or nonacquiescence (nonacq.) in a decision of the Tax Court or Board of Tax Appeals.

Action on Decision: To cite an action on decision (action on dec) as subsequent history, include its identifying number, if any, and its full date.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

Decisions: For Environmental Administrative Decisions (E.A.D.) indicate the decision maker—either the Environmental Appeals Board (EAB) or an administrative law judge—if the source does not make it obvious.

Example: Donald Cutler, 11 E.A.D. 622, 623 (EAB 2004).

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)

Decisions: For EEOC decisions that do not have readily identifiable titles, cite using the decision number in place of the title. Otherwise cite per Rule 19.3.

Example: Budnik v. Chertoff, EEOC DOC 0520070154 (2006).

For EEOC Federal Sector decisions that have party names, cite in accordance with Rule 11.2.

Executive Office of the President

Executive Orders, Presidential Proclamations, and Reorganization Plans: Cite by page number to 3 C.F.R. However, since all executive orders are not reprinted in successive years of the C.F.R., cite to the original year, rather than the most recent edition of the C.F.R.

Where relevant, include a parallel citation to the U.S.C.

Example: Exec. Order 13,136, 3 C.F.R. 216 (Sep. 3, 1999).

If the material is not in the C.F.R., cite to the Federal Register.

Example: Exec. Order 14,023, 86 Fed. Reg. 19569 (April 9, 2021).

A parallel citation to the Statutes at Large may also be given.

Other Presidential Papers: Cite to Public Papers of the Presidents (Papers) if found there. If not recorded in the Public Papers, cite the Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents (Weekly Comp. Pres. Doc.), published from 1965 to January 29, 2009, the Daily Compilation of Presidential Documents (Daily Comp. Pres. Doc.), published from January 29, 2009 to date, or the U.S. Code Congressional and Administrative News (U.S.C.C.A.N.).

Budgets: Use the structure of book citations for governmental budgets.

Example: Office of Mgmt. & Budget, Exec. Office of the President, Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2014 (2013).

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)

Decisions: For decisions of administrative law judges in civil penalty enforcement matters adjudicated under 14 C.F.R. pt. 13, § 13.16 and subpart G, cite per Rule R12.4 as slip opinions.

For Decisions of the Administrator or his delegate, cite using an order number, not a docket number.

For Decisions of the Office of Dispute Resolution for Acquisition (ODRA) adjudicated under 14 C.F.R. Part 17, the citation should incorporate the type of dispute.

For other FAA decisions and orders, the citation should indicate the nature of the decision, followed by the date.

Examples:

Federal Express Corporation, FAA Order No. 2002-20, 2002 WL 31777976 (F.A.A.).

Envirosolve, LLC, FAA Order No. 2006-2, 2006 WL 465371 (Feb. 7, 2006).

Aerocomp, Inc., FAA Order No. 2006-1, Order Dismissing Appeal (Jan. 12, 2006).

Federal Communications Commission (FCC)

Cite to the Federal Communications Commission Reports (F.C.C., F.C.C.2d), published 1934-1986, or the Federal Communications Commission Record (FCC Rcd.), published since 1986.

Example: Protecting and Promoting the Open Internet, GN Docket No. 14-28, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 29 FCC Rcd 5561 (2014).

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)

Cite decisions to the Federal Energy Guidelines: FERC Reports (FERC).

Example: Filing of Privileged Materials and Answers to Motions, Order No. 769, 141 FERC ¶ 61,049 (2012).

Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA)

Cite decisions to the Decisions of the Federal Labor Relations Authority (F.L.R.A.).

Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission (FMSHRC)

Cite decisions to the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission Decisions (FMSHRC).

Federal Reserve System

Enforcement Actions: Cite written agreements resulting from enforcement actions as: Written Agreement between <private bank name> and <Federal Reserve Bank name>, Docket no. <docket number> (<date>).

Example: Written Agreement Between Allied First Bancorp, Inc. and Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, Docket No. 14-006-WA/RB-HC (2014).

Federal Trade Commission (FTC)

Cite decisions to the Federal Trade Commission (F.T.C.).

Government Accountability Office (GAO)

Bid Protest Decisions: Cite to Decisions of the Comptroller General of the United States (Comp. Gen.).

Example: Space Communications Co., 66 Comp. Gen. 2 (1987).

For unpublished decisions to a readily accessible source, cite as: <protesting party>, <docket number>, <volume number or year> <source> <location within source volume or year> (Comp. Gen. <date>).

Do not indicate the publisher when citing these cases to the Comptroller General’s Procurement Decision, published by West.

Examples:

HP Enterprise Services, LLC, B-405692, 2012 CPD ¶ 13 (Comp. Gen. Dec. 14, 2011).

Phoenix Environmental Design, Inc., B-412503, 2016 WL 873296 (Comp. Gen. Mar. 7, 2016).

Insert “et al.” after the docket number where a decision resolves multiple bid protests, each having its own docket number.

Example:

IAP-Hill, LLC, B-406289 et al, 2012 CPD ¶ 151 (Comp. Gen. Apr. 4, 2012).

International Trade Commission (USITC)

Trade Remedy Investigations: Cite as: <investigation name>, Inv. No. <number>, USITC Pub. <number> (<date>) (<status>).

Indicate where a single decision contains multiple investigation numbers.

Examples:

Trade and Investment Polices in India, 2014–2015, Inv. No. 332-550, USITC Pub. 4566 (Sep. 2015).

The Year in Trade 2014: Operation of the Trade Agreements Program, USITC Pub. 4543 (July 2015).

Polyvinyl Alcohol from China, Japan, and Taiwan, Inv. Nos. 701-TA-309, 731-TA-528, 731-TA-529, USITC Pub. 4067 (Mar. 27, 2009) (Review).

Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB)

Cite decisions to the Decisions of the United States Merit Systems Protection Board (M.S.P.B.).

National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)

Cite decisions and orders to the Decisions and Orders of the National Labor Relations Board (N.L.R.B.).

National Mediation Board (NMB)

Cite decisions to the Decisions of the National Mediation Board (N.M.B.).

National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)

Cite decisions to the National Transportation Safety Board Decisions (N.T.S.B.), published from 1967-1977.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)

For decisions of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, cite to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission Issuances (N.R.C.).

For decisions of its predecessor, the Atomic Energy Commission (1956–1975), cite to the Atomic Energy Commission Reports (A.E.C.).

Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC)

Decisions: For commission decisions reported in a service, cite as: <party name>, <service volume number> <publisher> <service, abbreviated as below> <page/paragraph number> (No. <docket number>, <year>).

Example: US Pagoda, Inc., CCH OSHD ¶ 33123 (No. 10-2035, 2011).

At the end of a citation, indicate parenthetically when an administrative law judge issued the decision, rather than the commission.

Example: Miller Construction Co., 24 BL OSHC 1817 (No. 13-0323, 2013) (ALJ).

The abbreviations OSHRC uses for services reporting its decisions vary from those in Table T4 as follows:

Occupational Safety & Health Cases (BL)

BL OSHC

Occupational Safety & Health Decisions (CCH)

CCH OSHD

A decision that is not cited in any service or database may be cited as an unpublished slip opinion following the format in Rule R12.4.

Example: Prime Roofing Corp., No. 07-1409 (OSHRC Feb. 5, 2008), https://www.pewtrusts.org/-/media/assets/2020/06/debt-collectors-to-consumers.pdf

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

Interpretive Letters, No-Action Letters, and Exemptive Letters: Cite a looseleaf service or an electronic database. In the citation, include the correspondent’s full name and the date that the letter became publicly available.

Examples:

Poplogix LLC, SEC No-Action Letter, 2010 WL 4472794 (Nov. 5, 2010).

MP Environmental Funding LLC, SEC Interpretive Letter, 2007 WL 2838964 (Sep. 19, 2007)

Releases: Cite the Federal Register, SEC Docket, or a loose-leaf service. Releases that have subject-matter title may be presented in a short form. Make sure to include the act under which the release was issued, the release number, and the date.

Example: SEC Whistleblower Rules, Exchange Act Release No. 75592, 80 Fed. Reg 47829 (Aug. 10, 2015).

If the release is an adjudication, abbreviate the parties’ names according to Rule 11.

Example: Midas Sec., LLC, Exchange Act Release No. 66200, 102 SEC Docket 3123, 102 SEC Docket 3137 (Jan. 20, 2012).

If the adjudication occurred before an administrative law judge, indicate this fact in the date parenthetical.

If a particular release is issued under the Securities Act, the Exchange Act, or the Investment Company Act, a parallel citation should be given in that order.

Staff Interpretations: Cite SEC Staff Accounting Bulletins, Staff Legal Bulletins, and Telephone Interpretations as follows:

Example: SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 99, 64 Fed. Reg. 45150 (Aug. 19, 1999).

SEC Filings: For annual reports, proxy statements, and other company filings required under federal securities laws, provide the name of the company (abbreviated according to Rule 15), the title as given in the document, the form type in parentheses, the page number if applicable, and the full date of filing with the SEC.

Example: Apple Inc., Annual Report (Form 10-K), (Oct. 28, 2015).

If citing annual reports, proxy statements, or other documents in a form other than that filed with the SEC, treat as books under Rule 15.

Example: Facebook, Inc., 2014 Annual Report (2014).

Small Business Administration (SBA)

Decisions: Cite decisions as: <party name>, SBA No. <docket number> (<date>).

Example: OxyHeal Medical Systems, Inc., SBA No. SIZ-5707 (Jan. 19 2016).

The docket number indicates the type of decision:

Small disadvantaged business

SDBA

Size determination

SIZ

Service-disabled veteran-owned business

VET

Business development program

BDP

North American Industry Classification System

NAICS

Social Security Administration (SSA)

Rulings and Acquiescence Rulings: For Social Security Rulings, cite as SSR; for Social Security Acquiescence Rulings, cite as SSAR.

Cite to the Social Security Rulings, Cumulative Edition (S.S.R. Cum. Ed.). If not published there, cite to another official source, such as the Code of Federal Regulations or the Federal Register. Otherwise, cite a commercial database or other source.

Example: SSR 62-2, 1960-1974 Soc. Sec. Rep. Serv. 69 (Jan. 1, 1962).

Surface Transportation Board (STB)

For materials from the Surface Transportation Board, cite to the Surface Transportation Board Reporter (S.T.B.). For materials from its predecessor, cite to the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC), to the Interstate Commerce Commission Reporter (I.C.C., I.C.C. 2d).

The official date for unpublished decisions is the date on which the decision was served on the parties or otherwise filed by the STB (or ICC). Do not cite the date of the decision.

T3  U.S. States and Other Jurisdictions

This table provides a uniform standard for citing state and U.S. territorial legal sources. It also provides selected Local Notes on state-specific practices. This table does not attempt to comprehensively address state-specific citation rules and customs; indeed perhaps its primary use is simply to illustrate that many states do in fact adopt small and wide variations from the Uniform System of Citations. To dig deep into a particular state’s citations rules and customs, refer to court websites, court rules, and state style manuals if available, as well as the expertise of law librarians and legal professionals. See also Peter Martin, Introduction to Basic Legal Citation § 7-500, Table of State-Specific Citation Norms and Practices, https://www.law.cornell.edu/citation/7-500. Updates and suggested Local Notes may be provided to the editors of The Indigo Book.

Category

Dates

Abbreviation

Alabama

Supreme Court (Ala.): Cite to So., So. 2d, or So. 3d.

Southern Reporter

1886–date

So., So. 2d, So. 3d

Alabama Reports

1840–1976

Ala.

Porter

1834–1839

Port.

Stewart and Porter

1831–1834

Stew. & P.

Stewart

1827–1831

Stew.

Minor

1820–1826

Minor

Court of Civil Appeals (Ala. Civ. App.) and Court of Criminal Appeals (Ala. Crim. App.), before 1969 Court of Appeals (Ala. Ct. App.): Cite to So., So. 2d, or So. 3d.

Southern Reporter

1911–date

So., So. 2d, So. 3d

Alabama Appellate Courts Reports

1911–1974

Ala. App.

Statutory compilations: Cite to Ala. Code (published by West).

Code of Alabama, 1975 (West)

Ala. Code § x-x-x (<year>)

Michie’s Alabama Code, 1975 (LexisNexis)

Ala. Code § x-x-x (LexisNexis <year>)

Session laws: Cite to Ala. Laws.

Alabama Laws

<year> Ala. Laws <page no.>

West’s Alabama Legislative Service

<year> Ala. Legis. Serv. <page no.> (West)

Michie’s Alabama Code <year> Advance Legislative Service (LexisNexis)

<year>-<pamph. no.> Ala. Adv. Legis. Serv. <page no.> (LexisNexis)

Administrative compilation

Alabama Administrative Code

Ala. Admin. Code r. x-x-x.x (<year>)

Administrative register

Alabama Administrative Monthly

<vol. no.> Ala. Admin. Monthly <page no.> (<month day, year>)

Alaska

Supreme Court (Alaska): Cite to P.2d or P.3d.

Pacific Reporter

1960–date

P.2d, P.3d

Court of Appeals (Alaska Ct. App.): Cite to P.2d or P.3d.

Pacific Reporter

1980–date

P.2d, P.3d

District Courts of Alaska (D. Alaska): These courts had local jurisdiction from 1884 to 1959. Cite to F. Supp., F., or F.2d; else, cite to Alaska or Alaska Fed., in that order of preference.

Federal Supplement

1946–1959

F. Supp.

Federal Reporter

1886–1932

F., F.2d

Alaska Reports

1887–1958

Alaska

Alaska Federal Reports

1869–1937

Alaska Fed.

United States District Courts for California and Oregon, and District Courts of Washington (D. Cal., D. Or., D. Wash.): These courts had local jurisdiction in Alaska until 1884. Cite to F. or F. Cas.

Federal Reporter

1880–1884

F.

Federal Cases

1867–1880

F. Cas.

Alaska Federal Reports

1869–1937

Alaska Fed.

Statutory compilations: Cite to Alaska Stat.

Alaska Statutes (LexisNexis)

Alaska Stat. § x.x.x (<year>)

West’s Alaska Statutes Annotated

Alaska Stat. Ann. § x.x.x (West <year>)

Session laws: Cite to Alaska Sess. Laws.

Session Laws of Alaska

<year> Alaska Sess. Laws <page no.>

Alaska Statutes <year> Advance Legislative Service

<year>-<pamph. no.> Alaska Adv. Legis. Serv. <page no.> (LexisNexis)

West’s Alaska Legislative Service

<year> Alaska Legis. Serv. <page no.> (West)

Administrative compilation

Alaska Administrative Code (LexisNexis)

Alaska Admin. Code tit. x, § x.x (<year>)

Arizona

Supreme Court (Ariz.): Cite to P., P.2d, or P.3d.

Pacific Reporter

1883–date

P., P.2d, P.3d

Arizona Reports

1866–date

Ariz.

Court of Appeals (Ariz. Ct. App.): Cite to P.2d or P.3d.

Pacific Reporter

1965–date

P.2d, P.3d

Arizona Reports

1976–date

Ariz.

Arizona Appeals Reports

1965–1977

Ariz. App.

Tax Court (Ariz. Tax Ct.): Cite to P.2d or P.3d.

Pacific Reporter

1988–date

P.2d, P.3d

Statutory compilations: Cite to Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann.

Arizona Revised Statutes Annotated (West)

Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. § x-x (<year>)

Arizona Revised Statutes (LexisNexis)

Ariz. Rev. Stat. § x-x (LexisNexis <year>)

Session laws: Cite to Ariz. Sess. Laws.

Session Laws, Arizona

<year> Ariz. Sess. Laws <page no.>

Arizona Legislative Service (West)

<year> Ariz. Legis. Serv. <page no.> (West)

Administrative compilation

Arizona Administrative Code

Ariz. Admin. Code § x-x-x (<year>)

Administrative register

Arizona Administrative Register

<vol. no.> Ariz. Admin. Reg. <page no.> (<month day, year>)

Arkansas

Supreme Court (Ark.): Cite to S.W., S.W.2d, or S.W.3d.

South Western Reporter

1886–date

S.W., S.W.2d, or S.W.3d

Arkansas Reports

1837–2009

Ark.

Court of Appeals (Ark. Ct. App.): Cite to S.W.2d or S.W.3d.

South Western Reporter

1979–date

S.W.2d, S.W.3d

Arkansas Appellate Reports

1981–2009

Ark. App.

Arkansas Reports

1979–1981

Ark.

Statutory compilations: Cite to Ark. Code Ann. (published by LexisNexis).

Arkansas Code of 1987 Annotated (LexisNexis)

Ark. Code Ann. § x-x-x (<year>)

West's Arkansas Code Annotated

Ark. Code Ann. § x-x-x (West <year>)

Session laws: Cite to Ark. Acts.

Acts of Arkansas (West)

<year> Ark. Acts <page no.>

Arkansas Code of 1987 Annotated <year> Advance Legislative Service (LexisNexis)

<year>-<pamph. no.> Ark. Adv. Legis. Serv. <page no.> (LexisNexis)

West's Arkansas Legislative Service

<year> Ark. Legis. Serv. <page no.> (West)

Administrative compilation

Code of Arkansas Rules (LexisNexis)

x-x-x Ark. Code R. § x (LexisNexis <year>)

Administrative registers: Cite to Ark. Reg..

Arkansas Register

<vol. no.> Ark. Reg. <page no.> (<month year>)

Arkansas Government Register

<iss. no.> Ark. Gov’t Reg. <page no.> (LexisNexis <month year>)

Local Notes:

Arkansas has adopted a public domain citation format for cases after February 13, 2009. Citations include a parallel citation to the Southwestern Reports or other source. For additional instruction, consult Arkansas Supreme Court Rule 5-2.

Examples:

Box v. J.B. Hunt Transp., Inc., 2017 Ark. App. 605, 533 S.W.3d 603. 

Mounce v. Jeronimo Insulating LLC, 2021 Ark. App. 195, 2021 WL 1655901.

See generally Arkansas Reporter of Decisions, House Style Guide (2010), https://courts.arkansas.gov/sites/default/files/House%20Style%20Guide%20September2010.pdf (“This House Style Guide is intended for internal use by the judiciary and staff of the Arkansas Supreme Court and Court of Appeals in preparing opinions. Practitioners may also consult this House Style Guide, but must adhere to specific requirements of the Arkansas Rules of the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals regarding pleadings, briefs, and other documents submitted to the supreme court and court of appeals.”)

California

Local Notes:  

The year of cases is indicated parenthetically after the case name. Parallel citations may be placed in brackets after the California Reports citation. Citation sentences are entirely enclosed in parentheses.

Example: (Brescia v. Angelin (2009) 172 Cal.App.4th 133 [90 Cal.Rptr.3d 842]).

California statutory and administrative code citations follow state-specific abbreviations, such as Cal. U. Com. Code for the California Uniform Commercial Code.

See Edward W. Jessen, California Style Manual: A Handbook of Legal Style for California Courts and Lawyers (4th ed. 2000), available at http://www.sdap.org/downloads/Style-Manual.pdf

Supreme Court (Cal.): Cite to P., P.2d, or P.3d.

Pacific Reporter

1883–date

P., P.2d, P.3d

California Reports

1850–date

Cal., Cal. 2d, Cal. 3d, Cal. 4th

West’s California Reporter

1959–date

Cal. Rptr., Cal. Rptr. 2d, Cal. Rptr. 3d

California Unreported Cases

1855–1910

Cal. Unrep.

Court of Appeal (Cal. Ct. App.), previously District Court of Appeal (Cal. Dist. Ct. App.): Cite to P. or P.2d (before 1960) or Cal. Rptr., Cal. Rptr. 2d (after 1959), or Cal. Rptr. 3d.

West’s California Reporter

1959–date

Cal. Rptr., Cal. Rptr. 2d, Cal. Rptr. 3d

Pacific Reporter

1905–1959

P., P.2d

California Appellate Reports

1905–date

Cal. App., Cal. App. 2d, Cal. App. 3d, Cal. App. 4th

Appellate Divisions of the Superior Court (Cal. App. Dep’t Super. Ct.): Cite to P. or P.2d (before 1960) or to Cal. Rptr., Cal. Rptr. 2d (after 1959), or Cal. Rptr. 3d.

West’s California Reporter

1959–date

Cal. Rptr., Cal. Rptr. 2d, Cal. Rptr. 3d

Pacific Reporter

1929–1959

P., P.2d

California Appellate Reports Supplement (bound with Cal. App.)

1929–date

Cal. App. Supp., Cal. App. 2d Supp., Cal. App. 3d Supp., Cal. App. 4th Supp.

Statutory compilations: Cite to either the West or the Deering subject-matter code.

West’s Annotated California Codes

Cal. <Subject> Code § x (West <year>)

Deering’s California Codes, Annotated (LexisNexis)

Cal. <Subject> Code § x (Deering <year>)

Agricultural (renamed “Food and Agricultural” in 1972)

Agric.

Business and Professions

Bus. & Prof.

Civil

Civ.

Civil Procedure

Civ. Proc.

Commercial

Com.

Corporations

Corp.

Education

Educ.

Elections

Elec.

Evidence

Evid.

Family

Fam.

Financial

Fin.

Fish and Game

Fish & Game

Food and Agricultural (formerly “Agricultural”)

Food & Agric.

Government

Gov’t

Harbors and Navigation

Harb. & Nav.

Health and Safety

Health & Safety

Insurance

Ins.

Labor

Lab.

Military and Veterans

Mil. & Vet.

Penal

Penal

Probate

Prob.

Public Contract

Pub. Cont.

Public Resources

Pub. Res.

Public Utilities

Pub. Util.

Revenue and Taxation

Rev. & Tax.

Streets and Highways

Sts. & High.

Unemployment Insurance

Unemp. Ins.

Vehicle

Veh.

Water

Water

Welfare and Institutions

Welf. & Inst.

Session laws: Cite to Cal. Stat..

Statutes of California

<year> Cal. Stat. <page no.>

West’s California Legislative Service

<year> Cal. Legis. Serv. <page no.> (West)

Deering’s California Advance Legislative Service (LexisNexis)

<year>-<pamph. no.> Cal. Adv. Legis. Serv. <page no.> (LexisNexis)

Administrative compilation

California Code of Regulations (West)

Cal. Code Regs. tit. x, § x (<year>)

Administrative register

California Regulatory Notice Register

<iss. no.> Cal. Regulatory Notice Reg. <page no.> (<month day, year>)

Colorado

Supreme Court (Colo.): Cite to P., P.2d, or P.3d, if found there; else, cite to Colo., if found there, or to Colo. Law. or Brief Times Rptr.

Pacific Reporter

1883–date

P., P.2d, P.3d

Colorado Reports

1864–1980

Colo.

Colorado Lawyer

1972–date

Colo. Law.

Brief Times Reporter

1977–1996

Brief Times Rptr.

Colorado Journal

1996–2002

Colo. J.

Law Week Colorado

2002–date

L. Week Colo.

Court of Appeals (Colo. App.): Cite to P., P.2d, or P.3d, if found there; else, cite to Colo. App., if found there, or else to one of the other reporters listed below.

Pacific Reporter

1970–date

P.2d, P.3d

1912–1915

P.

1891–1905

P.

Colorado Court of Appeals Reports

1891–1905

Colo. App.

1912–1915

Colo. App.

1970–1980

Colo. App.

Colorado Lawyer

1972–date

Colo. Law.

Brief Times Reporter

1977–1996

Brief Times Rptr.

Colorado Journal

1996–2002

Colo. J.

Law Week Colorado

2002–date

L. Week Colo.

Statutory compilations: Cite to Colo. Rev. Stat..

Colorado Revised Statutes (LexisNexis):

  Colo. Rev. Stat. § <title-article-section> (<year>)

Colo. Rev. Stat. § x-x-x (<year>)

West’s Colorado Revised Statutes Annotated:

  Colo. Rev. Stat. Ann. § <title-article-section> (West <year>)

Colo. Rev. Stat. Ann. § x-x-x (West <year>)

Session laws: Cite to Colo. Sess. Laws.

Session Laws of Colorado (LexisNexis)

<year> Colo. Sess. Laws <page no.>

Colorado Legislative Service (West)

<year> Colo. Legis. Serv. <page no.> (West)

Administrative compilations: Cite to Colo. Code Regs..

Colorado Code of Regulations

Colo. Code Regs. § x-x (<year>)

Code of Colorado Regulations (LexisNexis)

<vol. no.> Colo. Code Regs. § x-x (LexisNexis <year>)

Administrative register

Colorado Register

<iss. no.> Colo. Reg. <page no.> (<month year>)

Local Notes:

Colorado has adopted a public domain citation format for cases after January 3, 2012. For additional information, consult Rules of the Supreme Court of Colorado, Chief Justice Directive 12-01.

Examples:

McCoy v. People, 2019 CO 44, ¶ 20, 442 P.3d 379, 385.

