Abbreviations to State Court Reporters - Including Washington Courts - Legal Abbreviations - LibGuides at Gonzaga University School of Law

State Court Reporters and Table T. 1 of the Bluebook

All of the information you need to properly abbreviate state courts and state court reporters is in Table T. 1 of the Bluebook. Listed below are some guidelines to help you choose the proper abbreviation:

1. The abbreviation for the court is in the parenthetical after the name of the court. For example, under the entries for Arizona you have Supreme Court (Ariz.) and Court of Appeals (Ariz. Ct. App.).

2. The abbreviation for the reporter in which the court's opinions are printed is listed under the name of the court. For example, the Arizona Supreme Court has its opinions printed in the Pacific Reporter and Arizona Reports. The abbreviations for the Pacific Reporter include P., P.2d, and P.3d. The abbreviation for the Arizona Reports is Ariz.

3. The dates for each reporter in which the court has its opinions printed is given. Generally this is not a matter for concern. For example, the Arizona Supreme Court opinions have been printed in the Pacific Reporter from 1883 until the present and in the Arizona Reports from 1866 to the present. On the other hand, there are occasions when a court's opinions are no longer printed in one reporter but are included in another. For example, the Arizona Court of Appeals opinions were printed in Arizona Appeals Reports from 1965 until 1976 but since 1976 have been included in Arizona Reports. This can lead to citation confusion so be sure to check the Bluebook closely.

4. The Bluebook also tells you which reporter to cite, if the court's opinions are printed in more than one reporter. For example, for the Arizona Supreme Court it says, "Cite to P., P.2d, or P.3d, if therein." Except when you are required to do a parallel citation, you do not cite to the Arizona Reports, only the Pacific Reporter.

5. Note: do not assume that the highest court in a state is called the "Supreme Court." For example, New York's highest court is called the "Court of Appeals." The abbreviation for this court is N.Y. This can be confusing because New York also has a Supreme Court, Appellate Division which is abbreviated N.Y. App. Div. Again, when in doubt, check the Bluebook, Table T. 1.

Washington State Court Abbreviations

Abbreviation	Title	Description/Coverage
Wash. Wash.2d	Washington Reports	Bluebook citation to the official reporter containing cases from the Washington Supreme Court; printed in two series.
Wn. Wn.2d	Washington Reports	Official abbreviation to the official reporter containing cases from the Washington Supreme Court; printed in two series.
Wash. App. Wash. App. 2d	Washington Appellate Reports	Bluebook citation to the official reporter containing cases from the Washington Court of Appeals printed in two series.
Wn. App. Wn. App. 2d	Washington Appellate Reports	Official abbreviation to the official reporter containing cases from the Washington Court of Appeals printed in two series.