Citations
This sets the standard for the formatting and presentation of judicial opinions in New Jersey.
What is the New Jersey Manual of Style?
These are materials that discuss, explain, analyze, and critique the law. They discuss the law, but are not the law itself.
What are secondary sources?
This article will be used before any word that begins with a vowel sound (except a long u) and words beginning with a silent h, as in "appellant," "hour," or "IRS ruling."
What is "an"?
A method for analyzing legal authorities, this is an acronym for Conclusion, Rule, Explanation of Rule, Analysis/Application of Rule, and Conclusion
What is CREAC?
A type of pincite that may require dropping any repetitious digits other than the final two digits (e.g., 103-06).
What is a page range?
This table in Bluebook is used to look up abbreviations for common words in case names, institutional author names, and periodical titles. Always consult this table when copying and pasting a citation directly from another source such as Lexis or Westlaw.
What is Table T6?
This court reviews decisions from these district courts:
What is the Third Circuit Court of Appeals?
When discussing a case illustration in legal writing, you generally use this tense to describe the facts of the case, the court's decision, and any actions taken by the parties involved.
What is "past tense"?
This is an opposing viewpoint that is presented and then refuted to strengthen the primary argument. It shows a thorough understanding of the issue by acknowledging and addressing alternative interpretations or precedent cases that could be used against your position.
What is a counterargument?
Linguist H.W. Fowler condemned the overuse of this technique in his classic book Modern English Usage, writing, "The fatal influence is the advice given to young writers never to use the same word twice in a sentence—or within 20 lines or other limit. . . . There are few literary faults so widely prevalent . . ."
What is elegant variation?
This should begin with a present participle unless it contains a quoted sentence or a short statement. You never start with a capital letter unless the quotation reads as a full sentence.
What is an explanatory parenthetical?
This is a judicial ruling that is binding on the parties involved, but it doesn't establish new policy or create new interpretations of the law.
What is a non-precedential opinion?
This doctrine, Latin for "to stand by things that have been settled," promotes stability and predictability in the legal system by ensuring that courts apply laws consistently.
What is stare decisis?
This part of a case illustration focuses the attention of the reader and identifies the legal principle you are pulling from that case.
What is the hook?
Interrogatories, depositions, and notices to produce are all examples of this legal process.
What is discovery?
This introductory signal indicates that the authority is different from the main proposition but sufficiently analogous to lend support.
What is "Cf."?
This court reviews decisions from these district courts:
What is the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit?
Plankton alleged that Mr. Krabs used this secret ingredient to create his signature dish Krabby Patties.
What are shark feces?
This paragraph identifies the claim, the legal issues, the rules that govern the claim, and the legal conclusion for the issue.
What is a thesis paragraph?
This Latin term literally means "the expression of one thing is the exclusion of the other" and is a rule of interpretation that suggests when a list of items is explicitly stated in a law, anything not listed is presumed to be excluded.
What is expressio unius est exclusio alterius?
Use this citation when the same case is printed in two or more different reporters.
What is a parallel citation?
The U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey will look to this court's decisions for binding authority on New Jersey law.
What is the Supreme Court of New Jersey?
When sections 6 and 12 are combined, we have this many students in our class.
What is 37?
This refers to the overall structure of the legal analysis, where the issues are identified and organized in a logical and clear manner.
What is large-scale organization?
Use these to show changes in quotations, usually the addition of a word or letters.
What are brackets?