People v. McClintic, 202 COA 120M, 484 P.3d 724.

Connecticut

Supreme Court (Conn.), previously Supreme Court of Errors (Conn.): Cite to A., A.2d, or A.3d.

Atlantic Reporter

1885–date

A., A.2d, A.3d

Connecticut Reports

1814–date

Conn.

Day

1802–1813

Day

Root

1789–1798

Root

Kirby

1785–1789

Kirby

Appellate Court (Conn. App. Ct.): Cite to A.2d or A.3d.

Atlantic Reporter

1983–date

A.2d, A.3d

Connecticut Appellate Reports

1983–date

Conn. App.

Superior Court (Conn. Super. Ct.) and Court of Common Pleas (Conn. C.P.): Cite to A.2d or A.3d, if found there; else, cite to Conn. Supp., if found there, or else to one of the other reporters listed below.

Atlantic Reporter

1954–date

A.2d, A.3d

Connecticut Supplement

1935–date

Conn. Supp.

Connecticut Law Reporter

1990–date

Conn. L. Rptr.

Connecticut Superior Court Reports

1986–1994

Conn. Super. Ct.

Circuit Court (Conn. Cir. Ct.): Cite to A.2d or A.3d.

Atlantic Reporter

1961–1974

A.2d, A.3d

Connecticut Circuit Court Reports

1961–1974

Conn. Cir. Ct.

Statutory compilations: Cite to Conn. Gen. Stat..

General Statutes of Connecticut

Conn. Gen. Stat. § x-x (<year>)

Connecticut General Statutes Annotated (West)

Conn. Gen. Stat. Ann. § x-x (West <year>)

Session laws: Cite to Conn. Acts, Conn. Pub. Acts, or Conn. Spec. Acts.

Connecticut Public & Special Acts

1972–date

<year> Conn. Acts <page no.> ([Reg. or Spec.] Sess.)

Connecticut Public Acts

1650–1971

<year> Conn. Pub. Acts <page no.>

Connecticut Special Acts (Resolves & Private Laws, Private & Special Laws, Special Laws, Resolves & Private Acts, Resolutions & Private Acts, Private Acts & Resolutions, and Special Acts & Resolutions)

1789–1971

<year> Conn. Spec. Acts <page no.>

Connecticut Legislative Service (West)

<year> Conn. Legis. Serv. <page no.> (West)

Administrative compilation

Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies

Conn. Agencies Regs. § x-x-x (<year>)

Administrative registers: Cite to Conn. L.J..

Connecticut Law Journal

<vol. no.> Conn. L.J. <page no.> (<month day, year>)

Connecticut Government Register (LexisNexis)

<iss. no.> Conn. Gov’t Reg. <page no.> (LexisNexis <month year>)

Local Notes:

See generallyOffice of the Reporter of Judicial Decisions, The Manual of Style for the Connecticut Courts (3d ed. 2013).

Delaware

Supreme Court (Del.), previously Court of Errors and Appeals (Del.): Cite to A., A.2d, or A.3d.

Atlantic Reporter

1886–date

A., A.2d, A.3d

Delaware Reports

31 Del. to 59 Del.

1919–1966

Del.

Boyce

1909–1920

e.g., 24 Del. (1 Boyce)

Pennewill

1897–1909

e.g., 17 Del. (1 Penne.)

Marvel

1893–1897

e.g., 15 Del. (1 Marv.)

Houston

1855–1893

e.g., 6 Del. (1 Houst.)

Harrington

1832–1855

e.g., 1 Del. (1 Harr.)

Delaware Cases

1792–1830

Del. Cas.

Court of Chancery (Del. Ch.): Cite to A., A.2d, or A.3d.

Atlantic Reporter

1886–date

A., A.2d, A.3d

Delaware Chancery Reports

1814–1968

Del. Ch.

Delaware Cases

1792–1830

Del. Cas.

Superior Court (Del. Super. Ct.), previously Superior Court and Orphans’ Court (Del. Super. Ct. & Orphans’ Ct.): Cite to A.2d or A.3d, if found there; else, cite to one of the official reporters listed under Supreme Court (Del.).

Atlantic Reporter

1951–date

A.2d, A.3d

Family Court (Del. Fam. Ct.): Cite to A.2d or A.3d.

Atlantic Reporter

1977–date

A.2d, A.3d

Statutory compilations: Cite to Del. Code Ann..

Delaware Code Annotated (LexisNexis)

Del. Code Ann. tit. x, § x (<year>)

West’s Delaware Code Annotated

Del. Code Ann. tit. x, § x (West <year>)

Session laws: Cite to Del. Laws.

Laws of Delaware

<vol. no.> Del. Laws <page no.> (<year>)

Delaware Code Annotated <year> Advance Legislative Service (LexisNexis)

<year>-<pamph. no.> Del. Code. Ann. Adv. Legis. Serv. <page no.> (LexisNexis)

West’s Delaware Legislative Service

<year> Del. Legis. Serv. <page no.> (West)

Administrative compilations: Cite to Del. Admin. Code.

Delaware Administrative Code

x-x-x Del. Admin. Code § x (<year>)

Code of Delaware Regulations (LexisNexis)

x-x-x Del. Code Regs. § x (LexisNexis <year>)

Administrative registers: Cite to Del. Reg. Regs..

Delaware Register of Regulations

<vol. no.> Del. Reg. Regs. <page no.> (<month day, year>)

Delaware Government Register (LexisNexis)

<iss. no.> Del Gov’t Reg. <page no.> (LexisNexis <month year>)

Local Notes:

The Delaware Code is cited as <vol.> Del. C. <section>. See generally Superior Court of Delaware, Guide to the Delaware Rules of Legal Citation (2004), https://courts.delaware.gov/superior/pdf/citation_guide.pdf

Blake Rohrbacher, Delaware Uniform Citations (2008), https://courts.delaware.gov/superior/pdf/de_uniform_citation_2008.pdf (adopted by the Litigation Section of the Delaware State Bar Association).

District of Columbia

Court of Appeals (D.C.), previously Municipal Court of Appeals (D.C.): Cite to A.2d or A.3d.

Atlantic Reporter

1943–date

A.2d, A.3d

United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (D.C. Cir.), previously Court of Appeals of/for the District of Columbia (D.C. Cir.), previously Supreme Court of the District of Columbia (D.C.): Cite to F., F.2d, or F.3d.

Federal Reporter

1919–date

F., F.2d, F.3d

United States Court of Appeals Reports

1941–date

U.S. App. D.C.

Appeal Cases, District of Columbia

1893–1941

App. D.C.

District of Columbia Reports

Tucker and Clephane

1892–1893

21 D.C. (Tuck. & Cl.)

Mackey

1880–1892

<12–20> D.C. (Mackey <1–9>)

MacArthur and Mackey

1879–1880

11 D.C. (MacArth. & M.)

MacArthur

1873–1879

<8–10> D.C. (MacArth. <1–3>)

District of Columbia Reports (reported by Mackey)

1863–1872

<6–7> D.C.

Hayward & Hazleton, Circuit Court (Circuit Court Reports, vols. 6–7)

1840–1863

<1–2> Hay. & Haz.

Cranch, Circuit Court

1801–1840

<1–5> D.C. (Cranch <1–5>)

Superior Court (D.C. Super. Ct.), previously Municipal Court (D.C. Mun. Ct.): Cite to Daily Wash. L. Rptr.

Daily Washington Law Reporter

1971–date

Daily Wash. L. Rptr.

Statutory compilations: Cite to D.C. Code.

District of Columbia Official Code (LexisNexis)

D.C. Code § x-x (<year>)

West's District of Columbia Code Annotated (West)

D.C. Code Ann. § x-x (West <year>)

Session laws: Cite to Stat., D.C. Reg., or D.C. Code Adv. Leg. Serv..

United States Statutes at Large

<vol. no.> Stat. <page no.> (<year>)

District of Columbia Register

<vol. no.> D.C. Reg. <page no.> (<month day, year>)

District of Columbia Official Code Lexis Advance Legislative Service

<year>-<pamph. no.> D.C. Code Adv. Leg. Serv. <page no.>

District of Columbia Session Law Service West

<year> D.C. Sess. L. Serv. <page no.> (West)

Municipal regulations: Cite to D.C. Mun. Regs..

Code of D.C. Municipal Regulations

D.C. Mun. Regs. tit. x, § x (<year>)

Code of District of Columbia Municipal Regulations (LexisNexis)

D.C. Code Mun. Regs. tit. x § x (LexisNexis <year>)

Administrative register

District of Columbia Register

<vol. no.> D.C. Reg. <page no.> (<month day, year>)

Local Notes:

See generally District of Columbia Court of Appeals Style Guide (2019), https://www.dccourts.gov/sites/default/files/matters-docs/DCCACitationGuide.pdf

Florida

Supreme Court (Fla.): Cite to So., So. 2d, or So. 3d.

Southern Reporter

1886–date

So., So. 2d, So. 3d

Florida Reports

1846–1948

Fla.

Florida Law Weekly

1978–date

Fla. L. Weekly

District Court of Appeal (Fla. Dist. Ct. App.): Cite to So. 2d or So. 3d.

Southern Reporter

1957–date

So. 2d, So. 3d

Florida Law Weekly

1978–date

Fla. L. Weekly

Circuit Court (Fla. Cir. Ct.), County Court (e.g., Fla. Orange Cnty. Ct.), Public Service Commission (Fla. P.S.C.), and other lower courts of record: Cite to Fla. Supp. or Fla. Supp. 2d.

Florida Supplement

1950–1991

Fla. Supp., Fla. Supp. 2d

Florida Law Weekly Supplement

1992–date

Fla. L. Weekly Supp.

Statutory compilations: Cite to Fla. Stat..

Florida Statutes

Fla. Stat. § x.x (<year>)

West’s Florida Statutes Annotated

Fla. Stat. Ann. § x.x (West <year>)

LexisNexis Florida Statutes Annotated

Fla. Stat. Ann. § x.x (LexisNexis <year>)

Session laws: Cite to Fla. Laws.

Laws of Florida

<year> Fla. Laws <page no.>

West’s Florida Session Law Service

<year> Fla. Sess. Law Serv. <page no.> (West)

Administrative compilation

Florida Administrative Code Annotated (LexisNexis)

Fla. Admin. Code Ann. r. x-x.x (<year>)

Administrative register: Cite to Fla. Admin. Reg..

Florida Administrative Register

2012–date

<vol. no.> Fla. Admin. Reg. <page no.> (<month day, year>)

Florida Administrative Weekly (LexisNexis)

1996–2012

<vol. no.> Fla. Admin. Weekly <page no.> (<month day, year>)

Local Notes:

Florida statutes are customarily cited with section first: § xx.xxx, Fla. Stat. (2020).

At the intermediate appellate level, the Florida courts are divided into five District Courts of Appeal. Citations indicate the applicable District Court of Appeal, abbreviated as DCA. See Fla. R. App. P. 8.800; Indigo Book Rule R12.1.2.

Example:  Saldana v. State, 295 So. 3d 1235 (Fla. 1st DCA 2020).

See generallyFlorida Style Manual (Florida State Univ. Law Rev., eds.,8th ed. 2019), https://www.floridastylemanual.com/

Georgia

Supreme Court (Ga.): Cite to S.E. or S.E.2d.

South Eastern Reporter

1887–date

S.E., S.E.2d

Georgia Reports

1846–date

Ga.

Court of Appeals (Ga. Ct. App.): Cite to S.E. or S.E.2d.

South Eastern Reporter

1907–date

S.E., S.E.2d

Georgia Appeals Reports

1907–date

Ga. App.

Statutory compilations: Cite to Ga. Code Ann. (published by LexisNexis).

Official Code of Georgia Annotated (LexisNexis)

Ga. Code Ann. § x-x-x (<year>)

West’s Code of Georgia Annotated

Ga. Code Ann. § x-x-x (West <year>)

Session laws: Cite to Ga. Laws.

Georgia Laws

<year> Ga. Laws <page no.>

Georgia <year> Advance Legislative Service (LexisNexis)

<year>-<pamph. no.> Ga. Code Ann. Adv. Legis. Serv. <page no.> (LexisNexis)

West’s Georgia Legislative Service

<year> Ga. Code Ann. Adv. Legis. Serv. <page no.> (West)

Administrative compilation

Official Compilation Rules and Regulations of the State of Georgia

Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. x-x-x.x (<year>)

Administrative register

Georgia Government Register (LexisNexis)

<iss. no.> Ga. Gov’t Reg. <page no.> (LexisNexis <month year>)

Local Notes:

The Official Code of Georgia Annotated is cited as O.C.G.A. See O.C.G.A. § 1-1-8(e).

Hawaii

Supreme Court (Haw.): Cite to P.2d or P.3d.

Pacific Reporter

1959–date

P.2d, P.3d

West’s Hawaii Reports (begins with vol. 76)

1994–date

Haw.

Hawaii Reports (ends with vol. 75)

1847–1994

Haw.

Intermediate Court of Appeals (Haw. Ct. App.): Cite to P.2d or P.3d.

Pacific Reporter

1980–date

P.2d, P.3d

West’s Hawaii Reports

1994–date

Haw.

Hawaii Appellate Reports

1980–1994

Haw. App.

Statutory compilations: Cite to Haw. Rev. Stat..

Hawaii Revised Statutes

Haw. Rev. Stat. § x-x (<year>)

Michie’s Hawaii Revised Statutes Annotated (LexisNexis)

Haw. Rev. Stat. Ann. § x-x (LexisNexis <year>)

West’s Hawai'i Revised Statutes Annotated

Haw. Rev. Stat. Ann. § x-x (West <year>)

Session laws: Cite to Haw. Sess. Laws.

Session Laws of Hawaii

<year> Haw. Sess. Laws <page no.>

Michie’s Hawaii Revised Statutes Annotated Advance Legislative Service (LexisNexis)

<year>-<pamph. no.> Haw. Rev. Stat. Ann. Adv. Legis. Serv. <page no.> (LexisNexis)

West’s Hawai'i Legislative Service

<year> Haw. Legis. Serv. <page no.> (West)

Administrative compilation

Code of Hawaii Rules (LexisNexis)

Haw. Code R. § x-x-x (LexisNexis <year>)

Administrative register

Hawaii Government Register (LexisNexis)

<iss. no.> Haw. Gov’t Reg. <page no.> (LexisNexis <month year>)

Local Notes:

See generally A Handbook of Citation Forms for the Law Clerks at the Appellate Courts of the State of Hawai’i (2008), https://www.law.hawaii.edu/sites/www.law.hawaii.edu/files/content/library/HandbookofCitationForm.pdf (keyed to The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation (Columbia L. Rev. et al., eds., 18th ed. 2005)).

Idaho

Supreme Court (Idaho): Cite to P., P.2d, or P.3d.

Pacific Reporter

1883–date

P., P.2d, P.3d

Idaho Reports

1866–date

Idaho

Court of Appeals (Idaho Ct. App.): Cite to P.2d or P.3d.

Pacific Reporter

1982–date

P.2d, P.3d

Idaho Reports

1982–date

Idaho

Statutory compilations: Cite to Idaho Code (published by LexisNexis).

Idaho Code (LexisNexis)

Idaho Code § x-x (<year>)

West’s Idaho Code Annotated

Idaho Code Ann. § x-x (West <year>)

Session laws: Cite to Idaho Sess. Laws.

Idaho Session Laws

<year> Idaho Sess. Laws <page no.>

Idaho Code Annotated Advance Legislative Service (LexisNexis)

<year>-<pamph. no.> Idaho Code Ann. Adv. Legis. Serv. <page no.> (LexisNexis)

West’s Idaho Legislative Service

<year> Idaho Legis. Serv. <page no.> (West)

Administrative compilation: http://adminrules.gov/rules/current

Idaho Administrative Code

Idaho Admin. Code r. x.x.x.x (<year>)

Administrative register

Idaho Administrative Bulletin

<vol. no.> Idaho Admin. Bull. <page no.> (<month day, year>)

Local Notes:

The Idaho Code is commonly cited in the state as I.C. § xx-xxxx.

Illinois

Supreme Court (Ill.): Cite to N.E., N.E.2d, or N.E.3d.

North Eastern Reporter

1884–date

N.E., N.E.2d, N.E.3d

Illinois Official Reports

2011–date

<year> IL <docket no.>

Illinois Reports

11 Ill. to date

1849–2011

Ill., Ill. 2d

Gilman

1844–1849

e.g., 6 Ill. (1 Gilm.)

Scammon

1832–1843

e.g., 2 Ill. (1 Scam.)

Breese

1819–1831

1 Ill. (Breese)

West's Illinois Decisions

1976–date

Ill. Dec.

Appellate Court (Ill. App. Ct.): Cite to N.E.2d, N.E.3d.

North Eastern Reporter

1936–date

N.E.2d, N.E.3d

Illinois Official Reports

2011–date

<year> IL App. (<court no.>)

Illinois Appellate Court Reports

1877–2011

Ill. App., Ill. App. 2d, Ill. App. 3d

West’s Illinois Decisions

1976–date

Ill. Dec.

Illinois Circuit Court (Ill. Cir. Ct.), previously Court of Claims (Ill. Ct. Cl.): Cite to Ill. Ct. Cl..

Illinois Court of Claims Reports

1889–date

Ill. Ct. Cl.

Statutory compilations: Cite to Ill. Comp. Stat.

Illinois Compiled Statutes

<ch. no.> Ill. Comp. Stat. <act no.> / <sec. no.> (<year>)

West’s Smith-Hurd Illinois Compiled Statutes Annotated

<ch. no.> Ill. Comp. Stat. Ann. <act no.> / <sec. no.> (West <year>)

Illinois Compiled Statutes Annotated (LexisNexis)

<ch. no.> Ill. Comp. Stat. Ann. <act no.> / <sec. no.> (LexisNexis <year>)

Session laws: Cite to Ill. Laws.

Laws of Illinois

<year> Ill. Laws <page no.>

Illinois Legislative Service (West)

<year> Ill. Legis. Serv. <page no.> (West)

Illinois Compiled Statutes Annotated Advance Legislative Service (LexisNexis)

<year>-<pamph. no.> Ill. Comp. Stat. Ann. Adv. Legis. Serv. <page no.> (LexisNexis)

Administrative compilations: Cite to Ill. Admin. Code.

Illinois Administrative Code

Ill. Admin. Code tit. x, § x (<year>)

Code of Illinois Rules (LexisNexis)

<vol. no.> Ill. Code R. <rule no.> (LexisNexis <year>)

Administrative register

Illinois Register

<vol. no.> Ill. Reg. <page no.> (<month day, year>)

Local Notes:

The Illinois Compiled Statutes are cited using “ILCS.”

Example:  735 ILCS 5/2-1401(e) (West 2016). 

Illinois has adopted a public domain citation format for cases effective July 1, 2011. See Illinois Supreme Court Rule 6. Thus, when citing an Illinois intermediate appellate court decision and including a parallel citation to the North Eastern Reporter, it is advisable to include the intermediate appellate division, noting also that the public domain format renders the court and year unambiguously clear. See generallyStyle Manual for the Supreme Court and Appellate Courts of Illinois (5th ed. 2017), https://courts.illinois.gov/StyleManual/SupCrt_StyleManual.pdf

Examples:

People v. Doe, 2011 IL 102345

People v. Doe, 2011 IL App (1st) 101234

Archer Daniels Midland Co. v. Sinele, 2019 IL App (4th) 180714, 139 N.E.3d 1036.

Indiana

Supreme Court (Ind.): Cite to N.E., N.E.2d, N.E.3d.

North Eastern Reporter

1885–date

N.E., N.E.2d, N.E.3d

Indiana Reports

1848–1981

Ind.

Blackford

1817–1847

Blackf.

Court of Appeals (Ind. Ct. App.), previously Appellate Court (Ind. App.): Cite to N.E., N.E.2d, or N.E.3d.

North Eastern Reporter

1891–date

N.E., N.E.2d, N.E.3d

Indiana Court of Appeals Reports (prior to 1972, Indiana Appellate Court Reports)

1890–1979

Ind. App.

Tax Court (Ind. T.C.): Cite to N.E.2d or N.E.3d.

North Eastern Reporter

1986–date

N.E., N.E.2d, N.E.3d

Statutory compilations: Cite to Ind. Code.

Indiana Code

Ind. Code § x-x-x-x (<year>)

West’s Annotated Indiana Code

Ind. Code Ann. § x-x-x-x (West <year>)

Burns Indiana Statutes Annotated (LexisNexis)

Ind. Code Ann. § x-x-x-x (LexisNexis <year>)

Session laws: Cite to Ind. Acts.

Acts, Indiana

<year> Ind. Acts <page no.>

West’s Indiana Legislative Service

<year> Ind. Legis. Serv. <page no.> (West)

Burns Indiana Statutes Annotated Advance Legislative Service (LexisNexis)

<year>-<pamph. no.> Ind. Stat. Ann. Adv. Legis. Serv. <page no.> (LexisNexis)

Administrative compilations: Cite to Ind. Admin. Code.

Indiana Administrative Code

<tit. no.> Ind. Admin. Code x-x-x (<year>)

West’s Indiana Administrative Code

<tit. no.> Ind. Admin. Code Code x-x-x (West <year>)

Administrative register

Indiana Register

<vol. no.> Ind. Reg. <page no.> (<month day, year>)

Local Notes:

The Indiana Code is referred to in short citations as I.C. or IC.  The Indiana Administrative Code is referred to in short citations as I.A.C. or IAC. See Ind. R. App. P. 22 (2021), https://www.in.gov/courts/rules/appellate/index.html.

Iowa

Supreme Court (Iowa): Cite to N.W. or N.W.2d.

North Western Reporter

1879–date

N.W., N.W.2d

Iowa Reports (Cite to edition published by Clarke for vols. 1–8.)

1855–1968

Iowa

Greene

1847–1854

Greene

Morris

1839–1846

Morris

Bradford

1838–1841

Bradf.

Court of Appeals (Iowa Ct. App.): Cite to N.W.2d.

North Western Reporter

1977–date

N.W.2d

Statutory compilations: Cite to Iowa Code.

Code of Iowa

Iowa Code § x.x (<year>)

West’s Iowa Code Annotated

Iowa Code Ann. § x.x (West <year>)

Session laws: Cite to Iowa Acts.

Acts of the State of Iowa

<year> Iowa Acts <page no.>

Iowa Legislative Service (West)

<year> Iowa Legis. Serv. <page no.> (West)

Administrative compilation

Iowa Administrative Code

Iowa Admin. Code r. x-x.x (<year>)

Administrative register

Iowa Administrative Bulletin

<vol. no.> Iowa Admin. Bull. <page no.> (<month day, year>)

Kansas

Supreme Court (Kan.): Cite to P., P.2d, or P.3d.

Pacific Reporter

1883–date

P., P.2d, P.3d

Kansas Reports

1862–date

Kan.

McCahon

1858–1868

McCahon

Court of Appeals (Kan. Ct. App.): Cite to P., P.2d, or P.3d.

Pacific Reporter

1895–1901

P.

1977–date

P.2d, P.3d

Kansas Court of Appeals Reports

1895–1901

Kan. App.

1977–date

Kan. App. 2d

Statutory compilations: Cite to Kan. Stat. Ann.

Kansas Statutes Annotated

Kan. Stat. Ann. § x-x (<year>)

West’s Kansas Statutes Annotated

Kan. Stat. Ann. § x-x (West <year>)

Session laws: Cite to Kan. Sess. Laws.

Session Laws of Kansas

<year> Kan. Sess. Laws <page no.>

West’s Kansas Legislative Service

<year> Kan. Legis. Serv. <page no.> (West)

Administrative compilation

Kansas Administrative Regulations (updated by supplements)

Kan. Admin. Regs. § x-x-x (<year>)

Administrative register

Kansas Register

<vol. no.> Kan. Reg. <page no.> (<month day, year>)

Local Notes:

Kansas Statutes Annotated are cited as K.S.A. xx-xxx. SeeKansas Appellate Practice Handbook, Citation Guide app’x C (2018), https://www.kansasjudicialcouncil.org/Documents/Appellate%20Practice%20Handbook/Appendix%20C-Revised%202018.pdf

Kentucky

Supreme Court (Ky.): before 1976 the Court of Appeals (Ky.) was the highest state court. Cite to S.W., S.W.2d, or S.W.3d.

South Western Reporter

1886–date

S.W., S.W.2d, S.W.3d

Kentucky Reports

78 Ky. to 314 Ky.

1879–1951

Ky.

Bush

1866–1879

e.g., 66 Ky. (3 Bush)

Duvall

1863–1866

e.g., 62 Ky. (1 Duv.)

Metcalf

1858–1863

e.g., 58 Ky. (1 Met.)

Monroe, Ben

1840–1857

e.g., 53 Ky. (14 B. Mon.)

