New Bluebook: Made When Beef Was Cheap (and Controversial?)

My grandfather, who came from a rural area, had a phrase meaning "very large," which applies to the new Bluebook: It was made when beef was cheap.  The nineteenth edition, new this week, is almost a hundred pages longer than the eighteenth edition.  And, apart from the length, it may raise a few eyebrows. 

Comparing the old and new editions, reference material accounts for eighty percent of the new pages—tables covering various jurisdictions (statutes used in a certain state, case reporters for that state, etc.)* or lists of local rules and style guides.**  Additions to these almost encyclopedic entries may actually lighten the load, facilitating discovery of sources and compliance with local rules.  Routine enough.  So, what about potential controversy?

Some Observations on the Bluebook

The new nineteenth edition of the Bluebook will begin shipping in a few days and this blog will report on any interesting changes.  In the meantime, some general observations about the Bluebook:

As page one of the current eighteenth edition notes, the bulk of the Bluebook applies to "the law journal publication process," while a much shorter section near the beginning, printed on light blue paper, applies to "practicing lawyers" (just over 20 pages, not including a local rule list).  The front and back inside covers contain citation examples that directly compare the law journal and real-world formats, respectively.

Wait.  The bulk of the Bluebook is not geared toward actual lawyering?  Is this a bad thing?  Or could the few practicing attorney pages be the answer to commentator and humorist calls for simpler citation rules?