Law Commons^™

A New Bluebook, K.K. Duvivier

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

In late August 2000, the Seventeenth Edition of The Bluebook' hit the shelves of lawschool bookstores across the country. Only a few first-year students have an inkling of what this unassuming, spiral-bound paperback has in store for them. However, savvy second and third-year students know to check the Preface for changes from previous editions. The Preface to the Seventeenth Edition2 lists fifteen "noteworthy" changes from the Sixteenth Edition. Here are six that may have the most impact on practitioners.

String Citations-Part Ii, K.K. Duvivier

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

However, string citations can be useful in some situations. For example, you may wish to use a string citation if you need to illustrate that there is a trend of authorities or that more than one case or jurisdiction supports the proposition you urge. String citations also are helpful when readers expect a comprehensive treatment of authorities.

String Citations-Part I, K.K. Duvivier

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

Whenever you list more than one authority to support the same legal proposition, you are using a "string citation." The name arises from the impression that the writer is "stringing" together several citations. In a string citation, each authority follows the next in a proscribed order: (1) by strength of authority (primary before secondary, enacted law before case law); (2) by jurisdiction (federal before state, alphabetically among states); (3) by rank of court (highest to lowest court); and (4) by date (reverse chronological with most recent first).' Semi-colons are placed between each authority.

The Citing Of Law Reviews By The Supreme Court:1971-1999, Louis J. Sirico Jr.

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Legal Citations For The Twenty-First Century, K.K. Duvivier

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

True, a judge probably won't rule against you if your cites are wrong, but faulty cites do reflect poorly on you.' First, like good manners, proper citations illustrate both your knowledge of the rules of etiquette for legal writing and your precision in following those rules. If your citations are sloppy, some readers may presume that your research and reasoning were done in a similarly uninformed and careless fashion.

Pesky Citations, K.K. Duvivier

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

Constant citation to legal authorities presents a unique problem for legal writers. Although these authorities are necessary to the analysis, integrating them can interrupt the flow of the writing, or more significantly, can obscure the meaning. Law reviews have chosen to use footnotes to address this problem. But footnotes create their own form of vertical interruption,' and many courts discourage their use in briefs. This article addresses some of the difficulties created by these pesky citations and suggests some solutions for incorporating them more smoothly.

Alwd Citation Manual: A Professional System Of Citation, Terrill Pollman, Leah A. Kane

Scholarly Works

The Association of Legal Writing Directors (ALWD) has written a new citation manual that is easy to teach from and easy to use.

Although the ALWD Manual provides a very different teaching and learning experience, practitioners should experience few difficulties adjusting to the new manual.