California Style Manual

California Style Manual
SubjectLegal citations
Published1942–present
PublisherSupreme Court of California
Style guides

The California Style Manual, as provided by order of the California Supreme Court and pursuant to statute, is "the official organ for the styles to be used in the publication of the Official Reports" of decisions by California's courts.[1] A person filing a document in a California state court may use either the style for legal citations prescribed in the Manual or the very different system promulgated in The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation, but must use the same style consistently throughout the document.[2] Most California state courts, and lawyers practicing in those courts, use the Manual's citation style.[3] The current (fourth) edition of the Manual, published in 2000 by West Group, is freely available online at the Sixth District Appellate Program webpage.

  1. ^ California Style Manual (4th ed. 2000), p. iv; see Cal. Government Code § 68902
  2. ^ Cal. Rules of Court, rule 1.200
  3. ^ See The Bluebook v. California Style Manual, Pepperdine Law School