Nonconsecutively paginated periodicals abbreviations u. Appeals from the district courts are made to one of the courts of appeals, organized geographically. The trial courts are called the united states district courts. Free in two different ways that are equally important. The following are lists of standard abbreviations for the major federal and california case reporters as well as for the u. If you encounter a situation that is not covered in this guide, make sure to check the bluebook for more detail. Information and translations of bluebook in the most comprehensive dictionary definitions resource on. Considering that the uniform system of citation has become a basic piece of infrastructure for. For a case that occurred in 2010 in the united states district court for the eastern district of new york for example, the abbreviation will be e. Any information about state and court that is clear from the reporter name should be deleted from the parenthetica l. In the trial court, first name is the plaintiff the party bringing the suit and the name after the v. Instead, many cases from the district courts are published in wests federal supplement. The abbreviation for a bankruptcy court is the same as for the district court with bankr.
Statutes bluebook legal citation tarlton law library. There is a bankruptcy court for every united states district court. Cite state opinions if the issue is one of state law or, in descending order after the u. The abbreviation for the reporter in which the courts opinions are printed is listed under the name of the court. For additional examples and rules, please consult the alwd guide to legal citation. Finding federal case law the maryland peoples law library. Citing case law sample bluebook citations libguides at.
The bluebook requires citation only to the official report supreme court opinions are also published in three unofficial reporters. Supreme court plurality, concurring or dissenting opinions c. These rules are found in t1 on page 235, in t7 on page 499, and in t1. Bt2 jurisdictionspecific citation rules and style guides. Below is a list of state supreme court and court of appeals abbreviations. In sum, combine the abbreviations on page 499 and the state abbreviations in t1 to indicate the court. If possible, you should cite to the current official code or the supplement. State abbreviations bb alwd ib state abbreviations 1. Some basics on bluebooking with a focus on maryland rules this is a quick guide to citing maryland cases and statutes, based on bluebook rules 10 and 12. These regional reporters contain appellate case law from all 50 states plus the district of columbia. Like the federal courts of appeals, cases from the federal district courts are not compiled in an official reporter. Supreme court abbreviations bluebook quick reference. West publishes seven 7 regional reporters as part of the national reporter system.
The webs largest and most authoritative acronyms and abbreviations resource. A list of 1 reporters and reporter abbreviations, 2 courts and court abbreviations, and 3 preferred sources to cite for federal courts and each states courts. Thus, the abbreviation for the bankrupty court of the district of wyoming is. Not surprisingly, the highest court in the federal system is called the united states supreme court the intermediate appellate courts are called the united states circuit courts of appeals.
Bluebook rule 10 covers how cases should be cited in legal documents. If a district court case is published in the federal supplement, the bluebook dictates that you cite to it table 1, p. Court name abbreviations pennsylvania state university. A supreme court case number begins with an s, a court of appeals case number begins with an a, a tax courtregular division case number begins with tc, and a tax court. This is a citation to a california court of appeal case, published in volume 14 of the fourth series of california appellate reports as well as in volume 17 of the second series of california reporter. The indigo book offers a couple of important advantages to users, compared with the bluebook. West also publishes the california reporter and the new york supplement, which contain appellate case law from california and new york. The district courts were established by congress under article iii of the united states constitution. Below is the list of standard docket text abbreviations adopted by this court, as well as a list of abbreviation codes for u. You should give the statutes name and original section number only if it is commonly cited that way or if it would aid the identification of the statue. Marylands courts, court offices, and court administrative offices will be closed in observance of presidents day, monday, february 17. The abbreviation for the court is in the parenthetical after the name of the court. What is the abbreviation for code of maryland annotated. If you prefer to search by state supreme court or court of appeals exclusively, click on the links in the left hand navigation bar for.
Cases bluebook legal citation tarlton law library at. The state boat of maryland is the skipjack, state tree is the white oak, state crustacean is the maryland blue crab, state dog is the ch esapeake bay retriever, state insect is the baltimore checkerspot butterfly, and the state sport is jousting maryland was inhabited by indians as early as ca. Alwd federal citation formats below are examples of the association of legal writing directors alwd style citations most commonly used by students at college of dupage. A new edition of the official united states code is published every six years, with a cumulative supplement published annually. It is important that what you are citing is considered good law, as many cases will go through. Table t1 identifies which reporter to cite to the preferred reporter with the phrase cite to reporter abbreviation, if therein. You can take a free online course to help you learn about filing for divorce on wednesday, february 19.
The trial courts consider evidence presented in a case and make judgments based on the facts, the law and legal precedent prior legal decisions from a higher court. For example, the abbreviation for the district of wyoming is. School of government legal citation and style guide. The third section will list citations for general legal materials. The supreme court of the united states is the only federal court to officially report its cases. Govt of republic of ghana are the names of the parties in the case. Finding maryland case law the maryland peoples law library. If you have any further questions regarding this issue, please contact our customer services counter at 602 3227200 or 520 2054200. This list only includes abbreviations for states court of appeals. The courts hear civil and criminal cases, and each is paired with a bankruptcy court. In material that covers both state and federal law, to avoid confusion its helpful to add state before references to north carolinas toplevel court the state supreme court if deci. For example, the court of special appeals issued an opinion interpreting section 82 of the maryland code, real property. The number of district courts in a court of appeals circuit varies between one and thirteen, depending on. Citing cases bluebook guide guides at georgetown law.
Usually, each courts cases are published in one or more competing reporters. The following is a list of the most commonly abbreviations used in the legal citation system. The first section is a list of commonly used citation abbreviations for illinois sources. First, the indigo book is given to you free of charge. Find out what is the most common shorthand of code of maryland annotated relations on. Federal courts bluebook guide guides at georgetown law. The federal legal system has its own system of courts that is completely separate from the state court systems. Looking for the abbreviation of code of maryland annotated relations. North carolina supreme court, one can use the supreme court lowercase in subsequent references. Court name abbreviations table 7 in a nutshell normally, the abbreviation for state intermediate appellate courts is x ct. Bluepages reference for prior and subsequent history. Browse the list of 2 770 court abbreviations with their meanings and definitions. The court hierarchy means that if a higher maryland court disagrees with a lower maryland court about the meaning of maryland law, the higher courts interpretation is used.
Abbreviations to federal courts legal abbreviations. It is not intended to be a comprehensive discussion of citation rules. Federal court abbreviations toggle dropdown other federal court abbreviations. List of all most popular abbreviated court terms defined. These tables give the various abbreviations for the u. For example, under the entries for arizona you have supreme court ariz. Parallel citations are used when the same case is printed in two or more different reporters. Courts of appeals and courts of last resort alabama. List of united states district and territorial courts. A uniform system of citation, a style guide, prescribes the most widely used legal citation system in the united states. Most commonly used abbreviations in legal citations.