United States of America
From MMILC
| The Melbourne University Law Review Association and the Australian Guide to Legal Citation do not endorse these rules and the rules contained in the MMILC do not in any way modify or change the rules contained in the Australian Guide to Legal Citation |
Contents |
Cases
Reported Decisions
Supreme Court Decisions
| Rule | Supreme Court Decisions should be cited in the following form:
<Parties' names separated by 'v' >, <Reporter Volume no>, US <starting page>, <pinpoint> <(date of decision)> <(' Abbreviated Case Name ')>, Judge(s) <pinpoint>. |
| Example | American Banana Co v United Fruit Co, 213 US 347, 356 (1909).
NOTE: For other reported decisions please refer to the Bluebook. |
Unreported Decisions
| Rule | Unreported decisions should be cited in the following form:
<Parties’ names>, No <docket no>, <Pinpoint> (<Court>, <Full date>). NOTE:
|
| Example | Torres v Oklahoma, No PCD-04-442, slip op (Okla Ct Crim App, 13 May 2004) (‘Torres’). This was an order granting stay of execution and remanding the case for an evidentiary hearing. |
Location
- Many unreported decisions of US courts may be found on Westlaw.
- Alternatively, many US courts publish decisions on their own websites.
Legislation: Codes
| Rule |
Citation of an entire statute as codified in the US Code should be in the following form: <Name of Act>, <Title no in USC> USC (<Year of USC edition — usually the latest>).
<Name of Act>, <Title no in USC> USC <Pinpoint> (<Year>).
|
| Example | Federal Alcohol Administration Act of 1935, 27 USC § 202 (2000). |
Legislation: Federal Regulations
- Usually this involves the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR).
- The Federal Register publishes rules and regulations before they are entered in the CFR at the end of the year.
- References to the Federal Register should only be used where the regulation has not yet been printed in the CFR.
- Information as to codification may be included in parentheses at the end of the citation where the Federal Register so specifies.
| Example | Amendment to the Oil and Gas Controls to the USSR, 47 CFR § 73.609 (1980).
Amendment of Oil and Gas Controls to the USSR 1985, 47 Federal Register 37, 638 (to be codified at 7 CFR § 908.661). |
Model Codes
| Rule | Model codes should be cited in the following form:
<Author>, <Title> (<Year>) <Pinpoint>. |
| Example | American Law Institute, Model Penal Code (1962). |
Congressional Debates
| Rule/Example | 126 Congressional Record <Record Number> <Year> (<Name of Speaker>, <Position>).
126 Congressional Record H6456 (daily ed, <Full date>) (<Name of Speaker>, <Position>). |
Congressional Resolutions
| Rule | <Resolution Title>, HJ Res <Resolution Number>, < th Congress <(Year)>.
NOTE: Retain American English Spelling when citing documents such as these. |
| Example | Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002, HJ Res 114, 107th Cong (2002). |
Committee Hearings
| Rule | Committee Hearings should be cited in the following form:
Evidence to US <Name of House/Senate Committee> Committee Hearing, <Name of Investigation/Evidence being heard>, <th Cong, <Location of Hearing>, <Full date>, <Pinpoint> (<Name and Position [if relevant] of person giving evidence)> <URL> [if relevant. see note below]. |
| Example | Evidence to US Joint House/Senate Intelligence Committee Hearing, Joint Investigation into September 11th: Fifth Public Hearing, 107th Congress, Washington DC, 26 September 2002, 2 (Cofer Black, Former Director of the CIA Counterterrorist Center) <http://www.fas.org.irp/congress/2002_hr/092602black.html> at 18 October 2007. |
NOTE:
- Where documents are available in hard copy, discretion should be exercised as to whether inclusion of a URL would aid retrieval of the document (see Internet Materials rule).
Congressional Staff Reports
| Rule | Staff of <Committee Name>, <Title>, <no> Cong, <no> Sess, <Pinpoint> (Committee print <no>). |
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Documents
| Rule | The following form should be used:
US Central Intelligence Agency, Directorate of Intelligence, <Title>, Document No <no>, Accession No <no> (<Full date of original publication>; declassified <Full date>). Archived at <Site of archive, City, State, US>, consulted <Full date> ( 'Abbreviated name of archive site, if necessary' ). |
| Example | US Central Intelligence Agency, Directorate of Intelligence, Share of Animal Protein Supplied by Fish in the Soviet Diet, Document No 4815, Accession No NN 3–263–01–005 (10 September 1975; declassified 21 March 2001). Archived at NARA Archives II, Modern Military Reference Branch Building, US National Archives, College Park, Washington DC, US, consulted 24 January 2004 (‘NARA Archives II Holdings’). |
