Lawyering Skills I

Bluebook Test

Basic Citation Form

Name of first party·v.·name of second party,·volume·abbreviation of reporter·page number the opinion begins on·(Court, if required·year).

From Rule 10.2.1

Abbreviations

Close up all adjacent single capitals.

End an abbreviation with a period unless the last letter of the word is offset with an apostrophe.

Look at Table T6 for every word that isn't a proper name.

From Rule 6.1

Short Forms

With Id./Id.·at·753, the period is underlined.

Thompson,·375·F.2d·at·753.

From Rule 4.1

Thompson's Local Rule

When citing to a court within the jurisdiction, use the state-specific reporter. When citing to a court outside the jurisdiction, use a regional reporter.

From 10.3.1(a)

Signals

The most common and strongest signal is no signal at all.

From 1.2–4

Rules to know

  1. Rule 10.2.1
  2. Rule 6.1
  3. Table T6