Created for Moot Court research and library training at the Roger Williams University School of Law.

1. The Bluebook for
Moot Court
Created by: Raquel Ortiz
Roger Williams University Law Library

2. Agenda
• Quick Review
• Bluebooking Checklist
• Citing Sources by the (Blue)book
Note: Italicized text generally reflects text copied
from the Bluebook.

3. Quick Review: The Structure of
the Bluebook
• Quick Reference: Court Documents & Memoranda
• General Standards of Citation & Style: Bluepages
B1-9
• Authority specific rules: Bluepages B10-21
• Tables: BT1-2
• Bluepages often refer to Bluebook: Rules 1-21 &
Tables 1-16
• Index

4. Bluebooking Checklist
 Typeface, abbreviations, and capitalization
 Short Citation Forms & Internal Cross References
 Signals
Preferred Sources

5. Typefaces (B2)
• Ordinary Roman type (aka plain text)
• Italics or Underscore
• Underscore appears to be the preferred typeface in
briefs reviewed by this instructor.

6. When to use Underscore or Italics
• Signals
• Case names
• Procedural and explanatory phrases in case citations
(e.g. Aff’d, pet. for cert. filed, etc. – see Table 8)
• Id.
• Titles of books, articles, and essays
• Titles of some legislative materials
• Introductory phrases for related authority
• Internal cross-references

7. When to use Underscore or Italics
(cont’d)
• Underscore or italicize punctuation that is part of
the material being underscored:
• E.g.,
• See, e.g.,
• Cf.

8. Short Citation Forms (Rule B4)
• Id.
• supra
• hereinafter

9. Using Id. as a Short Citation Form
(Rule B4)
• Use as a short form for cases, statutes,
constitutions, legislative materials, restatements,
model codes, or regulations.
• DO NOT use Id. when there are multiple citations in
the preceding sentence
• Use “Id. at” with page numbers, “Id. §” or “Id. ¶”
to correspond to document subdivisions

10. Using Id.: Examples
• [Text.] See Oceana, Inc., 2005 W.L. 555416, at *5.
Id. at *12.
• [Text.] See Oceana, Inc., 2005 W.L. 555416, at *5;
Am. Oceans Campaign v. Daley, 183 F. Supp. 2d 1, 3
(D.D.C. 2000).
Oceana, Inc., 2005 W.L. 555416, at *12.

11. Using hereinafter and supra (Rule B4)
• Note typeface: hereinafter vs. supra
• DO NOT USE for cases, statutes, constitutions,
legislative materials (except hearings),
restatements, model codes, or regulations …
• BUT may use for those authorities if the name of
the authority is extremely long.

12. Using hereinafter: Example
• FN 6. New Eng. Fishery Mgmt. Council, FINAL
Amendment 16 to the Northeast Multispecies
Fishery Management Plan 7 (October 16, 2009),
http://www.nefmc.org/nemulti/planamen/Amendl
6/finalamendl6_oct09.html [hereinafter FINAL
Amendment 16]

13. Using supra: Example
• Mark Kurlansky, Cod: A Biography of the Fish That
Changed the World (1997).
• Citing page 79 of Kurlansky later in your document
• Kurlansky, supra at 79.

14. Capitalization (Rule B8)
• All words in headings and titles, but see exceptions.
• Names identifying specific persons, officials, groups,
government offices or government bodies
• Party designations (plaintiff, appellee, etc.) when
referring to parties in the current action
• Titles of court documents filed in the matter for which
you are filing the current document AND the reference
is to the document’s actual title or a shortened form.

15. Capitalization (Rule B8)
• Exceptions: Articles, conjunctions, or prepositions
of four or fewer letters, unless they are the first
word of a title or subtitle.
• Sometimes: federal, act, court, constitution, etc.
• Modifier of a capitalized word OR part of a name
• When referring to the court that is receiving your
document

16. Examples: Capitalization
• Status of Women in Rhode Island: A Mid-Decade
Report
• Elinor Ostrom, A Diagnostic Approach for Going
Beyond Panaceas, 104 Proc. Nat’l Acad. Sci. 15176,
15177 (2007).

