Sources for Student Publication Cite Checking

Cases

• United States Supreme Court
  • U.S. Reports (U.S.) 
    • Hein Online coverage from volume 1 (pdf of original).
  • Supreme Court Reporter (S. Ct.)
    • Bluebook second choice when U.S. Reports unavailable, usually for recentness of the case
    • Check Westlaw for pdf of case.
    • Paper 3rd Floor Law Library (note recent decisions will be in soft supplements, which are found shelved at the end of the reporter volumes ).
  • Lawyer’s Edition (L. Ed.)
    • Paper 3rd Floor Law Library (note recent decisions will be in soft supplements, which are found shelved at the end of the reporter volumes ).
• Federal Court of Appeals
  • Federal Reporter (F., F. 2d, and F. 3d).
    • Check Westlaw for pdf of case.
    • Paper 3rd Floor Law Library (note recent decisions will be in soft supplements, found shelved at the end of the reporter volumes ).
  • Federal Appendix (Fed. Appx.) (published from 2002 to 2021).
    • The library does not have this reporter in hard copy.
• Federal District Courts
  • Federal Supplement (F. Supp.., F. Supp. 2d, F. Supp. 3d).
    • Check Westlaw for pdf of case.
    • Paper 3rd Floor Law Library (note recent decisions will be in soft supplements, found shelved at the end of the reporter volumes )
  • Federal Appendix (Fed. App’x.) (published from 2001 to 2021).
    • The library does not have this reporter in hard copy.
• Circuit Courts
  • Federal Reporter (F.).
    • Check Westlaw for pdf of case.
  • Federal Cases (F. Cas.)
    • Paper 3rd Floor Law Library 

NOTE: Unpublished decisions cite to Westlaw or LexisNexis (See Bluebook Rule 10.8.1)

Court Rules

• Procedure: Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts’ Federal Rulemaking
  • Current Rules of Practice & Procedure page, which contains links to
    • Rules of Appellate Procedure
    • Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure
    • Rules of Civil Procedure
    • Rules of Evidence
    • Rules Governing Section 2254 and Section 2255 Proceedings
    • Rules of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court
• Local Court Rules: Check the courts web-site, locator.
• Professional Conduct: Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts: Codes of Conduct:
  • Code of Conduct for United States Judges

Cases

• Regional Reporters (A, A.2d, N.E., N.E. 2d, N.W., N.W. 2d., P., P.2d, P.3d,S. S.2d, S.W., S.W.2d - 3d editions etc.).
  • Check Westlaw for pdf of case.
  • Paper Richey Reading Room Law Library (note recent decisions will be in soft supplements, found shelved at the end of the reporter volumes ).
• Other state reporters:
  • Check the catalog using the title given in the Bluebooks Table 1.
    • Titles owned by the library will be on the 3rd Floor or in Law Storage.
    • Title may also be available on LLMC – link will be in the catalog record.
      • For example: Massachusetts reports – LLMC

NOTE: Unpublished decisions cite to  Westlaw or LexisNexis (See Bluebook Rule 10.8.1)

Court Rules

• Check the state’s official website (should end in “.gov”). Remember to see if the State considers the online version to be an official version.
  • Example: No official online found.

Is the State's Official Judicial Materials Online?

The American Association of Law Libraries has gathered information about state online legal information. The site gives direct links and identifies characteristics of the online information such as if it is official, authenticate, and if copyrights.

Online Legal Information Resources (last updated 2022).