Bluebook Resources
Liberty University uses The Bluebook 21st edition. Below are current resources available for students.
Bluebook 21st Edition
- Bluebook Citation Primer (PDF)
- Bluebook Exercises (video) — Note that this video shows the 20th edition, but all of the information presented therein is all current, relevant, and applicable to the 21st edition, too
- Bluebook Video Tutorial for Beginners (video)
Sample & Resources
The sample paper and template provided herein are only intended for use in writing essays and research papers for PLST and JURI courses where the formatting requirements are otherwise unspecified. They are not intended to be used for legal documents such as case briefs, memos, persuasive briefs, complaints, etc.
Bluebook sample paper for PLST and JURI class essays
Below are some Bluebook resources recommended by Liberty University pre-law and law professors:
For specific Bluebook-related questions, contact lawref@liberty.edu.
Citations
Books (see section B15 of The Bluebook 21st edition)
| Full citation | Linda H. Edwards, Legal Writing and Analysis 16 (4th ed. 2015). |
| Full citation included with sentence | “A trial court’s decision usually can be appealed to a higher court.” Linda H. Edwards, Legal Writing and Analysis 16 (4th ed. 2015). |
| Short citation | Id. at 14. OR Id. at 14. |
Bible
| Bible quote with citation | “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16 (King James). |
Notice that the book of the Bible is italicized (or underlined; see the Bluebook Citations Primer). Also, please note the version of the Bible in parenthesis
Internet
| Full citation | Eric Posner, More on Section 7 of the Torture Convention, The Volokh Conspiracy (Jan. 29, 2009, 10:04 AM), http://volokh.com/2009/01/29/more-on-section-7-of-the-torture-convention/. |
| Full citation with sentence | Mark Kleiman rebutted Eric Posner’s argument that Attorney General Eric Holder had complete discretion to decline prosecution for violations of the Convention Against Torture on political or policy grounds. Eric Posner, More on Section 7 of the Torture Convention, The Volokh Conspiracy (Jan. 29, 2009, 10:04 AM), http://volokh.com/2009/01/29/more-on-section-7-of-the-torture-convention/. |
| Short citation | Id. OR Id. |
The author’s name, then the title of the specific page of the website (underlined OR italicized), then the title of the main page of the website, the date and time the website was last updated, and the URL (make sure to remove the hyperlink, blue font, and underlining of the URL).
Articles
| Full citation | Richard A. Posner, Goodbye to the Bluebook, 53 U.Chi.L.Rev. 1343, 1345 (1986). |
| Full citation included with sentence | The term “hypertrophy” is used by anthropologists “to describe the tendency of human beings to mindless elaboration of social practices.” Richard A. Posner, Goodbye to the Bluebook, 53 U.Chi.L.Rev. 1343 (1986). |
| Short citation | Id. at 1344. OR Id. at 1344 |
Always start with the full name of the author, followed by a comma. Then, cite the full name of the article (underlined or italicized), followed by a comma. Then, the volume number of the law review, followed by the abbreviation of the law review (see T13, starting on page 321). Then, the first page of the article, followed by a comma, then the specific page referred to in the information cited. Finally, the year of the publication of the article should be placed at the end in parenthesis.
Legal Resources (cases, constitutions, legislative materials, etc.)
Case or Court Decisions
- Italicize (or underscore) case names” (B2; both options shown only for first example below)
- “Omit all parties other than the first party listed on each side of the “v.” (B10.11)
- “For names of individuals, use only last names, omitting first names, middle names, and initials”
- (B10.11)
- Abbreviate “in the matter of” and “petition of” to “In re.”
