The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation, sets the standard for all legal citations, and the style for legal citations that you see in the APA Publication Manual (see Chapter 11: Legal References, pp. 355–368) comes directly from The Bluebook.
In-Text Citation:
Narrative citations: Wienhorst v. Stonebraker (1988)
Parenthetical citations: (Wienhorst v. Stonebraker, 1988)
Reference List Citation:
Name v. Name, Volume Source Page (Court and Date of Decision).
Example:
Wienhorst v. Stonebraker, 356 F. Supp. 1078 (E.D. Wis. 1988).
For more information on citing legal materials, See the APA manual, (7th ed.), p. 355.
Additional information on how to cite court decisions.The Bluebook provides the comprehensive, standardized citation system for the legal profession in the United States.
In-Text Citation:
Example:
Narrative citation: No Child Left Behind Act (2001)
Parenthetical citation: (No Child Left Behind Act, 2001)
Reference List Citation:
Name of Act, Volume Source § section number (year). See APA manual (7th ed.), p. 361.
Example:
No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, 20 U.S.C. § 6319 (2008)
-U.S.C. stands for United States Code. If you are using the annotated version, use U.S.C.A.
-Unless you are citing a specific version of the statute for historical reasons, use the most current version of the statute.
Note: The " § " is a special section symbol that you insert as follows:
In Microsoft Word, click "Insert:"
Go to the far right and select "Symbol:"
Select "More Symbols" from the dropdown menu:
Click the "Special Characters" tab and select the symbol marked "Section," then "Insert:"
For Internal Revenue Code citations, U.S.C. (United States Code) may be replaced (but is not required) with I.R.C.
Per the IRS website, "When making reference to a Code section, usually no reference is made to the title, subtitle, chapter, subchapter, or part" (4.10.7.2.1.2). See link below for more information.
Example:
26 U.S.C. § 61 (2000). becomes I.R.C. § 61 (2000).
For more information on the citation of Federal Taxation Materials and Internal Revenue Code, please consult The Bluebook, page 15, section B6.1.5 and page 109, section 12.8.1.
The Bluebook provides the comprehensive, standardized citation system for the legal profession in the United States.