Dana

1833–1840

e.g., 35 Ky. (5 Dana)

Marshall, J.J.

1829–1832

e.g., 27 Ky. (4 J.J. Marsh.)

Monroe, T.B.

1824–1828

e.g., 19 Ky. (3 T.B. Mon.)

Littell

1822–1824

e.g., 13 Ky. (3 Litt.)

Littell’s Selected Cases

1795–1821

e.g., 16 Ky. (1 Litt. Sel. Cas.)

Marshall, A.K.

1817–1821

e.g., 10 Ky. (3 A.K. Marsh.)

Bibb

1808–1817

e.g., 6 Ky. (3 Bibb)

Hardin

1805–1808

3 Ky. (Hard.)

Sneed

1801–1805

2 Ky. (Sneed)

Hughes

1785–1801

1 Ky. (Hughes)

Kentucky Opinions

1864–1886

Ky. Op.

Kentucky Law Reporter

1880–1908

Ky. L. Rptr.

Kentucky Appellate Reporter

1994–2000

Ky. App.

Kentucky Attorneys Memo

2001–2007

Ky. Att’y Memo

Kentucky Law Summary

1966–date

Ky. L. Summ.

Court of Appeals (Ky. Ct. App.) (for decisions before 1976, see Kentucky Supreme Court): Cite to S.W.2d or S.W.3d.

South Western Reporter

1976–date

S.W.2d, S.W.3d

Kentucky Appellate Reporter

1994–2000

Ky. App.

Kentucky Attorneys Memo

2001–2007

Ky. Att’y Memo

Kentucky Law Summary

1966–date

Ky. L. Summ.

Statutory compilations: Cite to one of the following codes.

Baldwin’s Kentucky Revised Statutes Annotated (West)

Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § x.x (West <year>)

Michie’s Kentucky Revised Statutes Annotated (LexisNexis)

Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § x.x (LexisNexis <year>)

Session laws: Cite to Ky. Acts.

Acts of Kentucky

<year> Ky. Acts <page no.>

Kentucky Revised Statutes and Rules Service (West)

<year> Ky. Rev. Stat. & R. Serv. <page no.> (West)

Michie’s Kentucky Revised Statutes Advance Legislative Service (LexisNexis)

<year>-<pamph. no.> Ky. Rev. Stat. Adv. Legis. Serv. <page no.> (LexisNexis)

Administrative compilation

Kentucky Administrative Regulations Service

<tit. no.> Ky. Admin. Regs. <rule no.> (<year>)

Administrative register

Administrative Register of Kentucky

<vol. no.> Ky. Admin. Reg. <page no.> (<month year>)

Local Notes:

The Kentucky Revised Statutes Annotated are cited locally as KRS xx.xxxx. See Ky. R. Civ. P. 76.12(4)(g). 

Louisiana

Supreme Court (La.), before 1813 the Superior Court of Louisiana (La.) and the Superior Court of the Territory of Orleans (Orleans): Cite to So., So. 2d, or So. 3d.

Southern Reporter

1886–date

So., So. 2d, So. 3d

Louisiana Reports

1901–1972

La.

Louisiana Annual Reports

1846–1900

La. Ann.

Robinson

1841–1846

Rob.

Louisiana Reports

1830–1841

La.

Martin (Louisiana Term Reports)

1809–1830

Mart. (o.s.), Mart. (n.s.)

Court of Appeal (La. Ct. App.): Cite to So., So. 2d, or So. 3d.

Southern Reporter

1928–date

So., So. 2d, So. 3d

Louisiana Court of Appeals Reports

1924–1932

La. App.

Peltier’s Decisions, Parish at Orleans

1917–1924

Pelt.

Teissier, Orleans Court of Appeals

1903–1917

Teiss.

Gunby’s Reports

1885

Gunby

McGloin

1881–1884

McGl.

Statutory compilations: Cite to one of the following codes.

West’s Louisiana Statutes Annotated

La. Stat. Ann. § x:x (<year>)

West’s Louisiana Children’s Code Annotated

La. Child. Code Ann. art. x (<year>)

West’s Louisiana Civil Code Annotated

La. Civ. Code Ann. art. x (<year>)

West’s Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure Annotated

La. Code Civ. Proc. Ann. art. x (<year>)

West’s Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure Annotated

La. Code Crim. Proc. Ann. art. x (<year>)

West’s Louisiana Code of Evidence Annotated

La. Code Evid. Ann. art. x (<year>)

West's Louisiana Constitution Annotated

La. Const. Ann. art. x (<year>)

Session laws: Cite to La. Acts.

State of Louisiana: Acts of the Legislature <year> La. Acts <page no.>

West’s Louisiana Session Law Service

<year> La. Sess. Law Serv. <page no.> (West)

Administrative compilation

Louisiana Administrative Code

La. Admin. Code tit. x, § x (<year>)

Administrative register

Louisiana Register

<vol. no.> La. Reg. <page no.> (<month day, year>)

Local Notes:

Local practice in Louisiana uses large-and-small caps for statutes: La. Civ. Code art. 2315 (2019). For administrative rules, likewise local practice uses large-and-small caps: La. Admin. Code tit. 51, pt. 1, §105 (2019). See generally Louisiana Citation and Style Manual, 70 La. L. Rev. 1239 (2019), https://digitalcommons.law.lsu.edu/lalrev/vol79/iss4/13/

Louisiana has adopted a public domain citation format for cases after December 31, 1993. See Rules of the Supreme Court of Louisiana, part G, section 8. The format is:

Examples:

Smith v. Jones, 93-2345 (La. 7/15/94); 650 So.2d 500.
Smith v. Jones, 93-2345 (La. App. 1 Cir. 7/15/94); 660 So.2d 400.
Smith v. Jones, 94-2345, p. 7 (La. 7/15/94); 650 So.2d 500, 504.

Maine

Supreme Judicial Court (Me.): Cite to A., A.2d or A.3d.

Atlantic Reporter

1885–date

A., A.2d, A.3d

Maine Reports

1820–1965

Me.

Statutory compilations: Cite to Me. Stat..

West’s Maine Statutes

Me. Stat. tit. x, § x (<year>)

Maine Revised Statutes Annotated (West)

Me. Rev. Stat. Ann. tit. x, § x (<year>)

Session laws: Cite to Me. Laws.

Laws of the State of Maine

<year> Me. Laws <page no.>

Maine Legislative Service (West)

<year> Me. Legis. Serv. <page no.> (West)

Administrative compilation

Code of Maine Rules (LexisNexis)

x-x-x Me. Code R. § x (LexisNexis <year>)

Administrative register

Maine Government Register (LexisNexis)

<iss. no.> Me. Gov’t Reg. <page no.> (LexisNexis <month year>)

Local Notes:

Maine has adopted a public domain citation format for cases after December 31, 1996. See Administrative Order of the Supreme Judicial Court—New Citation Form (Aug. 20, 1996); Michael D. Selzinger, Charles K. Leadbetter, and Sara T.S. Wolfe, Uniform Maine Citations (2020-21 ed.), https://digitalcommons.mainelaw.maine.edu/uniform-maine-citations/16/

Examples:

Estate of Hoch v. Stifel, 2011 ME 24, 16 A.3d 137.
Estate of Hoch v. Stifel, 2011 ME 24, ¶ 11, 16 A.3d 137.

Saucier v. State Tax Assessor, 1998 ME 61, 708 A.2d 28.

Maryland

Court of Appeals (Md.): Cite to A., A.2d or A.3d.

Atlantic Reporter

1885–date

A., A.2d, A.3d

Maryland Reports

1851–date

Md.

Gill

1843–1851

Gill

Gill and Johnson

1829–1842

G. & J.

Harris and Gill

1826–1829

H. & G.

Harris and Johnson

1800–1826

H. & J.

Harris and McHenry

1770–1774
1780–1799

H. & McH.

Court of Special Appeals (Md. Ct. Spec. App.): Cite to A.2d or A.3d.

Atlantic Reporter

1967–date

A.2d, A.3d

Maryland Appellate Reports

1967–date

Md. App.

Statutory compilations: Cite by subject to either Michie’s Md. Code Ann. or West’s Md. Code Ann..

Michie’s Annotated Code of Maryland (LexisNexis)

Md. Code Ann., <subject> § x-x (LexisNexis <year>)

West’s Annotated Code of Maryland

Md. Code Ann., <subject> § x-x (West <year>)

Agriculture

Agric.

Business Occupations and Professions

Bus. Occ. & Prof.

Business Regulation

Bus. Reg.

Commercial Law

Com. Law

Constitutions

Const.

Corporations and Associations

Corps. & Ass’ns

Correctional Services

Corr. Servs.

Courts and Judicial Proceedings

Cts. & Jud. Proc.

Criminal Law

Crim. Law

Criminal Procedure

Crim. Proc.

Economic Development

Econ. Dev.

Education

Educ.

Election Law

Elec. Law

Environment

Envir.

Estates and Trusts

Est. & Trusts

Family Law

Fam. Law

Financial Institutions

Fin. Inst.

Health–General

Health–Gen.

Health Occupations

Health Occ.

Housing and Community Development

Hous. & Cmty. Dev.

Human Services

Hum. Servs.

Insurance

Ins.

Labor and Employment

Lab. & Empl.

Land Use

Land Use

Local Government

Local Gov't

Natural Resources

Nat. Res.

Public Safety

Pub. Safety

Public Utility

Pub. Util.

Real Property

Real Prop.

State Finance and Procurement

State Fin. & Proc.

State Government

State Gov’t

State Personnel and Pensions

State Pers. & Pens.

Tax–General

Tax–Gen.

Tax–Property

Tax–Prop.

Transportation

Transp.

Session laws: Cite to Md. Laws.

Laws of Maryland

<year> Md. Laws <page no.>

Michie’s Annotated Code of Maryland Advance Legislative Service (LexisNexis)

<year>-<pamph. no.> Md. Code Ann. Adv. Legis. Serv. <page no.> (LexisNexis)

West’s Maryland Legislative Service

<year> Md. Legis. Serv. <page no.> (West)

Administrative compilation

Code of Maryland Regulations

Md. Code Regs. <reg. no.> (<year>)

Administrative register

Maryland Register

<vol. no.> Md. Reg. <page no.> (<month day, year>)

Massachusetts

Supreme Judicial Court (Mass.): Cite to N.E., or N.E.2d, N.E.3d.

North Eastern Reporter

1885–date

N.E., N.E.2d, N.E.3d

Massachusetts Reports

97 Mass. to date

1867–date

Mass.

Allen

1861–1867

e.g., 83 Mass. (1 Allen)

Gray

1854–1860

e.g., 67 Mass. (1 Gray)

Cushing

1848–1853

e.g., 55 Mass. (1 Cush.)

Metcalf

1840–1847

e.g., 42 Mass. (1 Met.)

Pickering

1822–1839

e.g., 18 Mass. (1 Pick.)

Tyng

1805–1822

e.g., 2 Mass. (1 Tyng)

Williams

1804–1805

1 Mass. (1 Will.)

Appeals Court (Mass. App. Ct.): Cite to N.E.2d, N.E.3d.

North Eastern Reporter

1972–date

N.E.2d, N.E.3d

Massachusetts Appeals Court Reports

1972–date

Mass. App. Ct.

Lower Courts (Mass. Dist. Ct., Bos. Mun. Ct.): Cite to Mass. App. Div., if found there; else cite to Mass. Supp. or Mass. App. Dec..

Reports of Massachusetts

1936–1950

Mass. App. Div.

Appellate Division

1980–date

Massachusetts Reports Supplement

1980–1983

Mass. Supp.

Massachusetts Appellate Decisions

1941–1977

Mass. App. Dec.

Appellate Division Advance Sheets

1975–1979

<year> Mass. App. Div. Adv. Sh. <page no.>

Statutory compilations: Cite to Mass. Gen. Laws.

General Laws of Massachusetts (Mass. Bar Ass’n/West):

  Mass. Gen. Laws ch.<chapter no.>, § <section no.> (<year> )

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. x, § x (<year>)

Massachusetts General Laws Annotated (West):

  Mass. Gen. Laws Ann. ch.<chapter no.>, § <section no.> (West <year> )

Mass. Gen. Laws Ann. ch. x, § x (West <year>)

Annotated Laws of Massachusetts (LexisNexis):

  Mass. Ann. Gen. Laws ch. <chapter no.>, § <section no.> (LexisNexis <year> )

Mass. Ann. Laws ch. x, § x (LexisNexis <year>)

Session laws: Cite to Mass. Acts.

Acts and Resolves of Massachusetts

<year> Mass. Acts <page no.>

Massachusetts Legislative Service (West)

<year> Mass. Legis. Serv. <page no.> (West)

Massachusetts Advance Legislative Service (LexisNexis)

<year>-<pamph. no.> Mass. Adv. Legis. Serv. <page no.> (LexisNexis)

Administrative compilations: Cite to official Mass. Code Regs..

Code of Massachusetts Regulations

<tit. no.> Mass. Code Regs. <sec. no.> (<year>)

Code of Massachusetts Regulations (LexisNexis)

<tit. no.> Mass. Code Regs. <sec. no.> (LexisNexis <year>)

Administrative register

Massachusetts Register

<iss. no.> Mass. Reg. <page no.> (<month day, year>)

Local Notes:

The General Laws of Massachusetts are cited in Massachusetts courts as G.L. c. x, § x.

See generally SJC Style Manual (2020), https://www.mass.gov/doc/sjc-style-manual; Trial Court Law Libraries, Massachusetts Legal Writing and Citations, https://www.mass.gov/info-details/massachusetts-legal-writing-and-citations (last updated August 3, 2020).

Michigan

Supreme Court (Mich.): Cite to N.W. or N.W.2d.

North Western Reporter

1879–date

N.W., N.W.2d

Michigan Reports

1847–date

Mich.

Douglass

1843–1847

Doug.

Blume, Unreported Opinions

1836–1843

Blume Unrep. Op.

Blume, Supreme Court Transactions

1836–1843

Blume Sup. Ct. Trans.

Court of Appeals (Mich. Ct. App.): Cite to N.W.2d.

North Western Reporter

1965–date

N.W.2d

Michigan Appeals Reports

1965–date

Mich. App.

Court of Claims (Mich. Ct. Cl.): Cite to Mich. Ct. Cl.

Michigan Court of Claims Reports

1939–1942

Mich. Ct. Cl.

Statutory compilations: Cite to Mich. Comp. Laws.

Michigan Compiled Laws (1979)

Mich. Comp. Laws § x.x (<year>)

Michigan Compiled Laws Annotated (West)

Mich. Comp. Laws Ann. § x.x (West <year>)

Michigan Compiled Laws Service (LexisNexis)

Mich. Comp. Laws Serv. § x.x (LexisNexis <year>)

Session laws: Cite to Mich. Pub. Acts.

Public and Local Acts of the Legislature of the State of Michigan

<year> Mich. Pub. Acts <page no.>

Michigan Legislative Service (West)

<year> Mich. Legis. Serv. <page no.> (West)

Michigan Advance Legislative Service (LexisNexis)

<year>-<pamph. no.> Mich. Adv. Legis. Serv. <page no.> (LexisNexis)

Administrative compilation

Michigan Administrative Code

Mich. Admin. Code r. x.x (<year>)

Administrative register

Michigan Register

<iss. no.> Mich. Reg. <page no.> (<month day, year>)

Local Notes:

The Michigan Compiled Laws are customarily cited locally as MCL xxxx.xx. See Michigan Supreme Court Office of the Reporter of Decisions, Michigan Appellate Opinion Manual (rev. Dec. 2017), https://courts.michigan.gov/Courts/MichiganSupremeCourt/Documents/MiAppOpManual.pdf

Minnesota

Supreme Court (Minn.): Cite to N.W. or N.W.2d.

North Western Reporter

1879–date

N.W., N.W.2d

Minnesota Reports

1851–1977

Minn.

Court of Appeals (Minn. Ct. App.): Cite to N.W.2d.

North Western Reporter

1983–date

N.W.2d

Statutory compilations: Cite to Minn. Stat.

Minnesota Statutes

Minn. Stat. § x.x (<year>)

Minnesota Statutes Annotated (West)

Minn. Stat. Ann. § x.x (West <year>)

Session laws: Cite to Minn. Laws.

Laws of Minnesota

<year> Minn. Laws <page no.>

Minnesota Session Law Service (West)

<year> Minn. Sess. Law Serv. <page no.> (West)

Administrative compilation

Minnesota Rules

Minn. R. <rule no.> (<year>)

Administrative register

Minnesota State Register

<vol. no.> Minn. Reg. <page no.> (<month day, year>)

Mississippi

Supreme Court (Miss.): Cite to So., So. 2d, or So. 3d.

Southern Reporter

1886–date

So., So. 2d, So. 3d

Mississippi Reports

23 Miss. to 254 Miss.

1851–1966

Miss.

Smedes and Marshall

1843–1850

e.g., 9 Miss. (1 S. & M.)

Howard

1834–1843

e.g., 2 Miss. (1 Howard)

Walker

1818–1832

1 Miss. (1 Walker)

Mississippi Decisions

1820–1885

Miss. Dec.

Court of Appeals (Miss. Ct. App.): Cite to So. 2d or So. 3d.

Southern Reporter

1995–date

So. 2d, So. 3d

Statutory compilations: Cite to Miss. Code Ann. (published by LexisNexis).

Mississippi Code 1972 Annotated (LexisNexis)

Miss. Code Ann. § x-x-x (<year>)

West’s Annotated Mississippi Code

Miss. Code Ann. § x-x-x (West <year>)

Session laws: Cite to Miss. Laws.

General Laws of Mississippi

<year> Miss. Laws <page no.>

Mississippi General Laws Advance Sheets (LexisNexis)

<year>-<pamph. no.> Miss. Laws Adv. Sh. <page no.> (LexisNexis)

West's Mississippi Legislative Service

<year> Miss. Legis. Serv. <page no.> (West)

Administrative compilation

Code of Mississippi Rules (LexisNexis)

<tit. no.>-<ch. no.> Miss. Code R. § x (LexisNexis <year>)

Administrative register

Mississippi Government Register (LexisNexis)

<iss. no.> Miss. Gov’t Reg. <page no.> (LexisNexis <month year>)

Local Notes:

Mississippi has adopted a public domain citation format for cases after July 1, 1997. See Miss. R. App. P. 28(f), https://courts.ms.gov/research/rules/msrulesofcourt/Rules%20of%20Appellate%20Procedure%20Current.pdf.  

Examples:

Okoloise v. Yost, 2017-CA-01472-SCT (Miss. 2019).

Okoloise v. Yost, 2017-CA-01472-SCT (¶30) (Miss. 2019).

Missouri

Supreme Court (Mo.): Cite to S.W., S.W.2d, or S.W.3d.

South Western Reporter

1886–date

S.W., S.W.2d, S.W.3d

Missouri Reports

1821–1956

Mo.

Court of Appeals (Mo. Ct. App.): Cite to S.W., S.W.2d, or S.W.3d.

South Western Reporter

1902–date

S.W., S.W.2d, S.W.3d

Missouri Appeals Reports

1876–1954

Mo. App.

Statutory compilations: Cite to Mo. Rev. Stat..

Missouri Revised Statutes

Mo. Rev. Stat. § x.x (<year>)

Vernon’s Annotated Missouri Statutes (West)

Mo. Ann. Stat. § x.x (West <year>)

Session laws: Cite to Mo. Laws.

Session Laws of Missouri

<year> Mo. Laws <page no.>

Missouri Legislative Service (West)

<year> Mo. Legis. Serv. <page no.> (West)

Administrative compilation

Missouri Code of State Regulations Annotated

Mo. Code Regs. Ann. tit. x, § x-x.x (<year>)

Administrative register

Missouri Register

<vol. no.> Mo. Reg. <page no.> (<month day, year>)

Local Notes:

Missouri statutes are cited locally around the following basic template: Section xxx.xxx, RSMo 2016 or § xxx.xxx, RSMo 2016.  Missouri Supreme Court cases are generally decided en banc and are cited (Mo. banc <year>). The Missouri Court of Appeals is cited locally as “Mo. App.” (omitting the “Ct.” as shown in this Table). Missouri Court of Appeals cases may indicate the district of decision where relevant: (Mo. App. S.D.). See Thomas Patrick Deaton, Jr., Show Me Citations: A Manual for Legal Citations in Missouri Courts (9th ed. 2020) (practitioner-maintained manual), https://www.thomaspatrickdeaton.com/ShowMeCitations2020-0706.pdf

Montana

Supreme Court (Mont.): Cite to P., P.2d, or P.3d.

Pacific Reporter

1883–date

P., P.2d, P.3d

Montana Reports

1868–date

Mont.

State Reporter

1945–date

State Rptr.

Statutory compilations: Cite to Mont. Code Ann..

Montana Code Annotated

Mont. Code Ann. § x-x-x (<year>)

West's Montana Code Annotated

Mont. Code Ann. § x-x-x (West <year>)

Session laws

Laws of Montana

<year> Mont. Laws <page no.>

Administrative compilation

Administrative Rules of Montana

Mont. Admin. R. <rule no.> (<year>)

Administrative register

Montana Administrative Register

<iss. no.> Mont. Admin. Reg. <page no.> (<month day, year>)

Local Notes:

Montana has adopted a public domain citation format for cases after December 31, 1997. See Order In re: Opinion Forms and Citation Standards of the Supreme Court of Montana and the Adoption of Public Domain and Neutral-Format Citation (Dec. 16, 1997); Order In the Matter of Aneding Citation Standards, No. AF-07-0064 (Jan. 22, 2009); Order in the Matter of Amending Citations Standards for the Montana Supreme Court, No. AF 06-0632 (Feb. 24, 2010), https://casetext.com/case/in-re-matter-of-opinion-forms.

Example:  Doe v. Roe, 1998 MT 12, ¶¶ 44-45, 286 Mont. 175, 989 P.2d 1312.

Nebraska

Supreme Court (Neb.): Cite to N.W. or N.W.2d.

North Western Reporter

1879–date

N.W., N.W.2d

Nebraska Reports

1860–date

Neb.

Court of Appeals (Neb. Ct. App.): Cite to N.W.2d.

North Western Reporter

1992–date

N.W.2d

Nebraska Appellate Reports

1992–date

Neb. App.

Statutory compilations: Cite to Neb. Rev. Stat..

Revised Statutes of Nebraska

Neb. Rev. Stat. § x-x (<year>)

Revised Statutes of Nebraska Annotated (LexisNexis)

Neb. Rev. Stat. Ann. § x-x (LexisNexis <year>)

West's Revised Statutes of Nebraska Annotated

Neb. Rev. Stat. Ann. § x-x (West <year>)

Session laws: Cite to Neb. Laws.

Laws of Nebraska

<year> Neb. Laws <page no.>

West's Nebraska Legislative Service

<year> Neb. Legis. Serv. <page no.> (West)

Administrative compilation

Nebraska Administrative Code

<tit. no.> Neb. Admin. Code § x-x (<year>)

Nevada

Supreme Court (Nev.): Cite to P., P.2d, or P.3d.

Pacific Reporter

1883–date

P., P.2d, P.3d

Nevada Reports

1865–date

Nev.

Statutory compilations: Cite to Nev. Rev. Stat..

Nevada Revised Statutes

Nev. Rev. Stat. § x.x (<year>)

Michie's Nevada Revised Statutes Annotated (LexisNexis)

Nev. Rev. Stat. Ann. § x.x (LexisNexis <year>)

West’s Nevada Revised Statutes Annotated

Nev. Rev. Stat. Ann. § x.x (West <year>)

Session laws: Cite to Nev. Stat.

Statutes of Nevada

<year> Nev. Stat. <page no.>

West’s Nevada Legislative Service

<year> Nev. Legis. Serv. <page no.> (West)

Administrative compilation

Nevada Administrative Code

Nev. Admin. Code § x.x (<year>)

Administrative register

Nevada Register of Administrative Regulations

<vol. no.> Nev. Reg. Admin. Regs. <reg. no.> (<month day, year>)

New Hampshire

Supreme Court (N.H.): Cite to A., A.2d, or A.3d.

Atlantic Reporter

1885–date

A., A.2d, A.3d

New Hampshire Reports

1816–date

N.H.

Statutory compilations: Cite to N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. (published by West).

New Hampshire Revised Statutes Annotated (West)

N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § x:x (<year>)

Lexis New Hampshire Revised Statutes Annotated

N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § x:x (LexisNexis <year>)

Session laws: Cite to N.H. Laws or N.H. Legis. Serv.

Laws of the State of New Hampshire (West)

<year> N.H. Laws <page no.>

New Hampshire Legislative Service (West)

<year> N.H. Legis. Serv. <page no.>

Lexis New Hampshire Revised Statutes Annotated <year> Advance Legislative Service (LexisNexis)

<year>-<pamph. no.> N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. Adv. Legis. Serv. <page no.> (LexisNexis)

Administrative compilations: Cite to N.H. Code Admin. R. Ann..

