When citing a court rule that is in force, do not put a year in parentheses after the rule.
Bluebook Rule 12.9.3 states, "Cite current or uniform rules of evidence or procedure . . . without any date."[1]
Write Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6), Fed. R. Evid. 410, and Conn. Prob. Ct. R. 7.4(b). Do not write Conn. Prob. Ct. R. 7.4(b) (2026), even though the Connecticut probate rules are published in a dated 2026 edition.
A date goes on a rule citation only when the rule is no longer in force: "When citing rules no longer in force, give the most recent official source in which they appear and indicate the date of repeal parenthetically."[2] For example: Sup. Ct. R. 8, 306 U.S. 690 (1939) (repealed 1954).
Hani Sarji
New York lawyer who cares about people, is fascinated by technology, and is writing his next book, Estate of Confusion: New York.
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