Citation justice is the intentional practice of citing research authored by members of underrepresented groups. Join us for a Faculty Learning Circle discussing articles on how citation practices can avoid perpetuating existing inequalities in legal scholarship while amplifying deserving authors and work.
Jennifer Elisa Chapman, Citation Ethics: Towards a Ethical Framework of Legal Citation, in The Role of Citation in the Law: A Yale Law School Symposium (2022).
The twenty-first edition of The Bluebook provided a new rule (R10.7.1(d)) for citing cases involving enslaved persons.
For cases involving an enslaved person as a party, use the parenthetical "(enslaved party)." For cases involving an enslaved person as the subject of a property or other legal dispute but not named as a party to the suit, use the parenthetical “(enslaved person at issue).” For other cases involving enslaved persons, use an adequately-descriptive parenthetical.
As examples, The Bluebook provides the following two illustrative citations (including the proper citation to Dred Scott v. Sandford):
The Fair Citation Rule is a concept that simply dispenses with Bluebook Rule 15(1)b's guidance to replace all but the first author's name with the space-saving "et al." for books and periodical pieces with more than two authors. This small change ensures that all authors are properly credited for their work, and helps make their other work more easily discoverable. Several law journals have already implemented the Fair Citation Rule as part of their style guides, but it is not universal. Being proactive about citing all authors in this way when submitting articles can help normalize the practice further.
Further Reading: Liz Manriquez, That’s Not “et al.” Folks!, RIPS L. LIB. BLOG (Apr. 29, 2021).
More than two authors. Use the first author's name followed by "et al." when saving space is desired and in short form citations. List all of the authors' names when particularly relevant.
Using the Fair Citation Rule, the Bluebook's R15.1(b) example:
Would be written out as follows the first time it is cited:
For subsequent short form (supra) citations, "et al." is still used to conserve word count, as the goal of citation inclusion is achieved with the initial citation.
Fair Citation Rule Update (Washington Law Review style guide)
More than Two Authors for a Book or Periodical – Departure from Bluebook Rule 15.1
WLR departs from Bluebook Rule 15.1(b). WLR always requires that the names of each author be listed for a source that has more than two authors the first time that source is cited. For subsequent short form citations, WLR follows Bluebook Rule 4.2, which provides that “et al.” should be used following the name of the first author.
Full and Fair Citation Rule (Denver Law Review style guide)
DLR departs from Bluebook rule 15.1(b). DLR always requires that the names of each author be listed for a source that has more than two authors the first time that source is cited. For subsequent short form citations, DLR follows Bluebook Rule 4.2, which provides that “et al.” should be used following the name of the first author.
The Full and Fair Citation Rule has been adopted because research demonstrates that women authors and authors belonging to underrepresented groups are often under-cited, which can further disparity in job placement, tenure consideration, and more.
The Role of Citation in the Law : a Yale Law School symposium by 
Unequal Profession : Race and Gender in Legal Academia by 
Building Gender Equity in the Academy : Institutional Strategies for Change by 
Read journals that focus on social justice, critical race theory, and feminist legal studies, or interdisciplinary journals about law and society
Read and contribute to blogs that feature diverse perspectives and works by underrepresented legal scholars
