How to write for Court: This is important:And it it’s not hard to follow.
“Every statement of law must be supported by a citation to a ❶case, ❷statute, ❸rule, ❹constitutional provision, ❺treatise, ❻law review article or ❼other source that supports the statement you are making.” An illustrative display of the use of this Rule in practice is shown on Page 3 of the Opening Brief of Appellant Goldilocks in The Three Bears v. Goldilocks
Note the reason for the Rules. The reason for all format rules and the reason for the Rule above is that judges read several hundred pages of original work every day and must be able to identify – and retrieve quickly – the ①case, ②statute, ③rule, ④constitutional provision, ⑤treatise, ⑥law review article or ⑦other source you are using, to show to him or her that the statement you are making is the law. The Court could not function if the Rules were otherwise.
Judges need to be able to scan your submissions quickly. Often, a judge has no other choice. It’s your job to make your document easy for the judge to follow in the same way you would like the judge to interpret it. Using the proper citation formatin your paperswillmake it a lot easier for the Court to follow your case. This is why using proper citation format in every written document you submit to the Court is required by the California Rules of Court and is critical to your success! Fortunately, following these rulesis not hard!
Turn the page!
Statutes:
Statutes are the law. Statutes are passed by the Legislature, are signed by the Governor, and are Chaptered by the Secretary of State. Statutes make changes to the Codes. (e.g., Pen. Code § 118 was last amended by Stats. 1990, Ch. 950, Sec. 2.)
Codes:
The Codes are the law; the sections within the codes are laws.
There are 29 codes in California. The codes are arranged alphabetically, beginning with the Business and Professions Code (e.g., Bus. & Prof. Code§ 17200) and ending with the Welfare and Institutions Code (e.g., Welf. & Inst. Code§ 309). Cite Code sections like this:Business and Professions Code section 17200 “outside of parentheses” and (Bus. & Prof. Code § 17200) inside parentheses. Use the Table of Abbreviations on Page 4 for the correct abbreviations to use!
The sections within the Sections:
Code sections are typically long and provide for different rules for different facts. Civil Code section 1950.5 is the law that governs tenant security deposits. It begins with Civil Code section 1950.5, subdivision (a) and ends with Civil Code section 1950.5, subdivision (q) and contains 2,790 words and 190 lines of text. Civil Code section 1950.5, subdivision (g)(1) is the 21 Day Rule. Don’t make the judge weigh-through 2,790 words and 190 lines of text to find the 21 day rule. (Cite the 21 day rule as Civ. Code § 1950.5, subdiv. (g)(1).)
Cases:
Cases too are the law
Cases consist of common law precedents and interpretations of what the Code says as to given facts.Case lawis older than Statutory law. The Legislature has not codified every statement of the law. Much of what the law has to say is expressed only in cases. The law is the same if the facts are the same. (To Latin scholars, this is called Stare Decisis)
Supreme Court cases rank above Court of Appeal Cases. Supreme Court cases are cited in accordance with their location in the California Reports; Court of Appeal cases are cited in accordance with their location in the California Appellate Reports. The California Reports and the California Appellate Reports contain the archival record of California case law.
On Page 3 of the Opening Brief of Appellant Goldilocks in The Three Bears v. Goldilocks, Goldilocks cites four California Cases, all from the Court of Appeal, in support of her claim that she was not trespassing.
Note her first claim: “A trespass occurs when a person intentionally, recklessly, or negligently enters land in the possession of another.” (Gallin v. Poulou (1956) 140 Cal.App.2d 638, 645.) Look at the case citation: (Gallin v. Poulouis the case name (1956)is the year it was decided 140 Cal.App.2d 638,is its location in the California Appellate Reports[1][and] 645is the page number where Goldilocks’s claim is stated.)
Statutes and Codes Summary)
Codes and Code AbbreviationsBusiness and Professions Code / Bus. & Prof. Code
California Code of Regulations / Cal. Code Regs.
California Uniform Commercial Code / Cal. U. Com. Code
Civil Code / Civ. Code
Code of Civil Procedure / Code Civ. Proc.
Corporations Code / Corp. Code
Education Code / Ed. Code
Elections Code / Elec. Code
Evidence Code / Evid. Code
Family Code / Fam. Code
Financial Code / Fin. Code
Fish and Game Code / Fish & G. Code
Food and Agricultural Code / Food & Agr. Code
Government Code / Gov. Code
Harbors and Navigation Code / Harb. & Nav. Code
Health and Safety Code / Health & Saf. Code
Insurance Code / Ins. Code
Labor Code / Lab. Code
Military and Veterans Code / Mil. & Vet. Code
Penal Code / Pen. Code
Probate Code / Prob. Code
Public Contract Code / Pub. Contract Code
Public Resources Code / Pub. Resources Code
Public Utilities Code / Pub. Util. Code
Revenue and Taxation Code / Rev. & Tax Code
Streets and Highways Code / Sts. & Hy. Code
Unemployment Insurance Code / Unemp. Ins. Code
Vehicle Code / Veh. Code
Water Code / Wat. Code
Welfare and Institutions Code / Welf. & Inst. Code
Use § once if citing to one Section. Use §§ if citing to more-than one Section or to more-than one subdivision of a Section. Perjury is defined in Penal Code sections 118 and 125. The California Penal Code defines perjury. (Pen. Code §§ 118, 125.) Perjury is a Felony (Pen. Code § 126.) Use Sec. instead-of § in a Statute citation (e.g., Stats. 1990, Ch. 950, Sec. 2)
Butte County Public Law Library How to Write for CourtPage 1
[1]There are four series of the California Reports and there are four series of the California Appellate Reports. Callin v. Poulou is located in volume 140 of the California Appellate Reports, Second Series, beginning at page 638. Use the abbreviations Cal.App. [or Cal.] Cal.App.2d [or Cal.2d] Cal.App.3d Cal App.4th when writing a case citation. Case names are written in Italics.