Foreword

In 2011, Frank Bennett, a law professor at Nagoya University in Japan, wrote to me about open source software he was developing that he now maintains under the name of Juris-M. Professor Bennett’s work is an extended variant of an amazingly useful tool called Zotero that is created by developers around the world who want to support scholars in their efforts to “organize, cite, and share research sources.” Frank added features to Zotero that support legal writing.

Professor Bennett was two years into work on his project when he contacted the Harvard Law Review Association concerning the use, in electronic form, of common abbreviations for U.S. sources as specified in the Bluebook. He was repeatedly rebuffed with stern “keep off the grass” warnings. I examined those abbreviations, and they are clearly facts that could only be expressed in one way. Not only are these abbreviations devoid of creativity, they are required by many legal jurisdictions in the United States before one can plead a case of law before judges. So, I posted those abbreviations on my web site, and promptly received my own “keep off the grass” missive from an outside law firm hired by the Harvard Law Review.

It is important to understand, when we are talking about “The Bluebook, A Uniform System of Citation,” that we are talking about two different things. There is a product, a spiral-bound booklet that sells for $38.50, which is accompanied by a rudimentary web site available to purchasers of the product.

Underlying that product, however, is something much more basic and fundamental, a uniform system of citation. Unpaid volunteers from a dozen law schools, under the stewardship of four nonprofit student-run law reviews, have labored mightily to reach a consensus standard for the citation of legal materials. This open consensus standard was developed, with no compensation to the authors, for the greater benefit of the legal system of the United States. By clearly and precisely referring to primary legal materials, we are able to communicate our legal reasoning to others, including pleading a case in the courts, advocating changes in legal policy in our legislatures or law reviews, or simply communicating the law to our fellow citizens so that we may be better informed.

We do not begrudge the Harvard Law Review Association one penny of the revenue from the sale of their spiral-bound book dressed in blue. However, we must not confuse the book with the system. There can be no proprietary claim over knowledge and facts, and there is no intellectual property right in the system and method of our legal machinery. The infrastructure of our legal system is a public utility, and belongs to all of us.

As Harvard professor Lawrence Lessig has famously stated, “code is law.” The system of citation is code, an algorithm consisting of rules and a set of enumerations of text strings and their proper abbreviations. This is code about law.

In thinking of the Bluebook, I have been reminded of Big Blue, the IBM corporation. IBM made a fortune selling Genuine IBM personal computers, but this did not prevent others from making clones that were able to exercise the instructions in the underlying chipset. When technology changed the nature of the computer industry, IBM did not spend its days trying to defend an outdated mode of operation and instead moved up the food chain. The company has grown and prospered because of the computing revolution and the Internet instead of trying to preserve an outdated position of economic power that could not last.

Likewise, I wish the Harvard Law Review Association and their three companion law reviews the best in continuing to sell their Genuine Blue spiral-bound book and any associated on-line services. However, that cannot mean prohibiting an open source developer from using common abbreviations, and it certainly does not imply any ownership or control over how, in our democracy, we communicate the law with our fellow citizens. I hope you will enjoy Baby Blue’s Manual of Legal Citation and that you will join me in extending my congratulations to Professor Sprigman and his students on the excellent job they have performed in re-coding those rules.

Carl Malamud
Public.Resource.Org

Introduction

Welcome to BabyBlue—a free, Creative Commons-licensed implementation of the Bluebook’s Uniform System of Citation. BabyBlue was compiled by a team of students at the New York University School of Law, working under the direction of Professor Christopher Jon Sprigman.

BabyBlue isn’t the same as the Bluebook, but it does implement the same Uniform System of Citation that the Bluebook does. The scope of BabyBlue’s coverage is roughly equivalent to the Bluebook’s “Bluepages”—that is, BabyBlue covers legal citation for U.S. legal materials, as well as books, periodicals, and Internet and other electronic resources. In addition, BabyBlue offers citation guidance that is deeper than the Bluebook’s Bluepages—for example, BabyBlue has citation guidance for bills, and for legislative history, that the Bluepages lack. For the materials that it covers, anyone using BabyBlue will produce briefs, memoranda, law review articles, and other legal documents with citations that are compatible with the Uniform System of Citation.

Note that BabyBlue’s scope does not extend to (now virtually unused) loose-leaf reporters, nor to foreign legal materials or the publications of international organizations like the United Nations. Most American lawyers cite these materials only rarely, and providing citation rules for the enormous number of international jurisdictions is part of what makes the Bluebook as unwieldy as it has become.

BabyBlue offers a couple of important advantages to users, compared with the Bluebook. Unlike the Bluebook, BabyBlue is free. Free in two different ways that are equally important. First, BabyBlue is given to you free of charge. Considering that the Uniform System of Citation has become a basic piece of infrastructure for the American system of justice, it is vital that pro se litigants, prisoners, and others seeking justice but who lack resources are given effective access to the system lawyers use to cite to the law. That interest in access and basic fairness is part of what motivated BabyBlue’s creation.

Second, and perhaps even more importantly, BabyBlue is free of the restrictions of copyright. You are free to copy and distribute this work, and—most importantly—to improve on it. This is important, because we want people with a stake in our legal citation system to help make that system simpler and better. To achieve these goals, we are releasing BabyBlue under a Creative Commons “CC0” public domain license that allows you to use it, copy it, distribute it, and—we hope—improve it.

So, what sorts of improvement do we hope for? This original edition of BabyBlue is compatible with the current, 20th edition of the Bluebook. We will admit, however, that our decision to make BabyBlue compatible with the Bluebook’s Uniform System of Citation was mostly self-interested and strategic—we want people to adopt BabyBlue, and the best way to achieve that goal, we reasoned, was to give people a citation guide that they could use to produce documents that look as if they used the Bluebook.

We think this is the right path, at least initially, but please understand that our decision to make BabyBlue Bluebook-compatible doesn’t stop you from doing otherwise. There are ways to improve BabyBlue that involve breaking free of the Bluebook. Indeed, in some ways the recent editions of the Bluebook have adopted an unhelpfully over-prescriptive approach to citation that has resulted in needless complexity. It wasn’t always that way. Back in 1959, the 10th edition of the Bluebook declared that “[t]he 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.”

That sounds right to us. Can we get back to a more sensible, flexible system of legal citation? BabyBlue takes the first step by restating the Uniform System of Citation for U.S. legal materials, and for books, periodicals, and Internet and other electronic resources. The next step is up to you. Take BabyBlue, use it, enjoy it, improve it—maybe you international lawyers out there will add coverage of foreign and international law? Then, consistent with the spirit of our project—give your improvements to the world.

Professor Christopher Jon Sprigman
New York University School of Law

A. BACKGROUND RULES

R1. Two Types of Legal Documents

There are two basic varieties of legal documents. The Uniform System of Citation imposes somewhat different citation rules for each.

1. R1.1. Standard Legal Documents (SLDs). These are the documents lawyers file in courts, agencies, or other places where practicing lawyers do what they do (e.g., briefs and motions). They also include the documents lawyers write to one another or to the public (e.g., legal letters and legal memoranda).
2. R1.2. Academic Legal Documents (ALDs). These are articles for publication in law reviews.

R2. Typeface Standards

1. R2.1. Only the following items should be italicized:
   • Case names—both full and short case names, and procedural phrases (e.g., In re and ex parte) preceding the case names (but note the special guidance for ALDs in Rule 11.2.3);
   • Book titles
   • Article titles
   • Legislative materials’ titles
   • Introductory signals (e.g., see, cf. and accord)
   • Explanatory phrases that introduce subsequent case history (e.g., aff’d or cert. denied)
   • Cross references, (e.g. infra, supra and id.)
   • Words and phrases that introduce related authority (e.g., reprinted in and available in)
2. R2.2. The following words should be italicized when used in the text of SLDs:
   • Publication titles (e.g. The Onion)
   • Words that are italicized in the original quotation; and
   • All words that would be italicized in the text (e.g., foreign words that are not commonly used in English language documents).

