Bluebook Wednesday August Newsletter

Happy August! I don't know about you, but I'm ready for the weather to cool down a bit.

There were only three tips this month because of Wrigley's escapade. (It's only fair that I provide an update on him. That's at the bottom.)

Tip #43, Citing Footnotes

To see Tip #43, go here .

Citation

Rule B3 states: "To cite a footnote or endnote, give the page on which the note appears, 'n.' and the footnote number."

There is no space after "n." To cite more than one note, use "nn." (Rule 3.2(b))

Examples:

Party A v. Party B, 123 So. 3d 456, 457 n.1 (2023).

Party A v. Party B, 123 So. 3d 456, 457 nn.1-2 (2023).

Citing Footnotes & Text

If you want to cite the footnote and the text that goes with it, use an ampersand between the page number and note. (Rule 3.2(b))

Example: Party A v. Party B, 123 So. 3d 456, 457 & n.1 (2023).

Tip #44, Restatements

To see Tip #44, go here .

Full Citation

Here is what the full cite should look like: Restatement (Second) of Contracts § 90 (Am. L. Inst. 1981). (Rule B12.1.3)

A few notes:

• You should abbreviate the title of a Restatement per T6.
• The ordinal does not get abbreviated like ordinals sometimes do--for instance in the reporter of a case citation.
• You should retain the subtitle.

Comments

As Chris Schandevel added in the comments on the post, to cite a comment to a Restatement, you add the comment after the section pincite. (Rule B12.1.3)

Example: Restatement (Second) of Judgments § 73 cmt. c (1982).

Short Cites

As Tip #44 discussed, the Bluebook is not super clear on the appropriate way to short-cite a Restatement. As promised, I reached out to the Bluebook for some clarity. However, I haven't gotten a response yet. I will post an update as soon as I do.

In the meantime, my BBW instinct is that you can use the short form in Rule B12.2 for Restatements, which is "Id. § 91."

Tip #45, Setting Up Your Bluebook

To see Tip #45, go here .

When you get a new Bluebook, it can seem daunting because of the amount of information. Here are a few tips for setting up your Bluebook to make it accessible and helpful.

Commonly Used Rules

First, you should flag the rules that you'll use often and can't memorize. For litigators, these are my suggestions:

• Rule 1.2: Introductory Signals
• Rule 1.5: Parentheticals
• Rule 3: Subdivisions

Abbreviations

Next, you should flag the abbreviations and tables you'll use often. Here are my suggestions:

• BT1 for court documents
• T6 for case names, etc.
• T10 for geographical terms

In addition, the BBW brain trust added T8.

Other Jurisdictions

If you find yourself citing cases from a certain jurisdiction often, flag that page in T1. T1 has a section for every U.S. jurisdiction. For instance, I spent my summers in law school in Pennsylvania, so I flagged that portion of T1.

*Of course, always remember to check local rules.

Other Suggestions

Here are a few other suggestions that may be helpful to flag:

• Rule 5: Quotations
• Rule 4.2: Supra and hereinafter
• Rule 8: Capitalization
• Rule 10: Cases
• Rule 12: Statutes

BONUS: Wrigley Update

For those of you who have been following Wrigley's journey and are wondering how he's doing, thank you. Your support means so much, and it shows how real the connections we make on here are.

He finally started feeling much better this week once we changed his meds a few more times. We have a follow-up with the doctor this afternoon to recheck bloodwork and come up with a plan.

As if my second job of dog nurse didn't have enough excitement, I decided it was time to figure out how Wrigley can join Turner and me for longer walks even though his heart condition doesn't let him walk as much as he used to...

He was not sure at first but is coming around to the idea. (You can see where his little IVs were on both arms.)

Library of Tips

For a library of all of the prior Bluebook Wednesday tips, visit the?LegalEase Citations ?Blog?here .