About
What is this website?
An automated citation generator which formats data into the proper format for legal academic use.
Why does it exist?
Because there is absolutely no justification for the current Bluebook as it exists today. Law students have much better things to do than obsess over arbitrary abbreviations, rules, parenthetical orderings, and the like.
The original goal of the Bluebook; namely, to create a uniform citation system to make writing/reading legal materials easier, was admirable. With that being said, through various revisions and updates, the Bluebook has become a veritable leviathan of unnecessary rules and styling requirements. Today, the Bluebook has spiraled into an absolute mess such that I'm not entirely sure that most (normal) people reading current law journals and reviews actually recognize bad Bluebook formatting or are actually harmed by it. In my opinion, the extreme focus that most law journals and reviews place on memorizing and understanding the Bluebook is indefensible given the fact that good citations do not make good argumentation or good writing.
This website modernizes the legal citation process by automating it. Gone are confusing Bluebook page numbers, rule numbers, and the like. The system deals with that for you. Thus, the original goal of the Bluebook - uniform citations - is preserved while the main side effect of the Bluebook - endless page-flipping headaches - is removed.
How do I contact you?
All issues/questions/concerns/praise/marriage proposals should be sent to:
What does it run on?
Painstakingly programmed PHP with a ton of regular expressions, the new Google API, and Javascript (for user input styling and the like).
FAQs
Does the system automatically abbreviate words where necessary?
Yep.
Are there any plans to make a plugin for Word?
No. The forms would be no simpler in a Word-based system, and the effort required to make such a plugin (especially with all of the upload/search functions on this system left intact) wouldn't be worth it.
Why can't I find _____ on the Google search function?
Ask Google and the various people that sue them.
Why are the forms for statutes/legislative materials/admin materials so complex?
Blame the Bluebook. There is little consistency cite-to-cite, so each has to be handled on a case-by-case basis.
Have you considered adding functionality for the Maroonbook/Tanbook/etc?
Eventually.
What is up with that mascot?
It's a parody/caricature of me made by the awesome artist Naomi Milliken, who is a friend of mine.