For trial court briefs, stick with the simpler Bluebook format we all learned in law school. For appellate briefs, follow the California Style Manual. Don’t combine the two systems. And when in doubt, call an appellate lawyer for advice. We’re always happy to talk citation format.
Today's DJ also has Myron Moskovtiz's How to use precedent cases - Part 1, about non-binding precedent.
Here's an interesting unpub from 4/3, in which the appellant copied a dissenting decision from an unpub'd case (Srabian) to make an argument, but did not the cite case. The respondent calls this out, and here's what the court has to say:
Citing to rule 8.1115’s prohibition on citing to nonpublished cases, [Respondent] replies [Appellant] abandoned the issue because it copied Justice Kathleen Meehan’s dissenting opinion verbatim. [A] does not respond to [R's] assertion that it copied the dissenting opinion verbatim; it appears [A] did. [A] answers it did not cite to Srabian (indeed it did not mention Srabian at all in its opening brief), but merely adopted the dissenting opinion’s reasoning, which is permissible. We need not weigh in on this novel dispute. We recognize though that with the advent of online legal databases and the posting of nonpublished opinion we are certain the “adoption” of legal reasoning is common practice.
And NLJ has 'The Glue of This Court': Justices, Clerks Receive O'Connor's Casket at Supreme Court -- The nation's first female justice lies in repose at the Great Hall of the Supreme Court.
Inside the Great Hall, O’Connor’s casket was placed upon a catafalque that once supported the body of President Abraham Lincoln as he lay in state in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda after his assassination in 1865. The platform, covered in decorative black cloth, was loaned to the court by Congress for the ceremony.
O’Connor’s invitation-only funeral service will take place Tuesday at the National Cathedral. It will be livestreamed at cathedral.org.
Also of note is the Final Report of 2023 Legislation of Interest to Appellate Courts and the Judicial Council's Summary of Court-Related Legislation
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