 Hey all you cool cats kittens, today we'll be discussing how to properly cite a case name according to the blue book. But what's in a name? She experienced in his play Romeo and Juliet once asked the same question. Unfortunately, the American legal system is not as nonchalant in its conclusion. The federal courts, and your legal research and writing professor, expect you to properly cite a case according to rules established in the blue book. A case by any other name is likely unsatisfactory. With all the pressure to properly cite a case name, you're probably asking yourself, why? Proper citation is more than a formality of the legal system. As you more than likely know, citation styles are used broadly. Their primary function is to help simplify the process of searching for resources through uniformity. The same applies to the blue book. Case names matter because outside of reporter volumes and pages, they are the main way law students, researchers, and legal professionals identify relevant legal information. Rule B10.1.1 Romanium Rule 1 states that only the name of the first party on either side of the V should be included in a citation. In the first example, the author properly dropped Mohammed Al-Fayed and included only Herod Limited on the right side of citation. Similarly, in the second example, the author properly dropped Edward E. O. Wilson from the right side of the V. Rule B10.1.1 Romanium Rule 2 requires that only the last name of an individual party be included. As a result, in the second example, Charles Roberts and Clinton Richard were dropped. Rule B10.1.1 Romanium Rule 3 requires individuals to emit phrases or abbreviations that indicate multiple parties. At all is Latin for and others, and a.k.a. is an acronym meaning also known as. In the example provided, the case at hand is between Immanuel Kant and others v. Jeremy Bentham. The author of the top citation properly cited the case by dropping at all. Additionally, the author properly omitted a.k.a. the father of utilitarianism since it is an alternative way people have come to know who Jeremy Bentham is. The blue book reduces extraneous information like other unnamed parties and alternative names in order to emphasize the most relevant information. The blue book also reduces extraneous information by reducing procedural phrases to abbreviations. The blue book reduces phrases that provide reference such as in the matter of to in ray. In ray from Latin translates to on the matter. Ex rel is short for the Latin ex latione and means upon relation. It is used to show on what matter a party is acting. When procedural phrases appear in a case name, make sure to properly abbreviate them. As we have seen, many of the blue book's rules relating to case names govern abbreviations. Rule B10.1.1 Romanium Rule 5 states that case names should be abbreviated according to tables 6 and 10. Table 6 provides abbreviations for common words found in the name of institutional authors. Some abbreviations in table 6 represent multiple words. Look at the example provided. The first abbreviation in table 6 is ACAT, A-C-A-D, period. This abbreviation can either represent academy or academic. Similarly, auto, A-U-T-O, period can be used to represent automobile or automotive. Rule 10 provides abbreviations of geographical regions and covers abbreviations for cities, states, and countries. In addition to American states, information is provided for Australian and Canadian states. The blue pages also provide additional rules for abbreviating. Rule B10.1.1 Romanium Rule 5 states that one should never abbreviate the United States when the country is a party to litigation. Additionally, the word the is dropped when it is the first word of a party's name. This rule has an exception for when it precedes the name of an object in an in-rim action. For example, look at the third case in the illustration. One would cite the right side of the V as city of Tuscaloosa, not the city of Tuscaloosa. Additionally, the blue book permits the name of commonly recognizable entities to be abbreviated. When abbreviating widely recognized entities, make sure that the abbreviation used is not mistakable for another entity. For example, while in the hospitality business, the National Restaurant Association may be abbreviated as NRA, using the abbreviation may confuse readers and lead them to believe the case concerns the National Rifle Association, for which the acronym NRA is more commonly known. Up until now, the rules we have discussed have pertained to in-line citations. When referencing a case in the text of a sentence, avoid abbreviating the words found in table 6 and 10. As with most blue book rules, this comes with an exception. If a word is commonly abbreviated, then it should be abbreviated in a textual sentence. For example, look at the sentence provided. Company is often abbreviated as CO, period. However, central and transportation are not commonly abbreviated. As a result, they would not be abbreviated in a textual sentence. In addition to following these abbreviation rules, a full citation, including source, pensite, court, and date information, should be included. The blue book allows you to shorten a textual citation after a full textual sentence citation has been provided. Such shortened citations should only be used if the case would be easily recognizable. Thus, it would be imprudent to use United States as a stand-in for a case, since United States is a party in multiple cases. The example provided illustrates this point with the case used in our last example. Rather than a shortened, pen-central transportation company, v. City of New York's full citation to just, City of New York, use pen-central, is a much less common party in litigation and in context is more recognizable than just the City of New York. Out of context, it is more likely to direct a reader to the relevant case. For purposes of legal documents and legal research and writing assignments, it is important to follow the blue pages of the blue book. White pages of the blue book are used for formatting academic writing, such as those found in law reviews and other legal journals. Even though blue pages and white pages of the blue book are used for different purposes, the white pages can be a useful source of information. The white pages typically contain more explanatory information than the blue pages. If confused about a rule in the blue pages, consult the white pages. However, if you are writing a court document or legal memorandum and the white pages contradict the blue pages, follow the rule laid out in the blue pages. There are some general dangers to be aware of when using the blue book. Primarily, the blue book is not exhaustive. While it does cover most legal citation questions, there are instances in which the blue book may be silent. If you encounter such an issue, check Wessler, Lexis, or Bloomberg to see how courts cite the case with which you are having difficulties. More often than not, a federal court will provide you a proper citation. That said, if you use Wessler or Lexis to copy over case citations, beware. These databases are great resources for quickly copying and pasting citation information. However, cases copied from Wessler or Lexis are often improperly cited. The most common citation errors found when using these services copied with reference tools are inappropriately abbreviated words and the inclusion of additional reporter information. When you do get the proper citation format down, make sure to italicize your cases. When doing so, ensure that you only italicize the case name and not the subsequent punctuation. Improperly italicizing a comma after a case name is an easy way to not only lose points on a graded assignment, but also a sure way to demonstrate to your reader a lack of attention to details. Finally, always spell check and verify your use of accurate abbreviations. It is easy once you get into a rhythm to assume you know how to properly abbreviate a word. However, it is important to always reference tables 6 and 10. Should you have additional questions or you do not have readily available access to a physical copy of the Blue Book, you can access the legal Blue Book online. Do note that online access does require an active paid subscription. There are additional free resources online. Gallagher Law Library has its own research guide providing useful tips on Blue Book citation. Georgetown's Law Library also has a published guide on the Blue Book. If these resources aren't able to answer your questions, feel free to contact your local law librarians. I hope this presentation has been helpful. Thank you for watching.