R3. In-Text Citations

1. R3.1. For SLDs, in-text citations are rendered either as (i) a complete sentence that supports a claim in the immediately preceding sentence of text, or, (ii) when the citation relates to a particular part of a sentence, as a clause within the sentence, immediately following the claim it supports.
   • Only use footnotes for SLDs when allowed by a court’s local rules.
   • In contrast to SLDs, ALDs rely on footnotes for citations.
2. R3.2. Citations Following Sentences
   • Most citations in SLDs follow complete text sentences. It is common to have several citations following a sentence, with each citation separated by a semicolon (known as a “string citation”).
   • It is also common to employ more than one introductory signal, with citations introduced by different signals arranged as separate sentences. (For the order in which introductory signals are arranged, see Rule 4.2, below.) Use this citation method to cite to sources and authorities that relate to the sentence as a whole.
   • Example: Even if the meaning of the statute were not plain, the FCC’s construction of the 1996 Act is reasonable and therefore entitled to deference. See Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Nat. Res. Defense Council, Inc., 467 U.S. 837 (1984). See also Nat’l Cable & Telecomms. Assn. v. Brand X Internet Svcs., 545 U.S. 967, 1000 (2005) (holding that Chevron mandates that courts defer to the FCC’s reasonable interpretation of its authority under the statutes that the agency administers, even where a current FCC interpretation is inconsistent with past practice); Home Care Assn. of Amer. v. Weil, No. 15-5018 (D.C. Cir. Aug. 21, 2015) (finding the Department of Labor’s reasonable interpretation of a provision of the Fair Labor Standards Act was entitled to deference under Chevron, even where it contravened previous reasonable interpretation of same provision).
3. R3.3. Citations Within Sentences
   • Some citations in SLDs are placed within sentences. Use within-sentence citations to cite sources and authorities that relate to only a section of the sentence. Separate within-sentence citations from the text with commas. The citation clauses directly follow the claim which they support. Do not model them after normal sentences unless:
     • the clause opens with a source that would be capitalized anyway—this is the only case where the clause should begin with a capital letter; or
     • it is the sentence’s final clause—this is the only case where the clause should end with a period.
   • Example: Knowingly throwing undersized groupers overboard to avoid federal agents investigating a violation of federal conservation regulations is not destruction of evidence within the meaning of the Sarbanes–Oxley Act of 2002, see Yates v. United States, 135 S. Ct. 1074 (2015), even though the Eleventh Circuit fishily held just the opposite, United States v. Yates, 733 F.3d 1059 (11th Cir. 2013).

R4. Signals

1. R4.1. A signal illustrates the relationship between the author’s assertion and the source cited for that assertion. The signal begins the citation sentence or clause.
2. R4.2. There are four basic categories of signals:

3. R4.3. When more than one authority is used in the same citation, they should be ordered first according to hierarchy of introductory signals (see table above), and then within each signal by strength of authority using a semicolon in between each one (see Rule 10 below: Order of Authorities Within Each Signal / Strength of Authority).

R5. Capitalization Rules

1. R5.1. 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).
2. R5.2. 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.

R6. Signals for Supporting Authority

1. R6.1. <no signal>: A citation does not need a signal if–
   • The source makes the same assertion; or
     • 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; or
     • 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).
2. R6.2. 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.
     • Example: 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).
     • Example: Prior to the Supreme Court’s decision in Riley v. California, 134 S. Ct. 2473 (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, in which case an italicized comma should separate the two signals. Note: The comma in the signal “e.g.,” should NOT be italicized.
     • Example: Several states have enacted legislation requiring witnesses to report certain crimes to authorities. See, e.g., Colo. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 18-8-115 (West 2014); Mass. Gen. Laws Ann. ch. 268, § 40 (West 2014); Ohio Rev. Code Ann. § 2921.22 (West 2014).
     • Example: Most states have not enacted legislation requiring witnesses to report crimes to authorities. But see, e.g., Colo. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 18-8-115 (West 2014); Mass. Gen. Laws Ann. ch. 268, § 40 (West 2014); Ohio Rev. Code Ann. § 2921.22 (West 2014).
3. R6.3. 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.
     • Example: Justin Bieber might be one of the most “widely despised figures in pop music [who] still maintains a formidable fan base.” Keith Girard, Justin Bieber Seeks to Make Amends, Jump-Start Career on Ellen, TheImproper Magazine (Jan. 25, 2015), http://www.theimproper.com/118310/justin-bieber-seeks-amends-jumpstart-career-ellen-watch/; accord Chrissy Makkas, Justin Bieber Fronts V Magazine’s Music Issue (Forum Buzz), The Fashion Spot (Jan. 11, 2012), http://www.thefashionspot.com/buzz-news/forum-buzz/171203-justin-bieber-fronts-v-magazines-music-issue-forum-buzz/ (“Justin Bieber is a polarizing figure . . . .”).
4. R6.4. 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: The defendant in a criminal case cannot be forced to testify against himself or herself. See U.S. Const. amend. V.
5. R6.5. See also
   • See also is used for additional sources that support a proposition. Use see also when authority that states or clearly supports the proposition has already been cited or discussed. The use of a parenthetical is recommended when using see also.
     • Example: Slow and steady wins the race. See Don Daily, The Classic Treasury of Aesop’s Fables 43-46 (1999); see also The Shawshank Redemption (Castle Rock Entertainment 1994) (prisoner tunnels out of a prison by removing a few stones per day).
6. R6.6. Cf.
   • Cf. is used for supporting authority that is analogous to your proposition, or which is related but which requires some interpretive work to connect to your proposition. Always use a parenthetical with cf. to explain the logical connection required for the argument.
     • Example: In the legal realm, there is a need for an easy-to-use, standard set of citation rules. Cf. The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation (Columbia Law Review Ass’n et al. eds., 20th ed. 2015) (demonstrating, by virtue of 20 editions, the need for such a system, but producing a system that is overly complex).

R7. Signals for Comparison

1. R7.1. Compare <citation to source or authority>, with <citation to source or authority>
   • Compare . . . 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 . . . signal may contain multiple sources; separate these sources using commas and italicized “and” as follows.
     • 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).

R8. Signals for Contradictory Authority

1. R8.1. Contra
   • Contra is used when a cited authority directly conflicts with the proposition it follows. Contra is the opposite signal to <no signal>.
     • Example: The Bluebook is an example of absolute efficiency in the formulation and expression of the rules of legal citation. Contra Richard A. Posner, The Bluebook Blues, 120 Yale L.J. 950 (2011).
2. R8.2. 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: I have the right to falsely shout “Fire!” in a crowded theater. But see Schenck v. United States, 249 U.S. 47 (1919).
3. R8.3. But cf.
   • But cf. is used to indicate that an authority supports a proposition that is similar to the opposite of the author’s main proposition. But cf. is the opposite signal to cf. 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: Restaurant commercials sell a vision of dinner as a cornerstone daily meal. But cf. 5 Things to Know About McDonalds All Day Breakfast, TIME, (Oct. 6, 2015), http://time.com/money/4062667/mcdonalds-all-day-breakfast/.

R9. Signals for Background Material

1. R9.1. 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: Some commentators have argued that the Supreme Court does more than “call balls and strikes,” and that politics may even be involved in some decisionmaking. See generally Jeffrey Toobin, The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court (2007) (arguing that the work of the Supreme Court often involves the Justices imposing values and even political preferences).

