RATIONALE FOR PDF SOURCES
The Bluebook has a strong preference for citation to print sources, expressed in Rule 18 and implicit throughout the rules. The Bluebook prefers print sources because they are stable over time and not subject to changes in format or pagination, or to "link rot." In many cases PDF images of print sources are readily available either on free Web sites or through library databases, and frequently these will be the most convenient method for source and cite verification.
Note that it may be necessary or appropriate to cite to a more preferred source than the author cited. A case may have become available in a source preferred by The Bluebook, or a newspaper article that was originally cited to a newspaper Web site could be acquired by an interlibrary loan request for the article as it appeared in print.
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If you have any questions about any of the citations, sources, or databases used in source and cite, please ask a reference librarian for assistance!
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CASES
United States Supreme Court. The Bluebook provides extensive rules for citation to United States Supreme Court opinions in Table T1. Slip opinions are first to appear and the United States Reports the last. The library holds print copies of each of these sources except slip opinions. The Bluebook requires citation in the following order of preference, if the decision is available in that source. If the case may have become available in a more preferred source since the article was drafted, cite to that instead.
Cite |
Reporter (in order of Bluebook preference) |
PDF Source |
Coverage |
| U.S. |
Official United States Reports.
(Publication of the United States Reports generally lags 2-3 years after the decisions.) |
HeinOnline |
Complete archive |
Supreme Court Web site (files are very large) |
From 1991 |
| U.S. |
United States Reports Preliminary Prints
(Softbound versions subject to correction; lags about a year.) |
HeinOnline |
Approximately one year to three years |
| S. Ct. |
West Supreme Court Reporter. |
West's Supreme Court Reporter is available in PDF in Find & Print. Follow the instructions below. You can also find the PDFs by search in the SCT database. |
From 1918 (for source and cite purposes, only last 2-3 years important for citation purposes) |
| L. Ed. |
Supreme Court Reporter -- Lawyer's Edition
|
Not available in PDF. |
|
| U.S.L.W. |
United States Law Week |
Database available online, but not in a PDF format. |
|
| (Slip Op.)
|
Slip opinions |
Supreme Court Web site |
Last three years |
| HeinOnline |
Last four years |
|
Records and Briefs
|
Westlaw |
From 1990 |
| Making of Modern Law |
1832-1978 |
Published Cases in Federal and State Courts.
Westlaw now provides PDFs of substantially all published decisions in its federal and Regional Reporters back to 1920. This means that most federal and state cases you need should be available. Since the Bluebook prefers the West Regional Reporters to state official reporters, West's PDFs make the job much easier. The principal exceptions are the California Reporter (Cal. Rptr.) and the New York Supplement (N.Y.S. Supp.).
You can access PDFs at the top of any opinions for which they are available by locating the decision with Find or by a search in the appropriate case database. The easiest approach to download several cases at once, however, is to use West's Find & Print. To use Find & Print, log on to Westlaw. Choose Research Now on Westlaw from the left to reach the Westlaw main page. Choose Find & Print from the very top left of the Westlaw main page. Enter the cites you need (up to 20), and check Substitute with Reporter Images.
Here is the coverage, courtesy of West:
CITE |
REPORTER |
Reporter Volumes in PDF |
S. Ct. |
Supreme Court |
39 - to date |
F. |
Federal 1st |
259 - 300 |
F.2d |
Federal 2d |
1 - 999 |
F.3d |
Federal 3d |
1 - to date |
F. Supp. |
Federal Supplement 1st |
1 - to 999 |
F. Supp. 2d |
Federal Supplement 2d |
1 - to date |
B.R. |
Bankruptcy |
1 - to date |
N.W. |
NorthWestern 1st |
174 - 300 |
N.W.2d |
NorthWestern 2d |
1 - to date |
N.E. |
NorthEastern 1st |
124 - 200 |
N.E.2d |
NorthEastern 2d |
1 - to date |
So. |
Southern 1st |
82 - 200 |
So. 2d |
Southern 2d |
1 - to date |
S.E. |
SouthEastern 1st |
100 - 200 |
S.E.2d |
SouthEastern 2d |
1 - to date |
S.W. |
SouthWestern 1st |
215 - 300 |
S.W.2d |
SouthWestern 2d |
1 - to 999 |
S.W.3d |
SouthWestern 3d |
1 - to date |
P. |
Pacific 1st |
183 - 300 |
P.2d |
Pacific 2d |
1 - 999 |
P.3d |
Pacific 3d |
1 - to date |
A. |
Atlantic 1st |
107 - 200 |
A.2d |
Atlantic 2d |
1 - to date |
Cases or Pleadings in Lower Courts Not Available in PDF on Westlaw.
