Regulations and other agency material, particularly the output of state agencies, has become dramatically more accessible as print distribution has been supplemented or supplanted by online dissemination. Print compilations of agency regulations in even the largest states tended to be expensive and hard to keep up-to-date, characteristics that confined them to large law libraries. Now most agency material is accessible on the Internet, much of it from public, non-fee sources. Many adjudicative agencies are also now placing their decisions at a public Web site. Greater accessibility should lead to more citation of this category of primary material.
The relevant citation principles follow; section 3-400 provides both basic examples and samples from all major U.S. jurisdictions.
Like statutes, agency regulations are cited to codifications if possible.
§
2-410(1) Examples Window (restore)
Principle 1: The core of a citation to a codified federal regulation consists of three elements:
Element (a) - The title number followed by a space and "C.F.R." (for "Code of Federal Regulations") «e.g.»
Element (b) - The section number preceded by the section symbol and a space
Element (c) - The year of the most recent compilation of that title (Note that the print editions of the different titles are compiled on a staggered schedule.) or a more precise "through" date (in parentheses) «e.g.»
No punctuation separates these elements. Nothing is italicized or underlined.
§
2-410(2) Examples Window (restore)
Principle 2: The core of a citation to a codified state regulation consists of comparable elements, adjusted to the nomenclature of the particular codification. If the reader may not be familiar with how to access the code and it is online (as most state codes now are), a parallel electronic citation may be useful «e.g.». See § 2-110.
¡But see § 2-415!
§
2-415 Examples Window (restore)
Point 1: State regulations are even more rarely cited outside the state in which they apply than state statutes are. Consequently, their abbreviations according to settled usage within a state often fill in the full identification of that state by implication. This is also true with statutes. (See § 2-335(3).) Thus, while The Bluebook and ALWD Citation Manual call for Alaska regulations to be cited to "Alaska Admin. Code tit. x, § y (year)," in decisions of the Alaska Supreme Court and briefs submitted to it, an Alaska regulation will typically be cited "[title] AAC [section] (year)." «e.g.»
§ 2-420. Regulation Citations – Variants and Special Cases [BB|ALWD]
§
2-420 Examples Window (restore)
Special Case 1: Federal regulations not yet codified or citations to a regulation as originally promulgated are cited to the Federal Register (Fed. Reg.), preceded by name or title of the regulations «e.g.». If the regulation is to be codified in C.F.R., the location where it will appear or the portion it amends should, in most cases, be furnished parenthetically «e.g.».
Special Case 2: State regulations not yet codified or citations to regulations as originally promulgated are cited to an equivalent publication or Web site «e.g.».
Special Case 3: U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which are not codified in C.F.R., are cited to the manual in which they are published by the U.S. Sentencing Commission «e.g.».
§
2-450 Examples Window (restore)
Agency adjudications are cited the same as judicial opinions (cases) (see § 2-200) with the following differences of detail:
Principle 1: Names are not italicized or underlined «e.g.».
Principle 2: The cited name is that of the first private party only (abbreviated as with judicial opinions), or the official subject-matter title, omitting all procedural phrases «e.g.».
Principle 3: The agency's official reporter is cited whenever possible. If no official reporter citation is available, the decision is cited with agency's assigned identification number and full date, plus a parallel citation to an electronic source, an unofficial reporter or service if possible «e.g.».
Principle 4: If the name of the agency is not adequately revealed by the name of the reporter, it should be included (abbreviated) in the parentheses ahead of the date.
¡But see § 2-455!
§
2-455 Examples Window (restore)
Point 1: The ALWD Citation Manual calls for a format more tightly analogous to that employed for judicial opinions, including the italicizing of party names «e.g.».
§ 2-470. Agency Report Citations [BB|ALWD]
§
2-470 Examples Window (restore)
Principle 1: Citations to agency reports, published periodically in volumes, take the same form as journal articles (see § 2-800) «e.g.».
Principle 2: Citations to agency reports that are titled and disseminated separately take the same form as books by institutional authors (see § 2-720(1)) «e.g.».
§ 2-480. Citations to Executive Orders and Proclamations – Most Common Form [BB|ALWD]
§
2-480(1) Examples Window (restore)
Principle 1: The core of a citation to a federal executive order or presidential proclamation consists of four elements:
Element (a) - The designation "Exec. Order" or "Proclamation" followed by a space and "No." (for number) «e.g.»
Element (b) - The order or proclamation number followed by a comma and space «e.g.»
Element (c) - A citation to the Federal Register in which the order or proclamation was published (see § 2-420) «e.g.» or if it is likely to be more accessible the Code of Federal Regulations edition into which it was compiled (i.e. that for the following year) «e.g.» followed by a space
Element (d) - The date or year in parenthesis (the date of the Federal Register publication or the year of the C.F.R. compilation, not the date of the order or proclamation) «e.g.»
Principle 2: Two additional additional elements may be appropriate:
Element (a) - The core elements can be preceded by the title of the order or proclamation followed by a comma and space «e.g.»
Element (b) - With recent documents a parallel electronic citation may be useful «e.g.»; all executive orders and proclamations from 1993 on are accessible online. See § 2-110.
§
2-480(2) Examples Window (restore)
Principle 3: The core of a citation to a state governor's executive order or proclamation consists of comparable elements preceded by the state abbreviation, adjusted to the nomenclature of the particular compilation in which it appears (if any).
§
2-485 Examples Window (restore)
Point 1: The ALWD Citation Manual calls for slightly different designations of orders and proclamations, omits the abbreviation "No.", does not place commas in the numbers, and calls for C.F.R. citations to be dated by the year of the order or proclamation rather than year of the compilation. «e.g.» It also places the title of the order or proclamation in italics, when included, and treats parallel Internet citations slightly differently. «e.g.»
§ 2-490. Citations to Attorney General and Other Advisory Opinions – Most Common Form [BB|ALWD]
§
2-490(1) Examples Window (restore)
Principle 1: The core of a citation to an advisory opinion by the U.S. Attorney General, state counterparts, and similar legal officers consists of two sets of elements:
Element (a) - The name of the office issuing the opinion (abbreviated) and the abbreviation "Op." «e.g.»
Element (b) - A volume and page number followed by the year if the opinion has been published. «e.g.», the opinion number, if any, and full date if it has not been. «e.g.»
Principle 2: Two additional additional elements may be appropriate:
Element (a) - The core elements can be preceded by the title of the opinion followed by a comma and space. «e.g.»
Element (b) - With recent opinions a parallel electronic citation may be useful. «e.g.» See § 2-110.
§
2-490(2) Examples Window (restore)
Principle 3: The core of a citation to state officers' advisory opinions consists of the same elements as citations to those of federal officers; however, the office name is preceded by the state abbreviation and the abbreviation "Op." is shifted to the end. «e.g.»
§
2-495 Examples Window (restore)
Point 1: The ALWD Citation Manual omits the abbreviation "No.", places the title of the opinion in italics, when included, and treats parallel Internet citations slightly differently. «e.g.»