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MICHIGAN SUPREME COURT

OPINION MANUAL
Prepared by
Danilo Anselmo
Reporter of Decisions

Revised September 2005


Michigan Supreme Court

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................ xii
I. Citation of Authority ................................................................................................................... 1
A. Citation of Cases ................................................................................................................... 1
1. Initial citation ..................................................................................................................... 1
2. Subsequent citation: ........................................................................................................... 1
3. Point or "jump" citation: .................................................................................................... 2
4. Case names: ....................................................................................................................... 2
a. Italicizing........................................................................................................................ 2
b. Official sources. ............................................................................................................. 2
c. Abbreviations. ................................................................................................................ 3
d. Identical titles................................................................................................................. 3
e. Officials as parties.......................................................................................................... 3
f. State or city as a party..................................................................................................... 4
g. Traffic violations, civil infractions. ............................................................................... 4
i. Second case name. ......................................................................................................... 5
j. Rehearing, remand, or amended. .................................................................................... 5
k. Supplemental opinions................................................................................................... 5
l. Punctuation in case citations........................................................................................... 6
m. Jurisdiction.................................................................................................................... 7
1) Michigan and state courts. ................................................................................................. 7
2) Federal circuit courts.......................................................................................................... 7
3) Federal district courts......................................................................................................... 7
4) Early US Supreme Court cases. ......................................................................................... 8
n. Parallel citations............................................................................................................. 8
i

o. Unavailable citations....................................................................................................... 8
p. Periods and spacing of report names and capitalization. ............................................... 9
q. Date of decision. ............................................................................................................ 9
r. Subsequent history........................................................................................................ 10
s. Unreported matters. ...................................................................................................... 11
t. String citations. ............................................................................................................. 11
5. Consistent citation form:.................................................................................................. 11
B. Citation of Constitutions, Statutes, Regulations, Court Rules, and Jury Instructions......... 11
1. Constitutions. ................................................................................................................... 12
a. Michigan. ..................................................................................................................... 12
b. United States. ............................................................................................................... 12
c. Other states................................................................................................................... 12
2. Statutes............................................................................................................................. 12
a. Michigan. ..................................................................................................................... 12
1) Public and local acts......................................................................................................... 12
2) Amended acts................................................................................................................... 13
3) Compiled Laws. ............................................................................................................... 13
4) Catchlines......................................................................................................................... 13
5) Section numbers. .............................................................................................................. 14
6) History.............................................................................................................................. 14
7) Short titles. ....................................................................................................................... 14
b. Federal.......................................................................................................................... 15
c. Other states................................................................................................................... 16
3. Court rules........................................................................................................................ 16
a. Michigan Court Rules of 1985..................................................................................... 16
ii

b. Michigan Rules of Evidence........................................................................................ 16


c. Former court rules. ....................................................................................................... 16
d. Local court rules. ......................................................................................................... 17
e. Proposed court rules..................................................................................................... 17
f. Rules of Professional Conduct. .................................................................................... 17
g. Code of Judicial Conduct............................................................................................. 17
h. State Bar Rules............................................................................................................. 17
i. Rules of the Board of Law Examiners.......................................................................... 17
j. Federal rules.................................................................................................................. 17
k. Other jurisdictions........................................................................................................ 17
4. Administrative orders....................................................................................................... 17
5. Jury instructions. .............................................................................................................. 18
6. Administrative rules......................................................................................................... 18
C. Miscellaneous Citations ...................................................................................................... 18
1. Attorney General opinions............................................................................................... 18
2. Municipal charters and ordinances. ................................................................................. 18
3. Administrative decisions.................................................................................................. 19
4. Constitutional Convention. .............................................................................................. 20
5. Legislative materials. ....................................................................................................... 20
a. Bills. ............................................................................................................................. 20
b. Journals. ....................................................................................................................... 20
c. Analyses. ...................................................................................................................... 20
6. Executive orders............................................................................................................... 20
7. Legal treatises and texts. .................................................................................................. 20
a. Examples:..................................................................................................................... 20
iii

b. Subsequent citation: ..................................................................................................... 22


8. United States Law Week.................................................................................................. 22
9. LEXIS/WESTLAW. ........................................................................................................ 22
10. Nonlegal books. ............................................................................................................. 22
11. Dictionaries. .................................................................................................................... 23
12. Law review material. ...................................................................................................... 23
13. Internet material. ............................................................................................................. 24
14. Michigan Child Support Formula Manual...................................................................... 24
II. Material Quoted in Opinions.................................................................................................... 25
A. Case Law............................................................................................................................. 25
B. Statutes and Administrative Rules. ..................................................................................... 26
C. Punctuation in Quoted Material. ......................................................................................... 26
1. Colons and semicolons..................................................................................................... 26
2. Question marks and exclamation points. ......................................................................... 26
3. Quotation marks............................................................................................................... 27
D. Deletions in Quoted Materials (Ellipses). ............................................................................ 27
1. Within a sentence............................................................................................................. 27
2. At end of a sentence......................................................................................................... 27
3. Following a sentence/between sentences......................................................................... 27
4. At the middle of a sentence.............................................................................................. 28
5. Internal punctuation in original........................................................................................ 28
6. At the end of a paragraph................................................................................................. 28
7. Between paragraphs. ........................................................................................................ 29
E. Italics. .................................................................................................................................. 29
F. Quoting a Footnote. ............................................................................................................. 30
iv

G. Placement of Citation.......................................................................................................... 31
H. Parentheses and Brackets. ................................................................................................... 32
I. Use of Emphasis. .................................................................................................................. 34
J. Obscure Materials................................................................................................................. 34
K. Photos, Maps, Charts, etc.................................................................................................... 34
III. Miscellaneous Information ..................................................................................................... 35
A. Plain English. ...................................................................................................................... 35
B. Preferred Spelling................................................................................................................ 36
C. Possessives. .......................................................................................................................... 37
D. Hyphenation. ........................................................................................................................ 37
E. Abbreviations. ..................................................................................................................... 38
1. Frequently occurring words: ............................................................................................ 38
2. State abbreviations. ........................................................................................................... 39
3. Railroads. ......................................................................................................................... 39
4. Use of ampersand............................................................................................................. 40
5. Use of section symbol...................................................................................................... 40
6. Versus. ............................................................................................................................. 40
7. Footnotes.......................................................................................................................... 40
8. Days of month.................................................................................................................. 40
F. Numbers/Numerals. ............................................................................................................. 40
G. Trademarks.......................................................................................................................... 41
H. Signals................................................................................................................................. 41
I. Capitalization........................................................................................................................ 41
1. Governmental and geographical units. ............................................................................ 41
a) States............................................................................................................................ 41
v

b) Counties. ...................................................................................................................... 42
c) Cities, villages, and townships..................................................................................... 42
d) Districts........................................................................................................................ 42
e) Branches of government. ............................................................................................. 42
f) Municipal units............................................................................................................. 42
g) Administrative agencies. ............................................................................................. 43
2. Statutes............................................................................................................................. 43
3. Courts, judges, and others................................................................................................ 43
a) In general. .................................................................................................................... 43
b) Supreme courts. ........................................................................................................... 43
c) Intermediate appellate courts. ...................................................................................... 43
d) Trial courts................................................................................................................... 44
e) Other lower courts. ...................................................................................................... 44
f) Judges. .......................................................................................................................... 44
g) Other. ........................................................................................................................... 44
J. a/k/a--d/b/a............................................................................................................................. 44
K. Federal................................................................................................................................. 45
L. Post and Ante....................................................................................................................... 45
M. Proofmarks. ........................................................................................................................ 45
N. Courts no Longer Publishing Official Reports. ................................................................... 48
O. Misused and Incorrect Words and Phrases. ......................................................................... 49
1. A/an.................................................................................................................................. 49
2. Above cases or above-cited ............................................................................................. 49
3. Accord/Accordance.......................................................................................................... 49
4. Administrative law judge................................................................................................. 49
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5. Admit to ........................................................................................................................... 49
6. Afterward/afterwards. ...................................................................................................... 49
7. Age/aged/age of ............................................................................................................... 49
8. Agreed to/on (instruction)................................................................................................ 50
9. All of ................................................................................................................................ 50
10. Amendment to/of ........................................................................................................... 50
11. And/or ............................................................................................................................ 50
12. Any such ........................................................................................................................ 50
13. Approvingly ................................................................................................................... 50
14. Around/about ................................................................................................................. 50
15. As/because/since ............................................................................................................ 50
16. As between..................................................................................................................... 50
17. As long as/so long as...................................................................................................... 50
18. As of............................................................................................................................... 50
19. As to. .............................................................................................................................. 51
20. Attorney Fees ................................................................................................................. 51
21. Bargained-for ................................................................................................................. 51
22. Based on/on the basis of ................................................................................................ 51
23. Because .......................................................................................................................... 51
24. Bench and bar ................................................................................................................ 51
25. Both . . . as well as ......................................................................................................... 51
26. Both of ........................................................................................................................... 51
27. Case law ......................................................................................................................... 51
28. Center on/cluster around ................................................................................................ 51
29. Cite/cite to/citation......................................................................................................... 51
vii