Traditionally lower court decisions in most state court systems, in addition to pleadings and other court filings, were not published because they lacked precedential value. Now you can frequently find such documents in PDF online, but it can take some searching. They may be posted by parties to the case, interested organizations, or courts themselves where cases are especially important. A Google search limited to the filetype:pdf can often bring up a document if you search for the key parties in the case.
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UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS
What the cite looks like |
Publication |
PDF Source |
Coverage |
U.S. Public Laws |
Pub. L. No. 102-2
P.L. 102-408
106 Stat. 1992 |
Statutes at Large
U.S. Public and Private Laws |
FDsys
THOMAS |
104 th Congress (1995) to date |
HeinOnline |
1789-2002 |
Westlaw (US-STATLRG) |
1789-1972
|
Proposed Laws and Congressional Materials |
S. 516
H.R. 422 |
Congressional Bills |
FDsys
THOMAS |
103d Congress, (1993) to date |
|
Congressional Committee Prints |
FDsys |
105th Congress (1997) to date |
|
Congressional Hearings |
FDsys |
105th Congress (1997) to date |
H.R. Rep. No. 98-2
S. Rep. No. 104-201 |
Congressional Reports |
FDsys
THOMAS |
99th Congress (1985) to date |
H.R. Rep. No. 70-13
S. Rep. No. 63-114 |
Congressional Reports (Historic) |
LexisNexis Congressional (Serial Set) |
1817-1969 |
| 145 Cong. Rec. H1817 |
Bound Congressional Record |
FDsys
THOMAS |
Vol. 145 (1998) to date
|
Early congressional debates |
Library of Congress American Memory project |
1789-1877 |
Presidential Materials |
Weekly Comp. Pres. Doc. |
Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents |
FDsys |
1993 to date |
HeinOnline |
1965 to date |
| Pub. Papers |
Public Papers of the Presidents of the U.S. |
FDsys |
1991 to date |
Administrative Materials (Regulations) |
|
GAO Reports |
FDsys |
FY 1989 to date |
| 47 C.F.R. § 73.609 |
Code of Federal Regulations |
FDsys |
1996 to date |
| HeinOnline |
1938-1983 |
| 60 Fed. Reg. 50,379 |
Federal Register (includes proposed regulations) |
FDsys |
1994 to date |
HeinOnline |
1936 to near current |
Various Government Agency Reports and Working Papers
Frequently working papers and agency reports court can be located in PDF by a search on Google. Some tricks to narrow your search include placing key phrases from the title in quotes (but note that authors frequently misstate titles so try various options), limiting the domain searched where appropriate (for a government report add site:gov to your Google search), and limiting the filetype to PDF (add filetype:pdf to your Google search).
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JOURNAL ARTICLES
Most common legal and academic journals are readily available in PDF, except occasionally the most current issue(s). In general, the library catalog NUcat or the Northwestern Main library electronic resources page will provide links to electronic versions of journals to which Northwestern subscribes. Note that in NUcat or the electronic resources page, you must enter the name of the journal, not the title of the article to retrieve your results.
Not all electronic versions will provide PDFs, but it is not generally easy to tell from the links. Examples of databases that do include PDFs are HeinOnline, JSTOR, Academic Search Elite, and Wilson Select Plus. Occasionally LegalTrac will provide PDFs of certain bar magazines. LexisNexis Academic is an example of a database that does not provide PDF versions. (A couple of our databases provide a PDF that is not actually a facsimile of the original, but this is rare.)
HeinOnline contains most legal journals you will need. An example of a law journal that is not in HeinOnline is the Journal of Law & Society, which is found in JSTOR. HeinOnline and JSTOR usually "embargo" the last year or more of most journals, but frequently we will have access to current issues in PDF through another source. Use NUcat to determine whether another source is available.
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BOOKS
The university subscribes to some current books in PDF through various electronic book vendors. Use NUcat for access to these books.
The library has access to a tremendous number of digitized historical books and other works, including treatises, colonial and early state laws, and founding documents. These are highlighted on our historical resources page. In many cases, the library catalog NUcat will provide access to these digitized texts.
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NEWSPAPERS
INTERNATIONAL RESOURCES