17. Examples: Capitalization (cont’d)
• The PTU filed a complaint in federal court some
three months after the PPSD CBH Policy was put
into effect.
• In 2010, women head four out of the seven Rhode
Island courts: … and Judge Mary M. Lisi at the
Federal Court.
• This Court has already ruled on the Defendant’s
Motion to Dismiss.

18. Signals (Rule B1.2)
• Supportive: [no signal], E.g., Accord, See, See Also,
Cf.
• Comparative: Compare … with
• Contradictory: Contra, But see, But cf.
• Background: See generally

19. Court and Litigation Documents
(Rule B17)
• Applies to citations to court documents that have
been filed as part of the same case.
• Otherwise, rule 10.8.3 applies.
• Elements of the citation
• the name of the document, abbreviated where
appropriate;
• the pinpoint citation; and
• the date of the document, if required.
• [Federal cases: Electronic Case Filing (ECF) number
found on PACER.]

20. Court and Litigation Documents
(cont’d)
• Name of the document, abbreviated where
appropriate;
• See Table BT1 for abbreviations used in the titles
of court documents
• Abbreviate words of 7 more letters but only if
not ambiguous (e.g. Univ. for University)
• Omit articles and prepositions, but leave if the
result would be confusing
• Omit other extraneous words, if abbreviation is
not ambiguous

21. Court and Litigation Documents
(cont’d)
• Pinpoint citation
• Precise reference
• Page, section, etc.
• Include page and line for deposition or trial transcript
• Avoid commas unless needed to avoid confusion
• Separate page and line references with a colon
• Do not use p. for pages but use other subdivisions
(e.g. §, ¶)
• “at” not required, but customary for appellate
records

22. Court and Litigation Documents
(cont’d)
• Date of the document required if:
• more than one document has the same title
• date is relevant to the discussion
• date is needed to avoid confusion

23. Court and Litigation Documents:
Examples
• Verified Complaint  V. Complt.
• Memorandum in Support of Plaintiffs’ Motion for
Summary Judgment  Pl.’s Mem. Supp. Summ. J.
• Brief of Defendants – Appellees  Def.’s Br.

24. Court and Litigation Documents:
More Examples
• Supreme Judicial Court Advisory Opinion  S.J.C
Advisory Op. 3
• Record on Appeal  R.A. at 4
• Transcript  Tr. 47:12 (Jan. 11, 1995)
• Affidavit  Beatrice Aff. ¶ 2, June 2, 2003.

25. Statutes (Rule B12)
• For statutes, cite a current official or unofficial
code, an official or privately published collection of
session laws, or a secondary source.
• Cite the session laws if the official or unofficial code
is unavailable or insufficient, for example,
• when the statute does not yet appear in a code or
• when you need to refer to the historical fact of the
statute’s enactment.

26. Citing Statutes
• Use the abbreviated name of the code from Table 1
• Sources in Table 1 are listed in order of preference.
• Add the appropriate subdivision (title, chapter, etc.)
• For unofficial codes, add the publisher, editor, or
compiler (see Table 1 for format)

27. Citing Statutes
• Add the year of the code
• From the spine of the volume
• From the title page
• From the copyright page
• In that order of preference!
• If the material appears in a supplement, include it
in the citation!

28. Federal Statutes
• Current code:
• 16 U.S.C. §1854(a) (2012)
• Session Law
• Fishery Conservation and Management Act of
1976, Pub. L. No. 94-265, 90 Stat. 331, 332-33
(codified as amended at 18 U.S.C. §§1801-1891d
(2006)).

29. State Statutes: Codes
• Official, cited to book with cited section appearing
in the supplement:
• R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 16-2-9(a)(18), (c) (Supp. 2011).
• Unofficial, cited to book:
• N.Y. Exec. Law § 63(15) (Consol. 2009).

30. State Statutes: Codes (cont’d)
• Unofficial, cited to Westlaw:
• IOWA CODE ANN. § 668A.1 (Westlaw through 2017 Reg.
Sess.)
• Click on the “Currentness” link to find the “Current
with/through” statement
• Unofficial, cited to Lexis:
• R.I. GEN. LAWS § 10-6-8 (LEXIS through Chapter 183 of the
January 2017 Session).
• “Current through” appears after the citation.