30. Collective nouns (noun/verb agreement) ....................................................................... 52


31. Commentary to/on ......................................................................................................... 52
32. Commission ................................................................................................................... 52
33. Complained of................................................................................................................ 52
34. Compose/comprise......................................................................................................... 52
35. Compound nouns/adjectives .......................................................................................... 53
36. Concur............................................................................................................................ 54
37. Consistent with/consistently with .................................................................................. 54
38. Contractions ................................................................................................................... 54
39. Determination of ............................................................................................................ 54
40. Different than/from ........................................................................................................ 54
41. Dissent ........................................................................................................................... 54
42. Double negatives............................................................................................................ 54
43. Due................................................................................................................................. 54
44. Due to............................................................................................................................. 54
45. Duly................................................................................................................................ 55
46. Effect/impact.................................................................................................................. 55
47. End result ....................................................................................................................... 55
48. End run........................................................................................................................... 55
49. Equate with .................................................................................................................... 55
50. Evince/evidence (as a verb) ........................................................................................... 55
51. Exit a vehicle/building ................................................................................................... 55
52. Firstly, secondly............................................................................................................. 55
53. Forgo/forego .................................................................................................................. 55
54. Goes to/went to .............................................................................................................. 56
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55. Half of ............................................................................................................................ 56


56. Heretofore ...................................................................................................................... 56
57. He/she; he or she............................................................................................................ 56
58. Hypothetical................................................................................................................... 56
59. Identical with/to ............................................................................................................. 56
60. Importantly..................................................................................................................... 56
61. Infer/imply ..................................................................................................................... 56
62. Infringe........................................................................................................................... 57
63. In propria persona .......................................................................................................... 57
64. Issue (question) of/whether............................................................................................ 57
65. Its/it's.............................................................................................................................. 57
66. Look to ........................................................................................................................... 57
67. Method/methodology..................................................................................................... 58
68. Myriad of ....................................................................................................................... 58
69. Not . . . nor ..................................................................................................................... 58
70. Objected to ..................................................................................................................... 58
71. Off of.............................................................................................................................. 58
72. On................................................................................................................................... 58
73. One-on-one .................................................................................................................... 58
74. Outside of....................................................................................................................... 58
75. Own................................................................................................................................ 58
76. Parenthetical abbreviations. ........................................................................................... 58
77. Per .................................................................................................................................. 59
78. Period of time/point in time ........................................................................................... 59
79. Per se.............................................................................................................................. 59
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80. Plaintiff/defendant.......................................................................................................... 59
81. Pleaded/pled................................................................................................................... 60
82. Predecessor .................................................................................................................... 60
83. Prior to/before ................................................................................................................ 60
84. Prong/pronged................................................................................................................ 60
85. Pulled ............................................................................................................................. 60
86. Pulled off/over/up .......................................................................................................... 60
87. Quote/quotation.............................................................................................................. 60
88. Red ink ........................................................................................................................... 60
89. Regard/regards ............................................................................................................... 60
90. Regardless of whether.................................................................................................... 60
91. Remand back.................................................................................................................. 60
92. Reversible error.............................................................................................................. 60
93. Right to/of ...................................................................................................................... 61
94. Run................................................................................................................................. 61
95. Said ................................................................................................................................ 61
96. Saving/savings ............................................................................................................... 61
97. Scenario.......................................................................................................................... 61
98. Separate out.................................................................................................................... 61
99. Since............................................................................................................................... 61
100. So . . . as to................................................................................................................... 61
101. Speak to/address.......................................................................................................... 61
102. Statute/period of limitation .......................................................................................... 61
103. Stipulate to ................................................................................................................... 61
104. Subsequent to/after....................................................................................................... 61
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105. Such.............................................................................................................................. 61
106. Such that....................................................................................................................... 62
107. Taking/takings.............................................................................................................. 62
108. Testify to ...................................................................................................................... 64
109. Than what..................................................................................................................... 62
110. That which ................................................................................................................... 64
111. That/which ................................................................................................................... 62
112. Tortfeasor..................................................................................................................... 62
113. Tortious/tortuous.......................................................................................................... 62
114. Toward/towards ........................................................................................................... 62
115. Triggers ........................................................................................................................ 62
116. True facts ..................................................................................................................... 62
117. Trump........................................................................................................................... 62
118. Unaccounted for........................................................................................................... 63
119. Upon............................................................................................................................. 63
120. Verbal........................................................................................................................... 63
121. Via................................................................................................................................ 63
122. Voir dire ....................................................................................................................... 63
123. Warrantless search/arrest ............................................................................................. 63
124. Weigh in....................................................................................................................... 63
125. Where/in which............................................................................................................ 63
126. Whether or not ............................................................................................................. 63
127. Wired............................................................................................................................ 63

xi

INTRODUCTION
To obtain uniformity and consistency in Court opinions, this manual has been
prepared and adopted by the Supreme Court for use by all law clerks and secretaries in
the preparation of Supreme Court opinions. This revision reflects the style currently used
in Michigan Reports. Other sources that may provide guidance are:
The Bluebook, A Uniform System of Citation (18th ed), Harvard Law Review
Association (2005);
ALWD Citation Manual (Gaithersburg, New York: Aspen Law &
Business Division of Aspen Publishers, Inc, 2000);
Garner, Dictionary of Modern Legal Usage (2d ed) (New York:
Oxford Univ Press, 1995);
Garner, Elements of Legal Style (New York: Oxford Univ Press,
1991);
Sabin, The Gregg Reference Manual (9th ed) (New York):
Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, 1999);
Strunk & White, The Elements of Style (3d ed) (New York:
Macmillan, 1979);
The University of Chicago Manual of Legal Citation (1989) (The
"Maroon Book").
To promote consistency, the Random House Webster's College Dictionary, which is
based on the second Unabridged Edition, is to be used as the official Court dictionary for
proper spelling and hyphenation in the preparation of all Court opinions.
When required, amendments of or additions to this manual will be issued by the
reporter's office.
N.B.: This manual is intended to be a guide. It is not intended to be (nor could it be)
all inclusive.

Thus, should you encounter a particular problem when preparing an

opinion please call the reporter's office at (517) 37-35243.


Danilo Anselmo, Reporter of Decisions
xii

I. Citation of Authority
A. Citation of Cases
1. Initial citation:
The first time a case is cited in an opinion, either in the body of the text or in a
footnote, cite in full the official reporter of its jurisdiction (where available), and include
the parallel citation of the regional reporter.
Mayberry v Pryor, 422 Mich 579; 374 NW2d 683 (1985).
If a case is first cited in an order, either in the body of the text or in
a footnote, cite the official report only.
Mayberry v Pryor, 422 Mich 579 (1985).
Where an official citation is not yet available, provide blanks for the volume
and page numbers.
Mayberry v Pryor, _____ Mich ____; 374 NW2d 683 (1985).
If a case is initially cited only in a footnote, it must be re-cited in full in the text if it is
referred to subsequently in the text.
2. Subsequent citation:
a. Once cited in full in the text, a case need not be cited again in full in the text or a
footnote. Subsequent reference in the text or in a footnote may use any of the following
shortened forms:
E.g., Mayberry; Mayberry, supra; Mayberry v Pryor.
(N.B., "id." may be used as a subsequent reference only if no other
authority intervenes between the previous citation of the same
source and "id.")
b. Where a case is cited in full in a footnote, a subsequent short-form citation may be
used in a subsequent footnote to refer the reader to the full citation:
1