R10. Order of Authorities Within Each Signal / Strength of Authority

1. R10.1. Constitutions. Order constitutions from the same jurisdiction from most recent to oldest.
   1. Federal
   2. State (alphabetize according to state)
   3. Foreign (alphabetize according to jurisdiction)
   4. Foundational Documents of International Groups (United Nations, the League of Nations, and the European Union, in that order)
2. R10.2. Statutes
   1. R10.2.1. Federal:
      1. Statutes in U.S.C., U.S.C.A., or U.S.C.S. (in ascending order by U.S.C. Title)
      2. Current statutes that are not in U.S.C., U.S.C.A., or U.S.C.S. (from most recently enacted to oldest)
      3. Rules of Evidence and Procedure
      4. Repealed Statutes (from most recently enacted to oldest)
   2. R10.2.2. State (alphabetize according to state):
      1. Statutes currently codified (in ascending order within the codification)
      2. Statutes currently in force but not currently codified (from most recently enacted to oldest)
      3. Rules of Evidence and Procedure
      4. Repealed Statutes (from most recently enacted to oldest)
   3. R10.2.3. Foreign (alphabetize according to jurisdiction):
      1. Codes or Statutes currently codified (in ascending order in the codification)
      2. Statutes currently in force but not currently codified (from most recently enacted to oldest)
      3. Repealed Statutes (from most recently enacted to oldest)
3. R10.3. Treaties and Other International Agreements (other than those above) are cited from most recently ratified/signed to oldest.
4. R10.4. Cases. Order cases from the same court from most recent to oldest, without regard to prior or subsequent history. There’s no difference between Federal Circuit Court of Appeals or Federal District Courts.
   1. R10.4.1. Federal:
      1. Supreme Court
      2. Court of Appeals, Emergency Court of Appeals, and Temporary Emergency Court of Appeals
      3. Court of Claims, Court of Customs, and Patent Appeals and Bankruptcy Appellate Panels
      4. District Courts, Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, and Court of International Trade (formerly the Customs Court)
      5. District Bankruptcy Courts and Railroad Reorganization Court
      6. Court of Federal Claims (formerly the Trial Division for the Court of Claims), Court of Appeals for the Armed Services (formerly the Court of Military Appeals), and Tax Court (formerly the Board of Tax Appeals)
      7. Administrative Agencies (alphabetize according to agency)
   2. R10.4.2. State:
      1. Courts (alphabetize according to state, then by hierarchy in descending order)
      2. Agencies (alphabetize according to state, then by agency)
   3. R10.4.3. Foreign:
      1. Courts (alphabetize according to jurisdiction, then by hierarchy in descending order)
      2. Agencies (alphabetize according to jurisdiction, then by agency)
   4. R10.4.4. International:
      1. International Court of Justice, Permanent Court of International Justice
      2. Other International Tribunals and Arbitral Panels (in alphabetical order)
5. R10.5. Legislative Materials (always cite federal materials first)
   1. Bills and Resolutions (most recent to oldest)
   2. Committee Hearings (most recent to oldest)
   3. Reports, Documents, and Committee Prints (most recent to oldest)
   4. Floor Debates (most recent to oldest)
6. R10.6. Administrative and Executive Materials
   1. R10.6.1. Federal:
      1. Executive Orders
      2. Current Treasury Regulations, Proposed Treasury Regulations
      3. All Other Regulations currently in force (numerically by C.F.R. title in ascending order)
      4. Proposed Rules not yet in force (numerically by future C.F.R. titles, if any, in ascending order; otherwise from most recently proposed to oldest)
      5. All Materials repealed (from most recently promulgated to oldest)
   2. R10.6.2. State:
      1. State (alphabetize according to state), currently in force, then repealed
   3. R10.6.3. Foreign:
      1. Foreign (alphabetize according to jurisdiction), currently in force, then repealed
7. R10.7. R10.7. Resolutions, Decisions, and Regulations of Intergovernmental Organizations
   1. United Nations and League of Nations (from most recent to oldest by issuing body, listing General Assembly first, then Security Council, then other organs alphabetically)
   2. Other Organizations (in alphabetical order by name)
8. R10.8. Records, Briefs, and Petitions are cited in the same order as discussed in Rule 10.4. Briefs from the same case and court are ordered: (i) plaintiff/petitioner; (ii) defendant/respondent; (iii) amicus curiae (alphabetize according to amicus party)
9. R10.9. Secondary Materials
   1. Uniform Codes, Model Codes, and Restatements, in that order (from most recent to oldest within each category)
   2. Books, Pamphlets, and Shorter Works in a collection of single author’s works (in alphabetical order by author’s last name; when there is no author, by the title’s first word)
   3. Journal Pieces (excluding magazines, newspapers, and student-written materials), including Forthcoming Works and Shorter Works in a collection of various authors’ works (in alphabetical order by first author’s last name)
   4. Book Reviews not written by students (alphabetize according to reviewer’s last name)
   5. Student-Written Law Review Pieces including Book Reviews (in alphabetical order by author’s last name; if there is no author, by the title’s first word; if there is no title, alphabetically by the periodical’s abbreviation)
   6. Annotations (from most recently published to oldest)
   7. Magazine and Newspaper Articles (in alphabetical order by author’s last name; if there is no author, by the title’s first word)
   8. Working Papers (in alphabetical order by author’s last name; if there is no author, by the title’s first word)
   9. Unpublished Materials not forthcoming (in alphabetical order by author’s last name; if there is no author, by the title’s first word)
   10. Electronic Sources, including Internet Sources (in alphabetical order by author’s last name; if there is no author, by the title’s first word)
10. R10.10. Cross-references to the author’s own text or footnotes.

B. CASES

R11. Full citation

1. R11.1. Elements of a full citation. When providing a full citation to a case, you should generally include the following:
   1. case name;
   2. volume number, reporter, first page;
   3. pincite (the exact page number you are referring to, if necessary);
   4. court, year (see special instructions below for pending and unreported cases);
   5. explanatory parenthetical (if necessary);
   6. prior or subsequent history of the case (if any).

   Examples:

   • Leonard v. Pepsico, Inc., 88 F. Supp. 2d 116, 127 (S.D.N.Y. 1999) (“Plaintiff’s understanding of the commercial as an offer must also be rejected because the Court finds that no objective person could reasonably have concluded that the commercial actually offered consumers a Harrier Jet.”), aff’d, 210 F.3d 88 (2d Cir. 2000).
   • Toolson v. N.Y. Yankees, Inc., 346 U.S. 356 (1953) (per curiam) (affirming baseball’s exemption from the scope of federal antitrust laws).
2. R11.2. Case Name. Case names are often lengthy. Therefore when citing to a case, do not always include the case name in full.
   1. R11.2.1.When referring to a case with an individual’s name in the case name, use the person’s full family name (i.e., their last name). 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.

      Example: Van Leeuwen v. Souto de Moura

      Example: James T. Kirk & Assocs. v. Luke S.

      Correct: Smith v. Jones
      Incorrect: Jonathan H. Smith v. Allison T. Jones

      Correct: Xu Lanting v. Wong
      Incorrect: Xu Lanting v. James Wong

   2. R11.2.2. Only include the last name of the first listed party of the plaintiffs and the first listed party of the defendants.
   3. R11.2.3. Italicize everything in the case name, but don’t italicize the comma at the end of the case name. Exception for ALDs: do not italicize case names in ALD full citations, but do italicize case names in ALD short form citations and procedural phrases such as “In re.”
   4. R11.2.4.Delete “et al.”, nicknames, and aliases.

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

   5. R11.2.5. Replace procedural phrases, and omit all besides the first procedural phrase.
      1. When you see “on the relation of,” “on behalf of,” and similar expressions, replace with “ex rel.”

