legal writing: an overview
In many legal settings specialized forms of written communication are
required. In many others, writing is the medium in which a lawyer must
express their analysis of an issue and seek to persuade others on their clients'
behalf. Any legal document must be concise, clear, and conform to the
objective standards that have evolved in the legal profession.
There are generally two types of legal writing. The first type requires a
balanced analysis of a legal problem or issue. Examples of the first type are
inter-office memoranda and letters to clients. To be effective in this form of
writing, the lawyer must be sensitive to the needs, level of interest and
background of the parties to whom it is addressed. A memorandum to a
partner in the same firm that details definitions of basic legal concepts would
be inefficient and an annoyance. In contrast, their absence from a letter to a
client with no legal background could serve to confuse and complicate a simple
situation.
The second type of legal writing is persuasive. Examples of this type are
appellate briefs and negotiation letters written on a clients behalf. The lawyer
must persuade his or her audience without provoking a hostile response
through disrespect or by wasting the recipient's time with unnecessary
information. In presenting documents to a court or administrative agency he or
she must conform to the required document style.
The drafting of legal documents, such as contracts and wills, is yet
another type of legal writing. Guides are available to aid a lawyer in preparing
the documents but a unique application of the "form" to the facts of the
situation is often required. Poor drafting can lead to unnecessary litigation and
otherwise injure the interests of a client.
The legal profession has its own unique system of citation. While it
serves to provide the experienced reader with enough information to evaluate
and retrieve the cited authorities, it may, at first, seem daunting to the lay
reader. Court rules generally specify the citation format required of all
memoranda or briefs filed with the court. These rules have not kept up with the
changing technology of legal research. Within recent years, online and disk-
based law collections have become primary research tools for many lawyers
and judges. Because of these changes, there has been growing pressure on
those ultimately responsible for citation norms, namely the courts, to establish
new rules that no longer presuppose that a publisher's print volume (created
over a year after a decision is handed down) is the key reference. Several
jurisdictions have responded and many more are sure to follow.
HOW TO CITE
Case
[Case Title], [volume no.] SCRA [page no.], [specific page], [date]
Example: PP v. Boniao, 217 SCRA 653, 667, January 27, 1993
Or PP v. Boniao, G.R. No. 123456, January 27, 1993
N.B. always use “v.” instead of “vs.”
Book
[Author], Title, [Vol. No. ], [year ed.], [page]
Regalado, Remedial Law Compendium, Vol. I, 1997 ed., p. 10
Rollo (records of the case)
Rollo, pp. 2-20
TSN
TSN, January 14, 1995, pp. 3-5
LAW
Rules of Court, Rule 16, § 2.
Constitution Art. IX, sec. 2.
QUOTING A DECISION
Quotations of more than 50 words should be indented, left and right
justified, single spaced.
Use brackets [ ] when altering a letter or a word to conform to your
sentence.
Some Common Citation Errors Made by First-Year Students
1. Do not capitalize all of the letters in a case name.
(Bluebook Rules B5.1.1 & R10.2)
2. Do underline or italicize case names in textual sentences. (Not both!)
(Bluebook Rule B5.1.1 & R10.2)
3. Do not use a capital "C" in the word "court" unless you are referring
to the U.S. Supreme Court, writing out the whole name of a court as a
proper noun, or referring to the court to which the specific document will
be submitted. (Bluebook Rules B10.6.1 & R8)
4. Provide a pinpoint cite for every legal assertion.
(Bluebook Rules B5.1.2 & R3.2(a))
5. Use a “full citation” when you first introduce an authority.
(Bluebook Rule B5.1, R10.1, & R12.1, etc.)
6. Use a "short-form" citation after the first full citation for each
authority. (Bluebook Rules B5.2 & R4.1)
7. Use id. as the short-form only when there has been no intervening
citation. (Bluebook Rule B5.2 & R4.1)
8. Do not use supra or infra with primary authority.
(Bluebook Rule R4.2)
9. Quotations of 50 or more words must be single-spaced, indented, and
justified on both left and right sides. Do not include quotation marks in
such "block quotes." When citing to the source of the block quote, skip a
line and put the cite at the left margin.
