Federal & State Lawfederalstatelaw.com

Citation Methodology

Conventions we follow when we cite legal sources on Federal & State Law, and the formats we recommend when you cite our pages in research, journalism, paralegal work, or academic writing.

How we cite legal sources

We follow The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation (21st ed., 2020) for short-form citations to statutes, regulations, and cases, with plain-language modifications where readability matters more than rigorous attribution. For per-page sourcing we always link to the canonical official source (see Data Sources).

Federal statutes

We cite by Title and section of the U.S. Code (e.g., 42 U.S.C. § 1983) and link the citation to the section page at Cornell LII or the eCFR equivalent for regulations.

Federal regulations

We cite by Title and section of the Code of Federal Regulations (e.g., 29 C.F.R. § 825.100) and link to the section page at eCFR.

Federal cases

We cite using the standard Bluebook short form (e.g., Brown v. Bd. of Educ., 347 U.S. 483 (1954)). The case name on every detail page links to the official opinion via Free Law Project / CourtListener or Justia.

State statutes

State citations follow each state's common short form (e.g., Cal. Penal Code § 530.5, Tex. Fam. Code § 152.001, N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law § 218). Each citation links to the state's official statute compilation when one is publicly hosted.

State cases

State cases use Bluebook short form (e.g., People v. Anderson, 6 Cal. 3d 628 (1972)). Where the official reporter is not freely accessible we link to a commonly-available canonical mirror.

Uniform and model acts

We cite by section of the relevant uniform act (e.g., U.C.C. § 2-207, UPMAA § 9) and link to the section on the Uniform Law Commission's site.

How to cite Federal & State Law pages

When you cite or quote one of our pages, please attribute the source. Our editorial content is released under public-domain dedication (CC0), so you do not need permission, but accurate attribution helps your readers verify the source.

Recommended general citation

Federal & State Law, "[Page Title]",
https://federalstatelaw.com/[path], accessed [YYYY-MM-DD].

Bluebook (legal academic)

Federal & State Law, [Page Title],
https://federalstatelaw.com/[path]
(last visited [Month DD, YYYY]).

ALWD Guide to Legal Citation

Federal & State Law, [Page Title]
(https://federalstatelaw.com/[path])
(accessed [Month DD, YYYY]).

APA 7th edition (social-science / journalism)

Federal & State Law. ([year]). [Page title].
Retrieved [Month DD, YYYY], from
https://federalstatelaw.com/[path]

BibTeX

@misc{fsl_[shortname]_[year],
  author       = {{Federal & State Law}},
  title        = {[Page Title]},
  year         = {[year]},
  url          = {https://federalstatelaw.com/[path]},
  note         = {Accessed: [YYYY-MM-DD]}
}

Citing our public API

When citing data retrieved via our v1 API, include the endpoint URL, the request timestamp, and the canonical upstream source attributed in the response. See API reference.

License

Federal & State Law's editorial summaries, comparison tables, glossary definitions, and other original content are released under CC0 1.0 Universal (public-domain dedication). You may copy, modify, and redistribute the content without restriction.

Federal statutes, federal regulations, federal court opinions, and most state-government works are not subject to copyright in the first place; see Data Sources for details.

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