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Bluebook Citation: Statutes

Bluebook Quick Reference

B5 (p. 15): Sources & Authorities for statutes, rules, and regulations.

Rule 12 (p. 111):  Rules for citing statutes.

Statute Citing 101

Both state and federal statutes are published in books called codes, usually having the statutes compiled by title or subject matter.

There are two types of statutes you will cite:

  1. Federal Statutes (United States Code, Code of Federal Regulations, or the Federal Register):  these conventions can be found in T1.1 of the Bluebook.
  2. State Statutes (state supreme court, appeals courts, trial courts, or state's statutory compilation):  these conventions can be found in T1.3 of the Bluebook.

Additionally, when citing a statute it is very important to make sure you are citing the most current information.  This is found in the form of a pocket part.  Cite the statue using the prescribed elements (discussed on both the Federal and State Statute pages of this guide), but modify the date to show you are citing a supplement section.

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