New Hampshire Code of Administrative Rules Annotated (LexisNexis)

N.H. Code Admin. R. Ann. <dep't name as abbreviated in Rules> <rule no.> (<year>)

Code of New Hampshire Rules (LexisNexis)

N.H. Code R. <dep't name as abbreviated in Rules> <rule no.> (LexisNexis <year>)

Administrative registers: Cite to N.H. Rulemaking Reg.

New Hampshire Rulemaking Register

<vol. no.> N.H. Rulemaking Reg. <page no.> (<month day, year>)

New Hampshire Government Register (LexisNexis)

<iss. no.> N.H. Gov’t Reg. <page no.> (LexisNexis <month year>)

New Jersey

Supreme Court (N.J.), previously Court of Errors and Appeals (N.J.): Cite to A., A.2d, or A.3d.

Atlantic Reporter

1885–date

A., A.2d, A.3d

New Jersey Reports

1948–date

N.J.

New Jersey Law Reports

1790–1948

N.J.L.

New Jersey Equity Reports

1845–1948

N.J. Eq.

New Jersey Miscellaneous Reports

1923–1948

N.J. Misc.

Superior Court (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div., N.J. Super. Ct. Ch. Div., N.J. Super. Ct. Law Div.), previously Court of Chancery (N.J. Ch.), Supreme Court (N.J. Sup. Ct.), and Prerogative Court (N.J. Prerog. Ct.): Cite to A., A.2d, or A.3d.

Atlantic Reporter

1885–date

A., A.2d, A.3d

New Jersey Superior Court Reports

1948–date

N.J. Super.

New Jersey Law Reports

1790–1948

N.J.L.

New Jersey Equity Reports

1830–1948

N.J. Eq.

New Jersey Miscellaneous Reports

1923–1948

N.J. Misc.

County Court (e.g., Essex Cnty. Ct.) and other lower courts: Cite to A.2d.

Tax Court (N.J. Tax Ct.): Cite to N.J. Tax.

New Jersey Tax Court Reports

1979–date

N.J. Tax

Statutory compilations: Cite to N.J. Stat. Ann..

New Jersey Statutes Annotated (West)

N.J. Stat. Ann. § x:x (West <year>)

New Jersey Revised Statutes (2013)

N.J. Rev. Stat. § x:x (<year>)

Session laws: Cite to N.J. Laws.

Laws of New Jersey

<year> N.J. Laws <page no.>

New Jersey Session Law Service (West)

<year> N.J. Sess. Law Serv. <page no.> (West)

Administrative compilation

New Jersey Administrative Code (LexisNexis)

N.J. Admin. Code § x:x-x.x (<year>)

Administrative register

New Jersey Register (LexisNexis)

<vol. no.> N.J. Reg. <page no.> (<month day, year>)

Administrative report

New Jersey Administrative Reports

1979–date

N.J. Admin., N.J. Admin. 2d

Local Notes:

In local practice, the New Jersey Constitution’s name is underlined: N.J. Const. art. <Roman numeral>, § <number>, ¶ <number>. New Jersey Statutes Annotated are cited as N.J.S.A. followed by the relevant section number but no section symbol: N.J.S.A. <section number>. See New Jersey Manual on Style for Judicial Opinions (2017), https://www.njcourts.gov/attorneys/assets/attyresources/manualonstyle.pdf

New Mexico

Supreme Court (N.M.): Cite to P., P.2d, or P.3d.

Pacific Reporter

1883–date

P., P.2d, P.3d

New Mexico Reports

1852–2012

N.M.

Court of Appeals (N.M. Ct. App.): Cite to P.2d or P.3d.

Pacific Reporter

1967–date

P.2d, P.3d

New Mexico Reports

1967–2012

N.M.

Statutory compilations: Cite to N.M. Stat. Ann..

New Mexico Statutes Annotated 1978 (Conway Greene)

N.M. Stat. Ann. § x-x-x (<year>)

West’s New Mexico Statutes Annotated

N.M. Stat. Ann. § x-x-x (West <year>)

Michie's Annotated Statutes of New Mexico (LexisNexis)

N.M. Stat. Ann. § x-x-x (LexisNexis <year>)

Session laws: Cite to N.M. Laws.

Laws of the State of New Mexico

<year> N.M. Laws <page no.>

New Mexico Advance Legislative Service (Conway Greene)

<year> N.M. Adv. Legis. Serv. <page no.>

West's New Mexico Legislative Service

<year> N.M. Legis. Serv. <page no.> (West)

Administrative compilation

Code of New Mexico Rules (LexisNexis)

N.M. Code R. § x.x.x.x (LexisNexis <year>)

Administrative register

New Mexico Register

<vol. no.> N.M. Reg. <page no.> (<month day, year>)

Local Notes:

New Mexico has adopted a public domain citation format for cases effective July 1, 2013. See N.M. Sup. Ct. R. 23-112 (Appendix), available at https://casetext.com/rule/new-mexico-court-rules/new-mexico-supreme-court-general-rules/rule-23-112-citations-for-pleadings-and-other-papers/appendix-to-rule-23-112-nmra-technical-and-citation-information.

Examples:

Glaser v. LeBus, 2012-NMSC-012, 276 P.3d 959.
Lasen, Inc. v. Tadjikov, 2020-NMCA-006, 456 P.3d 1090.

New York

Court of Appeals (N.Y.): Cite to N.E., N.E.2d, or N.E.3d.

North Eastern Reporter

1885–date

N.E., N.E.2d, N.E.3d

New York Reports (The first series of N.Y. is reprinted in N.Y.S. and N.Y.S.2d without separate pagination. Do not include a parallel cite to N.Y.S. or N.Y.S.2d in citations to the first series of N.Y.)

1847–date

N.Y., N.Y.2d

West’s New York Supplement

1956–date

N.Y.S.2d, N.Y.S.3d

Court for the Correction of Errors (N.Y.) and Supreme Court of Judicature (N.Y. Sup. Ct.) (highest state courts of law before 1847): Cite to one of the following reporters.

Lockwood’s Reversed Cases

1799–1847

Lock. Rev. Cas.

Denio’s Reports

1845–1848

Denio

Hill and Denio Supplement (Lalor)

1842–1844

Hill & Den.

Hill’s Reports

1841–1844

Hill

Edmond’s Select Cases

1834–1853

Edm. Sel. Cas.

Yates’ Select Cases

1809

Yates Sel. Cas.

Anthon’s Nisi Prius Cases

1807–1851

Ant. N.P. Cas.

Wendell’s Reports

1828–1841

Wend.

Cowen’s Reports

1823–1829

Cow.

Johnson’s Reports

1806–1823

Johns.

Caines’ Reports

1803–1805

Cai.

Caines’ Cases

1796–1805

Cai. Cas.

Coleman & Caines’ Cases

1794–1805

Cole. & Cai. Cas.

Johnson’s Cases

1799–1803

Johns. Cas.

Coleman’s Cases

1791–1800

Cole. Cas.

Court of Chancery (N.Y. Ch.) (highest state court of equity before 1848): Cite to one of the following reporters.

Edwards’ Chancery Reports

1831–1850

Edw. Ch.

Barbour’s Chancery Reports

1845–1848

Barb. Ch.

Sandford’s Chancery Reports

1843–1847

Sand. Ch.

Saratoga Chancery Sentinel

1841–1847

Sarat. Ch. Sent.

Paige’s Chancery Reports

1828–1845

Paige Ch.

Clarke’s Chancery Reports

1839–1841

Cl. Ch.

Hoffman’s Chancery Reports

1839–1840

Hoff. Ch.

Hopkins’ Chancery Reports

1823–1826

Hopk. Ch.

Lansing’s Chancery Reports

1824–1826

Lans. Ch.

Johnson’s Chancery Reports

1814–1823

Johns. Ch.

New York Chancery Reports Annotated

1814–1847

N.Y. Ch. Ann.

Supreme Court, Appellate Division (N.Y. App. Div.), previously Supreme Court, General Term (N.Y. Gen. Term): Cite to N.Y.S., N.Y.S.2d, or N.Y.S.3d.

West’s New York Supplement

1888–date

N.Y.S., N.Y.S.2d, N.Y.S.3d

Appellate Division Reports

1896–date

A.D., A.D.2d, A.D.3d

Supreme Court Reports

1874–1896

N.Y. Sup. Ct.

Lansing’s Reports

1869–1873

Lans.

Barbour’s Supreme Court Reports

1847–1877

Barb.

Other lower courts (e.g., N.Y. App. Term, N.Y. Sup. Ct., N.Y. Ct. Cl., N.Y. Civ. Ct., N.Y. Crim. Ct., N.Y. Fam. Ct.): Cite to N.Y.S., N.Y.S.2d, or N.Y.S.3d.

West’s New York Supplement

1888–date

N.Y.S., N.Y.S.2d, N.Y.S.3d

New York Miscellaneous Reports

1892–date

Misc., Misc. 2d

Other lower courts before 1888: Cite to one of the following reporters.

Abbott’s New Cases

1876–1894

Abb. N. Cas.

Abbott’s Practice Reports

1854–1875

Abb. Pr., Abb. Pr. (n.s.)

Howard’s Practice Reports

1844–1886

How. Pr., How. Pr. (n.s.)

Statutory compilations: Cite to one of the following sources.

McKinney’s Consolidated Laws of New York Annotated (West)

N.Y. <subject> Law § x (McKinney <year>)

New York Consolidated Laws Service (LexisNexis)

N.Y. <subject> Law § x (Consol. <year>)

New York Consolidated Laws Unannotated (LexisNexis)

N.Y. <subject> Law § x (LexisNexis <year>)

Abandoned Property

Aband. Prop.

Agricultural Conservation

Agric. Conserv.

Agriculture and Markets

Agric. & Mkts.

Alcoholic Beverage Control

Alco. Bev. Cont.

Alternative County Government

Alt. County Gov’t

Arts and Cultural Affairs

Arts & Cult. Aff.

Banking

Banking

Benevolent Orders

Ben. Ord.

Business Corporation

Bus. Corp.

Canal

Canal

Civil Practice Law and Rules

N.Y. C.P.L.R. <rule no.> (McKinney <year>)
or:
N.Y. C.P.L.R. <rule no.> (Consol. <year>)

Civil Rights

Civ. Rights

Civil Service

Civ. Serv.

Commerce

Com.

Cooperative Corporations

Coop. Corp.

Correction

Correct.

County

County

Criminal Procedure

Crim. Proc.

Debtor and Creditor

Debt. & Cred.

Domestic Relations

Dom. Rel.

Economic Development

Econ. Dev.

Education

Educ.

Elder

Elder

Election

Elec.

Eminent Domain Procedure

Em. Dom. Proc.

Employers’ Liability

Empl’rs Liab.

Energy

Energy

Environmental Conservation

Envtl. Conserv.

Estates, Powers and Trusts

Est. Powers & Trusts

Executive

Exec.

Financial Services

Fin. Serv.

General Associations

Gen. Ass’ns

General Business

Gen. Bus.

General City

Gen. City

General Construction

Gen. Constr.

General Municipal

Gen. Mun.

General Obligations

Gen. Oblig.

Highway

High.

Indian

Indian

Insurance

Ins.

Judiciary

Jud.

Judiciary Court Acts

Jud. Ct. Acts

Labor

Lab.

Legislative

Legis.

Lien

Lien

Limited Liability Company

Ltd. Liab. Co.

Local Finance

Local Fin.

Mental Hygiene

Mental Hyg.

Military

Mil.

Multiple Dwelling

Mult. Dwell.

Multiple Residence

Mult. Resid.

Municipal Home Rule and Statute of Local Governments

Mun. Home Rule

Navigation

Nav.

Not-for-Profit Corporation

Not-for-Profit Corp.

Optional County Government

Opt. Cty. Gov’t

Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation

Parks Rec. & Hist. Preserv.

Partnership

P’ship

Penal

Penal

Personal Property

Pers. Prop.

Private Housing Finance

Priv. Hous. Fin.

Public Authorities

Pub. Auth.

Public Buildings

Pub. Bldgs.

Public Health

Pub. Health

Public Housing

Pub. Hous.

Public Lands

Pub. Lands

Public Officers

Pub. Off.

Public Service

Pub. Serv.

Racing, Pari-Mutuel Wagering and Breeding

Rac. Pari-Mut. Wag. & Breed.

Railroad

R.R.

Rapid Transit

Rapid Trans.

Real Property

Real Prop.

Real Property Actions and Proceedings

Real Prop. Acts.

Real Property Tax

Real Prop. Tax

Religious Corporations

Relig. Corp.

Retirement and Social Security

Retire. & Soc. Sec.

Rural Electric Cooperative

Rural Elec. Coop.

Second Class Cities

Second Class Cities

Social Services

Soc. Serv.

Soil and Water Conservation Districts

Soil & Water Conserv. Dist.

State

State

State Administrative Procedure Act

A.P.A.

State Finance

State Fin.

State Printing and Public Documents

State Print. & Pub. Docs.

State Technology

State Tech.

Statutes

Stat.

Surrogate’s Court Procedure Act

Surr. Ct. Proc. Act

Tax

Tax

Town

Town

Transportation

Transp.

Transportation Corporations

Transp. Corp.

Unconsolidated

Unconsol.

Uniform Commercial Code

U.C.C.

Vehicle and Traffic

Veh. & Traf.

Village

Village

Volunteer Ambulance Workers’ Benefit

Vol. Ambul. Workers’ Ben.

Volunteer Firefighters’ Benefit

Vol. Fire. Ben.

Workers’ Compensation

Workers’ Comp.

Uncompiled laws: Cite to one of the following sources. For the user’s convenience, the McKinney’s volume in which the law appears is indicated parenthetically below.

McKinney’s Consolidated Laws

N.Y. <law> § x (McKinney <year>)

Consolidated Laws Service

N.Y. <law> § x (Consol. <year>)

LexisNexis New York Consolidated Laws Unannotated

N.Y. <law> § x (LexisNexis <year>)

New York City Civil Court Act (29A)

City Civ. Ct. Act

New York City Criminal Court Act (29A)

City Crim. Ct. Act

Code of Criminal Procedure (11A)

Code Crim. Proc.

Court of Claims Act (29A)

Ct. Cl. Act

Family Court Act (29A)

Fam. Ct. Act

Uniform City Court Act (29A)

Uniform City Ct. Act

Uniform District Court Act (29A)

Uniform Dist. Ct. Act

Uniform Justice Court Act (29A)

Uniform Just. Ct. Act

Session laws: Cite to official N.Y. Laws, if found there; else, cite to N.Y. Sess. Laws.

Laws of New York

<year> N.Y. Laws <page no.>

McKinney's Session Laws of New York (West) (McKinney)

<year> N.Y. Sess. Laws <page no.>

New York Consolidated Laws Service

<year>-<pamph. no.> N.Y. Consol. Laws Adv.

Advance Legislative Service (LexisNexis)

Legis. Serv. <page no.> (LexisNexis)

Administrative compilation

Official Compilation of Codes, Rules & Regulations of the State of New York (West)

N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. tit. x, § x (<year>)

Administrative register

New York State Register

<vol. no.> N.Y. Reg. <page no.> (<month day, year>)

Local Notes:

Case-citation formats follow the formats shown in the New York Law Reports Style Manual (2017 ed., with cumulative updates through 2020), https://www.nycourts.gov/reporter/style-manual/2017/2017-SM.htm. A few key differences include citing the applicable reporter from the New York Official Reports Service, and indicating the Department of the Appellate Division in the court/year parenthetical for intermediate appellate divisions. A few formatting differences include placing the entire citation in parentheses, placing the year in brackets, and omitting periods from the various citation components.

Examples:

(Brown & Brown, Inc. v Johnson, 25 NY3d 364 [2015]).

(Boss v Am. Express Fin. Advisors, Inc., 15 AD3d 306 [1st Dept 2005]).

Statutory citations also vary significantly from the Uniform System of Citation’s general standards. For example, periods with abbreviations are also often omitted from New York statutory citations in local practice, such as with citing the Civil Practice Laws and Rules are as CPLR xxxx.

North Carolina

Supreme Court (N.C.): Cite to S.E. or S.E.2d.

South Eastern Reporter

1887–date

S.E., S.E.2d

North Carolina Reports

63 N.C. to date

1868–date

N.C.

Phillips’ Equity

1866–1868

62 N.C. (Phil. Eq.)

Phillips’ Law

1866–1868

61 N.C. (Phil.)

Winston

1863–1864

60 N.C. (Win.)

Jones’ Equity (54–59)

1853–1863

e.g., 54 N.C. (1 Jones Eq.)

Jones’ Law (46–53)

1853–1862

e.g., 46 N.C. (1 Jones)

Busbee’s Equity

1852–1853

45 N.C. (Busb. Eq.)

Busbee’s Law

1852–1853

44 N.C. (Busb.)

Iredell’s Equity (36–43)

1840–1852

e.g., 36 N.C. (1 Ired. Eq.)

Iredell’s Law (23–35)

1840–1852

e.g., 23 N.C. (1 Ired.)

Devereux & Battle’s Equity (21–22)

1834–1839

e.g., 21 N.C. (1 Dev. & Bat. Eq.)

Devereux & Battle’s Law (18–20)

1834–1839

e.g., 20 N.C. (3 & 4 Dev. & Bat.)

Devereux’s Equity (16–17)

1826–1834

e.g., 16 N.C. (1 Dev. Eq.)

Devereux’s Law (12–15)

1826–1834

e.g., 12 N.C. (1 Dev.)

Hawks (8–11)

1820–1826

e.g., 8 N.C. (1 Hawks)

Murphey (5–7)

1804–1813
1818–1819

e.g., 5 N.C. (1 Mur.)

Taylor’s North Carolina Term Reports

1816–1818

4 N.C. (Taylor)

Carolina Law Repository

1813–1816

4 N.C. (Car. L. Rep.)

Haywood (2–3)

1789–1806

e.g., 2 N.C. (1 Hayw.)

Conference by Cameron & Norwood

1800–1804

1 N.C. (Cam. & Nor.)

Taylor

1798–1802

1 N.C. (Tay.)

Martin

1778–1797

1 N.C. (Mart.)

Court of Appeals (N.C. Ct. App.): Cite to S.E.2d.

South Eastern Reporter

1968–date

S.E.2d

North Carolina Court of Appeals Reports

1968–date

N.C. App.

Statutory compilations: Cite to N.C. Gen. Stat. (published by LexisNexis).

General Statutes of North Carolina (LexisNexis)

N.C. Gen. Stat. § x-x (<year>)

West’s North Carolina General Statutes Annotated

N.C. Gen. Stat. Ann. § x-x (West <year>)

Session laws: Cite to N.C. Sess. Laws.

Session Laws of North Carolina

<year> N.C. Sess. Laws <page no.>

North Carolina <year> Advance Legislative Service (LexisNexis)

<year>-<pamph. no.> N.C. Adv. Legis. Serv. <page no.> (LexisNexis)

North Carolina Legislative Service (West)

<year> N.C. Legis. Serv. <page no.> (West)

Administrative compilation

North Carolina Administrative Code (West)

<tit. no.> N.C. Admin. Code <rule no.> (<year>)

Administrative register

North Carolina Register (LexisNexis)

<vol. no.> N.C. Reg. <page no.> (<month day, year>)

Local Notes:

North Carolina has adopted a public domain citation format effective  January 2021. See Supreme Court of North Carolina, Universal Citation for North Carolina Fact Sheet (Nov. 2020), https://www.nccourts.gov/assets/news-uploads/FINAL_fact-sheet_UniversalCitation--SCofNC_11182020.pdf?JVPiE5JQ6Yeng5IJ8_a1TzZF6bjdSTgt

Examples:

Crazie Overstock Promotions, LLC v. State, 2021-NCSC-57, 858 S.E.2d 581.

Town of Apex v. Rubin, 2021-NCCOA-187, 858 S.E.2d 387.

North Carolina statutes are cited as N.C.G.S. § xx-xx (year). See generally Supreme Court Office of Administrative Counsel, The Guidebook: Citation, Style, and Usage at the Supreme Court of North Carolina (2019), https://www.nccourts.gov/assets/inline-files/TheGuidebook_SupremeCourtofNorthCarolina_062019_0.pdf?1lTTY94loM9lL3LuzuIEZ04IbNaxjiSJ; Appellate Rules Committee of the North Carolina Bar Association, A Style Manual for the North Carolina Rules of Appellate Procedure (2021), https://www.ncbar.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/2021-05-13-FINAL-Style-Manual-with-Hyperlinks.pdf.

North Dakota

Supreme Court (N.D.): Cite to N.W. or N.W.2d.

North Western Reporter

1890–date

N.W., N.W.2d

North Dakota Reports

1890–1953

N.D.

Supreme Court of Dakota (Dakota): Cite to N.W..

North Western Reporter

1879–1889

N.W.

Dakota Reports

1867–1889

Dakota

Court of Appeals of North Dakota (N.D. Ct. App.): Cite to N.W.2d.

North Western Reporter

1987–date

N.W.2d

Statutory compilations: Cite to N.D. Cent. Code.

North Dakota Century Code (LexisNexis)

N.D. Cent. Code § x-x-x (<year>)

West’s North Dakota Century Code Annotated

N.D. Cent. Code Ann. § x-x-x (West <year>)

Session laws: Cite to N.D. Laws.

Laws of North Dakota

<year> N.D. Laws <page no.>

North Dakota Century Code <year> Advance Legislative Service (LexisNexis)

<year>-<pamph. no.> N.D. Cent. Code Adv. Legis. Serv. <page no.> (LexisNexis)

West’s North Dakota Legislative Service

<year> N.D. Legis. Serv. <page no.> (West)

Administrative compilation

North Dakota Administrative Code

N.D. Admin. Code <rule no.> (<year>)

Local Notes:

North Dakota has adopted a public domain citation format for cases after December 31, 1996. See North Dakota Supreme Court Citation Manual (2000), https://www.ndcourts.gov/supreme-court/citation-manual

Examples:

Smith v. Jones, 1997 ND 15.
Smith v. Jones, 1997 ND 15, 600 N.W.2d 900.
Smith v. Jones, 1997 ND 15, ¶ 21.
Smith v. Jones, 1997 ND 15, ¶ 21, 600 N.W.2d 900.

Ohio

Supreme Court (Ohio): Cite to N.E., N.E.2d, or N.E.3d.

North Eastern Reporter

1885–date

N.E., N.E.2d, N.E.3d

Ohio State Reports

1852–date

Ohio St., Ohio St. 2d, Ohio St. 3d

Ohio Reports

1821–1851

Ohio

Wilcox’s Condensed Reports

1821–1831

Wilc. Cond. Rep.

Wright

1831–1834

Wright

Ohio Unreported Cases

1809–1899

Ohio Unrep. Cas.

Court of Appeals (Ohio Ct. App.): Cite to N.E., N.E.2d, or N.E.3d.

North Eastern Reporter

1926–date

N.E., N.E.2d, N.E.3d

Ohio Appellate Reports

1913–date

Ohio App., Ohio App. 2d, Ohio App. 3d

Ohio Circuit Court Reports

1914–1917

Ohio C.C.

Ohio Courts of Appeals Reports

1916–1922

Ohio Ct. App.

Other law courts: Cite to N.E., N.E.2d, or N.E.3d, if found there; else, cite to another reporter in the following order of preference.

North Eastern Reporter

1926–date

N.E., N.E.2d, N.E.3d

Ohio Miscellaneous Reports

1962–2012

Ohio Misc., Ohio Misc. 2d

Ohio Bar Reports

1982–1987

Ohio B.

Ohio Opinions

1934–1982

Ohio Op., Ohio Op. 2d, Ohio Op. 3d

Ohio Law Abstract

1922–1964

Ohio Law Abs.

Ohio Nisi Prius Reports

1903–1934

Ohio N.P., Ohio N.P. (n.s.)

Ohio Decisions

1894–1921

Ohio Dec.

Ohio Decisions, Reprint

1840–1893

Ohio Dec. Reprint

Ohio Circuit Decisions

1885–1923

Ohio Cir. Dec.

Ohio Circuit Court Decisions

1901–1923

e.g., 13-23 Ohio C.C. Dec.

Ohio Circuit Court Reports

1885–1901

Ohio C.C.

Ohio Law Bulletin

1876–1921

Ohio L. Bull.

Ohio Circuit Court Reports, New Series

1903–1917

Ohio C.C. (n.s.)

Ohio Law Reporter

1903–1934

Ohio L.R.

Tappen’s Reports

1816–1819

Tapp. Rep.

Anderson’s Unreported Ohio Appellate Cases

1990

Ohio App. Unrep.

Statutory compilations: Cite to one of the following codes.

