Bluebook Citation Basics for Law Students
How Lawyers Cite a Court or Record Document
You will have many opportunities to cite to a court document, such as a deposition, affidavit, or a trial transcript, to develop facts for the briefs you submit for your law school classes and potentially in your practice.
As a general rule of thumb, you should cite to the record for every factual assertion you make in a document you would file with a court.
Basic Bluebook Format of Court and Record Citations
Unlike other citations, citations to the record and other court documents are always placed inside parentheses.
Typically, the citation format includes the name of the document, abbreviated in accord with the Bluebook table; a pinpoint citation; and occasionally a date.
Document Name in Court and Record Citations
You do not need to underline or italicize the name of the document, but you should capitalize the document.
You should capitalize the document name even if you shorten the name of the document. However, do not capitalize a general reference to a type of court document. See Rule B10.6.3 for more information.
Many document names have standard abbreviations listed in the Bluebook. To determine whether the document you are citing has an official abbreviation, look at the table at the end of the blue pages.
Pinpointing Cited Information in Court Records
Because the record and court documents can be extremely lengthy, it is vital to include a specific reference point in the citation.
For depositions, you should cite to the page and line number separated by a colon. For documents with numbered paragraphs, such as affidavits or complaints, you should cite to the paragraph number preceded by the paragraph symbol (¶). For other documents, such as the record, you should cite to the page number or numbers where the cited material appears.
When you are citing to a page, line, or paragraph number, you should generally not precede the number with the word “at,” as you use in other citations. However, you should include “at” when citing to the appellate record.
Including the Date in Court and Record Citations
At the end of your citation, you should add the court document’s date for certain documents, including depositions, affidavits, and trial testimony. If the date is significant to the discussion for another type of document, you should include it in that citation as well.
Abbreviate the month according to Table T.12.
Example of a Citation to a Court Document
Let’s say you want to include deposition testimony for a witness named Charlene Traylor in your brief. The fact you want to cite is located on page 13 and line 9 of the deposition transcript. Ms. Traylor was deposed on March 16, 2009.
The citation should appear like this:
According to Ms. Traylor, she was waiting to cross Rennie Avenue at the intersection of Chamberlayne Avenue at approximately 4:30 p.m. on January 20, 2009, when she saw a red SUV traveling approximately 70 miles per hour through that intersection. (Traylor Dep. 13:9, Mar. 16, 2009.)
Following these rules will ensure you have properly cited the record and other court documents in your memoranda and briefs. See these articles for more information on how to cite a federal court case and how to cite a state court case.
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