         Correct: Affleck ex rel. Damon v. Kimmel
         Incorrect: Ben Affleck, on behalf of Matt Damon v. Jimmy Kimmel, et al.

      2. When you see “in the matter of,” “petition of,” and similar expressions, replace with “In re”, except do not use “In re”, or any procedural phrases besides “ex rel.” when the case name contains the name of an adversary.

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

         Correct: Estate of Jones v. Smith
         Incorrect: In re Estate of Jones v. Smith

   6. R11.2.6.Abbreviate words in case names according to Table T6. If the resulting abbreviation is not ambiguous, words of eight or more letters may be abbreviated to save substantial space. Also 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 “Ins.”

      Correct: Cont’l Paper Bag Co. v. E. Paper Bag Co.
      Incorrect: Continental Paper Bag Company v. Eastern Paper Bag Co.

      Exception: do not abbreviate if the citation appears in a textual sentence as explained in Rule 11.2.19, below

   7. R11.2.7.Abbreviate countries, states, and other geographical places according to Table 10.

      Correct: Church of Scientology of Cal. v. Blackman
      Incorrect: Church of Scientology of California v. Blackman

      Exception: if the geographical place is one of the parties in the case, do not abbreviate it

      Correct: South Dakota v. Fifteen Impounded Cats
      Incorrect: S.D. v. Fifteen Impounded Cats

      Exception: do not abbreviate if the geographical place is part of a citation that appears in a textual sentence as explained in Rule 11.2.19, below

   8. R11.2.8.Spell out “United States” when it is a named party.

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

   9. R11.2.9.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: Lessig v. Colorado, 17 U.S. 107 (1998).
      Incorrect: Lessig v. State of Colorado, 17 U.S. 107 (1998).

      Correct: Lessig v. State, 109 P.3d 224 (Colo. 1997).
      Incorrect: Lessig v. State of Colorado, 109 P.3d 224 (Colo. 1997).

   10. R11.2.10.Omit phrases such as “Town of” and “City of” if the expression does not comprise the first part of the name of a party.

       Correct: James v. Village of Jamestown
       Incorrect: James v. Jamestown

       Correct: James v. King of Jamestown
       Incorrect: James v. King of the Village of Jamestown

   11. R11.2.11.Do not include a prepositional phrase indicating location, unless the resulting party name would have only one word, or the phrase is part of a business’ full name.

       Correct: Stevenson v. Board of Trade
       Incorrect: Stevenson v. Board of Trade of Colorado

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

       Correct: Dam Things from Denmark v. Russ Berrie & Co.
       Incorrect: Dam Things v. Russ Berrie & Co.

   12. R11.2.12.Include geographical designations introduced by a preposition, but omit those that follow a comma. Use “United States” instead of “United States of America,” but otherwise omit designations of national or larger geographical areas.

       Correct: California Board of Commerce v. City of Sacramento
       Incorrect: California Board of Commerce v. City of Sacramento, California

   13. R11.2.13.Delete “the” as the first word of a party’s name, unless the party is “The Queen” or the “The King,” or when referring to the established popular name in a citation or citation clause.

       Example: The Railroad Commission Cases

       Correct: Int’l Soc’y for Krishna Consciousness of Cal., Inc. v. City of Los Angeles
       Incorrect: Int’l Soc’y for Krishna Consciousness of Cal., Inc. v. The City of Los Angeles

       Exception: retain “the” if it is part of the name of the object of an in rem action.

       Correct: In re the Snug Harbor
       Incorrect: In re Snug Harbor

   14. R11.2.14. The Commissioner of Internal Revenue should be cited as “Commissioner” (abbreviated as “Comm’r” in citations).Correct: Plainfield-Union Water Co. v. Comm’r
       Incorrect: Plainfield-Union Water Co. v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue
   15. R11.2.15.For cases with multiple dispositions, include an italicized identifier if useful. In future citations of that case, the identifier can replace the full case name.

       Example: Liriano v. Hobart Corp. (Liriano II), 92 N.Y.2d 232 (1998).

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

   16. R11.2.16.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. United States District Court (Smith), 89 U.S. 233 (2011).

   17. R11.2.17.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: Indus. Union Dep’t, AFL-CIO v. Am. Petroleum Inst. (The Benzene Case), 448 U.S. 607, 607 (1980).

   18. R11.2.18.Abbreviate any commonly recognized organizations, such as the SEC and the ACLU.

       Correct: Red Lion Broadcasting Co. v. FCC, 395 U.S. 367 (1969).
       Incorrect: Red Lion Broadcasting Co. v. Federal Communications Commission, 395 U.S. 367 (1969).

   19. R11.2.19.If you’re including the case name in the middle of the sentence (instead of at the end of a sentence or a footnote) do NOT abbreviate words listed in the tables referenced in Rule 11.2.6 and Rule 11.2.7 above.

       Correct: 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).
       Incorrect: According to Texas Dep’t of Cmty. 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).

       Exception: Shorten well-known acronyms and the following eight words: “&,” “Ass’n,” “Bros.,” “Co.,” “Corp.,” “Inc.,” “Ltd.,” and “No.”

       Correct: 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).
       Incorrect: In McDonnell Douglas Corporation 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).

3. R11.3. Volume Number, Reporter, First page. The citation should include: volume number of the reporter, abbreviated name of the reporter (listed by jurisdiction in accordance with Table T1), first page of the case.
   • Example: Terrible v. Terrible, 534 P.2d 919 (Nev. 1975) (denying ex-husband’s petition to split up property he and ex-wife owned as tenants in common).

   This is how you decode case citations. The left column shows what your citation should look like. The right column shows what the citation means for someone looking for the case.

4. R11.4. Pincite. To direct the reader to the specific page you are referring to, you must include a pincite after you list the first page where the case is found in the reporter.
   • Example: Mattel, Inc. v. MCA Records, Inc., 296 F.3d 894, 908 (9th Cir. 2002) (“The parties are advised to chill.”)
   • Example: Brown v. State, 216 S.E.2d 356, 356 (Ga. Ct. App. 1975) (“The D. A. was ready. His case was red-hot. Defendant was present, His witness was not.”).

5. R11.5. Pincite referencing multiple pages or a page range:
   1. Multiple pages: 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).
   2. Page range: 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”).
   3. Passim. If your proposition appears in many locations in the opinion, or if you are referring to a general idea that pervades a source, feel free to append the word “passim” instead of a pincite.
   • Example: Anyone alive in the eighteenth century would have known that the problem of determining a ship’s longitude at sea was one of the most prominent scientific quests of the day. Dava Sobel, Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time (New York: Penguin, 1995), passim.

• Example: Selmon v. Hasbro Bradley, Inc., 669 F. Supp. 1267, 1272-73 (S.D.N.Y. 1987) (comparing a “Leo-Lamo” (a hybrid lion/lamb animal character), to a “Bumblelion” (a hybrid bumblebee/lion toy animal) in the context of a copyright infringement claim).

6. R11.6. 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: Davis v. City of New York, 902 F. Supp. 2d 405, 412 n.22 (S.D.N.Y. 2012) (Describing how Jay-Z “showcased his knowledge of these Fourth Amendment rights” in his song 99 Problems.)

R12. Court & Year

1. R12.1. Citations should include both the deciding court and the year of decision in parentheses.
2. R12.2. See Table T1 for how to abbreviate the names of all U.S. federal and state courts.