31. State Statutes: Session Laws
• Official, cited to book:
• Act Relative to the Uniform Probate Code, ch.
521, 2008 Mass. Acts. 1754-1915.
• Unofficial, cited to online source:
• 1979 R.I. Pub. Laws 1288-89 (LEXIS).

32. Citing Constitutions (Rule 11)
• Preferred sources not listed. Use the version in the
code!
• U.S. Const. amend. XIV, §1.
• R.I. Const. art. X, §2; §39-5-1, §39-5-3.

33. Citing Legislative Materials (Rule
B13)
• Preferred sources not listed.
• Cite to an official version: online (PDF) or from microfiche
• Otherwise, cite to Lexis or Westlaw
• Include some or all of the following, though not necessarily
in the following order: (1) the title of the material; (2) the
abbreviated name of the legislative body; (3) the number
assigned to the material; (4) the number of the Congress
and/or legislative session; and (5) the year of publication.

34. Federal Legislative Materials:
Examples
• Reports:
• S. Rep. No. 94-711, at 50 (1976) (Conf. Rep.)
• Bills:
• H.R. 1646, 2304, 2772, & 3061, 112th Cong. (1st
Sess. 2011)

35. Federal Legislative Materials:
Examples
• Hearings:
• Toxic Substances Control Act: Hearings on S. 776
Before the Subcomm. on the Env’t of the Senate
Comm. on Commerce, 94th Cong. 343 (1975).
• Debates:
• Cong. Globe, 39th Cong., 1st Sess. 2890-2902
(1866).

36. State Legislative Materials
• Extremely difficult to locate in print
• Cite to Lexis or Westlaw (Rule 13.7(a))

37. ASIDE: Statutes vs. Regulations
Statutes
• Arise from the
Legislature
• First published
chronologically as
Session Laws
• Codified by subject in a
statutory code
Regulations
• Arise from
Administrative Agencies
• First published
chronologically in an
administrative register
• Codified by subject in
an administrative code

38. Administrative Regulations (Rule
B14)
• Cite federal rules and regulations to the Code of
Federal Regulations (C.F.R.) unless not yet codified.
• Citations to rules or regulations in the Federal
Register (Fed. Reg.) should give the commonly used
name of the rule or regulation, the volume and
page on which the rule or regulation begins, and
the date of the rule or regulation
• Cite state materials by analogy to the federal
examples given in this rule.
• Use Table 1 for the preferred sources for state
regulations

39. Federal Administrative
Regulations: Examples
•Code of Federal Regulations:
• 50 C.F.R. § 600.310(f) (2009).
•Federal Register:
• Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; Annual
Catch Limits; Nat'l Standard Guidelines
Proposed Rule, 73 Fed. Reg. 32,526,
32,533 (June 9, 2008) (to be codified at 50
C.F.R. pt. 600).

40. Cases (Rule B10)
• The federal and state jurisdictions table (table T1)
indicates which reporters to cite for the decisions
of most courts. Note that many state court
decisions are published in two or more sources.
• A full case citation includes five components: (1) the
name of the case; (2) the published or unpublished
source in which the case can be found; (3) a
parenthetical indicating the court and year of
decision; (4) other parenthetical information, if any;
and (5) the subsequent history of the case, if any…

41. Cases
• Name of the Case
• Omit all parties other than the first party listed on each
side of the “v.”
• For names of individuals, use only last names
• Omit words indicating multiple parties (“et al.”) and
alternative names ("a.k.a.")

42. Cases
• Name of the Case (cont’d)
• Abbreviate
• Procedural phrases (e.g. In re, ex rel.)
• Words listed in table T6, unless the citation appears in a
textual sentence. (see next slide)
• States, countries, and other geographical units according
to table T10 unless the geographical unit is a named party.
• Never abbreviate “United States” when it is a named party.
• Omit “The” as the first word of a party’s name unless it is part
of the name of the object of an in rem action.
• Abbreviate any words with eight letters or more, if substantial
space is saved and the result is unambiguous.
• Abbreviate entities with widely recognized initials, such as
NAACP and FCC.

