Kara Sears
When citing the US Constitution in a law journal, it is important to follow the correct style guide. The Bluebook is the recommended citation style for legal materials, and it provides specific guidance on citing constitutions. According to The Bluebook, a citation for the First Amendment would follow this format: U.S. Const. amend. I, § [section number], cl. [clause number]. Article and amendment numbers are written in Roman numerals (I, II, III), while section and clause numbers are written in Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3). This style is also consistent with APA guidelines for citing the US Constitution.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Article and amendment numbers | Given in Roman numerals (I, II, III) |
| Section and clause numbers | Given in Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3) |
| Constitution currently in force | Do not include a date |
| Constitution repealed or amended | Include the year in parentheses |
| Abbreviation for preamble | pmbl. |
| Abbreviation for article | art. |
| Abbreviation for amendment | amend. |
| Abbreviation for clause | cl. |
| Abbreviation for state constitutions | N.C. Const., Ariz. Const., etc. |
| Start of citation | U.S. Const. |
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What You'll Learn
Using APA Style
APA Style is commonly used for legal citations and references, including the First Amendment. Here is a guide on how to cite the First Amendment in a law journal using APA Style:
Citing the First Amendment
When citing the First Amendment of the US Constitution in APA Style, the abbreviation "U.S. Const." is used, followed by the amendment number in Roman numerals (i.e., "U.S. Const. amend. I"). The terms "article," "amendment," "section," and "clause" are abbreviated as "art.," "amend.," "§," and "cl.," respectively. If you are referring to a part of the First Amendment that has been repealed or amended, include the year in parentheses. For example:
> U.S. Const. amend. I (§ 3) (1920).
Citing Federal Laws
To cite federal laws or statutes in APA Style, include the name of the law, "U.S.C." (United States Code), the title and section of the code, and the year. The year is the date the law was published in the source, not necessarily when it was passed or amended. For example:
> Name of Law, U.S.C. § Title-Section (Year).
If the law is not featured in the United States Code or is spread across various sections, include the public law number and source information. The URL is optional but can aid the reader in retrieving the source. For example:
> Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, Pub. L. No. 111-2, 123 Stat. 5 (2009). https://url.com
Citing Court Cases
To cite a court case in APA Style, include the name of the case in italics, volume, reporter, page number, court, year, and optionally the URL. For example:
> *Brown v. Board of Education*, 347 U.S. 483 (U.S. Sup. Ct. 1954). https://url.com
Citing Patents
Patents are cited similarly to traditional APA sources. Include the inventor as the author, the year of issue, patent title, patent number, and issuing body. For example:
> Inventor, A. A. (Year). Title of patent (Patent No. ###). U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. https://url.com
Using Bluebook Style
Note that APA recommends following the Bluebook style for legal materials, which is the standard legal citation style. The APA Publication Manual provides some guidance on legal citations, but for more in-depth information, it is best to refer to the Bluebook or a legal specialist.
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Referencing the Bluebook
The Bluebook is a style guide that prescribes how to cite a variety of legal documents, including the U.S. Constitution and state constitutions. When referencing the Bluebook, there are several rules and conventions to follow.
Firstly, Rule 11 outlines how to cite the U.S. Constitution and state constitutions. A citation to a constitution includes three elements: "U.S." or the state abbreviation, followed by "Const." (the Bluebook's abbreviation for "constitution"), and the relevant article, amendment, section, and/or clause numbers. For example, to cite the First Amendment, you would use "U.S. Const. amend. I". The terms "article", "amendment", "section", and "clause" are abbreviated as "art.", "amend.", "§", and "cl.", respectively. It is important to note that article and amendment numbers are given in Roman numerals (I, II, III), while section and clause numbers use Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3). Additionally, for parts of the Constitution that are currently in force, no date is included. However, if you are referring to a repealed or amended section, include the year in parentheses.
Secondly, when citing authors, there are specific guidelines to follow. Author names should be included in full, mirroring their original publication, including designations such as "Jr." or "III". If a work has multiple authors, list all author names in the order they appear in the original source, separating them with commas, except for the final name, which is preceded by an ampersand. For example, "Neal Feigenson & Christina Spiesel". If the author is an institution, provide its complete name. In some cases, an individual within an institution may be credited as the author; in such cases, provide the individual's name followed by the institutional name, separated by a comma.
Thirdly, when referencing a book or report, provide the title as it appears on the title page, adhering to Bluebook rule 8 for capitalization. Generally, this rule dictates that all words in the title are capitalized, except for articles, which are not abbreviated. Both the first word of the title and the first word following a colon should be capitalized.
Additionally, Rule 15 specifies that for academic writing, book titles should be in small caps rather than underlined. Rule 15.8 provides citation formats for publications like Black's Law Dictionary and legal encyclopedias.
When referencing law journals, Rule 16 comes into play. A citation to a consecutively paginated journal article typically includes six elements: the names of the authors, the title of the article, the name of the journal, the volume number, the page number, and the year of publication. Consecutive pagination refers to page numbers that continue throughout a volume, as opposed to restarting at one for each issue. Most law reviews and academic journals use consecutive pagination.
Furthermore, Rule 18 addresses the citation of online sources and other non-print media, such as films. Rule 12.5, for example, describes how to cite statutes on Westlaw and Lexis. It is important to carefully consult Rule 18, as citation formats for online sources can vary significantly.
Lastly, when citing other sources, such as depositions, interrogatories, or trial transcripts, Bluepages Rule B17 outlines the citation format. This rule also covers the use of "at" before the page number, which is generally omitted unless citing documents in an appellate record.