See the chart below for common examples:

3. R12.3. Parallel Citation in State Court Documents
   1. R12.3.1. When submitting documents to state courts, follow the local rules for citations in Table T10.
   2. R12.3.2. State courts’ local rules often require a parallel citation: i.e., a citation to both the official state reporter and the unofficial regional and/or state-specific reporter, the latter following the former.
   3. R12.3.3. Two important notes:
      • Use one pincite per reporter citation.
      • When the official reporter title makes the state or court name apparent, then don’t include it again in parentheses.
      • Example: Harden v. Playboy Enterprises, Inc., 261 Ill. App. 3d 443, 633 N.E.2d 764 (1993).
4. R12.4. Special Note on Pending and Unreported Cases: Some cases or opinions are not assigned to reporters. They generally can be found in one of the following three sources:
   1. R12.4.1.LEXIS and Westlaw cases: Citations to these electronic databases are similar to regular citations, except that they (a) replace the case code with a docket number and a database code supplied by LEXIS or Westlaw, and (b) include the full date of the decision in the following parenthetical, not just the year.

      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) (citing Dr. Seuss, Justice Kagan explained, “A fish is, of course, a discrete thing that possesses physical form.”).
      • Example: State v. Green, No. 2012AP1475-CR, 2013 WL 5811261, at *7 (Wis. Ct. App. Oct. 30, 2013) (rejecting Green’s argument that there was a reversible error due to bailiff’s distribution of leftover halloween candy to the jury).
   2. R12.4.2. Slip opinions: A slip opinion is a published decision by a court that has not yet been included in a reporter. If there is a slip opinion for an unreported case, but it’s not in LEXIS or Westlaw, include the docket number, the court, and the full date of the most recent major disposition of the case:
      • Example: Beastie Boys v. Monster Energy Co., No. 12 Civ. 6065 (S.D.N.Y. Dec. 4, 2014).
   3. R12.4.3. Opinions only available online, but not in an electronic database: Some cases, particularly ones that are pending, may be accessed only through a court’s website. If so, include the URL.
      • 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.

R13. Weight of Authority and Explanatory Parenthetical

1. R13.1.To highlight information regarding the weight of the cited authority (e.g., 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 (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) (disagreeing with Justice Goldberg as to the relative merits of bourbon and scotch).
2. R13.2.To explain the proposition for which the case stands, insert an explanatory parenthetical.

   Examples:

   • Stambovsky v. Ackley, 169 A.D.2d 254, 256 (N.Y. App. Div. 1991) (“[A]s a matter of law, the house is haunted.”).
   • People v. Foranyic, 64 Cal. App. 4th 186, 190 (1998) (police have probable cause to detain someone they see riding a bike at 3 a.m., carrying an axe).

R14. History of the Case

1. R14.1. When citing a case, include the prior or subsequent history of the case, subject to several exceptions. Refer to Table T15 for how to abbreviate explanatory phrases when introducing case history. Italicize the explanatory phrase.

2. R14.2.Always use the following explanatory phrases when applicable and italicize them:
   • aff’d
   • aff’g
   • cert. denied (but drop this explanatory phrase when the Supreme Court’s cert denial is more than two years in the past)
   • cert. granted
   • rev’d
   • rev’d on other grounds

   Examples:

   • United States v. Singleton, 144 F.3d 1343 (10th Cir. 1998), rev’d en banc, 165 F.3d 1297 (10th Cir. 1999), cert. denied, 527 U.S. 1024 (1999).
   • 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 America, Inc. v. Verizon Internet Servs., Inc., 351 F.3d 1229 (D.C. Cir. 2003).

3. R14.3.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”).

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

   Exception: 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).

R15. Short Form Citation for Cases

1. R15.1. In Text
   1. R15.1.1. The first time a case is mentioned in the text, include a full citation as shown here:
      • Example: In Fenton v. Quaboag Country Club, the court holds that the house owners were entitled to an abatement of the trespasses by flying golf balls. 233 N.E.2d 216, 219 (Mass. 1968).
      • Example: In Fenton v. Quaboag Country Club, 233 N.E.2d 216, 219 (Mass. 1968), the court holds that the house owners were entitled to an abatement of the trespasses by flying golf balls.
   2. R15.1.2. For subsequent cites in text, refer to one party’s name (or an unambiguous reference to the case name), as well as a short form citation in the form of <volume> <Name of Reporter> at <pincite>, as shown here:
      • Example: The court in Fenton also holds that there was error in the award of damages based on loss of fair market value of property due to the flying balls. 233 N.E.2d at 219.
2. R15.2. In Citations
   1. R15.2.1. If the reference is unambiguous and the full citation is easily accessible elsewhere, then you may use a short form citation.
   2. R15.2.2. For cases, a short form citation usually includes: <The First Party of the Case Name>, <volume number> <Reporter> at <pincite>.
      • Example: Malletier v. Dooney & Bourke, Inc., 500 F. Supp. 2d 276, 279 (S.D.N.Y. 2007) becomes Malletier, 500 F. Supp. 2d at 281.
   3. R15.2.3. Don’t 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. Otherwise, it may confuse the reader.
      • Example: United States v. Carmel, 548 F.3d 571 (7th Cir. 2008) becomes Carmel, 548 F.3d at 573.
      • Example: Gonzalez v. Raich, 545 U.S. 1 (2005) becomes Raich, 545 U.S. at 8.
   4. R15.2.4. Shorten a long party name . . . but only if the reference remains clear.
      • Example: A Book Named “John Cleveland’s Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure” v. Attorney Gen. of Com. of Mass., 383 U.S. 413, 418 (1966) can become Memoirs, 383 U.S. at 418.

3. R15.3. Using Id.
   1. R15.3.1. If you are citing to the same case referenced in the immediately preceding citation, use Id. as the short form citation.
   2. R15.3.2. 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.” 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 v. CBS, 844 F. Supp. 2d 510, 517-18 (S.D.N.Y. 2012).
      • 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.
   3. R15.3.3. If you are referring to the immediately preceding case, but to a different page, use Id. at <pincite>.
      • Example: In addition to suing all the federal judges in the Southern District of Georgia, the plaintiff also requested the government to fund a sex change for him. Washington v. Alaimo, 934 F. Supp. 1395, 1398 (S.D. Ga. 1996). Accordingly, the court ordered plaintiff to show cause why he should not be sanctioned for “filing a motion for improper purposes,” such as those hinted at in the title of the pleading, “Motion to Kiss My Ass.” Id. at 1401.
   4. R15.3.4. Id. can be used for all types of authorities—not only for cases.
      • Example: After conducting research on the use of Yiddish words in law, the authors found that the word “chutzpah” had appeared in 101 cases since 1980. Alex Kozinski & Eugene Volokh, Lawsuit Shmawsuit, 103 Yale L.J. 463, 463 (1993). Their search for the use of “schmuck” was impeded “by the fact that many people are actually named Schmuck.” Id. at 464–65.
      • Example: The Supreme Court has consistently proven hostile to any statute that could be interpreted as imposing prior restraint on publications. See, e.g., Near v. Minnesota ex rel. Olson, 283 U.S. 697 (1931) (holding that a statute that enabled the state to close down newspapers on grounds they contributed to public nuisance violated the Fourteenth Amendment). The conspicuous absence of prior restraint laws in our nation’s history are indicative of a consistent belief they violate constitutional rights. Id. at 718.

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

R16. Federal Statutes

1. R16.1. Basic citation form
   1. R16.1.1. A full citation to a federal statute includes three things: (1) the official name of the statute; (2) the published source where the act may be found; and (3) indication of either (i) the source publication date or (ii) the year the statute was passed.
   2. R16.1.2. U.S. Code: For citations to the U.S. Code (the preferred citation): <Name of Statute>, <title> U.S.C. § <section number> <(year published)>.
      1. The U.S.C. is codified once every six years. Therefore, citations to the U.S.C. should be to the appropriate codifying year (e.g. 2000, 2006, 2012).
      2. Supplements: If you are citing to a statute that may have been amended after the most recent official codification, be sure to consult the supplements, which are published each year between codifications and are cumulative.