43. Cases
• Full Name of the Case in Textual Sentences (ie. not
in a citation)
• Abbreviate only widely known acronyms and the
following eight words: “&,” “Ass’n,” “Bros.,” “Co.,”
“Corp.,” “Inc.,” “Ltd.,” and “No.”
• The first time you mention a case in the text, follow the
case name with the remaining elements of a full citation,
set off by commas.
• In a subsequent reference to the case within the same
general discussion, you may simply refer to one party’s
name (or a readily identifiable shorter version of one
party’s name) if the reference is unambiguous.

44. Cases
• Source in which the case can be found and pincites.
• Westlaw has the PDFs for all regional reporters and for
the lower federal cases (F., F.2d, F.3d, F.Supp., and
F.Supp.2d)
• Lexis and Westlaw offer star pagination for all reporters
• See rule B10.1.3 for sources
• Parallel citations may be required by local court
rules! See Table BT2

45. ASIDE: Star Pagination in Lexis &
Westlaw, an example
• Goodridge v. Dep't of Pub. Health, 440 Mass. 309,
798 N.E.2d 941 (2003).
• Lexis defaults to the official pagination:
• Page numbers appear as: [312]
• Westlaw offers pagination for both reporters
• Page numbers appear as *312 (Mass. = official) and
**948 (N.E.2d = unofficial)

46. Cases
• Court and year of decision
• Table 1 lists the appropriate abbreviation for the court
• Table 10 lists the correct abbreviation for the states
• Compare: R.I., Mass.
• For highest court, the court is not included in the
parenthetical
• Choice of source:
• For U.S. Supreme Court cases, use the United States Reports
(U.S.) – Available in PDF on HeinOnline
• For lower federal court cases (Courts of Appeals, District
Courts) use the appropriate West reporter – On Westlaw
• For State cases, use the regional reporter if therein,
otherwise the official reporter – Regional on Westlaw

47. Cases
• Other parenthetical information
• Weight of authority
• An explanatory parenthetical may also be added to
explain briefly the proposition for which the case stands

48. Cases
• Include prior or subsequent history, subject to
exceptions in Rule 10.7:
• Omit denials of certiorari or denials of similar discretionary
appeals, unless < two years old or the denial is particularly
relevant.
• Omit also the history on remand or any denial of a rehearing,
unless relevant to the point for which the case is cited.
• Omit any disposition withdrawn by the deciding authority,
such as an affirmance followed by reversal on rehearing.
• Use one of the abbreviated explanatory phrases listed
in table T8 to introduce the prior or subsequent history.
• Include commonly used explanatory phrases such as
“aff’d,” “aff’g,” “cert. denied”, “cert. granted,” “rev’d,”
and “rev’d on other grounds, but see exceptions above.
• Underscore or italicize the explanatory phrase.

49. Briefs, Court Filings, and
Transcripts (Rule 10.8.3)
• REMEMBER: Use for citing documents NOT part of
the same case
• Full name of the document, as it appears on the
filing, abbreviated according to rule 10.2.1(c),
• Pinpoint citation, if any.
• Full case citation and the docket number
• If no decision has yet been rendered on the filing cited,
cite the case according to rule 10.5(c),
• If a decision has been rendered, cite the case as you
otherwise would.

50. Briefs, Court Filings, and Transcripts
(cont’d)
• Date in the parenthetical should be the date on
which the filing was made, regardless of disposition
• Always include the docket number,
• Parenthetically (when there is a reported citation)
• As the citation (when there is no reported citation)
• Document number assigned by the court optional,
unless it is essential to finding the document
• Same rules apply to documents produced by the
court, e.g. oral argument transcripts and transcripts
of record

51. Briefs, Court Filings, and Transcripts
(cont’d)
• For amicus briefs, abbreviate signatories beyond
the first with “et al.”
• For short forms (rule 10.9), a citation to a court
document including a case citation suffices as a
citation to the case itself.
• If you use the short form for the case, you must still
provide the docket number
• May instead use supra or hereinafter

52. Briefs, Court Filings, and
Transcripts: Examples
• Brief of Appellant at 46, Aetna Life Ins. Co. v. Lavoie,
475 U.S. 813 (1986) (No. 84-1601).
• Complaint, Providence Teachers Union v. Brady,
C.A. No. 11-cv-182 (D.R.I. 2011).

