Citation Class #1 - Advocacy

Memo

February 22, 2019

Law Practice II - Professor Keller
Prepared by Justin Rheingold & Madison McWithey
Statutes (BLUEBOOK RULE 12.2.1)

Title VII:

● When you first mention the statute in a sentence, cite as follows: Title
VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. See 42 U.S.C. §2000e-2(a)(1) (2012).
● Afterwards, just refer to it as Title VII without a full citation.
Citing Federal Court Cases (BLUEBOOK T1.1)

ALL cases must come from the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit or
the United States Supreme Court. Do NOT use state cases or federal district
court cases.

7th Circuit:

● Breault v. Feigenholtz, 358 F.2d 39, 43 (7th Cir. 1966).

○ NOTE: 7th not 7th
● Breault, 358 F.2d at 43.
● Id. at 43.

Supreme Court:

● Marbury v. Madison, 5 U.S. 137, 140 (1803).

● Marbury, 5 U.S. at 140.
● Id. at 140.
Order of Authority (BLUEBOOK RULE 1.4)

FEDERAL
1. Statutes
2. Supreme Court of the United States
3. Federal circuit courts (i.e. 1st Circuit or 7th Circuit)
○ Federal circuits of the same level, but of different jurisdictions are
treated as one court. This means they are equal and the cases
should be listed in reverse chronological order, regardless of
which circuit court they came from
4. Federal district courts
STATE (alphabetically by state, then by rank with each state)

1. State supreme courts

2. State appellate courts
3. State district courts
Case Name Abbreviations (BLUEBOOK RULE 10.2)

The Bluebook distinguishes between case names used as part of a citation

sentence and case names appearing as part of a textual sentence. Case names
in citation sentences are more heavily abbreviated.

Textual Sentences (Bluebook Rule 10.2.1(c)):

● Only abbreviate the following words: “&,” “Ass’n,” “Co.,” “Corp.,” “Inc.,”
“Ltd.,” and “No.”
● Example:
○ In Posey v. Calvert County Board of Education, the court decided blah
blah. 262 F. Supp. 2d. 598, 601 (D. Md. 2003).

Citation Sentences (Bluebook Rule 10.2.1 & 10.2.2):

● Abbreviate all words as required by Rule 10.2.1, 10.2.1, T6 and T10

● Example:
○ The court decided blah blah. Posey v. Calvert Cty. Bd. of Educ., 262 F.
Supp. 2d. 598, 601 (D. Md. 2003).
Short Form (BLUEBOOK RULE 10.9)

Short Form Reminders:

● Use when previously cited to a case, but id. would be inappropriate

● Consists of only one party name, usually the first
● EXCEPT:
○ If party is a government entity
○ If party is a common litigant
○ If it is too long, ambiguous, or heavily abbreviated
● You must remain consistent - once you pick a party name to use for
short form, stick with it!

Examples:

● Kentucky Fried Chicken v. Weathersby, 607 A.2d 8, 15 (Md. 1992).

● Weathersby, 607 A.2d at 15.
● Id. at 15.
Id. (BLUEBOOK RULE 4.1)

Reminder: Id. can only be used if previous citation had ONE authority!
Cannot be used after a string citation to multiple authorities.

● Don’t forget to underline the period!

● If page number changes, use id. at XYZ.
● Do not need to first use a short form citation - once you have cited the
case in your brief, you may refer to the case as id.
● If citation signal is used, id. is not capitalized
○ Ex: See id.
● For the purposes of this memo, you may only use five (5) id. cites in a
row before you must reuse a short form of the citation
Pincite Reminders

● Do not cite to the case summary or headnotes!

○ Do not cite the Syllabus for SCOTUS cases
● Every single citation needs to have a pincite
● Pincites should be specific, NOT large ranges
○ The goal is for the reader to be able to go to the case and find the
language you’re referring to
● Drop all but the last two digits for 2nd page
○ INCORRECT:
■ Id. at 67-8
■ Id. at 1198-1199
■ Id. at 1198-1200
○ CORRECT:
■ Id. at 67-68
■ Id. at 1198-99
■ Id. at 1198-200
 Signals: see (BLUEBOOK RULE 1.2)

When to use see:

● When the proposition is not directly stated by the cited authority, but
obviously follows from it - inferential step between cited authority and the
proposition it supports
○ Implicit reasoning or inferences from the case
○ Application / Prediction using facts from your case
○ Comparing / Contrasting one case to another

How to use see:

● Capitalize and underline see if it starts a citation sentence

○ Ex: Certain conduct could be severe and pervasive. See Meritor, 477 U.S.
at 67.
● Do NOT capitalize see if it comes later in a citation sentence
○ Ex: A hostile work environment is one that is both subjectively and
objectively offensive. Gentry, 238 F.3d at 850; see Meritor, 477 U.S. at 57;
Signals: see also (BLUEBOOK RULE 1.2)

When to use see also:

● When citing additional source material beyond what has already been
stated in the sentence

How to use see also:

● For purposes of advocacy memo, use see also as a way to provide more
examples of cases with facts and holdings that bolster your argument
without using up space in your memo

For this advocacy memo, you MUST use see also and a parenthetical at least
once, though no points will be deducted for improper usage in the first draft
Using (Parentheticals) (BLUEBOOK RULE 1.5)

● A parenthetical is a phrase within a parentheses; not a sentence

○ Eliminate articles such as “a” and “the”
● Begin with a present participle
○ Holding, finding, ruling, concluding
● Don’t capitalize the first word
● No period within the parentheses
● Do NOT discuss a case both in the text and in the parenthetical in the same
discussion of legal analysis
○ BUT you may discuss a case in the text for one point in the memo and
use the same case in a parenthetical somewhere else
● For this advocacy memo, use parentheticals to discuss facts and
conclusions, not just legal reasoning
○ Make sure to include facts and holding within parentheticals
Using (Parentheticals) cont’d (BLUEBOOK RULE 1.5)

● Examples:
○ While the jury was responsible for determining liability for a Clean
Water Act violation, the assessment of the penalty was within the
discretion of the trial judge. Tull, 463 U.S. at 170; see also Thomas v.
Smith, 215 F. 3d 1048, 1052 (1st Cir. 2000) (permitting judge to
determine form of relief for Clean Water Act violation).
○ The due process conviction was overturned. See id.; see also Hatch,
615 Gr.3d at 252 (holding Due Process Clause bars conviction since
defendant’s conspiracy did not contemplate arson, unless government
can demonstrate arson was reasonably foreseeable).
Order of Signals (BLUEBOOK RULE 1.3)

Signals should always be used in the following order:

● No signal
● See
● See also

Reminder for String Cites: should be separated via semicolons and watch for
proper capitalization!

Example:

● Meritor, 477 U.S. at 68; see Texas v. Brown, 460 U.S. 730, 740-41 (1983);
see also Katz, 389 U.S. at 360-61 (holding electronically listening to and
recording defendant’s words spoken into telephone receiver in public
telephone booth is search)
Quotations (BLUEBOOK RULE 5)

General Rules:

● Any alteration or substitution within a quotation must be bracketed

(Bluebook Rule 5.2)
○ Changes in capitalization require brackets
○ Removal of letters require brackets
● Omissions require insertion of ellipsis ( . . . ) (Bluebook Rule 5.3)
○ Note the spaces between each period...NOT (...)

Incorrect: Cole became irate, and shouted, “You are so frustrating! Why don’t
you ever wash the dishes?” Tom responded, “Maybe I would wash the dishes if
you stopped listening to your music so loudly!”

Correct: Cole became irate, and shouted, “[y]ou are so frustrating! Why don’t
you ever wash the dishes?” Tom responded, “[m]aybe I would wash the dishes if
you stopped listening to your music so loudly!”
Misc. Reminders & Tips

● Statement of the Case: Use quotes and brackets where appropriate

but do not cite the stipulated facts.
● Point Headings: never end a page with a point heading! There should
be at least one line of text underneath, or else move it to the next page.
● Pincite Ranges: avoid citing to large pincite ranges (ex: 672 - 681) - we
will be checking that the pincite actually refers to what you are using
the case for.
● Numbers: refer to Bluebook Rule 6.2
○ Spell out numbers one to ninety nine
○ Use numerals for larger numbers
■ EXCEPT: spell out any number that starts a sentence
■ EXCEPT: use numerals for section or other subdivisions
Misc. Reminders & Tips cont.

● Capitalization of Court: capitalize when naming any court in full or

referring to SCOTUS -- refer to Bluebook Rule 8
○ The Court in Roe v. Wade
○ The case law demonstrates that the court would…
○ BUT: The court in Gleason…
■ This is a seventh circuit case, so you don’t capitalize “court”
● Spacing: use two spaces between each sentence!
○ You won’t be counted off, but it looks good!
Questions?

Email both of us! Taking questions until Thursday 2/28 at 3:30pm

● mcwithey@bc.edu
● justin.rheingold@bc.edu

Office Hours (in the Yellow Room):

● Justin: Wednesday 2/27 from 11:45-1:45

● Madison: Thursday 2/28 from 11:30-12:30