Contributing

From Brian's Wiki

When contributing to Brian's Wiki, use the following citation styles:

Contents 1 News Articles 2 Legal Opinions 3 Scholarship 4 Sources

News Articles

• Typical Example:
  
  • First Name Last Name, Hyperlinked Article Title, Publication Name (Jun. 13, 2009).

Note that the authors name is first then last.
Note that the article title is italicized.
Note the location of commas and the absence of a comma after the publication name.
Note the parentheses around the date of publication.
Note that the month in the publication date is abbreviated to three letters even for four-letter months.
Note the period at the end.

Legal Opinions

• Typical Example:
  
  • Baker v. Selden, 101 U.S. 99 (1879) (holding that this parenthetical should be concise, yet accurate and descriptive).

Italicize the case name.
Hyperlink the case name, linking to resource.org version, if available, or pdf from court.
Don't abbreviate words in case names unless you follow these Bluebook abbreviations.
Comma after the case name.
No comma after the reporter.
Abbreviate court names according to these Bluebook abbreviations.
Date within parentheses.
Concise parenthetical explanation of holding.
Period at the end.

• Example of unreported case:
  
  • Doe v. Smith, No. 09-0909 (N.D. Cal. Jun. 13, 2009).

Hyperlink the case name to a pdf, uploading it to this wiki first if not reliably available elsewhere.
Provide the numeric portion of the case number without the cv or cr and without the judge's initials.
Provide the month and day of the decision.
Use this approach only if no Lexis or Westlaw citation is available.

• Example of a recently decided case:
  
  • Doe v. Smith, No. 08-0663, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 32563, 2009 WL 841132 (D. Md. Mar. 31, 2009).

Hyperlink the case name to a pdf, uploading it to this wiki first if not reliably available elsewhere.
Where a case will likely get a F. Supp. or F.3d citation at a future date, but is so new that one is not yet available, after providing the case number, also provide the Lexis and Westlaw citations, in that order, if they are available.
Provide the month and day of the decision.

Scholarship

• Typical Example:
  
  • First Name Last Name, Hyperlinked article title: in italics, 12 Journal Name 345 (2009).

Abbreviate the journal name using these Bluebook abbreviations.
Link to a pdf at SSRN, or the author's webpage, or at another reliable location.

Sources

Here are some suggestions on good sources.