Page’s Ohio Revised Code Annotated (LexisNexis):

  Ohio Rev. Code Ann. § <section number> (LexisNexis <year> )

Ohio Rev. Code Ann. § x.x (LexisNexis <year>)

Baldwin’s Ohio Revised Code Annotated (West):

  Ohio Rev. Code Ann. § <section number> (West <year> )

Ohio Rev. Code Ann. § x.x (West <year>)

Session laws: Cite to Ohio Laws.

State of Ohio: Legislative Acts Passed and Joint Resolutions Adopted <year> Ohio Laws <page no.>

Page’s Ohio Legislative Bulletin (LexisNexis)

<year> Ohio Legis. Bull. <page no.> (LexisNexis)

Baldwin’s Ohio Legislative Service Annotated (West)

<year> Ohio Legis. Serv. Ann. <page no.> (West)

Administrative compilation

Baldwin's Ohio Administrative Code (West):

  Ohio Admin. Code <rule no.> <year>

Ohio Admin. Code <rule no.> (<year>)

Administrative and executive registers: Cite to one of the following registers.

Baldwin's Ohio Monthly Record

1977–date

Ohio Monthly Rec. <page no.> (<month year>)

Ohio Government Reports

1965–1976

Ohio Gov’t <page no.> (<month day, year>)

Ohio Department Reports

1914–1964

Ohio Dep’t <page no.> (<month day, year>)

Local Notes:

Extensive guidance and rules are provided by the Supreme Court of Ohio’s Writing Manual: A Guide to Citations, Style, and Judicial Opinion Writing (2d ed. 2013), https://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/ROD/manual.pdf.

The Ohio Revised Code is customarily cited locally as R.C. § xx.xx. A common local variation of this statutory citation is O.R.C. § xx.xx.The Ohio Court of Appeals is divided into appellate districts that should be indicated parenthetically in the court/year component. Ohio has adopted a public domain citation format for cases decided after April 30, 2002.

Examples:

Bonacorsi v. Wheeling & Lake Erie Ry. Co., 95 Ohio St.3d 314, 2002-Ohio-2220, 767 N.E.2d 707, ¶ 15.
Bowling Green v. Godwin, 110 Ohio St.3d 58, 2006-Ohio-3563, 850 N.E.2d 698, ¶ 13, fn. 1.
Byer v. Wright, 160 Ohio App.3d 472, 2005-Ohio-1797, 827 N.E.2d 835 (11th Dist.).

Oklahoma

Supreme Court (Okla.): Cite to P., P.2d, or P.3d.

Pacific Reporter

1890–date

P., P.2d, P.3d

Oklahoma Reports

1890–1953

Okla.

Court of Appeals of Indian Territory (Indian Terr.): Cite to S.W..

South Western Reporter

1896–1907

S.W.

Indian Territory Reports

1896–1907

Indian Terr.

Court of Criminal Appeals (Okla. Crim. App.), before 1959 Criminal Court of Appeals (Okla. Crim. App.): Cite to P., P.2d, or P.3d.

Pacific Reporter

1908–date

P., P.2d, P.3d

Oklahoma Criminal Reports

1908–1953

Okla. Crim.

Court of Civil Appeals (Okla. Civ. App.): Cite to P.2d or P.3d.

Pacific Reporter

1971–date

P.2d, P.3d

Statutory compilations: Cite to Okla. Stat..

Oklahoma Statutes (West)

Okla. Stat. tit. x, § x (<year>)

Oklahoma Statutes Annotated (West)

Okla. Stat. Ann. tit. x, § x (West <year>)

Session laws: Cite to Okla. Sess. Laws.

Oklahoma Session Laws (West)

<year> Okla. Sess. Laws <page no.>

Oklahoma Session Law Service (West)

<year> Okla. Sess. Law Serv. <page no.> (West)

Administrative compilation

Oklahoma Administrative Code

Okla. Admin. Code § x:x-x-x (<year>)

Administrative registers: Cite to one of the following sources.

Oklahoma Register 1983–date

<vol. no.> Okla. Reg. <page no.> (<month day, year>)

Oklahoma Gazette 1962–1983

<vol. no.> Okla. Gaz. <page no.> (<month day, year>)

Local Notes:

Oklahoma has adopted a public domain citation format for cases after May 1, 1997. See Okla. Sup. Ct. R. 1.200(e); Okla. Crim. App. R. 3.5.C(2)(a).

Examples:

MTG Guarnieri Mfg., Inc. v. Clouatre, 2010 OK CIV APP 71, 239 P.3d 202.

Harvell v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., 2006 OK 24, 164 P.3d 1028.

Oregon

Supreme Court (Or.): Cite to P., P.2d, or P.3d.

Pacific Reporter

1883–date

P., P.2d, P.3d

Oregon Reports

1853–date

Or.

Court of Appeals (Or. Ct. App.): Cite to P.2d or P.3d.

Pacific Reporter

1969–date

P.2d, P.3d

Oregon Reports, Court of Appeals

1969–date

Or. App.

Tax Court (Or. T.C.): Cite to Or. Tax.

Oregon Tax Reports

1962–date

Or. Tax

Statutory compilations: Cite to Or. Rev. Stat..

Oregon Revised Statutes

Or. Rev. Stat. § x.x (<year>)

West’s Oregon Revised Statutes Annotated

Or. Rev. Stat. Ann. § x.x (West <year>)

Session laws: Cite to Or. Laws. When citing statutes repealed during or after 1953, indicate parenthetically the former Or. Rev. Stat. sections.

Oregon Laws and Resolutions

<year> Or. Laws <page no.>

<year> Or. Laws Spec. Sess. <page no.>

<year> Or. Laws Adv. Sh. No. x, <page no.>

West’s Oregon Legislative Service

<year> Or. Legis. Serv. <page no.> (West)

Administrative compilation

Oregon Administrative Rules

Or. Admin. R. <rule no.> (<year>)

Administrative register

Oregon Bulletin

<vol. no.> Or. Bull. <page no.> (<month day, year>)

Local Notes:

Oregon Statutes are locally cited ORS § xxx.xxx.

See generally Oregon Appellate Courts Style Manual (2018), https://www.courts.oregon.gov/publications/Documents/UpdatedStyleManual2002.pdf

Pennsylvania

Supreme Court (Pa.): Cite to A., A.2d, or A.3d.

Atlantic Reporter

1885–date

A., A.2d, A.3d

Pennsylvania State Reports

1845–date

Pa.

Monaghan

1888–1890

Monag.

Sadler

1885–1889

Sadler

Walker

1855–1885

Walk.

Pennypacker

1881–1884

Pennyp.

Grant

1814–1863

Grant

Watts and Sergeant

1841–1845

Watts & Serg.

Wharton

1835–1841

Whart.

Watts

1832–1840

Watts

Rawle

1828–1835

Rawle

Penrose and Watts

1829–1832

Pen. & W.

Sergeant and Rawle

1814–1828

Serg. & Rawle

Binney

1799–1814

Binn.

Yeates

1791–1808

Yeates

Addison

1791–1799

Add.

Dallas

1754–1806

Dall.

Alden

1754–1814

Ald.

Superior Court (Pa. Super. Ct.): Cite to A., A.2d, or A.3d.

For cases decided after December 31, 1998, use the following public domain citation format:

Example:

Jones v. Smith, 1999 PA Super 1

Atlantic Reporter

1931–date

A., A.2d, A.3d

Pennsylvania Superior Court Reports

1895–1997

Pa. Super.

Commonwealth Court (Pa. Commw. Ct.): Cite to A.2d or A.3d.

Atlantic Reporter

1970–date

A.2d, A.3d

Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court Reports

1970–1994

Pa. Commw.

Other lower courts: Cite to Pa. D. & C., Pa. D. & C.2d, Pa. D. & C.3d, Pa. D. & C.4th, or Pa. D. & C.5th. Not all lower court decisions are reproduced in the reporters listed below, and it may be necessary, on occasion, to cite to the legal reporter for an individual county, if available. For a comprehensive list of Pennsylvania county court reports, consult chapter seven, appendix four, Frank Y. Liu et al., Pennsylvania Legal Research Handbook (2008).

Pennsylvania District and County Reports

1918–date

Pa. D. & C., Pa. D. & C.2d, Pa. D. & C.3d, Pa. D. & C.4th, Pa. D. & C.5th

Pennsylvania District Reports

1892–1921

Pa. D.

Pennsylvania County Court Reports

1870–1921

Pa. C.

Statutory compilations: Cite to Pa. Cons. Stat. (79 titles). These publications should not be confused with Pa. Code, which is a code of regulations, not of legislation.

Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes

<tit. no.> Pa. Cons. Stat. § x (<year>)

Purdon’s Pennsylvania Statutes and Consolidated Statutes Annotated (West)

<tit. no.> Pa. Stat. and Cons. Stat. Ann. § x (West <year>)

Session laws: Cite to Pa. Laws.

Laws of Pennsylvania

<year> Pa. Laws <page no.>

Purdon’s Pennsylvania Legislative Service (West)

<year> Pa. Legis. Serv. <page no.> (West)

Administrative compilation

Pennsylvania Code (Fry Communications)

<tit. no.> Pa. Code § x.x (<year>)

Administrative register

Pennsylvania Bulletin (Fry Communications)

<vol. no.> Pa. Bull. <page no.> (<month day, year>)

Local Notes:

Pennsylvania has a complex system of consolidated and unconsolidated statutes, and may provide a parallel citation to Purdom’s Pennsylvania Statutes Annotated if available. See Order Amending Rule 126 of the Pennsylvania Rules of Appellate Procedure, No. 278 Appellate Procedural Rules Doc., 49 Pa. B. 1335 (March 23, 2019), http://www.pacodeandbulletin.gov/Display/pabull?file=/secure/pabulletin/data/vol49/49-12/416.html.

Rhode Island

Supreme Court (R.I.): Cite to A., A.2d or A.3d.

Atlantic Reporter

1885–date

A., A.2d, A.3d

Rhode Island Reports

1828–1980

R.I.

Statutory compilations: Cite to R.I. Gen. Laws.

General Laws of Rhode Island (LexisNexis)

<tit. no.> R.I. Gen. Laws § x-x-x (<year>)

West’s General Laws of Rhode Island Annotated

<tit. no.> R.I. Gen. Laws Ann. § x-x-x (West <year>)

Session laws: Cite to R.I. Pub. Laws.

Public Laws of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations

<year> R.I. Pub. Laws <page no.>

Acts and Resolves of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations

<year> R.I. Acts & Resolves <page no.>

Rhode Island Advance Legislative Service (LexisNexis)

<year>-<pamph. no.> R.I. Adv. Legis. Serv. <page no.> (LexisNexis)

West’s Rhode Island Advance Legislative Service

<year> R.I. Adv. Legis. Serv. <page no.> (West)

Administrative compilation

Code of Rhode Island Rules (LexisNexis)

<tit. no.>-<ch. no.> R.I. Code R. § x (LexisNexis <year>)

Administrative register

Rhode Island Government Register (LexisNexis)

<iss. no.> R.I. Gov’t Reg. <page no.> (LexisNexis <month year>)

South Carolina

Supreme Court after 1868 (S.C.): Cite to S.E. or S.E.2d.

South Eastern Reporter

1887–date

S.E., S.E.2d

South Carolina Reports

1868–date

S.C.

Court of Appeals (S.C. Ct. App.): Cite to S.E.2d.

South Eastern Reporter

1983–date

S.E.2d

South Carolina Reports

1983–date

S.C.

Courts of law before 1868: Cite to South Carolina Law Reports (S.C.L.)

Richardson (37–49)

1850–1868

e.g., 37 S.C.L. (3 Rich.)

Strobhart (32–36)

1846–1850

e.g., 32 S.C.L. (1 Strob.)

Richardson (30–31)

1844–1846

e.g., 30 S.C.L. (1 Rich.)

Speers (28–29)

1842–1844

e.g., 28 S.C.L. (1 Speers)

McMullan (26–27)

1840–1842

e.g., 26 S.C.L. (1 McMul.)

Cheves

1839–1840

25 S.C.L. (Chev.)

Rice

1838–1839

24 S.C.L. (Rice)

Dudley

1837–1838

23 S.C.L. (Dud.)

Riley

1836–1837

22 S.C.L. (Ril.)

Hill (19–21)

1833–1837

e.g., 19 S.C.L. (1 Hill)

Bailey (17–18)

1828–1832

e.g., 17 S.C.L. (1 Bail.)

Harper

1823–1824

16 S.C.L. (Harp.)

McCord (12–15)

1821–1828

e.g., 12 S.C.L. (1 McCord)

Nott and McCord (10–11)

1817–1820

e.g., 10 S.C.L. (1 Nott & McC.)

Mill (Constitutional) (8–9)

1817–1818

e.g., 8 S.C.L. (1 Mill)

Treadway (6–7)

1812–1816

e.g., 6 S.C.L. (1 Tread.)

Brevard (3–5)

1793–1816

e.g., 3 S.C.L. (1 Brev.)

Bay (1–2)

1783–1804

e.g., 1 S.C.L. (1 Bay)

Courts of equity before 1868: Cite to South Carolina Equity Reports (S.C. Eq.)

Richardson’s Equity (24–35)

1850–1868

e.g., 24 S.C. Eq. (3 Rich. Eq.)

Strobhart’s Equity (20–23)

1846–1850

e.g., 20 S.C. Eq. (1 Strob. Eq.)

Richardson’s Equity (18–19)

1844–1846

e.g., 18 S.C. Eq. (1 Rich. Eq.)

Speers’ Equity

1842–1844

17 S.C. Eq. (Speers Eq.)

McMullan’s Equity

1840–1842

16 S.C. Eq. (McMul. Eq.)

Cheves’ Equity

1839–1840

15 S.C. Eq. (Chev. Eq.)

Rice’s Equity

1838–1839

14 S.C. Eq. (Rice Eq.)

Dudley’s Equity

1837–1838

13 S.C. Eq. (Dud. Eq.)

Riley’s Chancery

1836–1837

12 S.C. Eq. (Ril. Eq.)

Hill’s Chancery (10–11)

1833–1837

e.g., 10 S.C. Eq. (1 Hill Eq.)

Richardson’s Cases

1831–1832

9 S.C. Eq. (Rich. Cas.)

Bailey’s Equity

1830–1831

8 S.C. Eq. (Bail. Eq.)

McCord’s Chancery (6–7)

1825–1827

e.g., 6 S.C. Eq. (1 McCord Eq.)

Harper’s Equity

1824

5 S.C. Eq. (Harp. Eq.)

Desaussure’s Equity (1–4)

1784–1817

e.g., 1 S.C. Eq. (1 Des. Eq.)

Statutory compilation

Code of Laws of South Carolina 1976 Annotated

S.C. Code Ann. § x-x-x (<year>)

Session laws

Acts and Joint Resolutions, South Carolina

<year> S.C. Acts <page no.>

Administrative compilation: Administrative regulations appear in volumes 1–10 of S.C. Code Ann. This publication should not be confused with the statutory compilation of the same name, which also contains volumes 1–10.

Code of Laws of South Carolina 1976 Annotated: Code of Regulations (West)

S.C. Code Ann. Regs. <reg no.> (<year>)

Administrative register

South Carolina State Register

<vol. no.> S.C. Reg. <page no.> (<month day, year>)

South Dakota

Supreme Court (S.D.): Cite to N.W. or N.W.2d.

North Western Reporter

1890–date

N.W., N.W.2d

South Dakota Reports

1890–1976

S.D.

Supreme Court of Dakota (Dakota): Cite to N.W..

North Western Reporter

1879–1889

N.W.

Dakota Reports

1867–1889

Dakota

Statutory compilation

South Dakota Codified Laws (West)

S.D. Codified Laws § x-x-x (<year>)

Session laws: Cite to S.D. Sess. Laws.

Session Laws of South Dakota

<year> S.D. Sess. Laws <ch. x § x> <page no.>

Administrative compilation

Administrative Rules of South Dakota

S.D. Admin. R. <rule no.> (<year>)

Administrative register

South Dakota Register

<vol. no.> S.D. Reg. <page no.> (<month day, year>)

Local Notes:

The South Dakota Codified Laws are locally cited as SDCL § x-x-x. See SDCL § 2-16-18.

South Dakota has adopted a public domain citation format for cases after December 31, 1996. See S.D. R. Civ. Pro. § 15-26A-69.1 and S.D. Sup. Ct. R. 10-05.

Example:

JAS Enters., Inc. v. BBS Enters., Inc., 2013 S.D. 54, 835 N.W.2d 117.

Tennessee

Supreme Court (Tenn.): Cite to S.W., S.W.2d, or S.W.3d.

South Western Reporter

1886–date

S.W., S.W.2d, S.W.3d

Tennessee Reports

60 Tenn. to 225 Tenn.

1872–1972

Tenn.

Heiskell

1870–1874

e.g., 48 Tenn. (1 Heisk.)

Coldwell

1860–1870

e.g., 41 Tenn. (1 Cold.)

Head

1858–1860

e.g., 38 Tenn. (1 Head)

Sneed

1853–1858

e.g., 33 Tenn. (1 Sneed)

Swan

1851–1853

e.g., 31 Tenn. (1 Swan)

Humphreys

1839–1851

e.g., 20 Tenn. (1 Hum.)

Meigs

1838–1839

19 Tenn. (Meigs)

Yerger

1818–1837

e.g., 9 Tenn. (1 Yer.)

Martin & Yerger

1825–1828

8 Tenn. (Mart. & Yer.)

Peck

1821–1824

7 Tenn. (Peck)

Haywood

1816–1818

e.g., 4 Tenn. (1 Hayw.)

Cooke

1811–1814

3 Tenn. (Cooke)

Overton

1791–1815

e.g., 1 Tenn. (1 Overt.)

Court of Appeals (Tenn. Ct. App.): Cite to S.W.2d or S.W.3d.

South Western Reporter

1932–date

S.W.2d, S.W.3d

Tennessee Appeals Reports

1925–1971

Tenn. App.

Court of Criminal Appeals (Tenn. Crim. App.): Cite to S.W.2d or S.W.3d.

South Western Reporter

1967–date

S.W.2d, S.W.3d

Tennessee Criminal Appeals Reports

1967–1971

Tenn. Crim. App.

Statutory compilations: Cite to Tenn. Code Ann. (published by LexisNexis).

Tennessee Code Annotated (LexisNexis)

Tenn. Code Ann. § x-x-x (<year>)

West's Tennessee Code Annotated

Tenn. Code Ann. § x-x-x (West <year>)

Session laws: Cite to Tenn. Pub. Acts or Tenn. Priv. Acts.

Public Acts of the State of Tennessee

<year> Tenn. Pub. Acts <page no.>

Private Acts of the State of Tennessee

<year> Tenn. Priv. Acts <page no.>

Tennessee Code Annotated Advance Legislative Service (LexisNexis)

<year>-<pamph. no.> Tenn. Code Ann. Adv. Legis. Serv. <page no.> (LexisNexis)

West’s Tennessee Legislative Service

<year> Tenn. Legis. Serv. <page no.> (West)

Administrative compilation

Official Compilation Rules & Regulations of the State of Tennessee

Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. <rule no.> (<year>)

Administrative register

Tennessee Administrative Register

<vol. no.> Tenn. Admin. Reg. <page no.> (<month year>)

Texas

Supreme Court (Tex.): Cite to S.W., S.W.2d, or S.W.3d.

South Western Reporter

1886–date

S.W., S.W.2d, S.W.3d

Texas Reports

1846–1962

Tex.

Synopses of the Decisions of the Supreme Court of Texas Arising from Restraints by Conscript and Other Military Authorities (Robards)

1862–1865

Robards (no vol. number)

Texas Law Review (containing previously unpublished cases from the 1845 term)

1845–1846

65 Tex. L. Rev.

Digest of the Laws of Texas (Dallam’s Opinions)

1840–1844

Dallam (no vol. number)

Texas Supreme Court Journal

1957–date

Tex. Sup. Ct. J.

Court of Criminal Appeals (Tex. Crim. App.), previously Court of Appeals (Tex. Ct. App.): Cite to S.W., S.W.2d, or S.W.3d.

South Western Reporter

1892–date

S.W., S.W.2d, S.W.3d

Texas Criminal Reports

1892–1962

Tex. Crim.

Texas Court of Appeals Reports

1876–1892

Tex. Ct. App.

Condensed Reports of Decisions in Civil Causes in the Court of Appeals (White & Willson vol. 1) (Willson vols. 2–4)

1876–1883
1883–1892

White & W. Willson

Commission of Appeals (Tex. Comm’n App.): Cite to S.W. or S.W.2d.

South Western Reporter

1886–1892

S.W.

1918–1945

S.W.2d

Texas Reports

1879–1892
1918–1945

Tex.

Texas Unreported Cases (Posey)

1879–1884

Posey

Condensed Reports of Decisions in Civil Causes in the Court of Appeals (White & Willson)

1879–1883

White & W.

Courts of Appeals (Tex. App.), previously Courts of Civil Appeals (Tex. Civ. App.): Cite to S.W., S.W.2d, or S.W.3d.

South Western Reporter

1892–date

S.W., S.W.2d, S.W.3d

Texas Civil Appeals Reports

1892–1911

Tex. Civ. App.

Consult Texas-specific citation guides for historical subsequent history when citing opinions of the Commission of Appeals from 1879 to 1892. For additional information on the history and structure of Texas courts and on local citation rules, the following sources are suggested: Texas Law Review Ass’n, The Greenbook: Texas Rules of Form (14th ed. 2018); Lydia M.V. Brandt, Texas Legal Research (1995); and A Reference Guide to Texas Law and Legal History (Karl T. Gruben & James E. Hambleton eds., 2d ed. 1987).

Statutory compilations: Texas is nearing the completion of a recodification of its laws. Cite to the new subject-matter Tex. Code Ann., if found there; else, cite to Tex. Rev. Civ. Stat. Ann. or to one of the independent codes contained in the series Vernon’s Texas Civil Statutes or Vernon’s Texas Statutes Annotated. Note that the independent codes are not part of the new subject-matter Tex. Code Ann.

Vernon’s Texas Codes Annotated (West)

Tex. <Subject> Code Ann. § x (West <year>)

Vernon’s Texas Revised Civil Statutes Annotated (West)

Tex. Rev. Civ. Stat. Ann. art. x, § x (West <year>)

Vernon’s Texas Business Corporation Act Annotated (West)

Tex. Bus. Corp. Act Ann. art. x (West <year>)

Vernon’s Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Annotated (West)

Tex. Code Crim. Proc. Ann. art. x (West <year>)

Vernon’s Texas Insurance Code Annotated (West)

Tex. Ins. Code Ann. art. x (West <year>)

Vernon’s Texas Probate Code Annotated (West)  (repealed)

Tex. Prob. Code Ann. § x (West <year>)

(Note this independent code has been repealed as of 2014)

Texas Subject-Matter Codes

Agriculture

Agric.

Alcoholic Beverage

Alco. Bev.

Business and Commerce

Bus. & Com.

Business Organizations (effective Jan. 1, 2006)

Bus. Orgs.

Civil Practice and Remedies

Civ. Prac. & Rem.

Education

Educ.

Election

Elec.

Estates

Est.

Family

Fam.

Finance

Fin.

Government

Gov’t

Health and Safety

Health & Safety

Human Resources

Hum. Res.

Insurance

Ins.

Labor

Lab.

Local Government

Loc. Gov’t

Natural Resources

Nat. Res.

Occupations

Occ.

Parks and Wildlife

Parks & Wild.

Penal

Penal

Property

Prop.

Special District Local Laws

Spec. Dists.

Tax

Tax

Transportation

Transp.

Utilities

Util.

Water

Water

Session laws: Cite to Tex. Gen. Laws.

General and Special Laws of the State of Texas

<year> Tex. Gen. Laws <page no.>

Vernon’s Texas Session Law Service (West)

<year> Tex. Sess. Law Serv. <page no.> (West)

Laws of the Republic of Texas

<year> Repub. Tex. Laws <page no.>

Session laws passed before 1941 must be cited according to the exact title, e.g., Tex. Loc. & Spec. Laws, Tex. Gen. & Spec. Laws, and Tex. Gen. Laws. The Revised Statutes were enacted and published separately in 1879, 1895, 1911, and 1925 and should be cited as <year> Tex. Rev. Civ. Stat. xxx. The Code of Criminal Procedure and Penal Code were enacted and published separately in 1856, 1879, 1895, 1911, and 1925 and should be cited as <year> Tex. Crim. Stat. xxx.

Administrative compilation

Texas Administrative Code (West)

<tit. no.> Tex. Admin. Code § x.x (<year>)

Administrative register

Texas Register (LexisNexis)

<vol. no.> Tex. Reg. <page no.> (<month day, year>)

Local Notes:

See generally The Greenbook, Texas Rules of Form (14th ed. 2018).At the intermediate appellate level, the Texas courts are divided into regional intermediate appellate districts.   Customary local practice for Texas intermediate appellate citations is as follows:  <case name>, <vo.> S.W. 2d <page> (Tex. App.—<name of intermediate appellate district> <year>). The Houston appellate district has two numbered districts and thus also includes either [1st Dist.] or [14th Dist.]. Customary local practice also includes subsequent history in the citation parenthetical. See The Greenbook: Texas Rules of Form (14th 2018).