      Examples:

      • Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, 21 U.S.C. § 387 (2012).
      • Lanham (Trademark) Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1051-1141n (2006).
      • Communications Act of 1934, 47 U.S.C. § 223 (2012 & Supp. I 2013).
   3. R16.1.3. U.S. Code Annotated: If the U.S.C. cite is not available, then cite to the U.S. Code Annotated. The citation form is <Name of Statute>, <title> U.S.C.A. § <section number> <(<Name of Publisher> <year published>)>.
      1. Note: Electronic databases like Westlaw or LEXIS generally refer to the most recent unofficial code, such as “U.S.C.A” (United States Code Annotated), and should be cited accordingly.
      2. List of common unofficial codes. U.S.C.A. is preferred.
         • United States Code Annotated, “U.S.C.A.” (published by West).
         • United States Code Service, “U.S.C.S.” (published by LEXIS).
         • Gould’s United States Code Unannotated, “U.S.C.U.” (published by Gould).

      Examples:

      • Stored Communications Act, 18 U.S.C.A. §§ 2701-2711 (West 2000).
      • Mineral Leasing Act of 1920, 30 U.S.C.S. §§ 181-287 (LEXIS 2015).
   4. R16.1.4. Pinpoint citations: To cite to an individual provision within a statute, use the following form: <Name of Statute> <original section number>, <title> <Abbreviation for Name of Reporter> § <section number> <(<Name of Publisher, but only if citing unofficial code> <year published>)>
      1. Include the original section number of the provision after the statute name.
      2. “Original section number” refers to the section in the original act, whereas “section number” refers to the equivalent section as codified in the code.

      Examples:

      • Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act § 202, 17 U.S.C. § 271(e) (2006).
      • Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 § 103, 17 U.S.C.A. § 1201 (West 2008).
   5. R16.1.5. Official Session Laws: If neither a U.S. Code or U.S. Code Annotated citation is available, then cite to official session laws, using the following forms:
      1. Cite without pinpoint: <Name of Statute,> Pub. L. No. <____>, <volume> Stat. <page number> <(year passed)>.
      2. Cite with pinpoint: <Name of Statute,> Pub. L. No. <____>, <original section number>, <volume> Stat. <page number>, <page pinpoint> <(year passed)>.

      Examples:

      • Family Sponsor Immigration Act of 2002, Pub. L. No. 107-150, 116 Stat. 74.
      • Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Pub. L. No. 111-148, § 1101, 124 Stat. 119, 141-43 (2010).

R17. State Statutes

1. 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 (in a manner that seems arbitrary); those rankings are available in Table T2.
2. R17.2.The elements of a citation to a state code include: <Name of Code, abbreviated> § <section number> <(year in which the edition of the cited code was published)>

   Examples:

   • Ala. Code § 13A-12-5(a)(1) (2000) (“A person commits the offense of unlawful bear exploitation if he or she knowingly . . . [p]romotes, engages in, or is employed at a bear wrestling match.”).
   • N.Y. Arts & Cult. Aff. Law § 60.03 (McKinney 2000) (prohibiting the sale of knowingly forged sports personality autographs).

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

1. R18.1. Rules of Evidence and Procedure
   1. R18.1.1.Cite current or uniform rules of evidence or procedure by indicating the abbreviation of the source, followed by the rule number (no comma in between).

      Examples:

      • Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(1).
      • Fed. R. App. P. 1.
      • Unif. R. Evid. 601.
   2. R18.1.2. We do not mandate specific abbreviations, but here are several suggestions:
      • Federal Rules of Civil Procedure: Fed. R. Civ. P.
      • Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure: Fed. R. Crim. P.
      • Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure: Fed. R. App. P.
      • Federal Rules of Evidence: Fed. R. Evid.
2. R18.2. Restatements
   1. R18.2.1. Cite Restatements by indicating the title of the particular Restatement cited, followed by the number of the section containing the material you are referencing, followed by the year published in parentheses.
      • Do not use a comma in between title and section number, or between the section number and the year parenthetical.
      • You may in addition refer to a comment by its letter designation if the material you are citing is contained in a comment.
      • Comments are abbreviated “cmt.”

      Examples:

      • Restatement (Second) of Trusts § 46 (1959).
      • Restatement (Third) of The Law Governing Lawyers § 2 cmt. e (2000).
      • Restatement (Third) of Prop.: Servitudes § 7.1 (2000).

3. R18.3. Uniform Commercial Code: Cites to the Uniform Commercial code take the following form: U.C.C. § <section number> <(year published)>.
   • Example: U.C.C § 9-105 (2010).
4. R18.4. Uniform Laws Annotated: Citations to the Uniform Laws Annotated take the following form: <Title of Act> § <section number>, <volume> U.L.A. <page> <(year published)>.
   1. Use the abbreviations specified in Table T6; thus, “Uniform” becomes “Unif.”
   2. Cite the title of the act in full, including year of enactment where it is included in the title.

      Examples:

      • Unif. Rules of Evidence (1974) § 702 note 24, 13E U.L.A. 114 (2011)
      • Unif. Mediation Act § 8, 7A Pt. III U.L.A. 137 (2006).

R19. Administrative Rules and Regulations

1. R19.1. Citations to “administrative” rules and regulations—that is, those promulgated by an administrative agency (e.g. the Environmental Protection Agency or the Food and Drug Administration)—take the following form: <title number of CFR provision> C.F.R. § <section number> <(year published)>.
2. R19.2. 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 CFR provision> C.F.R. § <section number> <(year published)>.
3. R19.3.Include a parenthetical to explain content of rule or regulation where that information would be helpful.

   Examples:

   • 36 C.F.R. § 272.1 (2014) (defining the Forest Service’s iconic character as “a fanciful owl, who wears slacks (forest green when colored), a belt (brown when colored), and a Robin Hood style hat (forest green when colored) with a feather (red when colored), and who furthers the slogan, Give a Hoot, Don’t Pollute”).
   • DOE Employee Privacy Standards, 10 C.F.R. § 1008.3 (2000).

R20. Federal Taxation Materials

1. R20.1. Internal Revenue Code: Citations to the Internal Revenue Code take either of two forms:
   1. R20.1.1. Citations to the code itself take the following form: I.R.C. § <section number> <(year published)>.
   2. R20.1.2.Citations to Title 26 of the U.S. Code, which is where the Internal Revenue Code is codified, take the following form: 26 U.S.C. § <section number> <(year published)>.

      Examples:

      • I.R.C. § 312 (2014).
      • 26 U.S.C. § 312 (2014).
2. 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).
3. 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:
     • Cumulative Bulletin (“C.B.”)
     • Internal Revenue Bulletin (“I.R.B.”)
     • 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).

R21. Legislative Materials

1. R21.1. Federal Bills and ResolutionsIf 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, with names of subcommittees and committees abbreviated according to the form set out in Table T4, Table T6, and Table T10.

   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).

1. R21.2.Enacted federal bills and resolutions

   Once enacted, bills and joint resolutions are statutes and should be cited as such, except cite them as unenacted bills or resolutions when showing the legislation’s history. Cite enacted simple resolutions and concurrent resolutions as if they were unenacted, but add an “(enacted)” parenthetical if it would be helpful.

2. R21.3.State bills and resolutions

   Cite 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 T10, and year of enactment or publication, if unenacted>.

   Examples:

   • L.D. 3, 127th Leg., Reg. Sess. (Me. 2015).
3. R21.4. Committee Hearings
   1. R21.4.1.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 T4, Table T6, and Table T10. For the names of individuals, abbreviate using Table T11.
   2. R21.4.2.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 T10> <year of publication> <name and title of speaker>. For the names of subcommittees and committees, abbreviate according to the form set out in Table T4, Table T6, and Table T10. For the names of individuals, abbreviate using Table T11.

