Reference librarians are available to assist you with cite checking and source collecting. Click the Find Help tab at the bottom of the left-hand navigation panel for contact information. If you need assistance with pre-emption, topic selection and writing for either the Catholic University Law Review or the Journal of Law & Technology please consult our Library Guide on Student Scholarship (linked below).
It is not unusual for journal staff to have only a certain portion of the footnotes, while at the same time they are trying to check a source previously cited (e.g. "Supra note 2, at 233"). In some cases they do not have the reference for footnote 2, or if they do, the person who is cite checking footnote 2 has the book off the shelf. Often a footnote needs to be seen in the context of the entire article before we can determine what is being referred to.The reference librarians can therefore better assist you if they can view a copy of the entire article going through the spading process.
If possible, group cite checking tasks by the sources you need to check, rather than by footnote number. As noted above, you may have several footnotes that refer to the same source.
Sometimes it can be difficult to determine exactly what your source is (book, report, hearing, treaty, etc.). Check the Bluebook Tables and Index for help. Check the Bieber Dictionary of Legal Abbreviations for help with abbreviations. Use the title of the source as a search query in the law journals library on Westlaw or Lexis and see how it is cited in other articles.
If you are unsure how to cite to a source, check to see if it has been cited before in a well respected law review. This can simply be done by searching for the source as a term (i.e. in quotation marks) in the law journals database on Westlaw or Lexis. However, use other attempts at citing only as a guide; always be sure to consult the Bluebook.
Guides to Using the Bluebook
Books on Legal Citation
The following are at the Circulation Desk and/or in the Academic Skills collection in the Reference Room unless otherwise noted. Linked titles are available online in full-text through West Academic Study Aids.
ALWD Guide to Legal Citation by 
The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation Located in Reference and Reserve.
Cite-Checker by 
The Redbook by 
The Supreme Court's Style Guide by 
Understanding and Mastering the Bluebook by Located on Reserve
User's Guide to the Bluebook by Located on Reserve and in Ref Study Skills.Other Resources
