# Complete Legal Citation Guide

## Cases

### Federal Courts

#### Supreme Court

**Official Reporter (U.S. Reports):**
```
Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954).
Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483, 495 (1954). [with pincite]
```

**Parallel Citations (for older cases):**
```
Marbury v. Madison, 5 U.S. (1 Cranch) 137 (1803).
```

**Before Publication in U.S. Reports:**
```
[Case Name], 143 S. Ct. 1234 (2023).
```

#### Circuit Courts of Appeals

```
[Case Name], [Vol.] F.4th [Page] ([Circuit] [Year]).
Smith v. Jones, 45 F.4th 789, 792 (9th Cir. 2023).

Unpublished/Non-Precedential:
Smith v. Jones, No. 22-1234, 2023 WL 123456, at *3 (9th Cir. Jan. 15, 2023).
—or—
Smith v. Jones, 34 F. App'x 567 (9th Cir. 2023) (unpublished).
```

**Circuit Abbreviations:**

| Circuit | Abbreviation |
|---------|--------------|
| First | 1st Cir. |
| Second | 2d Cir. |
| Third | 3d Cir. |
| Fourth | 4th Cir. |
| Fifth | 5th Cir. |
| Sixth | 6th Cir. |
| Seventh | 7th Cir. |
| Eighth | 8th Cir. |
| Ninth | 9th Cir. |
| Tenth | 10th Cir. |
| Eleventh | 11th Cir. |
| D.C. | D.C. Cir. |
| Federal | Fed. Cir. |

#### District Courts

```
[Case Name], [Vol.] F. Supp. 3d [Page] ([District] [Year]).
Smith v. Jones, 456 F. Supp. 3d 123, 130 (S.D.N.Y. 2023).
Smith v. Jones, 456 F. Supp. 3d 123, 130 (D. Mass. 2023).
```

**District Abbreviations:**
```
S.D.N.Y. (Southern District of New York)
E.D.N.Y. (Eastern District of New York)
N.D. Cal. (Northern District of California)
C.D. Cal. (Central District of California)
D. Mass. (District of Massachusetts)
D.D.C. (District of District of Columbia)
```

### State Courts

**General Format:**
```
[Case Name], [Vol.] [Reporter] [Page], [Pincite] ([Court] [Year]).
```

**State Supreme Courts:**
```
People v. Smith, 123 Cal. 4th 456, 460 (2023).
Smith v. State, 456 S.W.3d 789, 792 (Tex. 2023).
```

**State Intermediate Appellate Courts:**
```
Smith v. Jones, 123 Cal. App. 5th 456, 460 (2023).
Smith v. Jones, 456 N.Y.S.3d 789, 792 (App. Div. 2023).
```

**Include court identifier when not clear from reporter:**
```
Smith v. Jones, 789 A.3d 123, 125 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2023).
```

### Case Name Rules

**Shorten names in citations:**
- Omit "The" at beginning
- Use first-listed plaintiff/defendant only
- Abbreviate per Bluebook Table 6

**Common Abbreviations:**
| Term | Abbreviation |
|------|--------------|
| Association | Ass'n |
| Company | Co. |
| Corporation | Corp. |
| Department | Dep't |
| Government | Gov't |
| Incorporated | Inc. |
| Insurance | Ins. |
| International | Int'l |
| Limited | Ltd. |
| Manufacturing | Mfg. |
| National | Nat'l |
| Secretary | Sec'y |
| United States | U.S. |

### Prior and Subsequent History

```
Smith v. Jones, 123 F.3d 456 (9th Cir. 2019), aff'd, 140 S. Ct. 789 (2020).
Smith v. Jones, 123 F.3d 456 (9th Cir. 2019), rev'd, 140 S. Ct. 789 (2020).
Smith v. Jones, 123 F.3d 456 (9th Cir. 2019), cert. denied, 140 S. Ct. 789 (2020).
Smith v. Jones, 123 F.3d 456 (9th Cir. 2019), vacated, 140 S. Ct. 789 (2020).
Smith v. Jones, 456 F. Supp. 3d 789 (S.D.N.Y. 2020), aff'd in part, rev'd in part,
    45 F.4th 123 (2d Cir. 2022).
```

## Statutes

### United States Code

**Basic Format:**
```
[Title] U.S.C. § [Section] ([Year]).
42 U.S.C. § 1983 (2018).
```

**Multiple Sections:**
```
42 U.S.C. §§ 1983-1988 (2018). [consecutive]
42 U.S.C. §§ 1983, 1985, 1988 (2018). [non-consecutive]
```

**Subsections:**
```
26 U.S.C. § 501(c)(3) (2018).
```

**Popular Name:**
```
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, 42 U.S.C. §§ 12101-12213 (2018).
—on subsequent reference—
ADA
```

### State Statutes

**Official Codes:**
```
Cal. Civ. Code § 1542 (West 2023).
N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law § 349 (McKinney 2023).
Tex. Bus. & Com. Code Ann. § 17.41 (West 2023).
Del. Code Ann. tit. 8, § 102(a)(7) (2023).
735 Ill. Comp. Stat. 5/2-1001 (2023).
```

### Session Laws

**Public Laws:**
```
[Popular Name], Pub. L. No. [Number], § [Section], [Vol.] Stat. [Page] ([Year]).
Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, Pub. L. No. 117-169, § 13401, 136 Stat. 1818.
```

