This page includes links and resources for proposition and cite checking for law review and is organized in four categories. (1) Finding Sources Cited in Law Review Footnotes, (2) Checking Citations, (3) Finding Additional Authority, and (4) Creating (or Revising) Law Review Footnote Citations.
1. Finding Sources Cited in Law Review Footnotes
Where do we locate copies of the sources being cited?
Generally, see the CUNY Law Library website, especially CUNY One Search (for finding copies of books and articles), Legal Databases, Non-Legal Databases. Some specific resources for some common issues:
Cases. See Bluebook Table T1 regarding which reporters should be cited to for each state. This can be tricky and a bit confusing. Bluebook, for example, prefers citation of NY cases in the unofficial N.E. reporter or N.Y. Supplement reporters, see BB p. 271-72, while most NY State courts require citation to official NY reporters (N.Y., A.D., Misc.).
U.S. Code. For legal research purposes we always send you to the unofficial annotated versions, but for law review and checking text use pdf version of official USC. This can be found on Govinfo here or Office of Law Revision Counsel website. Also historical pdfs of earlier versions of US Code available on HeinOnline (U.S. Code database). Note under new Bluebook (21st Edition) date of USC no longer required! See BB 12.3.2 (p. 125).
Other Law Review Articles. While these are usually available in html format on Westlaw and Lexis (esp. post 1990 articles), a better source for law review purposes is HeinOnline (link to our subscription here - sign on uses your CUNY First credentials) which has the pdf versions of law review articles in its Law Journal Library that usually goes back to volume 1 of the journals. There you seem them, as printed, with footnotes below the text on the same page.
Non-Legal Articles. See generally Non-Legal Databases. A common situation: I have a specific citation, do we have access to this journal? You can look up what journals we have access to, what coverage is available, and in which database you can access them through the CUNY Electronic Journal Finder.
Newspapers. See Newspapers (library website), there is also significant coverage of newspapers in the News databases of Westlaw and Lexis, also check websites of the newspapers themselves.
Books: Some are electronically available through some databases we subscribe to (check CUNY One Search). If CUNY Law does not have access, may find it available at other NY libraries through WorldCat or contact library about possible Inter-Library Loan.
Federal Legislative History Material: Try ProQuest Legislative Insight
New York Legislative History Material: Mostly these are Bill Jackets, see discussion and links here.
Inadequately Cited Sources. In the event of a partial citation or inadequate cite, try searching with the info you do have (author name, partial title) in other law reviews, Google, etc. to narrow down. Ask a librarian. If still unable note for editor that author of draft article may need to provide additional information to locate it.
Obscure, hard to locate, material: This could include very old, out-of-print sources, archival material, etc. Feel free to ask library to see if there might be a source, but law review should not be shy about flagging these for author to provide a copy if not reasonably available.
Other things, feel free to ask library for help.
2. Checking Citations
Now we compare the source cited to the sentence or sentences the author is using that source to support. A few considerations here:
- If the author is quoting the source, is it accurately quoted, word-by-word, including any punctuation in original. Also be on the look out for word-by-word usage that needs quotation marks.
- Does the source support the proposition for which the author is citing it? Does it directly support the proposition or is it tangential? Is there additional support that is needed? Related to this is what Bluebook signal (See, see also, Cf., etc) is the author using or what signal ought the author to be using. See Bluebook Rule 1.2 (p. 62). In particular compare the standard for "[no signal]" and "See" and "Cf." and "But See"
- Don't assume that cited source is up-to-date (is it an old version of the law? is it a case that was subsequently overturned?)
- Is it the original or best version of this source (e.g., citing to an html version of a government report online that is available in more formal, official pdf version)? Also, sometimes authors cite another author who is quoting or discussing a case or a law or some other primary authority. The better citation is to include a direct citation to the original material under discussion as well as the earlier author that was quoting or analyzing it.
3. Finding Additional Authority
If the cited material does not support, or is insufficient to support, the author's proposition or if substantive assertions or propositions are identified for which there is no footnote or cited authority, then you need to "find authority." These are like small little legal research issues. A few tips to get you started:
First, a great piece of advice is make sure you have read the full article that you are working on so that you are not just focused one specific part - it could be that there is another part of the article where the same or similar point is made that does have a citation that supports the proposition that can be replicated.
Second, even if the specific point is not made and supported elsewhere in the article nevertheless start by trying to use the same sources the author has already used and cited nearby as they will often relate to the same or similar issue or and may provide the needed authority.
Third, if those don't work as with most legal research try to start with secondary sources, esp. other law review articles that might be on a similar topic and can provide some authority directly as well as potentially help identify primary authority (cases, statutes), that can be authority as well.
Fourth, remember basic legal research strategies. See the Legal Research Mini-Playbook for a quick refresher. And don't hesitate to reach out to me or another librarian for help.
Finally, if efforts to find authority for a substantive point fail, author could be consulted (usually by an editor).
4. Creating (or Revising) Law Review Footnote Citations
This involves working with our "Frenemy" the Bluebook. The white pages are the main pages for law review citations plus the blue tipped pages that are various tables. Take a look on the inside front cover "Quick Reference: Law Review Footnotes" for quick references to the rules for the most common types of materials and examples of them. A few things to hightlight:
First, the most important rule is Rule 1 (p. 61): "Provide citations to authorities so that readers may identify and find those authorities for future research." Sometimes people get so confused by the Bluebook that attempts to comply with it violate this basic rule.
Second, spend some time with Introductory Signals, Rule 1.2 (p.62), as mentioned above. Also look at Rule 1.5 on Parenthetical Information (p. 65). Law review footnotes frequently have strings of citations of material and adding parenthetical information can add very useful context to the reader.
Third, do not let yourself be intimidated by the Bluebook. It is not infallible and once you work through a type of source once or twice (like a case or another law review article) it becomes much easier. Sometimes you will come across an odd source that doesn't appear to fit clearly within one rule and it is debatable which rule applies. One thing to do in this situation is to run a search in a law review database for other articles that might have cited to the source - what you will often find are numerous law reviews citing to it in a variety of different ways.
Finally, again, always feel free to reach out for help.