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Turnitin & Plagiarism

General Guidelines

See the  "Citing Legal Sources" tab of the Government Documents Subject Guide for examples of the most popular sources used and further guidance.  Or, contact me or another librarian with the information you have and we will do our best to help you determine how to cite the source.

Legal sources include court cases & decisions, statutes, legislative materials and other government documents.  Citing these items can be confusing and complicated, but it is important to include enough notation to make it possible for your reader to locate the specific chapter, section, or court case you have referred to in your paper. 

All of the most popular style manuals include a section on how to cite legal sources, so refer to those sections described in the center of this page. The primary notation standards for legal documents is The Blue Book:A Uniform System of Citation, currently the 19th edition.  You can get a copy for 2 hour loan from the Library Circulation desk

Legal Citation guidelines in Various Style Manuals

     

APA: Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association
6th Edition, 2010

Refer to Appendix 7.1 on pages 216 - 224

MLA Handbook, 7th Edition

Refer to Section 5.7.14 on pages 205-206

A Manual for Writers, Turabian
7th Edition, 2007

Refer to Section 19.9.7 on pages 276-280

The Chicago Manual of Style
16th Edition, 2010

Refer to Section 14.281 on pages 769-784