Bluebook Citation for Ohio Statutes
You will find citation information for Ohio statutes in Table 1 of the Bluebook. This table covers all U.S. jurisdictions; for more in-depth treatment of statute citations in general, have a look at Bluebook Rule 12.
Here’s an example of how to cite to Ohio’s illegal bingo statute:
Ohio Rev. Code Ann. §2915.07 (LexisNexis 2021)
or
Ohio Rev. Code Ann. §2915.07 (West 2021)
Why two examples? Because Ohio has two versions of its statutes – one called Page’s Ohio Revised Code Annotated published by LexisNexis and the other called Baldwin’s Ohio Revised Code Annotated published by West. It figures then that you’ll find Baldwin’s ORC on Westlaw, and Page’s ORC on Lexis. If you’re using the books, Baldwin’s ORC is the blue set, and Page’s ORC is the red set.
The trick with Bluebook citations is to remember to include the publisher in the parenthesis, so LexisNexis for Page’s ORC and West for Baldwin’s ORC. Another question that often comes up with statute citations is what year you should use in the parens. Bluebook section 12.3.2 – Year of Code – will give you guidance.