- “Once you have provided a full citation to an authority, you may use a ‘short form’ in later citations of the same authority” (see section B10.2 for parameters; examples provided for the first case below)
| U.S. Supreme Court case, with a page number | Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954). OR Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954). Short form options: Id. at 486. OR Id. at 486. |
| U.S. Supreme Court case, without page number (insert three underscore lines in place of page) | Obergefell v. Hodges, 576 U.S. ___ (2015). OR Obergefell v. Hodges, 576 U.S. ___ (2015). |
| U.S. circuit court case | Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 951 F.2d 1128 (9th Cir. 1991). OR Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 951 F.2d 1128 (9th Cir. 1991). |
| U.S. district court case | Burriola v. Greater Toledo YMCA, 133 F. Supp. 2d 1034 (N.D. Ohio 2001). OR Burriola v. Greater Toledo YMCA, 133 F. Supp. 2d 1034 (N.D. Ohio 2001). |
| U.S. district court case with appeal | Durflinger v. Artiles, 563 F. Supp. 322 (D. Kan. 1981), aff’d, 727 F.2d 888 (10th Cir. 1984). OR Durflinger v. Artiles, 563 F. Supp. 322 (D. Kan. 1981), aff’d, 727 F.2d 888 (10th Cir. 1984). |
| State supreme court case | Tarasoff v. Regents of the University of California, 17 Cal.3d 425, 131 Cal. Rptr. 14, 551 P.2d 334 (1976) OR Tarasoff v. Regents of the University of California, 17 Cal.3d 425, 131 Cal. Rptr. 14, 551 P.2d 334 (1976). |
| State appellate court case | Texas v. Morales, 826 S.W.2d 201 (Tex. Ct. App. 1992). OR Texas v. Morales, 826 S.W.2d 201 (Tex. Ct. App. 1992). |
Statutes (Laws and Acts)
| Federal statute | Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990, 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq. (1990). https://www.ada.gov/pubs/adastatute08.htm Civil Rights Act of 1964, Pub. L. No. 88-352, 78 Stat. 241 (1964). https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/STATUTE-78/pdf/STATUTE-78-Pg241.pdf |
| State statute in state code (When the law has a formal title) | Florida Mental Health Act, Fla. Stat. § 394 (1971 & rev. 2009). http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statutes&URL=0300-0399/0394/0394.html |
| State statute in state code (State statutes with no formal titles. See Table T1 in your Bluebook 21st edition for each state’s rules and abbreviations.) | Fla. Stat. § 671.1-101 810 Ill. Comp. Stat. § 5/1-101 Iowa Code § 554.1101 N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 382-A: 1-101 Va. Code Ann. § 8.1-101 |
Legislative Materials
| Federal testimony | Federal real property reform: How cutting red tape and better management could achieve billions in savings, U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, 114th Cong. (2016) (testimony of Norman Dong). http://www.gsa.gov/portal/content/233107 |
| Full federal hearing | Strengthening the federal student loan program for borrowers: Hearing before the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions, 113th Cong. (2014). https://www.help.senate.gov/hearings/strengthening-the-federal-student-loan-program-for-borrowers |
| Unenacted federal bill or resolution | Mental Health on Campus Improvement Act, H.R. 1100, 113th Cong. (2013). https://www.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/house-bill/1100/text |
| Enacted simple or concurrent federal resolution | S. Res. 438, 114th Cong., 162 Cong. Rec. 2394 (2016) (enacted). https://www.congress.gov/congressional-record/2016/04/21/senate-section/article/S2394-2 |
| Federal report | H.R. Rep. No. 114-358 (2015). https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CRPT-114hrpt358/pdf/CRPT-114hrpt358.pdf |
Administrative and Executive Materials
| Federal regulation, codified | Protection of Human Subjects, 45 C.F.R. § 46 (2009). https://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/sites/default/files/ohrp/policy/ohrpregulations.pdf |
| Federal regulation, not yet codified | Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales and Computer Employees, 81 F.R. 32391 (proposed May 23, 2016) (to be codified at 29 C.F.R. § 541). https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2016/05/23/2016-11754/defining-and-delimiting-the-exemptions-for-executive-administrative-professional-outside-sales-and |
| Executive Order | Exec. Order No. 13,676, 3 C.F.R. 294 (2014). https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CFR-2015-title3-vol1/pdf/CFR-2015-title3-vol1-eo13676.pdf |
| Patent | Hiremath, S. C., Kumar, S., Lu, F., Salehi, A. (2016). Using metaphors to present concepts across different intellectual domains (U.S. Patent No. 9,367,592). U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?patentnumber=9367592 |
Constitutions and Charters
| Article of the U.S. Constitution | U.S. Const. art. 1, § 3. |
| Article of a state constitution | S.C. Const. art. XI, § 3. |
| Amendment to the U.S. or state Constitution | U.S. Const. amend. XIX. [1] |
| Repealed amendment to the U.S. Constitution | U.S. Const. amend. XVIII (repealed 1933). |
| U.S. Bill of Rights | U.S. Const. amend. I–X. |
| Charter of the United Nations | U.N. Charter art. 1, para. 3. |
| Treaties and international conventions | United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, November 20, 1989, https://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/crc.aspx |
[1] No date is needed unless the amendment has been repealed.