Many law students are surprised to learn that Ohio courts have a special citation format that is different from the Bluebook. The Ohio Supreme Court's Reporter of Decisions prescribes the citation rules for opinions published by Ohio Courts. Many practitioners use this citation format when writing briefs and other legal documents. These citation manuals (the 1992 version and 2002 revisions) are available in PDF on the Supreme Court of Ohio's website.
When citing a case, it's good to remember that Ohio's manual:*
When citing a case, it's good to remember that Ohio's manual:*
- requires that the year be placed right after the case name (e.g., Miranda v. Arizona (1966), 384 U.S. 436).
- requires use of the WebCite along with other parallel citations (e.g., Bonacorsi v. Wheeling & Lake Erie Ry. Co., 95 Ohio St.3d 314, 2002-Ohio-2220, 767 N.E.2d 707.)
- prefers pinpoint citations to paragraph numbers rather than page numbers (e.g., Bonacorsi v. Wheeling & Lake Erie Ry. Co., 95 Ohio St.3d 314, 2002-Ohio-2220, 767 N.E.2d 707, at ¶15.) (Paragraph numbers appear in all Ohio cases decided after 2002.)