Mayberry, n 4 supra.
3. Point or "jump" citation:
a. To refer to an internal page of an opinion, cite the official reporter where
available:
1) initial citation: include the "jump" page in the complete citation:
Mayberry v Pryor, 422 Mich 579, 587; 374 NW2d
683 (1985); or
2) subsequent citation: append the "jump" page to any short-form citation:
Mayberry, supra, p 587; Mayberry, supra at 587;
Mayberry, p 587; id., p 587; id. at 587; 422 Mich 587.
N.B.: the form of the short-form citation must be consistent
throughout an opinion. Do not mix Mayberry, supra, p 587, with
Mayberry, supra at 587. See Consistent citation form, p 11.
b. If the official report of a case is not yet available, refer to the "jump" page in an
unofficial report:
1) initial citation: Galster v Woods (On Rehearing), 173
Cal App 3d 529, ____; 219 Cal Rptr 500, 509 (1985);
2) subsequent citation: Galster, supra, 219 Cal Rptr 509;
or id., 219 Cal Rptr 509; or 219 Cal Rptr 509 (N.B.: it is
mandatory in this situation that the identity of the unofficial
reporter be shown because references to pages not otherwise
identified are presumed to be to the official reporter.)
4. Case names:
a. Italicizing.
Names of cases should be italicized both in the text of an opinion and in footnotes.
Underscoring no longer should be used to indicate italics.
b. Official sources.
Cite the name of a case as set forth on the first page of the official reporter as fully as
2

necessary for recognition. Do not show et al., et ux., or like references to other parties in
a case name, but do show ex rel (for on the Relation of or for the use and benefit of) and
the relator's name.
c. Abbreviations.
Where the name of the case as it appears in the official reporter is long or involved, it
should be shortened.

Abbreviations are encouraged for common words such as

Commission (Comm), County (Co), Manufacturing (Mfg), International (Int'l), etc.,


where appropriate. See p 38. Citations should include only the first plaintiff's surname
or corporate name and the first defendant's surname or corporate name.
Examples:
The title in the official report of 262 US 447 is
Commonwealth of Massachusetts v Mellon, Secretary of the
Treasury, et al., and should be cited as Massachusetts v Mellon,
262 US 447; 43 S Ct 597; 67 L Ed 1078 (1923).
International Union of Electrical, Radio and Machine
Workers, AFL-CIO Frigidaire Local 801 v NLRB, 113 US App DC
342; 307 F2d 679 (1962), may be shortened to Electrical Workers
Union v NLRB, etc.
d. Identical titles.
Where two or more separate cases with the same title are referred to in an opinion,
1) add the first names of the parties in order to distinguish the cases,
e.g., People v John Smith/People v Mary Smith, etc; or
2) add a roman numeral after the case name, e.g., Smith I, Smith II, etc.
N.B.: Where cases with identical surnames are reported in the
same volume, first names are included. It is not necessary to
include first names when cited in a slip opinion unless two or more
cases with such names are cited in the slip opinion.
e. Officials as parties.
3

1) Michigan cases: If a person was sued in an official capacity, use that


person's official title, not the name of the person.
Jones v Secretary of State, not Jones v Austin;
Giannotta v Governor, not Giannotta v Milliken
2) United States Supreme Court cases and cases from other jurisdictions:
Follow the commonly accepted practice within the jurisdiction (if known) regarding the
surname or title of the party. Otherwise, follow (e)(1). E.g., in cases decided in the
United States Supreme Court and some sister states, the title of a party is not ordinarily
used.
Example:
Massachusetts v Mellon, not Massachusetts v Secretary of
Treasury
f. State or city as a party.
Where a state or a city is a party, use only the name of the state or city:
The title that appears at 383 Mich 579 is Consumers Power
Company v State of Michigan; cite it as Consumers Power Co v
Michigan.
If the name of a city also commonly may be used as a surname, such as the city of
Warren, cite as Jones v City of Warren; but where a city is well known, it should be cited
as Jones v Detroit.
g. Traffic violations, civil infractions.
1) In cases involving a civil infraction of a traffic ordinance of a political
subdivision, the proper party is the subdivision:
City of Troy v Ohlinger, 438 Mich 477; 475 NW2d 54 (1991),
not People of the City of Troy, or People v Ohlinger.
2) However, where a civil infraction is a violation of the Vehicle Code, the
4

proper party is the state:


People v Ferency, 133 Mich App 526; 351 NW2d 225 (1984).
See 1978 PA 510, MCL 257.741.
h. County, township, or school district as a party.
Place the name of the county, township, or school district first and then Co, Twp, School
Dist, or Bd of Ed, regardless of the entitlement of the case in the reports.
Examples:
Oakland Co v Smith; Bush v Waterford Twp; Jones v Waverly
School Dist; Smith v Lansing Bd of Ed.
i. Second case name.
Do not give a second name for a case if the first will fully identify it.
Examples of a second name being required:
Harvey v Lewis (In re Escrow Funds), 364 Mich 491; 111
NW2d 119 (1961), and Harvey v Lewis (In re Fee for Receiver's
Attorney), 364 Mich 493; 112 NW2d 500 (1961).
j. Rehearing, remand, or amended.
If the opinion cited was decided on rehearing or after remand, the specification (On
Rehearing), (On Remand), or (After Remand) is part of the title and must be included in
the citation. Also if an opinion is amended by a special panel of the Court of Appeals,
the specification (Amended Opinion) should be included. (See subsequent history, p 10.)
Example:
People v Walker, 371 Mich 599; 124 NW2d 761 (1963); People
v Walker (On Rehearing), 374 Mich 331; 132 NW2d 87 (1965).
k. Supplemental opinions.

Example:
In re Ernst, 373 Mich 337, Supplemental Opinion, 349; 129
NW2d 430 (1964).
l. Punctuation in case citations.
1) The official volume number, reporter abbreviation, page number, parallel
citation and year are in nonrestrictive apposition with the case name and must be
preceded by a comma and followed by a comma, semicolon, period, or other punctuation
(except where parenthetical matter postpones it).
Example:
"resolved in Village of Kingsford v Cudlip, 258 Mich 144; 241 NW
893 (1932), where the Court . . . ."
2) Parallel citations are separated from official citations and from other parallel
citations by semicolons to avoid confusion with the commas that frequently separate
point citations. These semicolons should not be viewed as punctuation, but merely as
separators.
Example:
People ex rel Gummow v Larson, 35 Ill 2d 280, 282; 220 NE2d
165 (1966).
However, where a string of citations is conjoined by "and," use commas to
separate the complete citation of each case.
Example:
Nicholls v Charlevoix Circuit Judge, 155 Mich 455; 120 NW
343 (1909), Kemp v Stradley, 134 Mich 676; 97 NW 41 (1903),
and Backus v Detroit, 49 Mich 110; 13 NW 380 (1882).
Where a string of citations is not conjoined by "and," separate with semicolons.
See string citations, p 11.
6

m. Jurisdiction.
1) Michigan and state courts.
Jurisdiction is usually shown by the abbreviation of the title of the official
reporter: Michigan Supreme Court (Mich); Michigan Court of Appeals (Mich App);
United States Supreme Court (US). Where official reports are no longer published, the
jurisdiction must be indicated in the parentheses at the end of the citation, followed by a
comma and the year of decision. For the highest court of a state, only the name of the
state should be shown. Use the abbreviations of state names listed in State abbreviations,
p 39. For intermediate appellate courts, abbreviate the name of the court in addition to
the state name.
Examples:
People v Blythe, 417 Mich 430; 339 NW2d 399 (1983);
Gaines v Betts, 2 Doug 98 (Mich, 1845);
State v Gallion, 572 P2d 683 (Utah, 1977);
Miller v Stumbo, 661 SW2d 1 (Ky App, 1983).
2) Federal circuit courts.
Federal courts of appeals are shown in parentheses with the date of decision as
CA plus the circuit number or "Fed" for the federal circuit. E.g.: CA 6, not 6 Cir or 6th
Cir or CCA 6. N.B.: The Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit is not
shown in parentheses because there is an official reporter: App DC or US App DC, and a
citation of the official reporter indicates the jurisdiction.
Examples:
Kirkland v Preston, 128 US App DC 148; 385 F2d 670 (1967).
Ierardi v Gunter, 528 F2d 929, 930-931 (CA 1, 1976).
3) Federal district courts.
7

Federal districts, but not divisions, are shown in parentheses if one exists (ED
Mich, not ND ED Mich). If a state comprises only one district, use D plus the state
abbreviation, not the state abbreviation alone.
Example:
United States ex rel Mayberry v Yeager, 321 F Supp 199, 211 (D
NJ, 1971).
4) Early US Supreme Court cases.
Early US reports, through 90 US, are to be cited by consecutive volume number
in the US series. The corresponding reporter's name (abbreviated) and volume number in
parentheses may be added.
Example:
Sexton v Wheaton, 21 US (8 Wheat) 229; 5 L Ed 603 (1823).
n. Parallel citations.
1) Parallel citations for United States Supreme Court reports are to be given in
the order S Ct; L Ed.
2) A parallel citation of the National Reporter System Regional Reports is to
be given if one exists. For New York or California cases, the New York Supplement or
California Reporter citation also must be given.
3) Parallel citations of other reports, e.g., ALR, may be given if the case is
reported in full therein.
o. Unavailable citations.
1) When an official and a parallel citation are not yet available, provide blanks
in which the information later can be inserted.
Example:
____ Mich ____; ____ NW2d ____ (1978).

