The Rule

Bluebook Rule 12 covers how statutes should be cited in legal documents.

What is a Code?

All statutes, whether state or federal, are published in books called codes. A code is simply a systematic compilation of laws that a legislature has passed. Most codes compile laws by titles or subject matter.

Note: Like cases, statutes can be published in official codes and unofficial codes. Although, the rules require you to cite to an official code source wherever possible, Georgetown Law Library no longer has subscriptions to all official state codes.

Jurisdiction Tables and Abbreviations: Table T.1

One of the keys to citing statutes properly is knowing where to find the proper legal citation abbreviations. In the Bluebook, all abbreviations are listed in the tables, which begin on page 215.

Table T.1 is the most important section of the Bluebook's tables. This table provides the reporter names and abbreviations, statutory compilation names and abbreviations, and citation conventions for all federal and state courts.

The following chart summarizes Table T.1, including where to find statutory compilation and abbreviation information for all federal and state courts in the country.

Since you will use the information in Table T.1 often throughout your legal career, you should take the time to become familiar with its content. While most of the information in Table T.1 is straightforward, the following tip will allow you to use the table more effectively:

1. Where a jurisdiction's statutes are published in more than one compilation, the official compilation is always listed first and unofficial compilations are listed in order of citation preference. Table T.1 (p. 218) lists four statutory compilations that publish the United States Code: United States Code, United States Code Annotated, and United States Code Service. United States Code is the official U.S. Code compilation because it is listed first among the four choices; the three remaining compilations are considered unofficial compilations. (You would cite to the unofficial compilation only if the official compilation has not published the law.) Further, unofficial compilations are listed in order of preference: in this example, you would cite to the United States Code Annotated before you cited to the United States Code Service (assuming, again, that there is no citation in United States Code.)

State Statutes

To cite to a state statute, refer to the T.1 entry for that state's "statutory compiliations." It will provide the citation format for that particular code. Each state is slightly different and may or may not have all of these elements. Massachusetts, for example, lists the following six elements in order:

1. The state abbreviation;
2. The code's abbreviation;
3. Title subject's abbreviation;
4. The section number of the statute;
5. Publisher (in open parenthesis; and
6. The year on the spine of the code volume, the year on the title page or the copyright year in that order of preference (not the year the statute became effective) in closed parenthesis).

Consider, for example, the following Maryland statute

Md. Code. Ann Pub. Safety § 14-605 (LexisNexis 2003)

The elements are as follows:

Federal Statutes

Citation formats for federal statutes are similar to those of state statutes. The official code for federal statutes is the United States Code, KF 62 2006 .A2. The United States Code Annotated, KF62 1927 .A3, and the United States Code Service,KF62 1972 .U5, are both unofficial compilations of American federal statutes.

All federal statute citations should cite to the official federal code compilation, the United States Code. Because the official U.S. code tends to run several years behind, you will cite laws that have changed recently to the unofficial code.

To cite to a federal statute, list the following four elements in order:

1. The title number;
2. The code's abbreviation;
3. The section number of the statute; and
4. The year on the spine of the code volume (not the year the statute became effective).

Consider, for example, the following federal statute

17 U.S.C. § 1201 (2006)

The elements are as follows:

The unofficial citations for the same federal statute would be

17 U.S.C.A. § 1201 (West 2000) [United States Code Annotated]

and

17 U.S.C.S. § 1201 (LexisNexis 2004) [United States Code Service]

Pocket Parts and Citing Updated Statutory Language

One of the most important factors in mastering legal research is to make sure that you are citing the most current information available. This is particularly important when you are researching statutes. The rumor mill is full of embarrassing stories in which law students (and lawyers) cited statutory language from the main code volume, only to have different and contradictory language appear in the pocket part.

A pocket part is a printed insert that updates a legal publication. Pocket parts almost always appear in the back of state and federal code volumes. Whenever a code section is updated in a pocket part, you should cite to the code section as it has been modified by the pocket part. In these instances, you cite the statute using the four elements outlined above, but modify the date to reflect that you are citing a supplement section.

As a result, if you were citing to a Maryland statute that has been updated entirely in a pocket part, you would cite that statute in the following manner

Md. Code Ann. § 3-504 (LexisNexis Supp. 2009)

The elements are as follows:

It is possible that the statute is only partially updated: some of the original language may be retained, while particular passages or clauses may be updated. Using a Massachusetts statute as an example, you would cite a partial update in the following manner

Mass. Gen. Laws Ann. ch. 265 § 29 (1958 & Supp. 2009)

The elements are as follows:

You would cite updated federal statutes in the same way.

Note: According to the Table T.1 (p. 247), the General Laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is that state's official statutory compilation, not Massachusetts General Laws Annotated, or MGLA. The Library, however, does not subscribe to the General Laws, therefore the citation used in the above examples it to MGLA, the preferred unofficial compilation citation source if the official source is unavailable.

Online Statutes

As discussed previously, the Bluebook requires citation to the official code, if available.  However, this does not necessarily mean the print version of the official code.  There are instances in which the Bluebook allows one to cite to the online version of an official code.  The applicable rules are Rule 12.5(b) and 18.2.1(a), which should be read carefully before citing to an online version of an official code.  To summarize, one may cite to an online version of a code if it is an authenticated, official, or exact copy of the print code.  For example, the database HeinOnline contains exact copies of the official print version of the United States Code in .pdf, so in accordance with Rule 18.2.1(a)(iii), one can cite to the United States Code on HeinOnline as if to the original print version.  Similarly, if a state only publishes its official code online, one can cite to the official online version in accordance with Rules 12.5(b) and 18.2.1(a)(ii).  In Utah, for example, there is no official print statutory code and the online version is designated as official.

The most recent edition of the Bluebook also provides a citation format (Rule 12.5) for citing to statutes available in commercial electronic databases (e.g., WestlawNext and Lexis Advance).  If you only have access to, for example, the Annotated Code of Maryland on WestlawNext, you may cite to the version of the code on WestlawNext. The citation is basically the same as above, except for the date, which is the database currency rather than the publication date of the print volume.  Here is an example:

Md. Code Ann., Pub. Safety §3-504 (West, WestlawNext through all chapters of the 2012 Regular Session and the 2012 First Special Session of the General Assembly, effective through July 1, 2012).

Note: When completing assignments for Legal Research & Writing or U.S. Legal Discourse, you should check with your professor to determine whether he or she will require you to cite to print codes or will accept citation to online versions.