Know what to italicize, and cite law review articles, books, Restatements, and websites.
01
What to italicize in court documents
In memos, briefs, and other court documents, italicize (or underline) case names including "v.", signals, "id.", and titles of books and articles. Do not italicize reporters, courts, statutes, or code names.
Law review footnotes use a different style: case names in full citations are not italicized, but short-form case names and signals are. These exercises use the court-document style.
Court document
See Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 21 (1968). ("See" and "Terry v. Ohio" in italics)
02
Law review articles
Give the author's full name, the article title (italicized), the volume, the abbreviated journal name, the first page, the pinpoint page, and the year in parentheses. Join two authors with "&".
Common journal abbreviations: Harv. L. Rev., Yale L.J., Colum. L. Rev., Stan. L. Rev., U. Chi. L. Rev.
Article
Samuel D. Warren & Louis D. Brandeis, The Right to Privacy, 4 Harv. L. Rev. 193, 196 (1890)
03
Books, Restatements, and websites
Books: author, title (italicized), page, then the edition and year in parentheses: Richard A. Posner, Economic Analysis of Law 25 (9th ed. 2014).
Restatements: Restatement (Second) of Torts § 402A (Am. L. Inst. 1965).
Websites: the author if there is one, the page title (italicized), the site name, the date, and the URL. Cite websites only when no printed or official source exists.
Practice level 6
10 exercises with instant feedback. Score 80% or higher to pass.