Do not use this form where the citation will never be available because the reports have
been discontinued. See Courts no Longer Publishing Official Reports, p 48.
2) USLW, LEXIS, WESTLAW, or other advance reports or abstract citations
should be given only if both the official and the regional or other permanent unofficial
report citations are not yet available.

(See United States

Law Week and

LEXIS/WESTLAW, p 22.)
p. Periods and spacing of report names and capitalization.
1) Use no periods in abbreviations of report names, even if there are two or
more words, and do not insert a space where single letters abbreviate the words.
Examples:
NE; NW; NY; RI; US; ALR
2) Do insert a space where more than one letter is used to abbreviate the
individual words, and capitalize the first letter of each word.
Examples:
Mich App; F Supp; US App DC; S Ct; L Ed
3) Insert a space between the report name and series designation (2d, etc.) if
the last word is abbreviated with more than one letter; otherwise do not.
Examples:
(No space) F2d; NYS2d; ALR3d; A2d; NE2d; SW2d
(Space)

Wis 2d; So 2d; Misc 2d; L Ed 2d

(Exception--space) LRA NS
q. Date of decision.
Generally, the year of decision should follow parallel citations in parentheses;
however, in the Court of Appeals, where controlling authority is governed by MCR
7.215(J)(1), the year of release should be inserted.
9

E.g., Farrell v Auto Club of Michigan was decided on October 25, 1990, but was
approved for publication on January 16, 1991. The correct citation form is: Farrell v
Auto Club of Michigan (On Remand), 187 Mich App 220; 466 NW2d 298 (1991). The
time of release is not to be noted in the citation.
r. Subsequent history.
Citation of denial of discretionary action such as rehearing, leave to appeal,
certiorari, reconsideration, or the like should not be indicated unless jurisprudentially
significant within the jurisdiction (N.B.: in Michigan, denial of leave has no effect on the
precedence of a case, see MCR 7.321; this is also true with regard to denial of certiorari
by the United States Supreme Court, see Maryland v Baltimore Radio Show, 338 US 912,
919 [1950]).
Where given, subsequent history should be indicated by using the following
abbreviations without periods and not followed by a comma:
affirmed

aff'd

affirming

aff'g

appeal dismissed

app dis

certiorari denied

cert den

leave to appeal denied

lv den

leave to appeal granted

lv gtd

modified

mod

rehearing denied

reh den

rehearing granted

reh gtd

reversed

rev'd

reversed on other grounds

rev'd on other grounds

reversing

rev'g
10

vacated

no abbreviation

Only the official report of subsequent action should be cited.


s. Unreported matters.
Cite unpublished Michigan cases and orders as follows, and foreign cases by analogy:
A v B, unpublished opinion per curiam (or memorandum
opinion) of the Court of Appeals, issued [month, day, year]
(Docket No. ______).
A v B, unpublished order of the Court of Appeals, entered
[month, day, year] (Docket No. ______).
A v B, unpublished opinion of the _____ Circuit Court, issued
______________________ (Docket No. _______[suffix]).
Unpublished opinion of the Attorney General (No. ______,
[month, day, year]).
t. String citations.
Use of overly long string citations, even in footnotes, generally should be avoided
inasmuch as "they may cast doubt upon the credibility of your claims because they can
give the impression that your case is so weak that you have to substantiate it with every
source you can find." More effective is the use of "only one or two of your strongest
sources." Charrow & Erhardt, Clear and Effective Legal Writing (Boston: Little, Brown
& Co, 1986), ch 3, p 64.
5. Consistent citation form:
The citation form used within an opinion should be uniform, i.e., do not mix id., p 270,
with id. at 270, or Ensign, supra, p 270, with Ensign, supra at 270. See subsequent
citation, p 1.

B. Citation of Constitutions, Statutes, Regulations, Court Rules, and Jury


Instructions
11

1. Constitutions.
a. Michigan.
Give the year of the constitution (not the year of an amendment), article, and section
number in Arabic numerals.
Example:
Const 1963, art 6, 1; Const 1963, sched 1.
If the section has been amended since adoption, the reference is presumed to be to
the current section unless otherwise indicated.
b. United States.
Give the article or amendment number in Roman numerals and the section number in
Arabic numerals:
Example:
US Const, art III, 1.
For amendments:
US Const, Am XIV (not Art XIV).
c. Other states.
Cite by analogy to the Michigan Constitution and United States Constitution.
2. Statutes.
a. Michigan.
1) Public and local acts.
Cite the year, "PA" or "LA," and the act number.
Examples:
1974 PA 296, not Act 296, 1974;
1974 LA 1.
If enacted at an extra session, the extra session designation follows the year in

12

parentheses.
Examples:
1912 (1st Ex Sess) PA 10, part 2, 9;
1967 (Ex Sess) PA 3.
2) Amended acts.
Cite as: 1961 PA 236, as amended (or as added) by 1974 PA 52, MCL 600.103.
3) Compiled Laws.
Cite the official compilations of 1948, 1970, and 1979 of the Michigan Compiled
Laws. N.B.: Michigan Compiled Laws Annotated (MCLA) and Michigan Compiled
Laws Service (MCLS) have the same numbering system.
Examples:
1948 CL 566.140;
1970 CL 35.291.
When citing, use MCL for the current (1979) compilation, not MCLA or MCLS,
e.g., MCL 776.20. Inclusion of the public act number is optional. If used, the form is:
1937 PA 286, MCL 487.703.

Subsequent references in the same opinion may be

shortened as follows:
3, or Act 286, 3.
4) Catchlines.
The boldface catchlines found at the beginning of, and sometimes elsewhere in,
statutes in the Public and Local Acts, MCL, MCLA, and MCLS were inserted by an
editor, not enacted by the Legislature. They are not part of the statute and should not be
included when quoting a statute. Similarly, catchlines found in a statute following the

13

section number, as in many sections of the Michigan Penal Code, are not part of the
statute and should not be included in quotations.
5) Section numbers.
Generally speaking, any section number appearing at the beginning of a statute
also should be omitted from the quotation unless needed for clarity, e.g., if the sections of
the act are not evident and will be used later in an opinion in short form for reference.
6) History.
The statutory history that follows each section also is not part of the legislative
enactment and should not be included in quoted material.
Examples:
691.1412 Claims under act; defenses available. [delete]
[Sec. 12.] [delete] Claims under this act are subject to all of the
defenses available to claims sounding in tort brought against
private persons.
[HISTORY: New 1964, p. 224, Act 170, Eff. Jul. 1, 1965.]
[delete]
7) Short titles.
a) Official title. If an act has an official "short title" enacted as part of the act,
capitalize the initial letters of the title.

Indication of the year of enactment is

unnecessary, even though it may be given as part of the title.