Example:

Titan Oil & Gas Consultants, LLC v. Willis, 614 S.W.3d 261 (Tex. App.—Texarkana 2020, pet. filed).

Utah

Supreme Court (Utah): Cite to P., P.2d, or P.3d.

Pacific Reporter

1881–date

P., P.2d, P.3d

Utah Reports

1873–1974

Utah, Utah 2d

Court of Appeals (Utah Ct. App.): Cite to P.2d or P.3d.

Pacific Reporter

1987–date

P.2d, P.3d

Statutory compilations: Cite to one of the following codes.

Utah Code Annotated (LexisNexis)

Utah Code Ann. § x-x-x (LexisNexis <year>)

West’s Utah Code Annotated

Utah Code Ann. § x-x-x (West <year>)

Session laws: Cite to Utah Laws.

Laws of Utah

<year> Utah Laws <page no.>

Utah Code <year> Advance Legislative Service (LexisNexis)

<year>-<pamph. no.> Utah Adv. Legis. Serv. <page no.> (LexisNexis)

Utah Legislative Service (West)

<year> Utah. Legis. Serv. <page no.> (West)

Administrative compilation

Utah Administrative Code

Utah Admin. Code r. x-x-x (<year>)

Administrative register

Utah State Bulletin

<iss. no.> Utah Bull. <page no.> (<month day, year>)

Local Notes:

Utah has adopted a public domain citation format for cases after December 31, 1998. See Utah App R. 24(f).   Include parallel citations to the Pacific Reporter where available.

Include parallel citations to the Utah Advanced Reports (if possible) when no citation to the Pacific Reporter is available.

Examples:

Smith v. Jones, 1999 UT 16.
Smith v. Jones, 1999 UT App 16.
Smith v. Jones, 1999 UT 16, 380 Utah Adv. Rep. 24.
Smith v. Jones, 1999 UT App 16, 380 Utah Adv. Rep. 24.
Smith v. Jones, 1999 UT 16, 998 P.2d 250.
Smith v. Jones, 1999 UT App 16, 998 P.2d 250.

Vermont

Supreme Court (Vt.): Cite to A., A.2d or A.3d.

Atlantic Reporter

1885–date

A., A.2d, A.3d

Vermont Reports

1826–date

Vt.

Aikens

1825–1828

Aik.

Chipman, D.

1789–1824

D. Chip.

Brayton

1815–1819

Brayt.

Tyler

1800–1803

Tyl.

Chipman, N.

1789–1791

N. Chip.

Statutory compilations: Cite to Vt. Stat. Ann. (published by LexisNexis), if found there

Vermont Statutes Annotated (LexisNexis)

Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. x, § x (<year>)

West’s Vermont Statutes Annotated

Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. x, § x (West <year>)

Session laws: Cite to Vt. Acts & Resolves.

Acts and Resolves of Vermont

<year> Vt. Acts & Resolves <page no.>

Vermont <year> Advance Legislative Service(LexisNexis)

<year>-<pamph. no.> Vt. Adv. Legis. Serv. <page no.> (LexisNexis)

West’s Vermont Legislative Service

<year> Vt. Legis. Serv. <page no.> (West)

Administrative compilation

Code of Vermont Rules (LexisNexis)

<tit. no.>-<ch. no.> Vt. Code R. § x (<year>)

Administrative register

Vermont Government Register (LexisNexis)

<iss. no.> Vt. Gov’t Reg. <page no.> (LexisNexis <month year>)

Local Notes:

Vermont Statutes Annotated are cited locally as xx V.S.A. § xx. See 1 V.S.A. § 51.

Vermont has adopted a public domain citation format for cases after December 31, 2002. See Vt. R. App. P. 28.2.

Example:  Smith v. Jones, 2001 VT 1, ¶ 12, 169 Vt. 203, 850 A.2d 421.

Virginia

Supreme Court (Va.), previously Supreme Court of Appeals (Va.): Cite to S.E. or S.E.2d.

South Eastern Reporter

1887–date

S.E., S.E.2d

Virginia Reports

75 Va. to date

1880–date

Va.

Grattan

1844–1880

e.g., 42 Va. (1 Gratt.)

Robinson

1842–1844

e.g., 40 Va. (1 Rob.)

Leigh

1829–1842

e.g., 28 Va. (1 Leigh)

Randolph

1821–1828

e.g., 22 Va. (1 Rand.)

Gilmer

1820–1821

21 Va. (Gilmer)

Munford

1810–1820

e.g., 15 Va. (1 Munf.)

Hening & Munford

1806–1810

e.g., 11 Va. (1 Hen. & M.)

Call

1779–1825

e.g., 5 Va. (1 Call)

Virginia Cases, Criminal

1789–1826

e.g., 3 Va. (1 Va. Cas.)

Washington

1790–1796

e.g., 1 Va. (1 Wash.)

Court of Appeals (Va. Ct. App.): Cite to S.E.2d.

South Eastern Reporter

1985–date

S.E.2d

Virginia Court of Appeals Reports

1985–date

Va. App.

Circuit Court (Va. Cir. Ct.): Cite to Va. Cir.

Virginia Circuit Court Opinions

1957–date

Va. Cir.

Statutory compilations: Cite to Va. Code Ann. (published by LexisNexis).

Code of Virginia 1950 Annotated (LexisNexis)

Va. Code Ann. § x-x (<year>)

West’s Annotated Code of Virginia

Va. Code Ann. § x-x (West <year>)

Session laws: Cite to Va. Acts.

Acts of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Virginia

<year> Va. Acts <page no.>

Virginia <year> Advance Legislative Service (LexisNexis)

<year>-<pamph. no.> Va. Adv. Legis. Serv. <page no.> (LexisNexis)

West’s Virginia Legislative Service

<year> Va. Legis. Serv. <page no.> (West)

Administrative compilation

Virginia Administrative Code (West)

<tit. no.> Va. Admin. Code § x-x-x (<year>)

Administrative register

Virginia Register of Regulations (LexisNexis)

<vol. no.> Va. Reg. Regs. <page no.> (<month day, year>)

Washington

Supreme Court (Wash.): Cite to P., P.2d, or P.3d.

Pacific Reporter

1880–date

P., P.2d, P.3d

Washington Reports

1889–date

Wash., Wash. 2d

Washington Territory Reports

1854–1888

Wash. Terr.

Court of Appeals (Wash. Ct. App.): Cite to P.2d or P.3d.

Pacific Reporter

1969–date

P.2d, P.3d

Washington Appellate Reports

1969–date

Wash. App.

Statutory compilations: Cite to Wash. Rev. Code.

Revised Code of Washington

Wash. Rev. Code § x.x.x (<year>)

West's Revised Code of Washington Annotated

Wash. Rev. Code Ann. § x.x.x (West <year>)

Annotated Revised Code of Washington (LexisNexis)

Wash. Rev. Code Ann. § x.x.x (LexisNexis <year>)

Session laws: Cite to Wash. Sess. Laws.

Session Laws of Washington

<year> Wash. Sess. Laws <page no.>

West’s Washington Legislative Service

<year> Wash. Legis. Serv. <page no.> (West)

Administrative compilation

Washington Administrative Code

Wash. Admin. Code § x-x-x (<year>)

Administrative register

Washington State Register

<iss. no.> Wash. Reg. <page no.> (<month day, year>)

Local Notes:

Locally, the state code is often cited RCW xx.xx.xx. See generally Official Reporter of Decisions, Style Sheet, Washington Courts (July 3, 2018), https://www.courts.wa.gov/appellate_trial_courts/supreme/?fa=atc_supreme.style.

West Virginia

Supreme Court of Appeals (W. Va.): Cite to S.E. or S.E.2d.

South Eastern Reporter

1886–date

S.E., S.E.2d

West Virginia Reports

1864–date

W. Va.

Statutory compilations: Cite to W. Va. Code.

West Virginia Code

W. Va. Code § x-x-x (<year>)

Michie’s West Virginia Code Annotated (LexisNexis)

W. Va. Code Ann. § x-x-x (LexisNexis <year>)

West’s Annotated Code of West Virginia

W. Va. Code Ann. § x-x-x (West <year>)

Session laws: Cite to W. Va. Acts.

Acts of the Legislature of West Virginia

<year> W. Va. Acts <page no.>

West Virginia <year> Advance Legislative Service (LexisNexis)

<year>-<pamph. no.> W. Va. Adv. Legis. Serv. <page no.> (LexisNexis)

West’s West Virginia Legislative Service

<year> W. Va. Legis. Serv. <page no.>

Administrative compilation

West Virginia Code of State Rules

W. Va. Code R. § x-x-x (<year>)

Administrative register

West Virginia Register

<vol. no.> W. Va. Reg. <page no.> (<month day, year>)

Wisconsin

Supreme Court (Wis.): Cite to N.W. or N.W.2d.

North Western Reporter

1879–date

N.W., N.W.2d

Wisconsin Reports

1853–date

Wis., Wis. 2d

Pinney

1839–1852

Pin.

Chandler

1849–1852

Chand.

Burnett

1842–1843

Bur.

Burnett (bound with session laws for Dec. 1841)

1841

Bur.

Court of Appeals (Wis. Ct. App.): Cite to N.W.2d.

North Western Reporter

1978–date

N.W.2d

Wisconsin Reports

1978–date

Wis. 2d

Statutory compilations: Cite to Wis. Stat..

Wisconsin Statutes

Wis. Stat. § x.x (<year>)

West’s Wisconsin Statutes Annotated

Wis. Stat. Ann. § x.x (West <year>)

Session laws: Cite to Wis. Sess. Laws.

Wisconsin Session Laws

<year> Wis. Sess. Laws <page no.>

West’s Wisconsin Legislative Service

<year> Wis. Legis. Serv. <page no.> (West)

Administrative compilation

Wisconsin Administrative Code

Wis. Admin. Code <agency abbreviation> § x-x (<year>)

Administrative register

Wisconsin Administrative Register

<iss. no.> Wis. Admin. Reg. <page no.> (<month day, year>)

Local Notes:

Wisconsin has adopted a public domain citation format for cases decided after December 31, 1999. See Wis. Sup. Ct. R. 80, https://www.wicourts.gov/sc/scrule/DisplayDocument.pdf?content=pdf&seqNo=146082.

Examples:

Smith v. Jones, 2000 WI 14, ¶6.
Smith v. Jones, 214 Wis. 2d 408, ¶12.
Doe v. Roe, 2001 WI App 9, ¶17.
Doe v. Roe, 595 N.W.2d 346, ¶27.

Wyoming

Supreme Court (Wyo.): Cite to P., P.2d, or P.3d.

Pacific Reporter

1883–date

P., P.2d, P.3d

Wyoming Reports

1870–1959

Wyo.

Statutory compilations: Cite to Wyo. Stat. Ann. (published by LexisNexis).

Wyoming Statutes Annotated (LexisNexis)

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § x-x-x (<year>)

West’s Wyoming Statutes Annotated

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § x-x-x (West <year>)

Session laws: Cite to Wyo. Sess. Laws.

Session Laws of Wyoming

<year> Wyo. Sess. Laws <page no.>

West’s Wyoming Legislative Service

<year> Wyo. Legis. Serv. <page no.> (West)

Administrative compilation

Code of Wyoming Rules (LexisNexis)

<tit. no.>-<ch. no.> Wyo. Code R. § x (LexisNexis <year>)

Administrative register

Wyoming Government Register (LexisNexis)

<iss. no.> Wyo. Gov’t Reg. <page no.> (LexisNexis <month year>)

Local Notes:

Wyoming has adopted a public domain citation format for cases decided after December 31, 2003. See Order Amending Citation Format (Aug. 19, 2005).

Examples:

Doe v. Roe, 2001 WY 12.
Doe v. Roe, 2001 WY 12, 989 P.2d 1312 (Wyo. 2001).

American Samoa

High Court of American Samoa (Am. Samoa): Cite to Am. Samoa, Am. Samoa 2d, or Am. Samoa 3d.

American Samoa Reports

1900–date

Am. Samoa, Am. Samoa 2d, Am. Samoa 3d

Statutory compilation

American Samoa Code Annotated

Am. Samoa Code Ann. § x (<year>)

Administrative compilation

American Samoa Administrative Code

Am. Samoa Admin. Code § x (<year>)

Canal Zone

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana (E.D. La.): This court has jurisdiction over litigation pending as of Apr. 1, 1982, in the United States District Court for the District of the Canal Zone. Cite to F. Supp.

Federal Supplement

1982–1983

F. Supp.

United States District Court for the District of the Canal Zone (D.C.Z.): This court ceased to exist on Mar. 31, 1982. Cite to F. Supp.

Federal Supplement

1946–1982

F. Supp.

Statutory compilation

Panama Canal Code

C.Z. Code tit. x, § x (<year>)

Guam

Supreme Court of Guam (Guam):

The Supreme Court of Guam uses a public domain format as shown here. A parallel citation may be included.

Example:
Santos v. Carney, 1997 Guam 4.
Santos v. Carney, 1997 Guam 4, 1997 WL 460435.

District Court of Guam (D. Guam): Cite to F. Supp., F. Supp. 2d, or F. Supp. 3d.

Federal Supplement

1951–date

F. Supp., F. Supp. 2d, F. Supp. 3d

Guam Reports

1955–1980

Guam

Statutory compilation

Guam Code Annotated

<tit. no.> Guam Code Ann. § x (<year>)

Session laws

Guam Session Laws

Guam Pub. L. <law no.> (<year>)

Administrative compilation

Administrative Rules & Regulations of the Government of Guam

<tit. no.> Guam Admin. R. & Regs. § x (<year>)

Navajo Nation

Supreme Court (Navajo), previously Court of Appeals (Navajo): Cite to Navajo Rptr.

Navajo Reporter

1969–date

Navajo Rptr.

District Court (Navajo D. Ct.): Cite to Navajo Rptr.

Navajo Reporter

1969–date

Navajo Rptr.

Statutory compilation

Navajo Nation Code Annotated (West)

Navajo Nation Code Ann. tit. x, § x (<year>)

Northern Mariana Islands

The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands has adopted a public domain citation format.

Example:

ABC Company vs. XYZ Company, 2001 MP 1 ¶10.

See Northern Mariana Islands Supreme Court Style Manual (Jan. 1, 2017), http://cnmilaw.org/pdf/courtrules/R26.pdf.

Supreme Court (N. Mar. I.): Cite to N. Mar. I.

Northern Mariana Islands Reporter

1989–date

N. Mar. I.

District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands, Trial and Appellate Divisions (D. N. Mar. I. and D. N. Mar. I. App. Div.), and Commonwealth Superior Court (N. Mar. I. Commw. Super. Ct.), previously Commonwealth Trial Court (N. Mar. I. Commw. Trial Ct.): Cite to F. Supp., F. Supp. 2d, or F. Supp. 3d.

Federal Supplement

1979–date

F. Supp., F. Supp. 2d, F. Supp. 3d

Northern Mariana Islands Commonwealth Reporter

1979–date

N. Mar. I. Commw.

Statutory compilation

Northern Mariana Islands Commonwealth Code (LexisNexis)

<tit. no.> N. Mar. I. Code § x (<year>)

Session laws

Northern Mariana Islands Session Laws

<year> N. Mar. I. Pub. L. <law no.>

Administrative compilation

Northern Mariana Islands Administrative Code

<tit. no.> N. Mar. I. Admin. Code § x (<year>)

Administrative register

Northern Mariana Islands Commonwealth Register

<vol. no.> N. Mar. I. Reg. <page no.> (<month day, year>)

Oklahoma Native Americans

Tribal Courts, Courts of Indian Offenses (Appellate Division), Courts of Indian Appeals, and Courts of Indian Offenses: Cite to Okla. Trib.

Oklahoma Tribal Court Reports

1979–date

Okla. Trib.

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico has adopted a public domain citation format for cases decided after December 31, 1997. The format is:

Example: Yumac Home Furniture v. Caguas Lumber Yard, 2015 TSPR 148.

Supreme Court (P.R.): Cite to P.R. or P.R. Offic. Trans., if found there; else, cite to P.R. Dec. or P.R. Sent., in that order of preference.

Puerto Rico Reports

1899–1978

P.R.

Official Translations of the Opinions of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico

1978–date

P.R. Offic. Trans.

Decisiones de Puerto Rico

1899–date

P.R. Dec.

Sentencias del Tribunal Supremo de Puerto Rico

1899–1902

P.R. Sent.

Circuit Court of Appeals (P.R. Cir.): Cite to T.C.A

Decisiones del Tribunal de Circuito de Apelaciones de Puerto Rico

1995–date

T.C.A.

Statutory compilation

Laws of Puerto Rico Annotated (LexisNexis)

P.R. Laws Ann. tit. x, § x (<year>)

Leyes de Puerto Rico Anotadas (LexisNexis)

P.R. Leyes An.tit. x, § x (<year>)

Session laws

Laws of Puerto Rico

<year> P.R. Laws <page no.>

Leyes de Puerto Rico (LexisNexis)

<year> P.R. Leyes <page no.>

Virgin Islands

All courts: Cite to V.I.

Virgin Islands Reports

1917–date

V.I.

Statutory compilation

Virgin Islands Code Annotated (LexisNexis)

1962–date

V.I. Code Ann. tit. x, § x-x <year>

Session laws: Cite to V.I. Sess. Laws.

Session Laws of the Virgin Islands

<year> V.I. Sess. Laws <page no.>

Virgin Islands Code Annotated Advance

<year>-<pamph. no.> V.I. Code Ann. Adv.

Legislative Service (LexisNexis)

Legis. Serv. <page no.> (LexisNexis)

Administrative compilation

Code of U.S. Virgin Islands Rules (LexisNexis)

<tit. no.>-<ch. no.> V.I. Code R. § x-x (LexisNexis <year>)

Administrative register

Virgin Islands Government Register (LexisNexis)

<iss. no.> V.I. Gov’t Reg. <page no.> (LexisNexis <month year>)

T4  Required Abbreviations for Services

T4.1  Service Publisher Names

Service Publisher Name

Abbreviation

Bloomberg Law

BL

Commerce Clearing House

CCH

Matthew Bender

MB

Research Institute of America

RIA

T4.2  Service Abbreviations

For each looseleaf service title, the appropriate abbreviation is followed by the name of the publisher.

Service Name

Abbreviation

Administrative Law Third Series

Admin. L.3d (BL)

Affirmative Action Compliance Manual for Federal Contractors

Aff. Action Compl. Man. (BL)

AIDS Law & Litigation Reporter

AIDS L. & Litig. Rep. (Univ. Pub. Group)

All States Tax Guide

All St. Tax Guide (RIA)

American Federal Tax Reports, Second Series

A.F.T.R.2d (RIA)

American Stock Exchange Guide

Am. Stock Ex. Guide (CCH)

Antitrust & Trade Regulation Report

Antitrust & Trade Reg. Rep. (BL)

Aviation Law Reporter

Av. L. Rep. (CCH)

bound as Aviation Cases

Av. Cas. (CCH)

BL’s Banking Report

Banking Rep. (BL)

Bankruptcy Court Decisions

Bankr. Ct. Dec. (LRP)

Bankruptcy Law Reports

Bankr. L. Rep. (CCH)

Benefits Review Board Service

Ben. Rev. Bd. Serv. (MB)

BioLaw

BioLaw (LexisNexis)

Blue Sky Law Reporter

Blue Sky L. Rep. (CCH)

Board of Contract Appeals Decisions—see Contract Appeals Decisions

Business Franchise Guide

Bus. Franchise Guide (CCH)

Canadian Commercial Law Guide

Can. Com. L. Guide (CCH)

Canadian Tax Reporter

Can. Tax Rep. (CCH)

Chemical Regulation Reporter

Chem. Reg. Rep. (BL)

Chicago Board Options Exchange Guide

Chicago Bd. Options Ex. Guide (CCH)

Collective Bargaining Negotiations & Contracts

Collective Bargaining Negot. & Cont. (BL)

Collier Bankruptcy Cases, Second Series

Collier Bankr. Cas. 2d (MB)

Commodity Futures Law Reporter

Comm. Fut. L. Rep. (CCH)

Communications Regulation

Commc’ns Reg. (BL)

Congressional Index

Cong. Index (CCH)

Consumer Credit Guide

Consumer Cred. Guide (CCH)

Consumer Product Safety Guide

Consumer Prod. Safety Guide (CCH)

Contract Appeals Decisions

Cont. App. Dec. (CCH)

bound as Board of Contract Appeals Decisions

B.C.A. (CCH)

Contracts Cases, Federal—see Government Contracts Reporter

Copyright Law Decisions

Copyright L. Dec. (CCH)

Copyright Law Reporter

Copyright L. Rep. (CCH)

Cost Accounting Standards Guide

Cost Accounting Stand. Guide (CCH)

The Criminal Law Reporter

Crim. L. Rep. (BL)

Daily Labor Report

Daily Lab. Rep. (BL)

Dominion Tax Cases

Dominion Tax Cas. (CCH)

EEOC Compliance Manual

EEOC Compl. Man. (BL)

EEOC Compliance Manual

EEOC Compl. Man. (CCH)

Employee Benefits Cases

Empl. Benefits Cas. (BL)

Employee Benefits Compliance Coordinator

Empl. Coordinator (RIA)

Employment Practices Guide
bound as Employment Practices Decisions bound assee also Labor Law Reporter

Empl. Prac. Dec. (CCH)

Employment Safety and Health Guide

Empl. Safety & Health Guide (CCH)

bound as Occupational Safety and Health Decisions

O.S.H. Dec. (CCH)

Employment Testing: Law & Policy Reporter

Empl. Testing (Univ. Pub. Am.)

Energy Management & Federal Energy Guidelines

Energy Mgmt. (CCH)

Environment Reporter

Env’t Rep. (BL)

bound as Environment Reporter Cases

Env’t Rep. Cas. (BL)

Environmental Law Reporter

Env’t L. Rep. (Env’t Law Inst.)

Exempt Organizations Reports

Exempt Org. Rep. (CCH)

Fair Employment Practice Cases—see Labor Relations Reporter

The Family Law Reporter

Fam. L. Rep. (BL)

Family Law Tax Guide

Fam. L. Tax Guide (CCH)

Federal Audit Guides

Fed. Audit Guide (CCH)

Federal Banking Law Reporter

Fed. Banking L. Rep. (CCH)

Federal Carriers Reports

Fed. Carr. Rep. (CCH)

bound as Federal Carriers Cases

Fed. Carr. Cas. (CCH)

Federal Contracts Report

Fed. Cont. Rep. (BL)

Federal Election Campaign Financing Guide

Fed. Election Camp. Fin. Guide (CCH)

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Reporter

Fed. Energy Reg. Comm’n Rep. (CCH)

Federal Estate and Gift Tax Reporter

Fed. Est. & Gift Tax Rep. (CCH)

bound as Standard Federal Tax Reporter

Stand. Fed. Tax Rep. (CCH)

Federal Excise Tax Reporter

Fed. Ex. Tax Rep. (CCH)

Federal Income, Gift and Estate Taxation

Fed. Inc. Gift & Est. Tax’n (MB)

Federal Rules Service, Second Series

Fed. R. Serv. 2d (West)

Federal Securities Law Reporter

Fed. Sec. L. Rep. (CCH)

Federal Tax Coordinator Second

Fed. Tax Coordinator 2d (RIA)

Federal Tax Guide Reports

Fed. Tax Guide Rep. (CCH)

Fire & Casualty Cases—see Insurance Law Reports

Food Drug Cosmetic Law Reporter

Food Drug Cosm. L. Rep. (CCH)

Government Contracts Reporter

Gov’t Cont. Rep. (CCH)

bound as Contracts Cases, Federal

Cont. Cas. Fed. (CCH)

Government Employee Relations Report (ceased publication November 2017)

Gov’t Empl. Rel. Rep. (BL)

Housing & Development Reporter

Hous. & Dev. Rep. (RIA)

Human Resources Management OSHA Compliance Guide

OSHA Comp. Guide (CCH)

Immigration Law Service

Immigr. L. Serv. (West)

Insurance Law Reports

Ins. L. Rep. (CCH)

bound as Personal and Commercial Liability

Personal and Comm. Liab. (CCH)

bound as Life, Health & Accident Insurance Cases 2d

Life Health & Accid. Ins. Cas. 2d (CCH)

International Environment Reporter

Int’l Env’t Rep. (BL)

International Trade Reporter

Int’l Trade Rep. (BL)

IRS Positions

IRS Pos. (CCH)

Labor Arbitration Awards

Lab. Arb. Awards (CCH)

Labor Law Reporter

Lab. L. Rep. (CCH)

bound as Labor Cases

Lab. Cas. (CCH)

bound as NLRB Decisions

NLRB Dec. (CCH)

see also Employment Practices Guid

Labor Relations Reporter:

Lab. Rel. Rep. (BL)

bound as Fair Employment Practice Cases

Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BL)

bound as Labor Arbitration Reports

Lab. Arb. Rep. (BL)

bound as Labor Relations Reference Manual

L.R.R.M. (BL)

bound as Wage and Hour Cases

Wage & Hour Cas. (BL)

ABA/Bloomberg Law Lawyers’ Manual on Professional Conduct

Laws. Man. on Prof. Conduct (ABA/BL)

Life, Health & Accident Insurance Cases—see Insurance Law Reports

Liquor Control Law Reporter

Liquor Cont. L. Rep. (CCH)

Media Law Reporter

Media L. Rep. (BL)

Medical Devices Reporter

Med. Devices Rep. (CCH)

Medicare and Medicaid Guide

Medicare & Medicaid Guide (CCH)

Mutual Funds Guide

Mut. Funds Guide (CCH)

National Reporter on Legal Ethics & Professional Responsibility

Nat’l Rep. Legal Ethics (Univ. Pub. Am.)