(Bluebook Rule R5.1)
10. Use brackets when altering a quotation to fit your sentence.
(Bluebook Rule R5.2)
11. Do not use an ellipsis ( … ) at the beginning of a quotation.
(Bluebook Rule R5.3)
12. Close up free-standing capital letters (and 2d & 3d) in citations.
(Bluebook Rule R6.1(a))
13. Use the section symbol in citations.
(Bluebook Rules R3.3 & R6.2(c))
14. Abbreviate case names correctly--first in textual sentences and then
further in citations. (Bluebook Rules R10.2.1 & R10.2.2)
15. Include the court and jurisdiction in a full case citation except
where the court has been unambiguously conveyed by other
abbreviations. (Bluebook Rule R10.4)
16. Include the date (year) of decision in a case citation.
(Bluebook Rule R10.5)
17. Always give the required subsequent history of a case in the first
full citation to that case. (Bluebook Rule 10.7)
18. Cite to statutes in the current code. (Bluebook Rule R12.2.1)
19. Include the date (year) of the current code volume in the first full
citation to a code section. (Bluebook Rule R12.3.2)
20. Cite to administrative materials in the current administrative code.
(Bluebook Rule R14.2)
21. "The Bluebook requires the use and citation of traditional printed
sources unless (1) the information cited is unavailable in a traditional
printed source; or (2) a copy of the source cannot be located because it is
so obscure that it is practically unavailable."
(Bluebook Rule R18 (emphasis omitted))
Ellipses
An ellipsis is a series of three points with spaces between them (. . .) inserted into a quotation to
indicate the omission of material from the original quotation. There are quite a few simple rules
for the proper use of ellipses, which are used more often in legal writing than most forms of
writing, since lawyers often (generally too often) quote material from other sources. Failure to
use the proper form of an ellipsis could misrepresent the work of another person and result in
legal liability for the writer. Correct use of ellipses, on the other hand, shows that the writer has
carefully attended to detail, and thus increases the reader's confidence in the reliability of the
written work.
1. When placing an ellipsis in the middle of a quotation to indicate the omission of
material, use three points with spaces before and after the ellipsis.
Incorrect: The First Amendment provides that "Congress shall make no law
respecting. . .the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the
Government for a redress of grievances." U.S. Const. amend. I.
Correct: The First Amendment provides that "Congress shall make no law
respecting . . . the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the
Government for a redress of grievances." U.S. Const. amend. I.
2. When placing an ellipsis at the end of a quotation to indicate the omission of
material, use four points -- a three-point ellipsis and a period. The ellipsis should follow
a blank space.
Incorrect: The First Amendment provides that "Congress shall make no law. . . abridging
the freedom of speech. . ." U.S. Const. amend. I.
Correct: The First Amendment provides that "Congress shall make no law . . .
abridging the freedom of speech . . . ." U.S. Const. amend. I.
3. Do not place an ellipsis at the beginning of a quotation to indicate the omission of
material.
Incorrect: The First Amendment also prohibits laws ". . . respecting an establishment of
religion. . . ." U.S. Const. amend. I.
Correct: The First Amendment also prohibits laws "respecting an establishment
of religion . . . ." U.S. Const. amend. I.
4. When combining a fully quoted sentence with a partially quoted sentence, or with a
second, but nonconsecutive quoted sentence, place a period at the end of the fully
quoted sentence, followed by a space, an ellipsis, another space, and the remainder of
the quoted material. Do not place a space before a period at the end of a fully quoted
sentence.
Incorrect: In a unanimous decision, Justice Holmes wrote, "The question in every case is
whether the words used are used in such circumstances and are of such a nature as to
create a clear and present danger that they will bring about the substantive evils that
Congress has a right to prevent . . . .When a nation is at war many things that might be
said in time of peace are such a hindrance to its effort that their utterance will not be
endured so long as men fight and that no Court could regard them as protected by any
constitutional right." Schenck v. United States, 249 U.S. 47, 52 (1919).