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Citing specific pieces
When citing the First Amendment in a law journal, it is essential to follow the specific formatting and style guidelines prescribed by the journal or the legal citation style mandated by the institution. Here is a detailed guide on citing specific pieces of the First Amendment:
APA Style
The APA style is commonly used in the social sciences and legal fields. When citing specific pieces of the First Amendment in APA style, follow these guidelines:
- Begin with the abbreviation "U.S. Const." to indicate the United States Constitution.
- Use "amend." followed by Roman numerals to indicate the amendment number. For the First Amendment, it would be "U.S. Const. amend. I".
- If citing a particular section within the First Amendment, use "§" followed by the Arabic numeral representing the section number. For example, "U.S. Const. amend. I, § 2" refers to Section 2 of the First Amendment.
- For clauses within a section, use "cl." followed by the Arabic numeral. For instance, "U.S. Const. amend. I, § 2, cl. 3" refers to the third clause of Section 2 in the First Amendment.
- When citing a provision that has been amended, include the date of amendment in parentheses.
Example: "The right to free speech is guaranteed by U.S. Const. amend. I, § 2"
Bluebook Rule 11
The Bluebook is a widely used legal citation guide, and Rule 11 specifically addresses citing constitutions. Here's how to cite specific pieces of the First Amendment using Bluebook style:
- Start with "U.S. Const." to indicate the United States Constitution.
- Use "amend." followed by Roman numerals for the amendment number.
- For sections within an amendment, use "§" followed by Arabic numerals.
- Clauses are denoted by "cl." followed by Arabic numerals.
Example: "U.S. Const. amend. I, § 2" refers to Section 2 of the First Amendment.
Remember, when citing specific pieces of the First Amendment, always refer to the style guide or citation manual relevant to your law journal to ensure accuracy and consistency in your citations.
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Roman and Arabic numerals
To cite the First Amendment in a law journal, you should follow the Bluebook style, which is the standardised system of legal citation in the US. According to the Bluebook, a citation of the US Constitution begins with 'U.S. Const.', followed by the article, amendment, section, and/or clause numbers as relevant. The terms article, amendment, section, and clause are abbreviated as art., amend., §, and cl., respectively. Preamble is abbreviated as pmbl.
Article and amendment numbers are given in Roman numerals, so the First Amendment is cited as 'U.S. Const. amend. I'. Section and clause numbers are given in Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3, etc.). For example, the First Amendment's freedom of speech clause is cited as 'U.S. Const. amend. I, § 8, cl. 3'.
The Bluebook states that for parts of the Constitution currently in force, no date is included in the citation. However, if you are referring to a part of the Constitution that has been repealed or amended, include the year that the part in question was repealed or amended in parentheses.
Roman numerals are the symbols used in a system of numerical notation based on the ancient Roman system. The symbols are I, V, X, L, C, D, and M, representing 1, 5, 10, 50, 100, 500, and 1,000, respectively. A symbol placed after another of equal or greater value adds to it, so II = 2. A symbol placed before one of greater value subtracts from it, so IV = 4. A bar called a vinculum placed over a number multiplies its value by 1,000. Roman numerals are still used today for book chapters, Super Bowl titles, and clock faces, among other things.
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Dates and amendments
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution was adopted on December 15, 1791, as one of the ten amendments that constitute the Bill of Rights. The First Congress of the United States proposed 12 amendments to the Constitution on September 25, 1789. Ten of the proposed twelve amendments were ratified by three-fourths of the state legislatures on December 15, 1791. The ratified Articles (Articles 3–12) constitute the first ten amendments of the Constitution, or the U.S. Bill of Rights.
The First Amendment (Amendment I) to the United States Constitution prevents Congress from making laws respecting an establishment of religion, prohibiting the free exercise of religion, or abridging the freedom of speech, the freedom of the press, the freedom of assembly, or the right to petition the government for redress of grievances.
In the original draft of the Bill of Rights, what is now the First Amendment occupied the third place. The first two articles were not ratified by the states, so the article on disestablishment and free speech ended up being first. The Bill of Rights was proposed to assuage Anti-Federalist opposition to Constitutional ratification.
Initially, the First Amendment applied only to laws enacted by Congress, and many of its provisions were interpreted more narrowly than they are today. Beginning with Gitlow v. New York (1925), the Supreme Court applied the First Amendment to states—a process known as incorporation—through the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
In Everson v. Board of Education (1947), the Court drew on Thomas Jefferson's correspondence to call for "a wall of separation between church and State", a literary but clarifying metaphor for the separation of religions from government and vice versa, as well as the free exercise of religious beliefs that many Founders favoured. Through decades of contentious litigation, the precise boundaries of the mandated separation have been adjudicated in ways that periodically created controversy.
Speech rights were expanded significantly in a series of 20th- and 21st-century court decisions that protected various forms of political speech, anonymous speech, campaign finance, pornography, and school speech. These rulings also defined a series of exceptions to First Amendment protections.
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Frequently asked questions
The correct way to cite the First Amendment in a law journal is: U.S. Const. amend. I.
The standard abbreviations for article and amendment are "art." and "amend." respectively.
In APA style, the First Amendment is cited as: U.S. Const. amend. I. Article and amendment numbers are given in Roman numerals (I, II, III), while section and clause numbers are given in Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3).
No, according to the Bluebook, do not include a date when citing parts of the Constitution that are currently in force. Only include the year if you are referring to a part of the Constitution that has been repealed or amended.
If you simply want to mention the First Amendment in passing without providing a formal citation, you can do so without a reference list entry. However, if you are using the First Amendment as evidence to support a specific point, you should construct a citation using Bluebook Rule 11.
