Study for the Bluebook Citation Test. Access comprehensive flashcards and multiple-choice questions with detailed explanations. Prepare effectively for your exam!

Multiple Choice

How do you handle a citation to a slip opinion that has not yet been published in a reporter?

When a decision comes out as a slip opinion, you treat it as the provisional publication of the court’s ruling. The slip opinion shows that the court has decided the case, but it hasn’t yet appeared in the official reporter with final pagination. The sensible approach is to acknowledge the slip opinion first to establish when and where the decision was issued, and then, once the official reporter citation becomes available, switch to that published citation and omit the slip opinion in the final reference. This keeps readers pointed to the stable, final source while still recording that the decision existed in a provisional form at first. For example, you would reference the slip opinion to indicate timeliness, but once the official reporter entry is published, you would use the reporter citation alone to provide the precise, citable version. The slip opinion serves as an early notice; the reporter citation serves as the definitive source.

When a decision comes out as a slip opinion, you treat it as the provisional publication of the court’s ruling. The slip opinion shows that the court has decided the case, but it hasn’t yet appeared in the official reporter with final pagination. The sensible approach is to acknowledge the slip opinion first to establish when and where the decision was issued, and then, once the official reporter citation becomes available, switch to that published citation and omit the slip opinion in the final reference. This keeps readers pointed to the stable, final source while still recording that the decision existed in a provisional form at first. For example, you would reference the slip opinion to indicate timeliness, but once the official reporter entry is published, you would use the reporter citation alone to provide the precise, citable version. The slip opinion serves as an early notice; the reporter citation serves as the definitive source.