We hope that our summary of Rule 18.2 and our tips will help you cite an online source next time. Regardless of the increased scientific acceptance of web sources, this is an area where you need to proceed with caution. Not all professors, journal editors or judges are “forward-looking” on this issue. According to the motto “The judge is always right,” your legal writing teacher will assign grades. If you know that including a web source will be frowned upon, even if it provides great support in your mind, it may be best to avoid it. A document with footnotes full of websites is not taken very seriously. And footnotes full of URLs will be long and ugly. If you follow the advice above, web sources shouldn`t be an important part of your cited authority. As part of the final review of your legal writing, make sure you don`t cite too much web-based authority. If a web-based authority is not fully required, remove as many URLs as possible. Even if the quotes are justified, your reader may be put off by web sources that clutter your more traditional authorities. The Bluebook now includes a social media citation format.

A recent Texas Supreme Court opinion included four pages assessing the validity of a Texas appeals court`s use of a Wikipedia definition. The U.S. Supreme Court archives the Internet sources cited in its opinions on its website. As authoritative internet sources proliferate and legal blogs grow in popularity, citing web sources in legal writing is on the rise. Traditional printing authorities still dominate, but exceptions to this rule continue to grow. If you`re considering using web-based authority in your legal letter, keep these 5 tips in mind: Brief citations for laws should include the section number as well as the minimum information required to determine which of your previously cited authorities the citation refers to. For example, an appropriate short form for the Guano Islands Act above might be: Citing legal documents is a bit different from typical resources used in other classes. Some legal citations must indicate where the information was published electronically, but many legal citations don`t really need it. Where you found a court case – Findlaw.com for example – would make no difference, as the reader could easily find the case using the other information in the citation. If the cited material is not available from multiple publication sites, the citation must provide the specific electronic publication so that the reader can access it.

The Bluebook Style Guide is used in the American legal profession to cite all relevant sources. In addition, the Chicago Manual of Style recommends its use for all citations of legal documents. The following is a summary of the basics. It`s worth noting that the Bluebook system is considerably complex in most of these points, but here`s the level of detail it recommends for a student`s basic needs, for example. On the reference page, indicate the abbreviation of the cited constitution, the abbreviation of the amendment, the number of the amendment cited and the section. Don`t quote on a website for convenience. Black`s Law or Wikipedia? Black`s Law. But for example, if Black`s Law doesn`t cover a technical term related to Bitcoin`s legal treatment, an online source might be more acceptable in this regard. In addition to context, practicality can be a factor.

Even Bluebook Rule 18.2.1(b)(i) recognizes that, for the benefit of the cited authority reader, you should add a URL to a web version of a traditional authority if the traditional source is “so unclear as to be virtually unavailable.” Be able to defend any use of a web source as necessary and inevitable. Once you have quoted a particular authority in its entirety, you can then use a short quote. The specific content of a short quote is flexible, but varies depending on the type of authority cited. Acceptable short forms for a particular citation are covered in each entry. On the reference page, use the name of the regulation, the title number of the C.F.R., the section cited and the date of publication of the code cited. However, frequently cited legal documents such as court cases, constitutions, laws and regulations (see below) do not require citation of publication from electronic sources, as these documents have been reproduced on several pages of publication. Note: The Blue Book does not mention a method for writing short quotes for hearings. In abbreviated quotations, it is sufficient to quote by document number, but to avoid confusion, the state must be specified, unless it is a federal law. Many print sources are available online as PDFs or another format that preserves the pagination of the original source, allowing you to tailor citations to a specific page or section. State laws follow a similar structure, but where possible, it is sufficient to cite the appropriate section of the code. Also, keep in mind that digitized print sources, even if they are on the Internet, can be cited as traditional print sources.

Bluebook Rule 18.2.1(a) states: “Where an authenticated, official or exact copy of a source is available online, the citation may be made as the original printed source (without URL information attached).” This rule defines “authenticated documents”, “official versions” and “exact copies”. Sources such as HeinOnline or Google Books that provide such resources allow you to cite traditional sources with the convenience of an online resource.