The Bluebook, formally known as The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation is a style guide that sets forth the most widely used legal citation system in the United States, i. e., how U.S. legal documents are cited in legal memoranda, court documents, and law journals. It is used by most U.S. law schools and federal courts, and thus is prevalent among law students and professionals. Compiled by the Harvard Law Review, the Columbia Law Review, the University of Pennsylvania Law Review, and the Yale Law Journal, the Bluebook was originally published in 1926 and is updated regularly, taking its name from the color of its cover. The Bluebook is not the only manual of legal citation standards; many courts, associations, and universities have their legal citation systems or different citation requirements.
See also: Order of signals, Order of authorities, and Introduction to Basic Legal Citation.
[Last updated in July of 2022 by the Wex Definitions Team]