New York Stock Exchange Guide

N.Y.S.E. Guide (CCH)

NLRB Decisions—see Labor Law Reporter

Nuclear Regulation Reporter

Nuclear Reg. Rep. (CCH)

Occupational Safety & Health Reporter

O.S.H. Rep. (BL)

bound as Occupational Safety & Health Cases

O.S.H. Cas. (BL)

OFCCP Federal Contract Compliance Manual

OFCCP Fed. Cont. Compl. Man. (CCH)

Patent, Trademark & Copyright Journal

Pat. Trademark & Copyright J. (BL)

Pension & Benefits Reporter

Pens. & Ben. Rep. (BL)

Pension Plan Guide

Pens. Plan Guide (CCH)

Pension & Profit Sharing Second

Pens. & Profit Sharing 2d (RIA)

Product Safety & Liability Reporter

Prod. Safety & Liab. Rep. (BL)

Products Liability Reporter

Prod. Liab. Rep. (CCH)

Public Utilities Reports

Pub. Util. Rep. (PUR)

School Law Reporter

School L. Rep. (Educ. Law Ass’n.)

Search & Seizure Bulletin

Search & Seizure Bull. (Quinlan)

SEC Accounting Rules

SEC Accounting R. (CCH)

Secured Transactions Guide

Secured Transactions Guide (CCH)

Securities and Federal Corporate Law Report

Sec. & Fed. Corp. L. Rep. (West)

Securities Regulation & Law Report

Sec. Reg. & L. Rep. (BL)

Shipping Regulation

Shipping Reg. (BL)

Social Security Reporter

Soc. Sec. Rep. (CCH)

Standard Federal Tax Reporter

Stand. Fed. Tax Rep. (CCH)

bound as U.S. Tax Cases

U.S. Tax Cas. (CCH)

State and Local Tax Service

St. & Loc. Tax Serv. (RIA)

State and Local Taxes—see All States Tax Guide

State Inheritance, Estate, and Gift Tax Reporter

St. Inher., Est. & Gift Tax Rep. (CCH)

State Tax Guide

St. Tax Guide (CCH)

State Tax Reporter

St. Tax Rep. (CCH)

Tax Court Memorandum Decisions

T.C.M. (RIA)

bound as Tax Court Reporter

T.C.M. (CCH) [or (RIA)]

Tax Court Reported Decisions

Tax Ct. Rep. Dec. (RIA)

Tax Court Reports

Tax Ct. Rep. (CCH)

Trade Regulation Reporter

Trade Reg. Rep. (CCH)

bound as Trade Cases

Trade Cas. (CCH)

Unemployment Insurance Reporter

Unempl. Ins. Rep. (CCH)

Uniform Commercial Code Reporting Service Second

UCC Rep. Serv. (West)

Union Labor Report Newsletter

Union Lab. Rep. Newsl. (BL)

The United States Law Week (published by Bloomberg Law, which need not be indicated in the service citation)

U.S.L.W.

The United States Patents Quarterly bound in same name

U.S.P.Q. (BL), U.S.P.Q.2d (BL)

U.S. Tax Cases—see Federal Estate and Gift Tax Reporter and Standard Federal Tax Reporter

U.S. Tax Reporter

U.S. Tax Rep. (RIA)

U.S. Tax Treaties Reporter

U.S. Tax Treaties Rep. (CCH)

Utilities Law Reports

Util. L. Rep. (CCH)

Wage and Hour Cases—see Labor Relations Reporter

T5  Required Abbreviations for Legislative Documents

Words not on this list that are more than six letters may be abbreviated for clarity and if the chosen abbreviation is not ambiguous. All articles and prepositions should be removed from the abbreviated title if the remaining title content still provides clear document identification.

Legislative Document

Abbreviation

Annals

Annals

Annual

Ann.

Assembly[man, woman, member]

Assemb.

Bill

B.

Committee

Comm.

Concurrent

Con.

Conference

Conf.

Congress[ional]

Cong.

Debate

Deb.

Delegate

Del.

Document[s]

Doc.

Executive

Exec.

Federal

Fed.

House

H.

House of Delegates

H.D.

House of Representatives

H.R.

Joint

J.

Legislat[ion, ive]

Legis.

Legislature

Leg.

Miscellaneous

Misc.

Number

No.

Order

Order

Record

Rec.

Register

Reg.

Regular

Reg.

Report

Rep.

Representative

Rep.

Resolution

Res.

Senate

S.

Senator

Sen.

Service

Serv.

Session

Sess.

Special

Spec.

Subcommittee

Subcomm.

T6. Required Abbreviations for Treaty Sources

Editor’s note: Refer to Table T6 in the first edition of The Indigo Book for treaty abbreviations, checking the applicable jurisdiction(s) for updates since 2016.

T7. Required Abbreviations for Arbitral Reporters

Editor’s note: Refer to Table T7 in the first edition of The Indigo Book for abbreviations of arbitral reporters, checking the applicable jurisdiction(s) for updates since 2016.

T8. Required Abbreviations for Intergovernmental Organizations

Editor’s note: Refer to Table T8 in the first edition of The Indigo Book for abbreviations of intergovernmental organizations, checking the applicable jurisdiction(s) for updates since 2016.

T9. Required Abbreviations for Court Names

Court Name

Abbreviation

Administrative Court

Admin. Ct.

Admiralty [Court, Division]

Adm.

Aldermen’s Court

Alder. Ct.

Appeals Court

App. Ct.

Appellate Court

App. Ct.

Appellate Department

App. Dep’t

Appellate Division

App. Div.

Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals

ASBCA

Bankruptcy Appellate Panel

B.A.P.

Bankruptcy [Court, Judge]

Bankr.

Board of Contract Appeals

B.C.A.

Board of Immigration Appeals

B.I.A.

Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences

B.P.A.I.

Board of Tax Appeals

B.T.A.

Borough Court

<Name> Bor. Ct.

Business Court

Bus. Ct.

Central District

C.D.

Chancery [Court, Division]

Ch.

Children’s Court

Child. Ct.

Circuit Court (old federal)

C.C.

Circuit Court (state)

Cir. Ct.

Circuit Court of Appeals (federal)

Cir.

Circuit Court of Appeals (state)

Cir. Ct. App.

City Court

<Name> City Ct.

Civil Appeals

Civ. App.

Civil Court of Record

Civ. Ct. Rec.

Civil District Court

Civ. Dist. Ct.

Claims Court

Cl. Ct.

Commerce Court

Comm. Ct.

Commission

Comm’n

Common Pleas

C.P. <when appropriate, name county or similar subdivision>

Commonwealth Court

Commw. Ct.

Conciliation Court

Concil. Ct.

County Court

<Name> Cnty. Ct.

[could also use Cty. Ct.]

County Judge’s Court

Cnty. J. Ct.

[could also use Cty. J. Ct.]

Court

Ct.

Court of Appeal (English)

C.A.

Court of Appeals (federal)

Cir.

Court of Appeal[s] (state)

Ct. App.

Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces

C.A.A.F.

Court of Civil Appeals

Civ. App.

Court of Claims

Ct. Cl.

Court of Common Pleas

Ct. Com. Pl.

Court of Criminal Appeals

Crim. App.

Court of Customs and Patent Appeals

C.C.P.A.

Court of Customs Appeals

Ct. Cust. App.

Court of Errors

Ct. Err.

Court of Errors and Appeals

Ct. Err. & App.

Court of Federal Claims

Fed. Cl.

Court of [General, Special] Sessions

Ct. <Gen. or Spec.> Sess.

Court of International Trade

Ct. Int’l Trade

Court of Military Appeals

C.M.A.

Court of Military Review

C.M.R.

Court of Special Appeals

Ct. Spec. App.

Court of Veterans Appeals

Ct. Vet. App.

Criminal Appeals

Crim. App.

Criminal District Court

Crim. Dist. Ct.

Customs Court

Cust. Ct.

District Court (federal)

D.

District Court (state)

Dist. Ct.

District Court of Appeal[s]

Dist. Ct. App.

Division

Div.

Domestic Relations Court

Dom. Rel. Ct.

Eastern District

E.D.

Emergency Court of Appeals

Emer. Ct. App.

Equity [Court, Division]

Eq.

Family Court

Fam. Ct.

High Court

High Ct.

Judicial District

Jud. Dist.

Judicial Division

Jud. Div.

Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation

J.P.M.L.

Justice of the Peace’s Court

J.P. Ct.

Juvenile Court

Juv. Ct.

Land Court

Land Ct.

Law Court

Law Ct.

Law Division

Law Div.

Magistrate Division

Magis. Div.

Magistrate’s Court

Magis. Ct.

Middle District

M.D.

Municipal Court

<Name> Mun. Ct.

Northern District

N.D.

Orphans’ Court

Orphans’ Ct.

Parish Court

<Name> Parish Ct.

Patent Trial and Appeal Board

P.T.A.B.

Police Justice’s Court

Police J. Ct.

Prerogative Court

Prerog. Ct.

Probate Court

Prob. Ct.

Public Utilities Commission

P.U.C.

Real Estate Commission

Real Est. Comm’n

Recorder’s Court

Rec’s Ct.

Southern District

S.D.

Special Court Regional Rail Reorganization Act

Reg’l Rail Reorg. Ct.

Superior Court

Super. Ct.

Supreme Court (federal)

U.S.

Supreme Court (other)

Sup. Ct.

Supreme Court, Appellate Division

App. Div.

Supreme Court, Appellate Term

App. Term

Supreme Court of Errors

Sup. Ct. Err.

Supreme Judicial Court

Sup. Jud. Ct.

Surrogate’s Court

Sur. Ct.

Tax Appeal Court

Tax App. Ct.

Tax Court

T.C.

Teen Court

Teen Ct.

Temporary Emergency Court of Appeals

Temp. Emer. Ct. App.

Territorial, Territory

Terr.

Trademark Trial and Appeal Board

T.T.A.B.

Traffic Court

Traffic Ct.

Tribal Court

<Name> Tribal Ct.

Tribunal

Trib.

Water Court

Water Ct.

Western District

W.D.

Workmen’s Compensation Division

Workmen’s Comp. Div.

Youth Court

Youth Ct.

T10. Required Abbreviations for Titles of Judges and Officials

Title

Abbreviation

Administrative Law Judge

A.L.J.

Arbitrator

Arb.

Assembly[man, woman, member]

Assemb.

Attorney General

Att’y Gen.

Baron

B.

Chancellor

C.

Chief Baron

C.B.

Chief Judge, Chief Justice

C.J.

Commissioner

Comm’r

Delegate

Del.

Honorable

Hon.

Judge, Justice

J.

Judges, Justices

JJ.

Lord Justice

L.J.

Magistrate

Mag.

Master of the Rolls

M.R.

Mediator

Med.

Referee

Ref.

Representative

Rep.

Senator

Sen.

Vice Chancellor

V.C.

T11. Required Abbreviations for Case Names in Citations, Periodical Titles, and Institutional Authors (Common Words)

This table collects the abbreviations for various common words found in case names and periodical titles, as well as author names for institutional authors. Note that Table T15 provides abbreviations for specific institutional names in periodical titles. When in doubt, the specifics in Table T15 control the periodical title control over the general common-word abbreviations found here.

Using the common-word abbreviations in this table, here are examples of each:

Sample case name: Smith v. Detroit Fed’n of Teachers, Local 231

Sample periodical title: Cardozo Arts & Ent. L. J.

Sample institutional author: Reps. Comm. for the Freedom of the Press

In case names and periodical titles, words can be pluralized by adding “s” to the abbreviation (Depts., Exchs.) Possessive words are indicated with an ’s after the abbreviation when singular (Mfr.’s ) and with an apostrophe when plural (Mfrs.’). Other words of eight letters or more may be abbreviated to save significant space, if the abbreviation is clear.

In case names, well-known acronyms can be abbreviated as such per Rule 11.2.19.   Abbreviations already in periodical titles should be maintained as such (whether well-known or not) such as “NALP Bulletin” (which is the title of that publication).

In periodical titles, omit the words “a,” “at,” “in,” “of,” and “the.” If a title contains a single word after one of these short omitted words, do not abbreviate the next word. For example, “Journal of Construction” would become “J. Construction” (despite the abbreviation “Const.” in this table.) Omit words after a colon in a periodical title. Periodical titles have additional institution-specific and geographical abbreviations shown in Table T12 and T15.

Common Word in a Case Name, Periodical Title, Institutional Author Name

Abbreviation

Academic, Academy

Acad.

Accountant, Accounting, Accountancy

Acct.

Administrative, Administration

Admin.

Administrator, Administratrix

Adm’r, Adm’x

Advertising

Advert.

Advocate, Advocacy

Advoc.

Affair

Aff.

Africa, African

Afr.

Agriculture, Agricultural

Agric.

Alliance

All.

Alternative

Alt.

Amendment

Amend.

America, American

Am.

and

&

Annual

Ann.

Appellate

App.

Arbitration, Arbitrator

Arb.

Artificial Intelligence

A.I.

Associate

Assoc.

Association

Ass’n

Atlantic

Atl.

Attorney

Att’y

Authority

Auth.

Automobile, Automotive

Auto.

Avenue

Ave.

Bankruptcy

Bankr.

Behavior, Behavioral

Behav.

Board

Bd.

Broadcaster, Broadcasting

Broad.

Brotherhood

Bhd.

Brothers

Bros.

Building

Bldg.

Business, Businesses

Bus.

Capital

Cap.

Casualty, Casualties

Cas.

Catholic

Cath.

Center, Centre

Ctr.

Central

Cent.

Chemical

Chem.

Children

Child.

Chronicle

Chron.

Circuit

Cir.

Coalition

Coal.

College

Coll.

Commentary

Comment.

Commission

Comm’n

Commissioner

Comm’r

Committee

Comm.

Communication

Commc’n

Community

Cmty.

Company

Co.

Comparative

Compar.

Compensation

Comp.

Computer, Computing, Computational

Comput.

Condominium

Condo.

Conference

Conf.

Congress, Congressional

Cong.

Consolidated

Consol.

Construction

Constr.

Contemporary

Contemp.

Continental

Cont’l

Contract

Cont.

Conveyance, Conveyancer

Conv.

Cooperation, Cooperative

Coop.

Corporate, Corporation

Corp.

Corrections, Correctional

Corr.

  Comestic

Cosm.

Counselor, Counselors, Counselor’s, Counseling

Couns.

County

(Note: the traditional and, we submit, recommended abbreviation is Cty.)

Cnty.

Defend, Defender, Defense, Defensive

Def.

Delinquent, Delinquency

Delinq.

Department

Dep’t

Detention

Det.

Developer, Development

Dev.

Digest

Dig.

Digital

Digit.

Diplomacy

(Optional: may also use with variations Diplomat, and Diplomatic.)

Dipl.

Director

Dir.

Discount

Disc.

Dispute

Disp.

Distributor, Distributing, Distribution

Distrib.

District

Dist.

Division

Div.

Doctor

Dr.

East, Eastern

E.

Economic, Economical, Economics, Economy

Econ.

Editor, Editorial

Ed.

Educate, Education, Educating, Educational, Educator

Educ.

Electric, Electrical, Electricity, Electronic

Elec.

Employee, Employer, Employment

Emp.

Enforcement

Enf’t

Engineer

Eng’r

Engineering

Eng’g

English

Eng.

Enterprise

Enter.

Entertainment

Entm’t

Environment, Environmental

Env’t

Equality

Equal.

Equipment

Equip.

Estate

Est.

Examiner

Exam’r

Exchange

Exch.

Executive

Exec.

Executor, Executrix

Ex’[r, x]

Exploration, Exploratory

Expl.

Exporter, Exportation

Exp.

Faculty

Fac.

Federal

Fed.

Federation

Fed’n

Fidelity

Fid.

Finance, Financial, Financing

Fin.

Fortnightly

(Note: We submit the same abbreviation should be used and is more likely to be relevant for a case involving Fortnite.)

Fort.

Forum

F.

Foundation

Found.

General

Gen.

Global

Glob.

Government

Gov’t

Group

Grp.

Guaranty, Guarantor

Guar.

Hispanic

Hisp.

Historical, History

Hist.

Hospital

Hosp.

Hospitality

Hosp.

Housing

Hous.

Human

Hum.

Import, Importer, Importation

Imp.

Incorporated

Inc.

Indemnity

Indem.

Independence, Independent

Indep.

Industry, Industries, Industrial

Indus.

Inequality

Ineq.

Information

Info.

Institute, Institution

Inst.

Insurance

Ins.

Intellectual

Intell.

Intelligence

(Note A.I. for Artificial Intelligence.)

Intel.

Interdisciplinary

Interdisc.

Interest

Int.

International

Int’l

Investment, Investor

Inv.

Laboratory

(Note: We suggest preferring the more traditional abbreviation Lab.)

Lab.

Law, Laws (any word in a case name, periodical title, or institutional-author name other than the first word)

L.

Law (when first word, not abbreviated)

Law

Lawyer

Law.

Legislate, Legislation, Legislative

Legis.

Liability

Liab.

Library, Librarian

Libr.

Limited

Ltd.

Litigation

Litig.

Local

Loc.

Machine, Machinery

Mach.

Magazine

Mag.

Maintenance

Maint.

Management

Mgmt.

Manufacturer

Mfr.

Manufacturing

Mfg.

Maritime

Mar.

Market

Mkt.

Marketing

Mktg.

Matrimonial

Matrim.

Mechanic, Mechanical

Mech.

Medical, Medicinal, Medicine

Med.

Memorial

Mem’l

Merchant, Merchandise, Merchandising

Merch.

Metropolitan

Metro.

Military

Mil.

Mineral

Min.

Modern

Mod.

Mortgage

Mortg.

Municipal, Municipality

Mun.

Mutual

Mut.

National

Nat’l

Nationality

Nat’y

Natural

Nat.

Negligence

Negl.

Negotiation, Negotiator

Negot.

Newsletter

Newsl.

North, Northern

N.

Northeast, Northeastern

Ne.

Northwest, Northwestern

Nw.

Number

No.

Office, Official

Off.

Opinion

Op.

Order

Ord.

Organization, Organizing

Org.

Pacific

Pac.

Parish

Par.

Partnership

P’ship

Patent

Pat.

Person, Personal, Personnel

Pers.

Perspective

Persp.

Pharmaceutic, Pharmaceutical

Pharm.

Philosophical, Philosophy

Phil.

Planning

Plan.

Policy

Pol’y

Politic, Political, Politics

Pol.

Practical, Practice, Practitioner

Prac.

Preserve, Preservation

Pres.

Privacy, Private

Priv.

Probate, Probation

Prob.

Problems

Probs.

Proceedings, Procedure

Proc.

Product, Production

Prod.

Profession, Professional

(Note: Consider maintaining the more traditional “Prof.” See Table T15, which prioritizes “Prof.” for specific periodical titles.)

Pro.

Property

Prop.

Protection

Prot.

Psychological, Psychologist, Psychology

Psych.

Public

Pub.

Publication

Publ’n

Publishing

Publ’g

Quarterly

Q.

Railroad

R.R.

Railway

Ry.

Record

Rec.

Referee

Ref.

Refining, Refinement

Refin.

Regional

Reg’l

Register

Reg.

Regulation, Regulator, Regulatory

Regul.

Rehabilitation, Rehabilitative

Rehab.

Relation

Rel.

Report, Reporter

Rep.

Reproduction, Reproductive

Reprod.

Research

Rsch.

Reservation, Reserve

Rsrv.

Resolution

Resol.

Resource, Resources

Res.

Responsibility

Resp.

Restaurant

Rest.

Retirement

Ret.

Review, Revista

Rev.

Rights

Rts.

Road

Rd.

Savings

Sav.

School

Sch.

Science, Scientific

Sci.

Scottish

Scot.

Secretary

Sec’y

Security, Securities

Sec.

Sentencing

Sent’g

Service

Serv.

Shareholder, Stockholder

S’holder

Social

Soc.

Society

Soc’y

Sociological, Sociology

Socio.

Solicitor

Solic.

Solution

Sol.

South, Southern

S.

Southeast, Southeastern

Se.

Southwest, Southwestern

Sw.

Statistic, Statistics, Statistical

Stat.

Steamship, Steamships

S.S.

Street

St.

Studies

Stud.

Subcommittee

Subcomm.

Supreme Court

Sup. Ct.

Surety

Sur.

System, Systems

Sys.

Taxation

Tax’n

Teacher

Tchr.

Technical, Technique, Technological, Technology

Tech.

Telecommunication

Telecomm.

Telephone, Telegraph

Tel.

Temporary

Temp.

Township

Twp.

Transcontinental

Transcon.

Transnational

Transnat’l

Transport, Transportation

Transp.

Tribune

Trib.

Trust, Trustee

Tr.

Turnpike

Tpk.

Uniform

Unif.

United States

U.S.

University

Univ.

(case names)

University

U.

(periodical titles)

Urban

Urb.

Utility

Util.

Village

Vill.

Week

Wk.

Weekly

Wkly.

West, Western

W.

Yearbook, Year Book

Y.B.

T12. Required Abbreviations for Geographical Terms

T12.1. U.S. States, Cities and Territories

Place

Abbreviation

States

Alabama

Ala.

Alaska

Alaska

Arizona

Ariz.

Arkansas

Ark.

California

Cal.

Colorado

Colo.

Connecticut

Conn.

Delaware

Del.

Florida

Fla.

Georgia

Ga.

Hawaii

Haw.

Idaho

Idaho

Illinois

Ill.

Indiana

Ind.

Iowa

Iowa

Kansas

Kan.

Kentucky

Ky.

Louisiana

La.

Maine

Me.

Maryland

Md.

Massachusetts

Mass.

Michigan

Mich.

Minnesota

Minn.

Mississippi

Miss.

Missouri

Mo.

Montana

Mont.

Nebraska

Neb.

Nevada

Nev.

New Hampshire

N.H.

New Jersey

N.J.

New Mexico

N.M.

New York

N.Y.

North Carolina

N.C.

North Dakota

N.D.

Ohio

Ohio

Oklahoma

Okla.

Oregon

Or.

Pennsylvania

Pa.

Rhode Island

R.I.

South Carolina

S.C.

South Dakota

S.D.

Tennessee

Tenn.

Texas

Tex.

Utah

Utah

Vermont

Vt.

Virginia

Va.

Washington

Wash.

West Virginia

W. Va.

Wisconsin

Wis.

Wyoming

Wyo.

Cities

Baltimore

Balt.

Boston

Bos.

Chicago

Chi.

Dallas

Dall.

District of Columbia

D.C.

Houston

Hous.

Los Angeles

L.A.

New York

N.Y.C.

Philadelphia

Phila.

Phoenix

Phx.

San Francisco

S.F.

Territories

American Samoa

Am. Sam.

Guam

Guam

Northern Mariana Islands

N. Mar. I.

Puerto Rico

P.R.

Virgin Islands

V.I.

Note: Abbreviations for city names may also be composed from state name abbreviations above. For example, “Kansas City” should be shortened to “Kan. City.”

T12.2 Australian States and Canadian Provinces and Territories

Place

Abbreviation

Australia

Australian Capital Territory

Austl. Cap. Terr.

New South Wales

N.S.W.

Northern Territory

N. Terr.

Queensland

Queensl.

South Australia

S. Austl.

Tasmania

Tas.

Victoria

Vict.

Western Australia

W. Austl.

Canada

Alberta

Alta.

British Columbia

B.C.

Manitoba

Man.

New Brunswick

N.B.

Newfoundland & Labrador

Nfld.