      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).
4. R21.5. Federal reports
   1. R21.5.1.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. Rep. No. 110-803, at 105 (2008) (Conf. Rep.).
   2. R21.5.2.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

1. R22.1. The first time you mention a statute, rule, regulation, or legislative material, use the full citation.
2. R22.2. For subsequent citations in the same general discussion, you may use any short form that clearly identifies the source.
3. R22.3. Use of “Id.”: see below . . .

R23. Sources and Authorities: Constitutions

1. R23.1. Citations to the U.S. Constitution follow a simple form, elaborated below:
   • <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)>.
2. R23.2. Use Table T10 and Table T16 to find abbreviations.
3. R23.3. Citations to state constitutions are expressed the same format, substituting U.S. with the abbreviated name of the state.

• Examples:
  • U.S. Const. amend. XIII, § 1 (abolishing slavery in the United States).
  • U.S. Const. amend. XVIII (repealed 1933).
  • U.S. Const. pmbl.
  • Ariz. Const. art. XVI, § 2 (providing for the creation of a “National Guard of Arizona.”).

D. COURT & LITIGATION DOCUMENTS

R24. Citing Court or Litigation Documents from Your Case

The full citation for a court or litigation document includes:

1. R24.1. Document title
   • Check Table T1 to figure out what to abbreviate.
     • Exception: Never abbreviate if the abbreviation would confuse the reader.
     • Always abbreviate an official record, such as the appellate record, to “R.”
   • Example: For their own profit and advantage, Defendants are misappropriating the non-transformed, copyrighted material in which each Plaintiff has invested heavily. Compl. for Copyright Infringement 11.
2. R24.2. The exact page and line (or paragraph) you’re referring to
   • Use commas only if necessary to avoid confusion.
   • Use colon to separate page and line.
   • Don’t use “p.” before the page number.
   • Use “at” if citing to an appellate record.
3. R24.3. Date of document, if the date is particularly relevant or omitting the date could cause confusion
   • Miller Aff. ¶ 8, Jan. 12, 2015.
   • Pl.’s Br. 4–5, May 7, 2014.
   • Trial Tr. vol. 3, 45, Mar. 5, 2015.
4. R24.4. Electronic Case Filing number, if applicable :
   • Include an ECF number in your own case whenever a document has been filed electronically. For other cases, the ECF number is optional unless it is necessary to find the document.
   • 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 ECF page number.

Examples:

• Defendants’ evidence in support of their “fraud on the copyright office” defense consists of nothing more than unsupported assertions in their Motion, multiple irrelevant affidavits from previously undisclosed third parties, inadmissible correspondence between counsel, and examples of prior lawsuits that all ended short of judicial determination. Pl.’s Resp. to Defs.’ Mot. for Summ. J. at 14.
• Pl.’s Compl. ¶ 12, ECF No. 147.
• Sanchez Dep. 1:1–2, Jan. 3, 2005, ECF No. 8.

R25. Citing Court or Litigation Documents from Another Case

1. R25.1. After you cite to the document according to the rules set out directly above, add the full citation for the case where it comes from, and end with the case docket number in parentheses.
2. R25.2. If there has been no decision in the case you’re citing, then replace the year in parentheses with the date on which the filing was made.

Examples:

• 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).
• Compl. 5, Parsell v. Shell Oil Co., 421 F. Supp. 1275 (D. Conn. 1976).
• Compl. 2, Jones v. Smith, No. 09-230 (9th Cir. Apr. 17, 2015)

R26. Short Form Citation for Court Documents

Use a short form citation for court documents when:

1. there is no mistaking what the short citation refers to;
2. the full citation is not too far away (the full citation can be to the case itself, any other document from the case, or to the same document); and
3. the reader has easy access to the full citation.

Examples:

R27. Capitalization Within the Text of Court Documents and Legal Memoranda

1. R27.1.Capitalize “Court” if:
   • you are naming the court in full.
   • you are referring to the U.S. Supreme Court.
   • you are referring to the court you’re sending the document to.

   Example: The Court of Appeals held that actress’s performance satisfied minimum requirements for performance to be copyrightable.

   But: 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.”

2. R27.2. Capitalize “Plaintiff,” “Defendant,” “Appellant” and“Appellee,” unless you are referring to parties from other litigation.
   • Example: The Court concluded that it was unclear whether the Plaintiff had a copyright interest in her acting performance.
   • But, if referring to parties from other 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.
3. R27.3. Capitalize court document titles if:
   • the document is filed in your dispute and
   • you’re using the exact title or short form. (Do not abbreviate court documents within the text.)
4. R27.4. 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

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

1. Volume number (if there is more than one volume).
2. Names of the authors, as listed on the publication.
   • For two authors, list in the same order and use an “&.”
   • For more than two authors, use an “et al.” after the first name and stop there. (If you’re bored, feel free to list out all the authors with an “&” before the last.)
   • Use titles that follow an author’s name (Sr.) but not titles that precede them (Hon.)
3. Italicized title of the publication, capitalized as necessary.
   • For ALDs, use small caps for both the title and author, and do not italicize the title.
4. The exact page number you are referring to. If you are citing a work organized using sections or paragraphs, use those instead, adding a page number only if helpful.
5. Year of publication, name of editor or translator (if applicable), edition (if more than one), all in parentheses.
   • If listing an editor or a translator, then follow the name with ed., or trans., respectively. Include that comma before the year of publication.
   • Cite the most recent edition, unless you have a really good (read: substantive) reason for citing older.

Examples:

• Marc A. Franklin et al., Mass Media Law Cases and Materials 472 (8th ed. 2011).
• 1 Melville B. Nimmer & David Nimmer, Nimmer on Copyright § 1.01[B][1][a] at 1–14–15 (2011).
• 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

1. R29.1. Id.: References to books or non-periodical material cited in the immediately preceding citation (when that citation contains only one source) should be followed by “Id.”
   • Update the page number you’re referring to within that source, as needed.
   • Do not use for internal cross references, or for citing back to a body of collected works when you are really supposed to be citing a single work from that body.
2. R29.2. supra: Can be used instead of “id.” Supra should include:
   • last name of the author
   • italicize “Supra”, but not the comma that follows
   • update the specific page you’re referring to

Examples:

F. JOURNALS, MAGAZINES, & NEWSPAPER ARTICLES

R30. Full Citation for Journals, Magazines & Newspaper Articles

1. R30.1. 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)>.
   • 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).
2. R30.2. 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>. You may add a pincite to the end of the citation, if you are citing to a particular point in the article, in the following form: , <pincite>.
   • Example: Jack Dickey, The Power of Taylor Swift, Time, Nov. 24, 2014, at 13, 17.
3. R30.3.Citations to material written by students in law journals 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).
4. R30.4.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>.

   Examples:

   • Vikas Bajaj, Rules for the Marijuana Market, N.Y. Times, Aug. 5, 2014, at A20.
   • Charlie Savage, U.N. Commission Presses U.S. on Torture, N.Y. Times, Nov. 14, 2014, at A6.
   • Peter Baker & Julie Hirschfeld Davis, Obama, Down But Not Out, Presses Ahead, N.Y. Times, Nov. 14, 2014, at A1.

R31. Short Form Citation for Journals, Magazines & Newspaper Articles

If you have already cited a work from a periodical in full . . .

1. R31.1. Use “Id.” to avoid placing two full citations that are exactly the same right next to each other.
   • Example: The 24-year-old pop star spoke with TIME this fall as she readied for the release of her new album and again as she watched its record reception. Jack Dickey, The Power of Taylor Swift, Time, Nov. 24, 2014, at 13. ‘Other women who are killing it should motivate you,’ she says. Id.
2. R31.2. 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.
   • Example: Brown, Bridging The Gap, supra, at 320.