Example:
1961 PA 236, 101, MCL 600.101 provides:
"This act shall be known and may be cited as the revised judicature

14

act of 1961."
Omit the 1961 in citation, referring to it merely as the Revised
Judicature Act.
Generally recognized abbreviations of titles may be used, whether mentioned in
the act or not. For example, 101 of the Revised Judicature Act specifically authorizes
use of the abbreviation "RJA"; 1101 of the Uniform Commercial Code gives the title
without mentioning an abbreviation, but UCC is permissible.
b) No official title. If an act does not have an official title, a short title used in
referring to it should not be capitalized unless it is a word that is normally capitalized.
For example, the teacher tenure act, MCL 38.71 et seq., has no official title, nor has the
no-fault act, MCL 500.3101 et seq.
c) Multiple titles. An act may be referred to by an unofficial title even though it has
an official title.
Worker's Disability Compensation Act/workers' compensation act
d) Sponsors. Generally omit the names of an act's sponsors in an official act.
The R. Hood-McNeely-Geake Malpractice Arbitration Act of 1975 should be
referred to as the Malpractice Arbitration Act; the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act, as the
Civil Rights Act or the Michigan Civil Rights Act where an opinion also refers to the
federal Civil Rights Act.
b. Federal.
Cite the title and section numbers of the United States Code without punctuation
or section symbol: 11 USC 29, not 11 USC 29. The official United States Code (USC),
the United States Code Annotated (USCA), and the United States Code Service (USCS)
all use the same numbering system; therefore, cite the official version (USC). Citation of
15

the Statutes at Large is unnecessary except where there is no corresponding USC citation
or where the particular title of USC has not been enacted into positive law and the
wording of USC is materially different from that of the Statutes at Large. Federal session
laws are to be cited:
PL 96-123, 109, 93 Stat 926.
c. Other states.
Cite in the manner usually followed in the jurisdiction, preferably in the official
reports, consistent with manual form. The jurisdiction must appear clearly in or with the
citation. Consult the Bluebook for titles.
Examples:
Ariz Rev Stat 13-4032, not ARS 13-4032.
NH Rev Stat Ann 651:57, not NHRSA 651:57.
The year of compilation should not be included unless the reference is not to a
statute currently in force.
3. Court rules.
a. Michigan Court Rules of 1985.
Cite as: MCR and the rule number. (MCR 2.625.)
b. Michigan Rules of Evidence.
Cite as: MRE and the rule number. (MRE 801.)
c. Former court rules.
1) General Court Rules of 1963: GCR 1963, 105.4.
2) Court Rules of 1945: Court Rule No 8, 7 (1945).
3) Earlier court rules: Cite analogously to the Court Rules of 1945.

16

4) Former District Court Rules: DCR and the rule number.


5) Former Probate Court Rules: PCR and the rule number.
6) Former Juvenile Court Rules: JCR 1969, and the rule number.
d. Local court rules.
[Jurisdiction] LCR and the rule number. (30th Circuit LCR 2.119.)
e. Proposed court rules.
Proposed MCR and the rule number.
f. Rules of Professional Conduct.
MRPC 1.0.
g. Code of Judicial Conduct.
Code of Judicial Conduct, Canon 1.
h. State Bar Rules.
SBR 6, 3.
i. Rules of the Board of Law Examiners.
BLE 5.
j. Federal rules.
1) Federal Rules of Civil Procedure: FR Civ P 52(a).
2) Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure: FR Crim P 11.
3) Federal Rules of Evidence: FRE 803(24).
k. Other jurisdictions.
Cite in the same manner as cited by the official reporter of the court, but
consistent with manual form.
4. Administrative orders.

17

Administrative Order No. 1993-1.

Subsequent extensive references may be

shortened: AO 1993-1.
5. Jury instructions.
a. Criminal Jury Instructions: CJI2d 1.1.
b. Michigan Model Civil Jury Instructions: M Civ JI 3.02.
6. Administrative rules.
a. 1999 Administrative Code: 1999 AC, R 408.41863.
b. If the rule has been amended or superseded, cite the appropriate Annual
Supplement where available: 1983 AACS, R 408.41863, or a more recent revision in the
Michigan Register: 1985 MR 7, R 408.30495c.
(N.B.: Revisions appear monthly in the Michigan Register and are
cumulated annually in AACS. E.g., regulations published in 1985 MR,
vols. 1-12, are later reprinted in 1985 AACS.)
Subsequent references may be shortened: Rule 408.41863.
2003 PA 53 amended 55 and 59 of the Administrative Procedures Act, MCL
24.255 and 24.259, effective July 14, 2003, to provide that the official Michigan
Administrative Code is what is published and annually supplemented on the Office of
Regulatory Reform website at <http://www.michigan.gov/orr>.
C. Miscellaneous Citations
1. Attorney General opinions.
Cite as:
1 OAG, 1956, No 3,010, p 407 (August 26, 1957).
OAG, 1947-1948, No 146, p 217 (March 7, 1947).
2. Municipal charters and ordinances.
a. Charters. Cite the name of the municipality, the charter, and sufficient data to
18

identify the particular section of interest uniquely, but not redundantly. For example, if
all the sections of chapter 6 of a charter are numbered as 6.1, 6.2, etc., and sections in no
other chapter are so numbered, 6.2 is sufficient and ch 6 should not be added to the
citation.
Examples:
Detroit Charter, tit VI, ch VII, 11.
Lansing Charter, 5-207.
b. Ordinances.
1) Codified Ordinances. Cite the name of the municipality, the ordinance code, and
sufficient data to identify the particular section of interest uniquely, but not redundantly.
Example:
Detroit Ordinances, 38-5-7.
2) Uncodified Ordinances. Cite the name of the municipality and the ordinance
number and section; the date is unnecessary for ordinances currently in force, but should
be added in parentheses when necessary to distinguish from other versions.
Example:
Saginaw Ordinance D-511, 203.
3. Administrative decisions.
Cite published cases as follows:
A v B, 1978 MERC Lab Op 328.
(Employment Relations Commission)
A v B, 95 LRRM 1274 (1977).
(Labor Relations Reference Manual)
A v B, 1 MTTR 95 (Docket No. 3799, May 15, 1975).
(Tax Tribunal Reports)
A v B, 1979 WCABO 2617.
19

(Workers' Compensation Appeal Board Opinions)


A v B, 1989 Mich ACO 1.
(Workers' Compensation Appellate Commission Opinions)
Cite other reports by analogy.
4. Constitutional Convention.
2 Official Record, Constitutional Convention 1961, p 2038.
5. Legislative materials.
a. Bills.
HB 4015.
SB 481.
b. Journals.
1) Bound volumes. Cite the year of the session and the page number:
1965 Journal of the House 77-78.
1983 Journal of the Senate 2280.
2) Advance sheets. Cite, in addition, the pamphlet number and the date of issue:
1986 Journal of the House 76 (No. 6,
January 22, 1986).
1986 Journal of the Senate 449 (No. 26,
March 6, 1986).
c. Analyses.
House Legislative Analysis, HB 6037,
September 29, 1980.
6. Executive orders.
Cite in full:
Executive Order No. 1991-1.
Short forms: order 1991-1 or EO 1991-1.
7. Legal treatises and texts.
a. Examples:

20

3 ABA Standards for Criminal Justice (2d ed), Standard 18-4.1,


commentary, p 18-240
78 ALR2d 218, 2, pp 220-221
2 Am Jur 2d, Administrative Law, 698, p 597
Anno: Fraud or undue influence in conveyance from child to
parent, 11 ALR 735, 746
3 Callaghan's Michigan Pleading & Practice (2d ed), 16.23,
p 564
26 CJS, Declaratory Judgment, 108, p 214
1 Cooley, Constitutional Limitations (2d ed), p 10
2 Couch, Insurance, 2d (rev ed), 15:57, pp 298-302
1 Gillespie, Michigan Criminal Law & Procedure (2d ed), 312,
p 374
Lewis, Trusts (13th ed), p 91
2 Martin, Dean & Webster, Michigan Court Rules Practice, p 334
McCormick, Evidence (3d ed), 72, p 171
12 McQuillin, Municipal Corporations (3d ed, 1976 Cum Supp),
32.133, p 141
12 Michigan Law & Practice, Fraud, 10, pp 409-410
Prosser & Keeton, Torts (5th ed), 4, p 21
Restatement Contracts, 2d (Tentative Draft No 8, 1973),
267, pp 77-78
2 Restatement Torts, 2d, Appendix (1966), 344, p 237
3 Restatement Torts, 2d, 520, p 41
3 Sands, Sutherland Statutory Construction (4th ed), 62.01, p 113
2 Weinstein & Berger, Evidence, 412[01], pp 412-10, 412-11