Northwest Territories

N.W.T.

Nova Scotia

N.S.

Nunavut

Nun.

Ontario

Ont.

Prince Edward Island

P.E.I.

Quebec

Que.

Saskatchewan

Sask.

Yukon

Yukon

T12.3 Countries and Regions

Place

Abbreviation

Afghanistan

Afg.

Africa

Afr.

Albania

Alb.

Algeria

Alg.

Andorra

Andorra

Angola

Angl.

Anguilla

Anguilla

Antarctica

Antarctica

Antigua & Barbuda

Ant. & Barb.

Argentina

Arg.

Armenia

Arm.

Asia

Asia

Australia

Austl.

Austria

Austria

Azerbaijan

Azer.

Bahamas

Bah.

Bahrain

Bahr.

Bangladesh

Bangl.

Barbados

Barb.

Belarus

Belr.

Belgium

Belg.

Belize

Belize

Benin

Benin

Bermuda

Berm.

Bhutan

Bhutan

Bolivia

Bol.

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosn. & Herz.

Botswana

Bots.

Brazil

Braz.

Brunei

Brunei

Bulgaria

Bulg.

Burkina Faso

Burk. Faso

Burundi

Burundi

Cambodia

Cambodia

Cameroon

Cameroon

Canada

Can.

Cape Verde

Cape Verde

Cayman Islands

Cayman Is.

Central African Republic

Cent. Afr. Rep.

Chad

Chad

Chile

Chile

China, People’s Republic of

China

Colombia

Colom.

Comoros

Comoros

Congo, Democratic Republic of the

Dem. Rep. Congo

Congo, Republic of the

Congo

Costa Rica

Costa Rica

Côte d'Ivoire

Côte d'Ivoire

Croatia

Croat.

Cuba

Cuba

Cyprus

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Czech

Denmark

Den.

Djibouti

Djib.

Dominica

Dominica

Dominican Republic

Dom. Rep.

Ecuador

Ecuador

Egypt

Egypt

El Salvador

El Sal.

England

Eng.

Equatorial Guinea

Eq. Guinea

Eritrea

Eri.

Estonia

Est.

Ethiopia

Eth.

Europe

Eur.

Falkland Islands

Falkland Is.

Fiji

Fiji

Finland

Fin.

France

Fr.

Gabon

Gabon

Gambia

Gam.

Georgia

Geor.

Germany

Ger.

Ghana

Ghana

Gibraltar

Gib.

Great Britain

Gr. Brit.

Greece

Greece

Greenland

Green.

Grenada

Gren.

Guadeloupe

Guad.

Guatemala

Guat.

Guinea

Guinea

Guinea-Bissau

Guinea-Bissau

Guyana

Guy.

Haiti

Haiti

Honduras

Hond.

Hong Kong

H.K.

Hungary

Hung.

Iceland

Ice.

India

India

Indonesia

Indon.

Iran

Iran

Iraq

Iraq

Ireland

Ir.

Israel

Isr.

Italy

It.

Jamaica

Jam.

Japan

Japan

Jordan

Jordan

Kazakhstan

Kaz.

Kenya

Kenya

Kiribati

Kiribati

Korea, North

N. Kor.

Korea, South

S. Kor.

Kosovo

Kos.

Kuwait

Kuwait

Kyrgyzstan

Kyrg.

Laos

Laos

Latvia

Lat.

Lebanon

Leb.

Lesotho

Lesotho

Liberia

Liber.

Libya

Libya

Liechtenstein

Liech.

Lithuania

Lith.

Luxembourg

Lux.

Macau

Mac.

Macedonia

Maced.

Madagascar

Madag.

Malawi

Malawi

Malaysia

Malay.

Maldives

Maldives

Mali

Mali

Malta

Malta

Marshall Islands

Marsh. Is.

Martinique

Mart.

Mauritania

Mauritania

Mauritius

Mauritius

Mexico

Mex.

Micronesia

Micr.

Moldova

Mold.

Monaco

Monaco

Mongolia

Mong.

Montenegro

Montenegro

Montserrat

Montserrat

Morocco

Morocco

Mozambique

Mozam.

Myanmar

Myan.

Namibia

Namib.

Nauru

Nauru

Nepal

Nepal

Netherlands

Neth.

New Zealand

N.Z.

Nicaragua

Nicar.

Niger

Niger

Nigeria

Nigeria

North America

N. Am.

Northern Ireland

N. Ir.

Norway

Nor.

Oman

Oman

Pakistan

Pak.

Palau

Palau

Panama

Pan.

Papua New Guinea

Papua N.G.

Paraguay

Para.

Peru

Peru

Philippines

Phil.

Pitcairn Island

Pitcairn Is.

Poland

Pol.

Portugal

Port.

Qatar

Qatar

Réunion

Réunion

Romania

Rom.

Russia

Russ.

Rwanda

Rwanda

Saint Helena

St. Helena

Saint Kitts & Nevis

St. Kitts & Nevis

Saint Lucia

St. Lucia

Saint Vincent & the Grenadines

St. Vincent

Samoa

Samoa

San Marino

San Marino

São Tomé & Príncipe

São Tomé & Príncipe

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia

Scotland

Scot.

Senegal

Sen.

Serbia

Serb.

Seychelles

Sey.

Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone

Singapore

Sing.

Slovakia

Slovk.

Slovenia

Slovn.

Solomon Islands

Solom. Is.

Somalia

Som.

South Africa

S. Afr.

South America

S. Am.

Spain

Spain

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka

Sudan

Sudan

Suriname

Surin.

Swaziland

Swaz.

Sweden

Swed.

Switzerland

Switz.

Syria

Syria

Taiwan

Taiwan

Tajikistan

Taj.

Tanzania

Tanz.

Thailand

Thai.

Timor-Leste (East Timor)

Timor-Leste

Togo

Togo

Tonga

Tonga

Trinidad & Tobago

Trin. & Tobago

Tunisia

Tunis.

Turkey

Turk.

Turkmenistan

Turkm.

Turks & Caicos Islands

Turks & Caicos Is.

Tuvalu

Tuvalu

Uganda

Uganda

Ukraine

Ukr.

United Arab Emirates

U.A.E.

United Kingdom

U.K.

United States of America

U.S.

Uruguay

Uru.

Uzbekistan

Uzb.

Vanuatu

Vanuatu

Vatican City

Vatican

Venezuela

Venez.

Vietnam

Viet.

Virgin Islands, British

Virgin Is.

Wales

Wales

Yemen

Yemen

Zambia

Zam.

Zimbabwe

Zim.

T13. Required Abbreviations for Document Subdivisions

Document Subdivision

Abbreviation

addendum

add.

amendment

amend.

annotation

annot.

appendi[x, ces]

app., apps.

article

art.

bibliography

bibliog.

book

bk.

chapter

ch.

clause

cl.

column

col.

comment[ary]

cmt.

decision

dec.

department

dept.

division

div.

example

ex.

figure

fig.

folio

fol.

footnote[s] in cross-references

note, notes

footnote[s] in other references2

n., nn.

historical note[s]3

hist. n., hist. nn.

hypothetical

hypo.

illustration[s]

illus.

introduction

intro.

line[s]

l., ll.

number

no.

page[s] in cross-references

p., pp.

page[s] in other references

[at]

paragraph[s]

¶, ¶¶

paragraph[s] if symbol appears in source

para., paras.

part

pt.

preamble

pmbl.

principle

princ.

publication

pub.

rule

r.

schedule

sched.

section[s] in amending act

sec., secs.

section[s] in all other contexts

§, §§

series, serial

ser.

subdivision

subdiv.

subsection

subsec.

supplement

supp.

table

tbl.

title

tit.

volume

vol.

T14. Required Abbreviations for Explanatory Phrases

If a phrase is followed a case name as the direct object, such as reversing <x>, the comma should be omitted.

Abbreviated Phrase

acq.

acq. in result

aff’d,

aff’d by an equally divided court,

aff’d mem.,

aff’d on other grounds,

aff’d on reh’g,

aff’g

amended by

appeal denied,

appeal dismissed,

appeal docketed,

appeal filed,

argued,

cert. denied,

cert. dismissed,

cert. granted,

certifying questions to

denying cert. to

dismissing appeal from

enforced,

enforcing

invalidated by

mandamus denied,

modified,

modifying

nonacq.

overruled by

perm. app. denied,

perm. app. granted,

petition for cert. filed,

prob. Juris. noted,

reh’g granted [denied],

rev’d,

rev’d on other grounds,

rev’d per curiam,

rev’g

vacated,

vacating as moot

withdrawn,

T15. Required Abbreviations for Institutional Names in Periodical Titles

These abbreviations are required, but may be replaced by a periodical’s own preferred abbreviated title.

Related tables are Table T11 with common words and Table T12 with geographical abbreviations.

Institution Name

Abbreviation

Adelaide

Adel.

Air Force

A.F.

Albany

Alb.

American Bar Association (ABA)

A.B.A.

American Intellectual Property Law Association

AIPLA

American Law Institute

A.L.I.

American Medical Association

(see also Journal of the American Medical Association, infra)

AMA

American Society of Composers, Authors, & Publishers

ASCAP

American University

Am. U.

Boston College

B.C.

Boston University

B.U.

Brigham Young University

BYU

Brooklyn

Brook.

Buffalo

Buff.

California (California Law Review only)

Calif.

Capital

Cap.

Chapman

Chap.

Chartered Life Underwriters

C.L.U.

Cincinnati

Cin.

City University of New York

CUNY

Cleveland

Clev.

Columbia

Colum.

Cumberland

Cumb.

Denver

Denv.

Detroit

Det.

Dickinson

Dick.

Duquesne

Duq.

East, Eastern

E.

Foreign Broadcast Information Service

F.B.I.S.

George Mason

Geo. Mason

George Washington

Geo. Wash.

Georgetown

Geo.

Gonzaga

Gonz.

Harvard

Harv.

Howard

How.

John Marshall

J. Marshall

Journal of the American Medical Association

(see also American Medical Association, supra)

JAMA

Judge Advocate General, Judge Advocate General’s

JAG

Las Vegas

L.V.

Lawyer's Reports Annotated

L.R.A.

Loyola

Loy.

Marquette

Marq.

Melbourne

Melb.

Memphis

Mem.

New England

New Eng.

New York University, New York University School of Law

N.Y.U.

North, Northern

N.

Northeast, Northeastern

Ne.

Northwest, Northwestern

Nw.

Pepperdine

Pepp.

Pittsburgh

Pitt.

Richmond

Rich.

Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Institute

Rocky Mtn. Min. L. Inst.

Saint Louis

St. Louis

San Fernando Valley

San Fern. V.

Southeast, Southeastern

Se.

South, Southern

S.

Southern Methodist University

SMU

Southwest, Southwestern

Sw.

Stanford

Stan.

Temple

Temp.

Thomas Jefferson

T. Jefferson

Thomas M. Cooley

T.M. Cooley

Thurgood Marshall

T. Marshall

Toledo

Tol.

Tulane

Tul.

Universidad de Puerto Rico

U. P.R.

University of California

U.C.

University of California - Los Angeles

UCLA

University of Missouri Kansas City

UMKC

University of the District of Columbia, David A. Clarke School of Law

UDC/DCSL

University of West Los Angeles

UWLA

Valparaiso

Val.

Vanderbilt

Vand.

Villanova

Vill.

Washington & Lee

Wash. & Lee

West, Western

W.

William & Mary

Wm. & Mary

William Mitchell

Wm. Mitchell

T16. Required Abbreviations for Publishing Terms

Publishing Term

Abbreviation

abridge[d, ment]

abr.

annotated

ann.

anonymous

anon.

circa

c.

compil[ation, ed]

comp.

copyright

copy.

draft

drft.

edit[ion, or]

ed.

manuscript

ms.

mimeograph

mimeo.

new series

n.s.

no date

n.d.

no place

n.p.

no publisher

n. pub.

offprint

offprt.

old series

o.s.

permanent

perm.

photoduplicated reprint

photo. reprint

printing

prtg.

replacement

repl.

reprint

reprt.

revis[ed, ion]

rev.

special

spec.

temporary

temp.

tentative

tent.

translat[ion, or]

trans.

unabridged

unabr.

volume

vol.

T17. Required Abbreviations for Month Names

Month Name

Abbreviation

January

Jan.

February

Feb.

March

Mar.

April

Apr.

May

May

June

June

July

July

August

Aug.

September

Sept.

October

Oct.

November

Nov.

December

Dec.

T18.  Abbreviations for Litigation Documents

This table provides abbreviations that may be used (or modified to fit local rules or custom). This table also notates words that should not be abbreviated when used in the title of a litigation document. Add “s” to make a plural.

Word

Abbreviation

Admission

Admis.

Affirm

Affirm

Amended

Am.

Answer

Answer

Appeal

Appeal

Appellant

Appellant

Appellee

Appellee

Appendix

App.

Application

Appl.

Argument

Arg.

Attachment

Attach.

Attorney

Att’y

Brief

Br.

Certiorari

Cert.

Civil

Civ.

Compel

Compel

Counterclaim

Countercl.

Court

Ct.

Cross-claim

Cross-cl.

Declaration

Decl.

Defendant, Defendant’s

Def., Def.’s

Defendants, Defendants’

Defs., Defs.’

Demurrer

Dem.

Deny, Denying

Den.

Deposition

Dep.

Discovery

Disc.

Dismiss

Dismiss

Docket

Docket

Evidence

Evid.

Exhibit

Ex.

Grant

Grant

Hearing

Hr’g

Injunction

Inj.

Instruction

Instr.

Interrogatory

Interrog.

Joint Appendix

J.A.

Judgment

J.

Limine

Lim.

Memorandum

Mem.

Minute

Min.

Motion

Mot.

Objection

Obj.

Opinion

Op.

Opposition

Opp’n

Order

Order

Petition

Pet.

Petitioner, Petitioner’s

Pet’r, Pet’r’s

Petitioners, Petitioners’

Pet’rs, Pet’rs’

Plaintiff, Plaintiff’s

Pl., Pl.’s

Plaintiffs, Plaintiffs’

Pls., Pls.’

Points and Authorities

P. & A.

Preliminary

Prelim.

Produce, Production

Produc.

Quash

Quash

Reconsideration

Recons.

Record

R.

Rehearing

Reh’g

Reply

Reply

Report and Recommendation

R. & R.

Reporter

Rep.

Request

Req.

Respondent

Resp’t

Response

Resp.

Stay

Stay

Subpoena

Subpoena

Summary

Summ.

Supplement, Supplemental

Supp.

Suppress

Suppress

Temporary Restraining Order

TRO

Testimony

Test.

Transcript

Tr.

Verified Statement

V.S.

T19  Cross-References for Academic Legal Documents

As noted in Rule R1, The Indigo Book provides citation formats for standard legal documents. This table provides examples of converting these citations to the general format used for academic legal documents. Academic legal documents generally place citation in footnotes. Standard legal documents more often use in-text citations but may be formatted with footnotes; either way, the citation format for standard legal documents is recommended. This chart is intended as a helpful illustration of key differences. A full treatment of citations in academic legal documents is beyond the scope of The Indigo Book.

Type of Citation

Standard Legal Document

Academic Legal Document

Federal constitution

U.S. Const. art. I, § 8, cl. 8.

U.S. Const. art. I, § 8, cl. 8.

State constitution

Ga. Const. art VIII, § IV.

Ga. Const. art VIII, § IV.

Federal statute

42 U.S.C. § 1983.

42 U.S.C. § 1983.

Session laws

FASTER Act of 2021, Pub. L. No. 117-11, 135 Stat. 262 (2021).

FASTER Act of 2021, Pub. L. No. 117-11, 135 Stat. 262 (2021).

Bill (not enacted)

H.R. 3054, 117th Cong. (2021).

H.R. 3054, 117th Cong. (2021).

Hearing

Protecting Federal Judiciary Employees from Sexual Harassment, Discrimination, and Other Workplace Misconduct: Hearing Before the H. Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet, 116th Cong. (2020), https://www.congress.gov/event/116th-congress/house-event/110505.

Protecting Federal Judiciary Employees from Sexual Harassment, Discrimination, and Other Workplace Misconduct: Hearing Before the H. Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet, 116th Cong. (2020), https://www.congress.gov/event/116th-congress/house-event/110505.

Report

H.R. Rep. 117-27, at 5 (2021).

S. Rep. No. 99-146, at 363, as reprinted in 1986 U.S.C.C.A.N. 42, 412.

H.R. Rep. 117-27, at 5 (2021).

S. Rep. No. 99-146, at 363, as reprinted in 1986 U.S.C.C.A.N. 42, 412.

State statute

Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-90-107 (2021).

Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-90-107 (2021).

State statute with topic convention

N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law § 349 (McKinney 2021).

N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law § 349 (McKinney 2021).

Rules, restatements, model rules, and uniform acts

Fed. R. App. P. 32(a).

Restatement (Third) of Agency § 2.01 (Am. L. Inst. 2006).

Unif. Trade Secrets Act §1(4) (Unif. L. Comm’n 1985) (as amended).

Fed. R. App. P. 32(a).

Restatement (Third) of Agency § 2.01 (Am. L. Inst. 2006).

Unif. Trade Secrets Act §1(4) (Unif. L. Comm’n 1985) (as amended).

Federal and state cases

South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc., 138 S. Ct. 2080 (2018).

Pincheira v. Allstate Ins. Co., 190 P.3d 322 (N.M. 2008).

If used in the main text, the case name is italicized.

If cited in a footnote, the case name is in regular roman type (not italicized):

South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc., 138 S. Ct. 2080 (2018).

Pincheira v. Allstate Ins. Co., 190 P.3d 322 (N.M. 2008).

Pending or unreported case

Facteau v. Clinton Cnty. Bd. of Elections, No. 533784, 2021 WL 3684296, at *2 (N.Y. App. Div. Aug. 19, 2021) (per curiam).

If used in the main text, the case name is italicized.

If cited in a footnote:

Facteau v. Clinton Cnty. Bd. of Elections, No. 533784, 2021 WL 3684296, at *2 (N.Y. App. Div. Aug. 19, 2021) (per curiam).

Pending case (petition for certiorari filed)

Sportswear, Inc. v. Savannah Coll. of Art & Design, 983 F.3d 1273 (11th Cir. 2020), petition for cert. filed 89 U.S.L.W. 3344 (U.S. March 31, 2021) (No. 20-1391).

Or:

Sportswear, Inc. v. Savannah Coll. of Art & Design, 983 F.3d 1273 (11th Cir. 2020), petition for cert. filed (No. 20-1391), https://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/sportswear-inc-v-savannah-college-of-art-and-design-inc-2/.

If used in the main text, the case name is italicized.

If cited in a footnote:

Sportswear, Inc. v. Savannah Coll. of Art & Design, 983 F.3d 1273 (11th Cir. 2020), petition for cert. filed, 89 U.S.L.W. 3344 (U.S. March 31, 2021) (No. 20-1391).

State case with public-domain parallel citation and year embedded in citation

State v. Blagg, 2021-NCSC-66, ¶ 15, 858 S.E.2d 268, 274.

If used in the main text, the case name is italicized.

If cited in a footnote: 

State v. Blagg, 2021-NCSC-66, ¶ 15, 858 S.E.2d 268, 274.

Book

Anjali Vats, The Color of Creatorship: Intellectual Property, Race, and the Making of Americans (2020).

Anjali Vats, The Color of Creatorship: Intellectual Property, Race, and the Making of Americans(2020).

Note that editor, translator, and edition information is in regular caps, not small caps like the author and title.

Chapter in a collected work

Sung Hui Kim, The Ethics of In-House Practice, in Lawyers in Practice: Ethical Decision Making in Context (Leslie C. Levin & Lynn Mather eds., 2012).

Sung Hui Kim, The Ethics of In-House Practice, in Lawyers in Practice: Ethical Decision Making in Context (Leslie C. Levin & Lynn Mather eds., 2012).

Journal article

(with consecutive pagination, as common with law reviews)

Elizabeth G. Porter & Kathryn A. Watts, Visual Rulemaking, 91 N.Y.U. L. Rev. 1183 (2016).

Elizabeth G. Porter & Kathryn A. Watts, Visual Rulemaking, 91 N.Y.U. L. Rev. 1183 (2016).

Journal or magazine article (nonconsecutive pages)

Elizabeth Kolbert, The Lost Canyon, New Yorker, Aug. 16, 2021, at 40, 42.

Elizabeth Kolbert, The Lost Canyon, New Yorker, Aug. 16, 2021, at 40, 42.

Newspaper

Adam Liptak, Supreme Court Rules for Cheerleader Punished for Vulgar Snapchat Message, N.Y. Times, June 23, 2021, at A1.

Adam Liptak, Supreme Court Rules for Cheerleader Punished for Vulgar Snapchat Message, N.Y. Times, June 23, 2021, at A1.

Internet

Farhad Manjoo, Why You Should Never, Ever Use Two Spaces After a Period, Slate (Jan. 11, 2011, 6:00 AM), https://slate.com/technology/2011/01/two-spaces-after-a-period-why-you-should-never-ever-do-it.html

Farhad Manjoo, Why You Should Never, Ever Use Two Spaces After a Period, Slate (Jan. 11, 2011, 6:00 AM), https://slate.com/technology/2011/01/two-spaces-after-a-period-why-you-should-never-ever-do-it.html

T20   Table of Citation Guides

Attempting to comprehensively capture every single rule and practice of U.S. and international legal citation is simply not possible. We attempt in this table to direct the reader to a series of other citation guides that are readily available online, providing further guidance.

T20.1   General Legal Citation Guides (Online)

Dionne Anthon, The Bluebook Uncovered: A Practical Guide to Mastering Legal Citation (Twenty-First Edition of The Bluebook)(2020).
Cardiff University, Cardiff Index to Legal Abbreviations (2011).
University of Chicago Law Review, The Maroonbook: The University of Chicago Manual of Legal Citation (2016).
Peter W. Martin, Introduction to Basic Legal Citation (online ed. 2020).
Washington University in St. Louis Global Studies Law Review, International Citation Manual.

T20.2  Country-Specific Citation Guides

New Zealand Law Foundation, New Zealand Law Style Guide, 2nd Edition, (2011).
Faulty of Law, University of Oxford, Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (2006).
SILC, Standard Indian Legal Citation (Working Draft).
University of Melbourne, Australian Guide to Legal Citation (4th ed. 2018).

K. CODICIL

Editor’s Note (2021): The Codicil will be updated with additional information about the Second Edition. This is the Codicil from the First Edition.

The Indigo Book: A Manual of Legal Citation is distributed as a single document coded with the HTML 5 and Cascading Style Sheet (CSS) standards.

Each rule and section of the file have a unique ID, making them individually addressable. Examples are:

Each Rule has an ID starting with the letter R and then the rule number. For example, Rule 1.1 can be addressed by adding #R1.1 to the URL.
Each Section has an ID starting with the letter S and then the rule letter. For example, the Codicil can be addressed by adding #SK to the URL.
Each Table has an ID starting with the letter T and then the table number. For example, Table T1.1 can be addressed by adding #T1.1 to the URL.

The header of the file calls two open source Google fonts. If those fonts are not available, the CSS style sheet falls back to Georgia, which is present on most computers, and then to the generic serif font. The fonts we use are:

For the cover, Alice, which was designed by Ksenia Erulevich and inspired by Lewis Carrol's novel.
For the body of the document, Libre Baskerville, based on the 1941 American Type Founder's Baskerville, but optimized for web use.

To clearly distinguish our work from other citation manuals, we have forgone the use of the color Royal Blue in favor of Indigo, in solidarity with the ryots of Bengal who were oppressed by the insatiable British demand for blue and the profits that flowed from it, leading to the Nilbridroha (Indigo revolt) and the beginning of the road that led to independence.

The CSS has been coded with support for printing on US Letter size paper. We use Prince XML to convert the HTML document to PDF format.

It is also possible to dynamically change the styles to perform tasks such as making all text in italics “pop” by turning it crimson or back to normal.

To create a file for use in Microsoft Word, an easy method is to comment out the calls to Google fonts, upload the document to Google Docs, and then downloading it in Word format.

L. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The Second Edition of The Indigo Book: A Manual of Legal Citation (2021) was edited by Professor Jennifer Murphy Romig. Professor Romig was assisted by Emory University School of Law students Annabelle Bichler, Nancy Jin, and Akhil Morissetti, as well as Daniel Kaltman. Professor Romig would also like to thank professors Mindy Goldstein, Sue Payne, Blake Reid, Allison Thornton, and David Ziff for providing valuable feedback, as well as Christopher Sprigman for his insightful feedback, wise counsel, and steadfast support of The Indigo Book. Professor Romig is grateful to Ben Chapman and Zach Stevenson for technical advice, and of course Frank Bennett and Carl Malamud. Professor Romig is also grateful to her daughter Laura Romig for proofreading assistance and helpful feedback.