Correct: In a unanimous decision, Justice Holmes wrote, "The question in every
case is whether the words used are used in such circumstances and are of such
a nature as to create a clear and present danger that they will bring about the
substantive evils that Congress has a right to prevent. . . . When a nation is at war
many things that might be said in time of peace are such a hindrance to its effort
that their utterance will not be endured so long as men fight and that no Court
could regard them as protected by any constitutional right." Schenck v. United
States, 249 U.S. 47, 52 (1919).
In the preceding series of quotations, the ellipsis in the middle of the two quotations indicates
that one or more entire intervening sentences have been omitted.
Incorrect: In a unanimous decision, Justice Holmes wrote, "The question in every case is
whether the words used are used in such circumstances and are of such a nature as to
create a clear and present danger that they will bring about the substantive evils that
Congress has a right to prevent. . . .their utterance will not be endured so long as men
fight and that no Court could regard them as protected by any constitutional right."
Schenck v. United States, 249 U.S. 47, 52 (1919).
Correct: In a unanimous decision, Justice Holmes wrote, "The question in every
case is whether the words used are used in such circumstances and are of such
a nature as to create a clear and present danger that they will bring about the
substantive evils that Congress has a right to prevent. . . . [T]heir utterance will
not be endured so long as men fight and that no Court could regard them as
protected by any constitutional right." Schenck v. United States, 249 U.S. 47, 52
(1919).
In the preceding example, the ellipsis indicates that some material -- it could be a whole
sentence and the beginning of the next sentence, or just the beginning of the next sentence --
has been omitted in the midst of the quoted material. The brackets around the "T" indicate that
the letter was lower case in the original and was changed to upper case by the writer to create a
proper sentence. The brackets also confirm that material at the start of the second quoted
sentence was omitted, because the letter "T" would have been capitalized in the original, and
therefore would require no brackets, if it had started a sentence. For more information
concerning the use of brackets, see the section of this tutorial on brackets.
5. When omitting one or more entire paragraphs, indicate the omission by indenting
four points and placing them on a separate line. If the quoted material is 50 words or
more, use indented margins and do not use any quotation marks.
Incorrect:
"Poverty imposes costs on the nonpoor that warrant, on strictly economic grounds and
without regard to ethical or political considerations, incurring some costs to reduce it.
For example, poverty in the midst of a generally wealthy society is likely to increase the
incidence of crime: the forgone income of a legitimate alternative occupation is low for
someone who has little earning capacity in legitimate occupations, while the proximity of
wealth increases the expected return from crime, or, stated another way, the cost of
honesty. . . . An individual who feels endangered or appalled at the poverty around him
can contribute to an organization designed to alleviate that poverty an amount equal to
the benefit that he would derive from the reduction of poverty enabled by his
contribution (net of administrative costs)." Richard A. Posner, Economic Analysis of Law
350 (2d ed. 1977).
Correct:
Poverty imposes costs on the nonpoor that warrant, on strictly economic grounds and
without regard to ethical or political considerations, incurring some costs to reduce it.
For example, poverty in the midst of a generally wealthy society is likely to increase the
incidence of crime: the forgone income of a legitimate alternative occupation is low for
someone who has little earning capacity in legitimate occupations, while the proximity of
wealth increases the expected return from crime, or, stated another way, the cost of
honesty.
....
An individual who feels endangered or appalled at the poverty around him can
contribute to an organization designed to alleviate that poverty an amount equal
to the benefit that he would derive from the reduction of poverty enabled by his
contribution (net of administrative costs).
Richard A. Posner, Economic Analysis of Law 350 (2d ed. 1977).
6. Never leave a point in an ellipsis floating at the beginning or end of a line of text.
(However, you may have a period at the end of a fully quoted sentence at the end of a
line of text and begin the ellipsis on the next line.)
Incorrect: "His refusal to cooperate with the court and name the source .
. . resulted in a contempt citation."
Also Incorrect:
"His refusal to cooperate with the court and name the source . .
. resulted in a contempt citation."
Correct: "His refusal to cooperate with the court and name the source . . .
resulted in a contempt citation."
Also Correct:
"His refusal to cooperate with the court and name the source
. . . resulted in a contempt citation."
Also Correct:
"The period may properly be placed at the end of a sentence.
. . . The ellipsis may then be placed on the following line, indicating the omission of an
intervening sentence."