21

6 Wigmore, Evidence (Chadbourn rev), 1747, p 195


b. Subsequent citation:
Once an authority has been cited in full, a short-form citation may be used where
it will not result in confusion. E.g.:
Weinstein, 411
Wigmore, 1745
Cooley, p 10
Restatement, 340
Note, however, where a citation of the Restatement of Contracts intervenes after a
citation of the Restatement of Torts, simply providing "Restatement, 340," will not
suffice because it could refer to either.
8. United States Law Week.
Use only where an official or regional reporter is unavailable.
Comm'r of Internal Revenue v Kowalski, ____ US ____; ____
S Ct ____; ____ L Ed 2d ____; 46 USLW 4015 (November
29, 1977).
Pechter v Lyons, ____ F Supp ____; 46 USLW 2251 (SD NY,
November 8, 1977).
9. LEXIS/WESTLAW.
Use only where an official or regional reporter is unavailable.
A v B, ____ [Official Reporter] ____; ____ [Unofficial
Reporter(s)] ____; [year] LEXIS/WL [library] [page].
10. Nonlegal books.
Cite the author, editor, or issuing institution, title in italics, and, in parentheses,
the place of publication, colon, publisher, edition number, and year of publication,
followed by, if appropriate, sufficient data to identify the matter of interest, such as the
chapter and page number.
22

Examples:
Greenfield & Sternbach, eds, Handbook of Psychophysiology
(New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, Inc, 1972), ch 19, p 749
Yung-Ping Chen & The Technical Committee on Income,
Income: Background & Issues (Washington, DC: White House
Conference on Aging, 1971)
United States Bureau of the Census, Census of Population:
1970, Detailed Characteristics; Final Report PC(1)--D24
Michigan (Washington, DC: United States Government Printing
Office, 1972)
Bernstein, The Careful Writer (New York: Atheneum, 1973)
Follett, Modern American Usage (New York: Hill & Wang,
1966)
Evans, A Dictionary of Contemporary American Usage (New
York: Random House, 1957)
11. Dictionaries.
Black's Law Dictionary (8th ed) (no italics)
Webster's Third New International Dictionary,
Unabridged Edition (1966)
The Random House Dictionary of the English
Language: Unabridged Edition
Random House Webster's College Dictionary (1991)
The American Heritage Dictionary of the
English Language (1973)
12. Law review material.
a. Include the volume number, abbreviated name of the law review or journal, page
number or numbers, and, in parentheses, the year.
b. Articles with named authors should be cited beginning with the surname of the
author (unless more is needed for certainty) and the title in italics.
c. A commentary or note should be cited as commentary or note, comma, and

23

italicized title. N.B.: The name of the author should not be included.
d. Matter in the nature of a regular department of a periodical having a number of
contributors or anonymous contributors should be cited by the usual title, e.g., Current
Law Notes, Recent Legislation, Recent Developments, and not italicized.
Examples:
Comment, Prosecutorial discretion in the duplicative statutes
setting, 42 U Colo L R 455 (1971)
Conyers, The politics of revenue sharing, 52 J Urban L 61
(1974)
Crawford, Local zoning control of billboards___A guide for
Michigan Attorneys, 1989 Det Col L R 1473
Kimble, Protecting your writing from law practice, 66 Mich B J
912 (1987)
Kutak & Gottschalk, In search of a rational sentence: A return to
the concept of appellate review, 53 Neb L R 463 (1974)
Moley, The use of the information in criminal cases, 17 ABA J
292 (1931)
Project, Seventeenth annual review of criminal procedure, 76
Geo L J 521, 925 (1988)
Richardson, 1983 Annual Survey of Michigan Law, Natural
resources, real property and trusts, 30 Wayne L R 763, 769-772
13. Internet material.
Materials found only on an Internet website should include an author (if
available), a title, an Internet address, and the date on which the site was accessed.
Examples:
James Wyman, Florida Law Online
<http://www.gate.net/~wyman/flo.html> (accessed August 1, 1999).
Federal Judicial Center, Federal Judicial Center Publications
<http://www.fjc.gov/pubs.html> (accessed July 10, 1999).
14. Michigan Child Support Formula Manual.
24

Cite as [year] MCSF [section number]. Example: 2001 MCSF 208(A).


II. Material Quoted in Opinions
Generally, material quoted in opinions should be reproduced exactly as it appears
in the original source.
Examples:
MCL 769.26 provides:
No judgment or verdict shall be set aside or reversed or a
new trial be granted by any court of this state in any criminal
case, on the ground of misdirection of the jury, or the
improper admission or rejection of evidence, or for any error
as to any matter of pleading or procedure, unless in the
opinion of the court, after an examination of the entire cause,
it shall affirmatively appear that the error complained of
resulted in a miscarriage of justice. [Emphasis added.]
As this Court has noted,
[t]he measure of control exercised in connection with the
prevention and detection of crime and prosecution and
punishment of criminals is set forth in the statutes of the State
pertaining thereto, particularly the penal code and the code of
criminal procedure. The powers of the courts with reference
to such matters are derived from the statutes. [People v
Piasecki, 333 Mich 122, 143; 52 NW2d 626 (1952).]
A. Case Law.
1. Where available, official sources should be quoted. N.B.: the official opinions
of the Michigan Supreme Court are published in the Michigan Reports (Mich), not the
North Western Reporter or Michigan Reporter (NW2d); the official opinions of the
United States Supreme Court are published in the United States Reports (US), not the
Supreme Court Reporter (S Ct), the United States Supreme Court Reports, Lawyers
Edition (L Ed, L Ed 2d), or United States Law Week (USLW).

25

2. Published opinions of Michigan, federal, or foreign courts should be quoted


exactly, except that a parallel citation or year of decision must be added with brackets if
missing from the quoted material.
Examples:
In 378 Mich 195, the following citation appears:
Brown v. City of Highland Park (1948), 320 Mich 108.
If the paragraph containing the citation is quoted in a current opinion, it should appear
as:
Brown v. City of Highland Park (1948), 320 Mich 108 [30
NW2d 798]. (N.B.: a parallel citation has been added.)
In 199 Mich 316, "Jones v. Berkey, 181 Mich. 472 (148 N.W. 375)," should be
quoted:
"Jones v. Berkey, 181 Mich. 472 (148 N.W. 375) [1914]."
B. Statutes and Administrative Rules.
These should be quoted exactly as they appear in printed form, not off a website.
If it appears that the text of a statute or rule contains an error, "[sic]" should be inserted in
the text immediately following the error.
C. Punctuation in Quoted Material.
1. Colons and semicolons.
Colons and semicolons that are not part of the original quoted material are placed
outside quotation marks.
2. Question marks and exclamation points.
Placement of question marks and exclamation points depends on their relation to
the material quoted. The mark is placed inside quotation marks where it applies only to
the material quoted, and outside where it applies to the entire sentence.
Examples:
26

The witness responded, "I saw him do it!"


Why did you respond, "I saw him do it"?
3. Quotation marks.
A quotation within a quotation is enclosed in single quotation marks.
E.g., "Unless the legislation creates a 'classification scheme,' or 'impinges upon
the exercise of a fundamental right,' it is 'accorded a presumption of constitutionality, and
is reviewed by applying a rational basis standard.'" Brown v Manistee Co Rd Comm, 452
Mich 354, 361-362; 550 NW2d 215 (1996), quoting Doe v Dep't of Social Services, 439
Mich 650, 662; 487 NW2d 166 (1992).
D. Deletions in Quoted Materials (Ellipses).
1. Within a sentence.
To delete material within a sentence, insert three periods (ellipses) and four
spaces:
"Insanity . . . is an extreme of mental illness."
[Note: ellipses without spaces are incorrect. "Insanity...is an
extreme...."]
2. At end of a sentence.
To delete material at the end of a sentence, insert three periods and four spaces
before the terminal punctuation:
"To put it alternatively, the statutes provide that all insane
people are mentally ill . . . ."
"The Court: Well, what was this thing . . . ?"
3. Following a sentence/between sentences.
To delete material after a complete sentence or between complete sentences,
insert three periods and three spaces after the terminal punctuation:
Insanity by definition is an extreme of mental illness. . . . To
put it alternatively, the statutes provide that all insane people are
27

mentally ill but not all mentally ill people are insane.
Insanity by definition is an extreme of mental illness. . . . [T]he
law provides that criminal responsibility does not attach.
Note that the "t" in the final sentence, lower case in the original, is capitalized in
brackets [T] because the material remaining after deletion can be read as a complete
sentence.
4. At the middle of a sentence.
No ellipses are required where a quotation begins in the middle of a sentence and:
a) the fragment quoted completes an original sentence and begins with a lower
case letter:
E.g.: When a person is found to be insane, "the law provides
that criminal responsibility does not attach."
b) a capital letter is inserted in brackets:
E.g.: The lead opinion in Fultz noted, "[A]ll insane people are
mentally ill but not all mentally ill people are insane."
5. Internal punctuation in original.
Internal punctuation should be retained only where required for clarity:
"When a person's mental illness reaches that extreme, . . .
criminal responsibility does not attach." (The comma in the
original is retained.)
but:
"Defendant . . . admitted doing the particular act, but also stated
that he was insane." (Punctuation in the deleted material is not
retained.)
6. At the end of a paragraph.
Where material is deleted at the end of a paragraph and the next paragraph
immediately follows, insert three periods and three spaces after the terminal punctuation
of the first paragraph:
28

