Bluebook Wednesday, June Newsletter

Happy June!

In May, we focused on Whitepages for the law students participating in law review write on competitions.

Apologies for missing BBW the last two weeks. I have had a chaotic few weeks of work travel.

6,000 Subscribers

Some big news for the BBW newsletter this month: 6,000 subscribers

Tip #67, Case Cites in the Whitepages

Case Name Font (Rule 10.2)

In a full cite, the case name should be in ordinary font, not italicized. In a short cite, the case name is italicized.

NOTE: This is different from the Bluepages, where all case names are italicized.

Case Name Abbreviations (Rule 10.2)

In full and short cites, abbreviate the case name according to 10.2.2. T6 should be your best friend.

While Rule 10.2.1 says to retain the first word of a party's name in full, Rule 10.2.2 says to "[a]lways abbreviate any word listed in table T6, even if [it] is the first word in a party's name . . . ."

NOTE: This was previously explained incorrectly in Tip #62. I've fixed it in the Tip on the LegalEase Citations Blog and in the BBW Newsletter. Apologies for any confusion.

To be clear, if a word is on T6, it should always be abbreviated in a citation.

You should not, however, abbreviate it if the case name is used in-text. For case names in-text, only abbreviate the eight words in Rule 10.2.1.

Retain only the first party listed on each side in the case name. So if Jones and Johnson are both Plaintiffs against Watkins and Walton, the case name would be Jones v. Watkins in the citation. (Rule 10.2.1(a))

Do not abbreviate "United States" or any other geographical term when it is the full party name. You can abbreviate it when it's part of a case name. Examples:

• Florida v. Jones
• Contractors of Fla. v. Jones

Rule of 5 (Rule 10.9(a))

You can use a short cite for a case if it has been cited in any form in any of the five preceding footnotes. If it has not, you have to repeat the full cite.

Example

4. Jones v. James, 212 So. 3d 456, 457 (Fla. 2023).

5. Id.

...

10. Jones, 123 So. 3d at 456.

Example

4. Jones v. James, 212 So. 3d 456, 457 (Fla. 2023).

5. Id.

...

12. Jones v. James, 212 So. 3d 456, 457 (Fla. 2023).

Tip #68, Journal Cites in the Whitepages

Journal Cite Font

• Author name(s): ordinary font
• Article title: italicized
• Journal name: small caps

NOTE: This is different from the Bluepages, where Small Caps are not used.

Author

In full cites, you should use the author's full name. (Rule 16.2) For more information on authors, see Rule 15.1.

In short cites, you will use the author's last name with a cross-reference. (Rule 16.9)

Article Title

The title of the article should be written as it is on the cover page in italicized, ordinary font. (Rule 16.3)

Journal Information

The journal information in the cite is generally "[volume] J. TITLE [starting page number] (year)."

You can add a pincite after the starting page number, preceded by a comma. (Rules 16.4-16.5)

The name of the journal should be abbreviated according to T6, T10, and T13. (Rule 16.4) It is written in small caps.

Internal Cross-References

Using cross-references can get tricky until they become part of your language.

? supra - If the source is already cited above, use supra.

? infra - If the referenced source/discussion is forthcoming, use infra.

? Do not use internal cross-references (i.e., supra/infra) for cases or statutes.

Tip #69, Internet Cites in the Whitepages

To see Tip #69, go here .

Internet Cite Font (Rule 18.1)

• Author: ordinary font
• Article title: italicized
• Website name: small caps

NOTE: This is different from the Bluepages, where Small Caps are not used.

Social Media Posts

Author (@Handle), WEBSITE (Date, Time), URL.

Website Name (18.2(b)(i))

The name of the website should be abbreviated according to T6, T10, and T13. For example, "New York Times" would be "N.Y. Times."

Date (Rule 18.2(c))

Use the date as indicated on the site. If the page is not dated, add "(last updated DATE)" or "(last modified DATE)" to the end of the citation. If that is not available, add "(last visited DATE)" to the end of the citation with the most recent date you accessed the site.

Do Not

Do not use "available at" before the URL. That is from an old version of the Bluebook.

For a library of all BBW tips, visit the LegalEase Citations blog here .

As always, let me know if there's anything you'd like to see in a future BBW Tip. I hope everyone has a great June!