G. INTERNET SOURCES

R32. General Principles for Internet Sources

1. R32.1. 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.
2. R32.2. 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
3. R32.3. 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 if 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).
4. R32.4. For cites directly to webpages and other Internet sources, follow the formula in Rule 33, below.

R33. Basic Formula for Internet Sources

Citations to Internet sources follow this form: <Author Name>, <Title of Website Page>, <Main Website Title>, <pincite> <(Date & Time Accessed)>, <URL>.

1. R33.1. Author Name(s)
   1. R33.1.1. Actual authors: When available, use the name(s) of the actual authors(s) of the source.
   2. R33.1.2. Institutional authors: When the name of the actual 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 T6 and Table T10 for abbreviations).
   3. 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.
   4. R33.1.4. If the name of the author is unavailable in each of the above forms, it may be omitted from the basic formula.
2. R33.2. Title of Specific Website Page
   1. R33.2.1. Include the particular cited page within the website. This title should be based on either the title bar or the heading of that page as viewed in the browser.
   2. R33.2.2. The included title should be informative but not unduly long, if possible.
   3. R33.2.3. 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: 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.
      • 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.
   4. R33.2.4. Descriptive titles (not italicized) may also be used where page headings alone are not clear.
      • Example: Parker Higgins & Sarah Jeong, Archive of 5 Useful Articles Newsletter, 5 Useful Articles, http://tinyletter.com/5ua (last visited March 2, 2015).
3. R33.3. Main Website Title
   1. R33.3.1. Include the domain name/ homepage where the citation may be found.
   2. R33.3.2. Title should be abbreviated (see Table T10 and Table T13 for abbreviations).

4. R33.4. Pincite
   1. R33.4.1. 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.
5. R33.5. Date & Time
   1. R33.5.1. Omit time (i) if the source is not updated throughout the day or (ii) if there is no time listed
   2. R33.5.2. If no date is provided cite to 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 Apr. 8, 2015).
6. R33.6. URL
   1. R33.6.1. Cite in its entirety unless the URL is especially long or unwieldy.
   2. 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.
   3. R33.6.3. When helpful, include URL to an archived version of the webpage in brackets
   4. R33.6.4. When a website is served by multiple URLs, use the primary one.
      • Example: 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: 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.
      • Example: Google Books Ngram Viewer, Google, https://books.google.com/ngrams (select corpus “English Fiction”; then search for “Arrakis”) (last visited Apr. 17, 2012).
      • 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]

R34. Short Form Citations for Internet Sources

Id. and supra can be used, together with the author name, as a short form citation following the full citation of an Internet source. Note: if no author is provided, use the title of the source (see section [NUMBER], above).

Examples:

• Full cite: 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/
• Short form: Cillizza, supra.
• Full cite: Superfan Suits, http://www.superfansuits.com/ (last visited Feb. 21, 2015) (motto: “Tight and Bright. Since 2008”).
• Short form: Superfan Suits, supra.

H. EXPLANATORY PARENTHETICALS

Sometimes, it is helpful to include extra information to explain the relevance of certain citations. This information goes at the end of your citation but before any citation indicating subsequent history. Explanatory parentheticals may consist of present participles, direct quotations, or short statements.

R35. General Principles for Explanatory Parentheticals

1. R35.1. If not quoting the authority, do not begin 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 parody of O.J. Simpson murder trial was substantially similar to copyrighted work).
2. R35.2. 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.”).

R36. Order of parentheticals

(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>), available at http://www.domainname.com (explanatory parenthetical), prior or subsequent history.

When citing directly to Internet sources, the “hereinafter” parenthetical should come right after the URL or, if one exists, the “last visited” parenthetical.

I. QUOTATIONS

R37. General Principles for Quotations

1. R37.1. Quotations should be designated with quotation marks.
2. R37.2. The quotation should flow with the rest of the text unless it is a block quotation (see below).
3. R37.3. Punctuation that is part of the quoted text should appear inside the quotation marks. Commas and periods that are not part of the quoted text should also appear inside the quotation marks.
4. R37.4. Insert the citation sentence for the quoted material directly after the close of the quotation marks. Frequently as its own citation sentence.

R38. Alterations of Quotations

1. R38.1. Substitution of Letters or Words: Any substitutions into quoted material should be bracketed. This includes . . .
   • words which might add clarity and context
   • changes to the capitalization of letters
     • Example: “[T]he [Copyright] Office is a department of the Library of Congress.”
2. R38.2. Omission of Letters from a Common Root Word: Place an empty bracket at the end of a common root word to indicate the change.
   • Example: “The court dismissed the claim[].”
3. R38.3. 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.”
4. R38.4. Use of Parenthetical Clauses to Indicate Changes to Quotation
   • (emphasis added)
   • (alteration in original)
   • (citation omitted)
   • (emphasis omitted)
   • (internal quotation marks omitted)
   • (footnote omitted)

R39. Omissions in Quotations

1. R39.1. Generally
   • Omissions are indicated by an ellipsis [ . . . ]
   • The ellipsis in legal writing is represented by three periods, with 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.
   • An ellipsis never begins a quotation.
2. R39.2. When Using 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 “the distinguished jurists who drafted the Subcommittee Working Paper . . . agree that this provision, on its face, overrules Zahn.”).
3. R39.3. When Using a Quotation as a Complete Sentence
   • 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. In other words, the 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.” Viacom Int’l, Inc. v. YouTube, Inc., 676 F.3d 19, 31 (2d Cir. 2012).
4. R39.4. When omitting the beginning of a quoted sentence, do not use an ellipsis. Instead, capitalize the first letter and place it in brackets.
   • 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.”
5. R39.5. 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.”
6. R39.6. 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 . . . .”
7. R39.7. 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.”
8. R39.8. When omitting material following a final punctuation mark but including material in the next sentence use an ellipsis to connect the final punctuation with the beginning of the new quote and capitalize and bracket the next letter.
   • 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. . . . [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.”
9. R39.9. 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.”
10. R39.10. When omitting a footnote or citation, insert a parenthetical indicating the omission immediately after the citation to the quoted source (see above).

R40. Special Rules for Block Quotations

1. R40.1. Basic form: Set off quotations consisting of 50+ words into a block quotation, which appears as in the example below:
   

   Here is where the block quotation should begin and here is where it should end. See the indentations on the right and left sides? This is how it should appear in your writing. The reasoning behind this set-up is to offset the lengthy quotations from the rest of the text and to clearly indicate that this is all directly cited material.

2. R40.2. Formatting of block quotations.
   • Block quotations are single spaced.
   • Indent both left and right.
   • Block quotations should be formatted with “full justification”—that is, all lines in a paragraph are expanded so they butt up against both the left and right text margins.
   • DO NOT use quotation marks surrounding the block quotation.
   • 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.

Example: Judge Patterson explains the excellence of the Harry Potter series:

Plaintiff J.K. Rowling is the author of the highly acclaimed Harry Potter book series [. . .] Written for children but enjoyed by children and adults alike, the Harry Potter series chronicles the lives and adventures of Harry Potter and his friends as they come of age at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and face the evil Lord Voldemort. [. . .] It is a tale of a fictional world filled with magical spells, fantastical creatures, and imaginary places and things [. . .]

Warner Bros. Entm’t Inc. v. RDR Books, 575 F. Supp. 2d 513, 518 (S.D.N.Y. 2008) (describing an excellent book series).

J. TABLES

T1. Federal Jurisdictions

T1.1. Federal Judicial and Legislative Materials

T1.2. Federal Administrative and Legislative Materials

T2. U.S. States and Other Jurisdictions