**State Session Laws:**
```
Act of [Date], ch. [Number], § [Section], [Year] [State] Laws [Page].
Act of June 30, 2023, ch. 123, § 5, 2023 Cal. Stat. 456.
```

## Regulations

### Code of Federal Regulations

**Basic Format:**
```
[Title] C.F.R. § [Section] ([Year]).
17 C.F.R. § 240.10b-5 (2023).
```

**Multiple Sections:**
```
40 C.F.R. §§ 260.1-.43 (2023).
```

### Federal Register

**Proposed Rules:**
```
[Title of Rule], [Vol.] Fed. Reg. [Page] (proposed [Date]) (to be codified at [C.F.R. cite]).
Climate Disclosure Rules, 87 Fed. Reg. 21,334 (proposed Apr. 11, 2022)
(to be codified at 17 C.F.R. pts. 210, 229, 232, 239, 249).
```

**Final Rules:**
```
[Title of Rule], [Vol.] Fed. Reg. [Page] ([Date]) (codified at [C.F.R. cite]).
```

### State Regulations

```
[Title], [State Admin. Code] § [Section] ([Year]).
Cal. Code Regs. tit. 2, § 18730 (2023).
N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. tit. 9, § 5.80 (2023).
```

## Secondary Sources

### Law Reviews and Journals

```
[Author], [Title], [Vol.] [Journal Abbrev.] [Page], [Pincite] ([Year]).
Jane Smith, The Future of Privacy Law, 123 Harv. L. Rev. 456, 460 (2023).
```

**Student Works:**
```
Note, Privacy in the Digital Age, 123 Yale L.J. 456 (2023).
Comment, Contract Interpretation, 123 U. Chi. L. Rev. 789 (2023).
```

### Treatises

```
[Volume] [Author], [Title] § [Section] ([Edition] [Year]).
5 Williston on Contracts § 12:15 (4th ed. 2023).
3 Nimmer on Copyright § 8.04 (2023).
Restatement (Second) of Contracts § 241 (Am. L. Inst. 1981).
```

### Books

```
[Author], [Title] [Pincite] ([Year]).
Richard Epstein, Simple Rules for a Complex World 45 (1995).
```

### Dictionaries

```
[Entry Name], [Dictionary] ([Edition] [Year]).
Contract, Black's Law Dictionary (11th ed. 2019).
```

### Legal Encyclopedias

```
[Volume] [Encyclopedia] [Topic] § [Section] ([Year]).
17A Am. Jur. 2d Contracts § 345 (2023).
17A C.J.S. Contracts § 123 (2023).
```

### ALR Annotations

```
[Author], Annotation, [Title], [Vol.] A.L.R. [Series] [Page] ([Year]).
John Smith, Annotation, Liability for Data Breach, 45 A.L.R.7th 123 (2023).
```

## Court Documents and Filings

### Same Case

```
Complaint at 5, Smith v. Jones, No. 1:23-cv-00123 (S.D.N.Y. Jan. 15, 2023).
Defendant's Motion to Dismiss at 10, ECF No. 25.
Declaration of Jane Doe ¶ 15, ECF No. 30-2.
Transcript of Hearing at 45:12-15, ECF No. 42.
```

### Other Cases

```
Brief for Appellant at 15, Smith v. Jones, No. 22-1234 (9th Cir. filed Mar. 1, 2023).
```

## Electronic Sources

### Westlaw/Lexis

**Cases not in print reporter:**
```
Smith v. Jones, No. 22-1234, 2023 WL 123456, at *3 (S.D.N.Y. Jan. 15, 2023).
Smith v. Jones, No. 22-1234, 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12345, at *8 (S.D.N.Y. Jan. 15, 2023).
```

### Internet Sources

```
[Author], [Title], [Website] ([Date]), [URL].
Jane Smith, Privacy Update, Law360 (Jan. 15, 2023), https://www.law360.com/articles/123.
SEC, Press Release No. 2023-01 (Jan. 15, 2023), https://www.sec.gov/news/press/2023-01.
```

## Legislative Materials

### Bills

```
H.R. 1234, 118th Cong. (2023).
S. 5678, 118th Cong. § 2 (2023).
```

### Committee Reports

```
H.R. Rep. No. 118-123, at 5 (2023).
S. Rep. No. 118-456, at 10 (2023).
```

### Hearings

```
[Title]: Hearing Before the [Committee], [Cong.] [Page] ([Year])
(statement of [Witness]).
Privacy in the Digital Age: Hearing Before the S. Comm. on the Judiciary,
118th Cong. 45 (2023) (statement of Jane Smith, Professor of Law).
```

### Congressional Record

```
[Vol.] Cong. Rec. [Page] ([Year]) (statement of [Speaker]).
169 Cong. Rec. H1234 (daily ed. Mar. 15, 2023) (statement of Rep. Jones).
```

## Special Citation Forms

### Unpublished Materials

```
Letter from [Author] to [Recipient] (Date) (on file with author).
Interview with Jane Smith, CEO of ABC Corp. (Jan. 15, 2023).
```

### Foreign Materials

```
[Case Name], [Court], [Date], [Reporter] (Country).
R v. Smith, [2023] UKSC 12, [15] (UK).
```

### International Materials

```
Statute of the International Court of Justice art. 38, June 26, 1945, 59 Stat. 1055.
G.A. Res. 217 (III) A, Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Dec. 10, 1948).
```