Furthermore, defendant's account of what transpired was clearly


in accord with the psychiatric evaluation in that defendant admitted
committing the act but stated that he could not help what he was
doing. . . .
The Court: Well, what was this thing that came over you?
7. Between paragraphs.
Where one or more paragraphs are deleted between quoted paragraphs, insert
three asterisks (centered) and two blank lines between the paragraphs quoted:
So, just as a finding of no insanity is essential for an
adjudication of guilt by trial, we hold such a finding to be equally
essential for a plea of guilty. Such a finding was not made in the
instant case and the plea for that reason is invalid.
* * *
Lastly, as we find the plea to be invalid for the aforestated
reasons, it is unnecessary to address the claim of ineffective
assistance of counsel.
E. Italics.
Italics should be used only in the following instances:
1. case names: People v Smith,
2. supra, id., infra, ante, post, et seq.,
3. words the author wishes to emphasize,
4. where italics are used in the material quoted,
5. unfamiliar foreign words and phrases or longer Latin
"legal" phrases. E.g.:
Italicize:
expressio unius est exclusio alterius and en ventre sa mere,
etc.,
but not:
de novo, arguendo, sua sponte, etc.
(check Black's Law Dictionary [8th ed] for guidance.)
Italicize:
29

Nec flectitur, nec mutant; htel de ville; die Weltanschauung,


etc.,
but not:
vis--vis; quid pro quo; der Bundestag; Arc de Triomphe; etc.
(Check the Random House Dictionary for guidance.)
6. in titles of nonlegal books, law review articles, and ALR annotations.
7. The following should not be italicized:
abbreviations (e.g., i.e., viz., N.B., etc.);
signals (see, see also, compare . . . with);
later history of cases (cert den, lv den, aff'd);
8. When quoting from trial or other transcripts italicize:
a) "Q." and "A." (Do not use: "Q:" or "A:")
Examples:
"Q. Were you on Oakland Avenue on the date in question?
"A. No, sir."
b) Names or titles of the speakers:
The Court:
Mr. Smith (attorney for the defense):
The Defendant:
F. Quoting a Footnote.
1. If material quoted contains a footnote that is to be included in the quotation,
use the same footnote numbering as the original and add the footnote at the end of the
block of quoted material, separated from the main quotation by lines from margin to

30

margin above and below the footnote. For clarity, where possible, put the citation in the
opinion text before beginning the block quotation.
Example:
A discussion of presumptions and their effect upon the burden of
producing evidence appears in In re Wood Estate, 374 Mich 278,
289; 132 NW2d 35; 54 ALR3d 1 (1965):
"The immediate legal effect of a presumption is procedural___it
shifts the burden of going forward with the evidence relating to the
presumed fact.5 Once there is a presumption that fact C is true, the
opposing party must produce evidence tending to disprove either
facts A and B or presumed fact C; if he fails to do so, he risks jury
instruction that they must presume fact C to have been established.

_________________________________________________________________________________

"5Baker v Delano, 191 Mich 204, 208 [157 NW 427 (1916)],


citing 1 Elliott on Evidence, 91: ' "The office or effect of a true
presumption is to cast upon the party against whom it works the
duty of going forward with evidence." ' "
_________________________________________________________________________________

The thrust of the Wood case was to change the law in this state
concerning the effect that a presumption was after rebuttal
evidence has been introduced.
2. Where footnotes appear in the original source, but are not material to the
purpose for which the text is quoted, footnote numbers in the text should be deleted
without ellipses. Do not add "(footnotes deleted)" at the end of the quotation!
G. Placement of Citation.
A citation indicating the source of a block quotation generally should be supplied
in the text preceding the quotation.
Example:
The Equal Protection Clause, US Const, Am XIV, 5, provides:
The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate
legislation, the provisions of this article.
A citation may follow the quotation in the block, immediately after the quoted
material, without additional separation, followed by a period and enclosed in brackets.
31

The no-fault insurance act provides, in part:


An agreement for assignment of a right to benefits payable in
the future is void. [MCL 500.3143.]
H. Parentheses and Brackets.
1. Use Parentheses ( ):
a) To set off short, supplementary, parenthetic, or explanatory material when the
interruption is more marked than that usually indicated by commas and when the
inclusion of such material does not essentially alter the meaning of the sentence.
The work (he was preeminently fitted for it) absorbed his
attention for weeks.
The cost of living (see chart II) has risen slowly but surely.
b) To enclose figures or letters used in enumerations.
The immediate results were these: (1) a cornering of the market;
(2) a decrease in available material; (3) an advance in prices.
(N.B.: Parentheses postpone punctuation. No punctuation immediately precedes
parentheses, except when a sentence ends with a period and the next sentence is in
parentheses.)
2. Use brackets [ ]:
a) To enclose explanatory remarks, extraneous data, editorial interpolations, or
additional citations within quoted passages or a citation following a block quotation
where no quotation marks are used:
Example:
There is no doubt that the April 23, 1973 finding was that
defendant was guilty of civil contempt. Judge O'Hair specifically
told the defendant that she would be jailed until she purged herself.
She therefore was able to "carry the 'keys of [the] prison in [her]
own pocket' [and] the action is essentially civil." People v
32

Goodman, 17 Mich App 175, 177; 169 NW2d 120 (1969).


If one substitutes "warehouse owner, lessee or operator" for
"consignee," then the exclusion would read "no portion of any
premises owned or leased or operated by a [warehouse owner,
lessee or operator] shall be deemed to be a public warehouse." The
expansive meaning sought by the city does not work unless there
can be a consignor without a consignee.
The proscription of "unreasonable searches and seizures" and
the warrant requirement
"must be read in light of 'the history that gave rise to the words'___a
history of 'abuses so deeply felt by the Colonies as to be one of the
potent causes of the Revolution . . . .' [United States v Rabinowitz],
339 US [56], 69 [70 S Ct 430; 94 L Ed 653 (1950)]. The
amendment was in large part a reaction to the general warrants and
warrantless searches that had so alienated the colonists and had
helped speed the movement for independence."
b) To indicate a change in capitalization to conform to the sense of the context in
quoted source material.
Example:
[W]e cannot agree that the Fourth Amendment interests at stake
in these [administrative] inspection cases are merely "peripheral."
It is surely anomalous to say that the individual and his private
property are fully protected by the Fourth Amendment only when
the individual is suspected of criminal behavior.
c) To indicate a misspelled or misused word in the text accompanied by the word
"sic."
Example:
Any person who shall commit the offense of larceny, by steeling
[sic], shall be guilty of a felony . . . .
d) To function as parentheses within parentheses.
Example:
The statute (MCL 418.551[2]) provides . . . .

33

e) Use empty brackets [ ] to indicate deletion of a letter or letters where, for example,
the plural in quoted material is to be rendered in the singular:
Example:
"actions" becomes "action[ ]."
I. Use of Emphasis.
Usually it is not necessary to indicate that emphasis (shown by italics) has been changed
because this is evident in most quoted material. However, the phrases set forth below
may be helpful when the need is perceived.
(Emphasis added.)
(Emphasis supplied.)
(Emphasis deleted.)
(Emphasis in the original.)
(Emphasis changed.)
J. Obscure Materials.
If a source that is obscure or difficult to obtain is quoted in an opinion, photocopies of the
title and copyright pages of the book or compilation as well as the initial page of the
chapter or article should be sent to the reporter's office with the opinion draft in addition
to the pages from which quotations are taken. This applies as well to material quoted
from transcripts and lower court records.
K. Photos, Maps, Charts, etc.
1. If it is necessary to illustrate an opinion with photographs, maps, diagrams, or
the like, special care is required to facilitate good reproduction when published.
Photographs of the quality usually found in briefs and exhibits generally do not lend
themselves to good reproduction.

