Case Citation in Bluebook Format
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0 sourcesCase Citation in Bluebook style follows the pattern Case Name, Volume Reporter Page (Court Year). For example, Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954). Add a pinpoint page for the exact passage you rely on.
What is a case citation?
A case citation is a standardized reference that tells a reader exactly where to find a court decision. Under Bluebook Rule 10 it combines the case name, the reporter volume and page where the opinion is published, and a parenthetical naming the deciding court and the year. Legal writers use it so any judge, clerk, or researcher can locate the same opinion.
Every full citation carries five working parts: the party names, the reporter source, the court, the date, and (when you quote or paraphrase) a pinpoint page. Get those in the right order and your citation is portable across briefs, memos, and law review articles.
What does a Bluebook case citation look like?
A Bluebook case citation places the italicized case name first, followed by the reporter coordinates, then a parenthetical. The reporter reference reads volume number, reporter abbreviation, and the page on which the opinion begins. The final parenthetical gives the court abbreviation and the year of decision.
- Case name — first party v. second party, italicized
- Volume — the reporter volume number
- Reporter — abbreviated series (U.S. = United States Reports)
- First page — where the opinion begins
- Court & year — parenthetical; court omitted when the reporter implies it
Notice there is no court abbreviation inside the Miranda parenthetical. Because the United States Reports (U.S.) publishes only Supreme Court opinions, Bluebook Rule 10.4 tells you to drop the court name and keep only the year.
How do you cite Supreme Court cases?
Cite U.S. Supreme Court decisions to the United States Reports (U.S.) whenever a volume is available, and omit the court from the parenthetical. Use the unofficial Supreme Court Reporter (S. Ct.) or Lawyers’ Edition (L. Ed.) only when the official cite has not yet been published.
FullRoe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973).
PinpointBrown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483, 495 (1954).
Pre-officialStudents for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President & Fellows of Harvard College, 143 S. Ct. 2141 (2023).
How do you cite lower federal and state court cases?
For lower courts the reporter does not identify the deciding court, so you must name it inside the parenthetical alongside the year. Federal courts of appeals go to the Federal Reporter, district courts to the Federal Supplement, and state cases to the regional reporter with the state court abbreviated.
| Court level | Reporter | Parenthetical | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Court of Appeals | F., F.2d, F.3d, F.4th | Circuit + year | United States v. Microsoft Corp., 253 F.3d 34 (D.C. Cir. 2001). |
| District Court | F. Supp., F. Supp. 2d/3d | District + year | A&M Records, Inc. v. Napster, Inc., 114 F. Supp. 2d 896 (N.D. Cal. 2000). |
| State high court | Regional reporter | State abbrev. + year | Palsgraf v. Long Island Railroad Co., 162 N.E. 99 (N.Y. 1928). |
| State appellate | Regional reporter | State + court + year | People v. Doe, 210 Cal. Rptr. 3d 55 (Ct. App. 2016). |
The regional reporters cover multiple states: A. (Atlantic), N.E. (North Eastern), N.W. (North Western), P. (Pacific), S.E. (South Eastern), S.W. (South Western), and So. (Southern). Bluebook Table T1 lists the required reporter for each jurisdiction, so confirm the correct series before you file.
How do you use pinpoint and short-form citations?
A pinpoint (or “pincite”) is the specific page you quote, placed after the first-page number: Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483, 495 (1954). Once you have given the full citation, Rule 10.9 lets you switch to a short form for later references to the same case.
Short formBrown, 347 U.S. at 495.
Immediately afterId. at 497.
Use id. only when the immediately preceding cite is the same authority. For an unpublished opinion with no reporter, cite the database identifier and the full date: United States v. Smith, No. 21-cr-0456, 2022 WL 1234567, at *3 (S.D.N.Y. Apr. 4, 2022).
Do you italicize case names and use “v.” or “vs.”?
Yes, italicize the case name in court documents and briefs, and always write “v.” never “vs.” In law review footnotes the convention differs: the full-citation case name appears in ordinary roman type, while short-form case names stay italicized. Rule 10.2 also governs which words you abbreviate and omit.
- Keep only the first-listed party on each side and drop “et al.”
- Abbreviate common words such as Corporation to Corp., Company to Co., and Railroad to R.R. in citations.
- Omit “The” as the first word of a party name, except “The King” or “The Queen.”
- In a textual sentence, spell out most words and abbreviate only the eight widely known terms listed in Rule 10.2.1(c).
How accurate is this guide, and what are its limits?
These rules track the Bluebook’s 21st edition, the current standard used by most U.S. law schools and courts. They are accurate for the common source types above, but the Bluebook runs to hundreds of pages and edge cases exist. Court-specific local rules can override national conventions.
This page does not replace Tables T1 (jurisdictions) and T6/T7 (abbreviations), which control reporter names, court abbreviations, and word shortening. Some courts require parallel citations to both official and regional reporters, and a few states mandate public-domain (medium-neutral) formats. When a court’s local rules speak, follow them over the Bluebook. Always verify the volume and page against the reporter itself before filing.
Case citation FAQ
Common questions about writing case citations in Bluebook format.