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Bluebook 101

This guide will serve as a general introduction to the Bluebook. It is tailored to students seeking to cite-on or write-on to one of CU's law reviews or journals.

Rule 10

Rule 10 governs case citation. This 4 minute tutorial from Georgetown Law Library provides an overview of case citation forms. 

A general case citation form for a federal circuit opinion appears below: 

 

 

 

 

Note: in the Law Review context, you may not use the italics in your citation.  See Rule 2, below. 

 

Typeface for Law Review Citations

Rule 2 describes Typeface Conventions for Law Reviews.  Law review articles often employ three different typefaces in citations:

  • Ordinary Roman (Plain text),
  • Italics, and
  • Large & Small capitals ("large and small caps").  

 

According to Rule 2.1 (a), 

Typeface for Law Review Textual Material

Rule 2.2 notes that the main text of law review pieces do not generally contain citations. However, if a case name is part of a sentence, it should be italicized. For example: 

  • In Loving v. Virginia, the Court invalidated Virginia's antimiscegenation statute.