What Citation Style Is Used In Law?

by | Last updated on January 24, 2024

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Most legal materials are cited using

Bluebook style

, which is the standard legal style used in all disciplines (see Bluebook style in The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation, 2015). APA defers to Bluebook style for legal materials and uses those templates and patterns in bibliographies.

What kind of citations are used in law?

  • Bluebook standard.
  • ALWD Citation Manual.
  • Tanbook (New York State Official Reports Style Manual)
  • Greenbook (Texas Style Manual, supplements Bluebook)
  • Maroonbook (University of Chicago Law School)

What citation style is used in law school?


The Bluebook style guide

is used in the American legal profession for citation of all relevant sources. Additionally, the Chicago Manual of Style recommends its use for all citation of legal material.

Does law use APA or MLA?

Anthropology – use Chicago Law & Legal Studies – use Bluebook, Maroonbook or ALWD Education – use APA Psychology – use APA History – use Chicago or Turabian Religion – use

MLA

or Chicago
International Studies – use APA, APSA, or Chicago Sociology – use ASA

How do you cite a law?

To cite federal laws (also commonly referred to as statutes or acts) in APA Style, include

the name of the law

, “U.S.C.” (short for United States Code), the title and section of the code where the law appears, the year, and optionally the URL.

What are the two most commonly used citation styles?


APA (American Psychological Association)

is used by Education, Psychology, and Sciences. MLA (Modern Language Association) style is used by the Humanities. Chicago/Turabian style is generally used by Business, History, and the Fine Arts.

What is the most common citation style?


MLA citation style

is most frequently used in the humanities (literature, languages, art). The MLA Handbook was first published by the Modern Language Association in 1951. MLA style relies on parenthetical (author, page number) for material that is quoted, summarized or paraphrased in the text of a paper.

What citation means in law?

A citation (or cite) in legal terminology is

a reference to a specific legal source

, such as a constitution, a statute, a reported case, a treatise, or a law review article. A standard citation includes first the volume number, then the title of the source, (usually abbreviated) and lastly, a page or section number.

How is citation useful in law?

The citation is a

valuable and concise source of information

that includes the name of the parties involved in the action, the year the decision was handed down, the jurisdiction and the court in which the case was heard.

What are the types of citation?

Citation style Disciplines Type of citation MLA Humanities Parenthetical (author-page number) APA Psychology, education, social sciences Parenthetical (author-date) Chicago A History, humanities Notes Chicago B Sciences, social sciences, humanities Parenthetical (author-date)

Who should use MLA format?

MLA Style is typically reserved for

writers and students preparing manuscripts in various humanities disciplines

such as: English Studies – Language and Literature. Foreign Languages and Literatures. Literary Criticism.

What is the list of citations at the end of your paper called when using MLA style?

Quick Rules for an MLA Works Cited List. Your research paper ends with a list of all the sources cited in the text of the paper. This is called

a Works Cited list

.

What subjects is APA used for?

APA Style provides fairly comprehensive guidelines for writing academic papers regardless of subject or discipline. However, traditionally, APA is most frequently used by writers and students in: Social Sciences, such as

Psychology, Linguistics, Sociology, Economics, and Criminology

.

Business

.

How do you read a legal citation?

  1. the names of the parties involved in the lawsuit.
  2. the volume number of the reporter containing the full text of the case.
  3. the abbreviated title of that case reporter.
  4. the page number on which the case begins the year the case was decided.
  5. the name of the court deciding the case (not always included)

How do you cite a public law?

  1. Public law number (P.L.) and title, if provided.
  2. Statutes at Large (Stat.) volume and page, date, and enacted bill number, if known.
  3. Database name (Text from: United States Public Laws)
  4. Web service name (Available from: LexisNexis® Congressional)
  5. Date accessed by the user (Accessed: date)

What is the easiest citation style?

For in-text citation, the easiest method is

to parenthetically give the author's last name and the year of publication

, e.g., (Clarke 2001), but the exact way you cite will depend on the specific type of style guide you follow.

Amira Khan
Author
Amira Khan
Amira Khan is a philosopher and scholar of religion with a Ph.D. in philosophy and theology. Amira's expertise includes the history of philosophy and religion, ethics, and the philosophy of science. She is passionate about helping readers navigate complex philosophical and religious concepts in a clear and accessible way.