Bluebook Quick Reference: Abbreviations and How-tos

Changes include:

• New Rule 22 for Tribal sources
• New Rule 23 for Archival Sources
• Contrast signal, B5.3
• Rule 16.8(b): DOI for periodicals - Digital object identifiers may be appended to a periodical citation in brackets.
• For web sources, Rule 18.2.1 requires including a citation to an archival site, such as Perma.cc, or preserved in physical or digital form and be on file with the author or publishing journal.  
• Rule 18.3 - citing AI generated content.

The 21st edition of the Bluebook became available Summer 2020. 

One big change is the way federal statutory code sections are cited. If you are citing to the current U.S. Code, you do not have to include a year. This is true when you are citing the official or unofficial code. HOWEVER, if you are citing to the code from Lexis or Westlaw, you must still include the currency information according to Rule 12.5.

See the Summary of Changes, below.

This LibGuide contains useful information for legal citation, some of which is not in the Bluebook itself.  It includes:

• abbreviations for titles of legal periodicals
• abbreviations for names of federal courts
• abbreviations for names of state courts
• abbreviations for secondary sources
• how-tos for citing cases with examples 

This guide was originally written by Valparaiso University Law Library.   It is used here with permission.

For citations to Foreign Jurisdictions see: Bluebook Table 2 Online

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