53. Books and Other Non-periodic
Materials (B15)
• This rule governs the citation of books, treatises,
pamphlets, and other nonperiodic materials.
• Include the following elements: (1) the volume number
(for multi-volume sets); (2) the full name(s) of the
author(s) as written in the publication; (3) the title of
the publication (underscored or italicized); (4) a pincite;
and (5) a parenthetical indicating the year of
publication, the name of the editor (if any), and the
edition (if more than one).
• Preferred sources not listed, but the original or a PDF
version would be acceptable.

54. Books: Examples
• Linda L. Schlueter, Punitive Damages §§ 1.3(C),
1.3(D) (6th ed. 2010)
• Andrew G. Ferguson, Continuing Seizure: Fourth
Amendment Seizure in Section 1983 Malicious
Prosecution Cases 4, in 15 Nat’l Lawyers Guild, Civil
Rights Litigation and Attorney Fees Annual
Handbook 54-1 (Steven Saltzman ed., 1999).

55. Periodical Materials (Rule B16)
• A full citation of periodical material includes the
following elements: (1) the full name(s) of the
author(s) as written in the publication; (2) the title
of the article (underlined or italicized); (3) the
abbreviated name of the publication; (4) a pincite;
and (5) the date of publication. The basic citation
may differ depending on the type of periodical
cited.

56. Periodical Materials (Rule B16)
• Preferred sources not listed, but the original or a
PDF version are both acceptable.
• Consecutively paginated (most law reviews)
• Non-consecutively paginated (many “magazines”)
• Also covers Newspapers

57. Journal Articles: Examples
• Consecutive Pagination:
• Peter Shelley et al., The New England Fisheries Crisis:
What Have We Learned?, 9 Tul. Envtl. L.J. 221 (1996)
• Non-consecutive Pagination:
• Mich. Sup. Ct. Hist. Soc'y, Placek v. Sterling Heights, Civil
Wrongs and the Rights Revolution, 88 Mich. B. J., Mar.
2009, at 6, 10.

58. Journal Articles: More examples
• Angie Cannon, Looking for Answers in the Ashes,
U.S. News & World Rep., Feb. 8, 2004, at 32, 32.
• Phyllis Coontz, Gender and Judicial Decisions: Do
Female Judges Decide Cases Differently than Male
Judges?, 18 Gender Issues 59, 61 (2000).

59. Newspapers (Rule B16.1.4)
• From Rule 16: Online newspapers may be used in
place of print newspapers. Cite to the online source
directly in accordance with rule 18.2.2. Pagination
can be included if available but is not necessary. If
the time of posting is available, include it in the
parentheses in accordance with rule 18.2.2.

60. Newspapers: Examples
• Newspaper articled obtained on the Internet:
• Abby Goodnough, Scientists Say Cod Are Scant; Nets Say
Otherwise, N.Y. Times (Dec. 10, 2011),
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/11/us/conflicting-
indicators-on-gulf-of-maine-cod-stocks.html
• Print Newspaper:
• Linda Borg, Tentative Teachers Contract Reached,
Providence J., August 3, 2011, at A1.

61. What Do I Do with A Source that
is Difficult to Cite?
• Try Lexis and Westlaw advanced searching!
• Use keywords for the title or author
• Add the field/segment for the publication name
• Search in the primary law review of the schools
responsible for the Bluebook: Harvard, Yale,
Columbia, U Penn (see BB title page for exact
titles)

62. Difficult Cite: Search on Lexis
• Select Advanced Search
• Click on “Select a specific content type”
• Select Law Reviews and Journals under
Secondary Materials
• Enter Publication: “Harvard law review”
• In the search bar, enter: [space] & [“search
terms”]

63. Difficult Cite: Search on Westlaw
• Select Advanced
• Enter in Exact Phrase or All of these Terms:
• Title or Author terms
• In the search bar, enter: [space] &
source(“Harvard law review”)

64. Still no luck?
•ASK A LIBRARIAN!
• In person
• lawlibraryhelp@rwu.edu
• 401-254-4547
• Chat:
http://lawguides.rwu.edu/AskaLibrarian

65. The End