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Citation rules/Statutes

Statutes.

Codes, session laws, ordinances, and the year of the code edition.

65 rules on 7 pages of the book.

In this chapter

  • 12.3Current Official and Unofficial Codes12
  • 12.4Session Laws14
  • 12.5Electronic Databases and Online Sources2
  • 12.6Other Secondary Sources5
  • 12.7Invalidation, Repeal, Amendment, and Prior History3
  • 12.9Special Citation Forms25
  • 12.10Short Forms for Statutes4

12.3Current Official and Unofficial Codes

  • Add the section symbol
  • Use small caps for the code’s name
  • Use the U.S. Code citation form
  • 12.3.1(a)Remove the leading “The”
  • 12.3.1(b)Add the title number
  • 12.3.1(b)Add the title number in front
  • 12.3.1(b)Add the title or chapter number
  • 12.3.1(d)Add the compilation's publisher
  • 12.3.1(d)Replace the state in the parenthetical
  • 12.3.2Add the supplement's year
  • 12.3.2Add the year of the code edition
  • 12.3.2Use a real U.S. Code edition year

12.4Session Laws

  • 12.4(a)Add the public law or chapter number
  • 12.4(a)Use “ch.” for the chapter designator
  • 12.4(a)Use “Pub. L. No.”
  • 12.4(a)Use the act's full date of enactment
  • 12.4(b)Add the volume number or the year
  • 12.4(b)Set the session laws’ name in roman type
  • 12.4(b)Use “Stat.”
  • 12.4(b)Use the state's session-law title
  • 12.4(c)Add the page of the cited section
  • 12.4(c)Add the page the act begins on
  • 12.4(d)Use “sec.” for the bill's own section
  • 12.4(e)Add the year the act passed
  • 12.4(e)Remove the duplicate year parenthetical
  • 12.4(e)Remove the year parenthetical

12.5Electronic Databases and Online Sources

  • 12.5(a)Add the database's date or number
  • 12.5(a)Use the publisher in the parenthetical

12.6Other Secondary Sources

  • Add the full date of enactment
  • Add the section's page
  • Add the Statutes at Large volume
  • Add the U.S.C.C.A.N. page
  • Move the section number after the act number

12.7Invalidation, Repeal, Amendment, and Prior History

  • 12.7.1Add the case that invalidated it
  • 12.7.2Add the date to the parenthetical
  • 12.7.4Use parentheses for the prior history

12.9Special Citation Forms

  • Use small caps for the rule set’s name
  • Use small caps for the title
  • 12.9.2Abbreviate the city
  • 12.9.2Abbreviate the state
  • 12.9.2Add the date of adoption
  • 12.9.2Add the ordinance's number or name
  • 12.9.2Replace the abbreviation with the word
  • 12.9.2Use the year of the code
  • 12.9.3Remove the date parenthetical
  • 12.9.3Use the federal rule set's abbreviation
  • 12.9.4Abbreviate a restatement's appended material
  • 12.9.4Abbreviate the act's title
  • 12.9.4Abbreviate the guidelines' appended material
  • 12.9.4Abbreviate the institutional author
  • 12.9.4Add the institutional author
  • 12.9.4Add the issuing body
  • 12.9.4Add the restatement's subtitle
  • 12.9.4Add the restatement's year
  • 12.9.4Add the section number
  • 12.9.4Add the volume and the page
  • 12.9.4Add the year of publication
  • 12.9.5Abbreviate the committee's name
  • 12.9.5Abbreviate the Model Rules' appended material
  • 12.9.5Add the opinion number or the year
  • 12.9.5Use the Model Code's abbreviation

12.10Short Forms for Statutes

  • 12.10(a)Replace the citation with words
  • 12.10(b)Add the full citation
  • 12.10(b)Use the full citation
  • 12.10(d)Add the database to the short form

Check a document against these 65 rules.

Also in this part of the book: Cases, Constitutions, Legislative materials, Administrative materials, Books and reports, Periodicals, Unpublished sources, Internet and media, Looseleaf services.

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