ALWD Citation Manual

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The ALWD Citation Manual is a book and a widely used legal citation system for the United States compiled by the Association of Legal Writing Directors. Its first edition was published in 2000. Currently, it is in its third edition (2005).

It primarily competes with the Bluebook style, a system developed by law reviews at several elite law schools, led by Harvard. Citations in the two formats are roughly similar. However, ALWD differs from Bluebook in one key respect.

Under the Bluebook system, the type styles used in citations found in academic legal articles (always footnoted) are very different from those used in citations within court documents (always cited inline). While the ALWD system follows the standard convention of footnotes within academic articles and inline citations in court documents, it rejects Bluebook's insistence on using different type styles in the two classes of documents. The ALWD type style is identical to that used in the Bluebook system for citations within court documents.

[edit] Adoptions

Although apparently widespread in law schools, ALWD has yet to make definitive impact in the courts. One possible reason is that the U.S. Supreme Court mandates The Bluebook in briefs submitted to the Court. Only four U.S. jurisdictions have adopted ALWD:

• United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
  • This court accepts citations in either ALWD or Bluebook format. See the local rules (PDF file; examine "FRAP 28").
• United States Bankruptcy Court, Montana
  • This court accepts any "nationally recognized citation form," and specifically names the ALWD Citation Manual. It does not mention The Bluebook, but given its general recognition, it should be accepted. See page 50 of the local rules (PDF file).
• United States District Court for the District of Montana
  • This court specifically accepts either ALWD or Bluebook. See page 30 of the local rules (PDF).
• Command Judge Advocate Office on the Kwajalein Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands.

[edit] See also

• The Bluebook: a Uniform System of Citation
• Case citation
• The Chicago Manual of Style

[edit] External links

• The ALWD Citation Manual Note - only current through 2003.
• Cornell Legal Information Institute, Introduction to Basic Legal Citation, 2006, by Peter Martin.(Discusses differences between the Bluebook and ALWD.)