Examples of such photographs can be found in

Genesee Merchants Bank & Trust Co v Payne, 381 Mich 234, 240 (1968), and Saginaw v
Budd, 3 Mich App 681, 685, 686 (1966). These illustrations lack so much detail as to be
34

virtually worthless in aiding the reader in understanding the opinion and detract from the
appearance of the printed page. Color photographs or slides, if reproduced in color,
require the making of four color plates, which are expensive. They should be used only
when color is essential. An example of a color photograph that is nearly monochromatic
can be found in Dingeman Advertising, Inc v Algoma Twp, 393 Mich 89, 98a (1974).
Even as a monochrome it is so poor as to be of little value.
2. Similarly, maps and diagrams, to be reproduced well, must be of high quality.
They should be originals, in ink. Pencil work does not reproduce well, nor does most
ball-point ink work. Each stage of reproduction degrades the information in the picture a
little more, so that photocopies of photocopies yield ever worse results. When a large
map or drawing is reproduced, it must be reduced to the book's page size, about 3 x 6
inches, and all lettering in turn will be reduced in the same ratio, so that most of it will be
unreadable or readable only with a magnifying glass. Drawings on county or state road
maps, when reduced, are usually so cluttered and illegible as to be of no help. In such
cases, it is necessary to redraw the original. See Thies v Howland, 424 Mich 282, 299
(1985), for an example of redrawing.
3. If an opinion is to include illustrations, the reporter's office must be given a set
of the originals or redrawings so that the best reproduction possible can be made.
III. Miscellaneous Information
A. Plain English.
A surfeit of materials is available on this topic.

Essentially, the movement

promotes:
1. Use of direct statements (active voice);
2. Avoidance of: legalese (whereas, hereinbefore stated), Latin (ab initio, in
35

esse), redundancy (give, devise, and bequeath), and argot (clean hands, sidebar).
3. Readable, understandable texts.
This is not to say that opinion writing is to be directed to the village idiot! The
rule of thumb should be: Can an educated nonlawyer generally understand what is being
discussed?
B. Preferred Spelling.
1. To promote consistency, the Random House Webster's College Dictionary,
which is based on the second Unabridged Edition, is to be used as the official Court
dictionary for proper spelling and hyphenation in the preparation of all Court opinions.
2. When two or more proper spellings of a word appear in the dictionary, use the
first spelling of the word as preferred.
The following are examples of preferred spellings that should be used in opinions:
Preferred Spelling

Alternate (do not use)

Fact-finder

fact finder, factfinder

Fact-finding (noun)
tortfeasor

tort-feasor

percent

per cent

supersede

supercede

setoff (noun)
set off (verb)
3. Where a word does not appear in the Random House Webster's College
Dictionary, consult any recognized source as authority. (N.B.: where variant spellings
appear in quoted material, quote the source text exactly, and use the preferred spelling in
the opinion text only.)
36

4. British spellings should not be used!


C. Possessives.
1. If a noun does not end in an s, the possessive is formed by adding 's. This is
true whether the noun is singular or plural, as in child's play and children's games.
2. If a singular noun ends in an s, the possessive is formed by adding 's if the
addition will not lead to a third s sound. E.g., Davis's house. If a third s sound would be
created, add the apostrophe only. (N.B.: "Court of Appeals" generally does not take a
possessive in the reports. "Court of Appeals ruling," not "Court of Appeals' ruling.")
D. Hyphenation.
1. Compound modifiers should be hyphenated. E.g., common-law action.
Generally, where the first of the components is an adverb ending in ly, do not hyphenate:
newly enacted legislation
closely owned corporation
2. Generally, do not separate prefixes from bases.
codefendant, not co-defendant
reenact, not re-enact
preempt, not pre-empt
nontaxable, not non-taxable
pretrial, not pre-trial

posttrial, not post-trial


nonconformist, not non-conformist
multipurpose, not multi-purpose
antifascist, not anti-fascist

Exceptions:
anti-American, non-Catholic, non sequitur, pre-shrunk, pre-judicial (as opposed to
prejudicial), re-call (a witness, as opposed to recall [remember] a witness)
Check the Random House Webster's College Dictionary for guidance.
3. Hyphens are not to be used in the place of the words "to" or "and."
A sentence of 12 to 15 years, not 12-15 years
From 40 to 50 acres, not from 40-50 acres
37

Between $500 and $600, not between $500-$600


4. A long dash (___) is sometimes used to indicate a parenthetical thought in the text. It
should not be typed with a single hyphen (-) and should have no spaces around it.
E. Abbreviations.
1. Abbreviate frequently occurring parts of names in case citations as follows.
Do not use a period with these abbreviations. For example:
Name
Administration, Administrative
And
Associates
Association
Assistant
Authority
Board
Brothers
Building
Casualty
Center
Chemical
Commission
Committee
Commissioner(s)
Company(ies)
County(ies)
Condominium
Construction
Cooperative
Corporation
Department
Development
District
Division
Education, Educational
Equipment
Exchange
Federal

Abbreviation
Admin
&
Assoc
Ass'n
Asst
Auth
Bd
Bros
Bldg
Cas
Ctr
Chem
Comm
Comm
Comm'r(s)
Co(s)
Co(s)
Condo
Constr
Coop
Corp
Dep't
Dev
Dist
Div
Ed
Equip
Exch
Fed

Name
General
Government
Heights
Highway
Hospital
Incorporated
Insurance
International
Limited
Management
Manufacturing
Memorial
Metropolitan
Municipal
Mutual
National
Number
Organization
Property
Public
Railroad, Railway
Road
Savings and Loan
System
Telephone, Telegraph
Telecommunication(s)
Township
University

Abbreviation
Gen
Gov't
Hts
Hwy
Hosp
Inc
Ins
Int'l
Ltd
Mgt
Mfg
Mem
Metro
Muni
Mut
Nat'l
No
Org
Prop
Pub
R
Rd
S&L
Sys
Tel
Telecom
Twp
Univ

The list is not exclusive, and other words may be abbreviated where it will not cause confusion.
38

2. State abbreviations.
Ala

Ky

ND

Alas

La

Ohio

Ariz

Me

Okla

Ark

Md

Or

Cal

Mass

Pa

Colo

Mich

RI

Conn

Minn

SC

Del

Miss

SD

DC

Mo

Tenn

Fla

Mont

Tex

Ga

Neb

Utah

Hawaii

Nev

Vt

Idaho

NH

Va

Ill

NJ

Wash

Ind

NM

W Va

Iowa

NY

Wis

Kan

NC

Wy

3. Railroads.
Where names of railroads occur in citations, abbreviate all geographical words
other than the first word of the railroad name unless the words complete the name of a
state, city, or other entity begun by the first word. Do not follow these with a period.
Use "R Co" instead of "RR" or "Ry" in a railroad name.
Examples:
New York, N H & H R Co v Smith
Grand Rapids & I R Co v Michigan Railroad Comm
Fletcher Paper Co v Detroit & M R Co
39

La Croix v Grand Trunk W R Co


4. Use of ampersand.
Use the ampersand "&" in place of the word "and" wherever that word is spelled
out in the name of a case or between authors' names.
5. Use of section symbol.
Use the symbol "'" for "section" when naming a specific numbered section,
except where it begins a sentence or where spelled out in quoted material. For sections
(plural) use ''.
Examples:
3135 of the no-fault act
3135(1) of the no-fault act
3135(1)(a) of the no-fault act
6. Versus.
The proper abbreviation of "versus" in a citation is "v," not "vs."
7. Footnotes.
The proper abbreviation for "footnote" is "n"; the plural, "footnotes" is "ns."
8. Days of month.
Do not use st, nd, rd, or th with the day of the month.
Example:
January 15, 1935, not January 15th, 1935.

F. Numbers/Numerals.
1. Dollar amounts should be expressed in figures, but whole dollar figures should
not display a decimal point and double zero for no cents, except in quoted material. E.g.:
$1.02, $55, but $1 million.
2. Time in hours should be expressed: 4:00 p.m., 7:16 a.m. (a.m. and p.m. are to
40

be typed lower case or small caps, not capitals; in the published version, they appear in
small caps).
3. Spell out numbers from 1 through 10; use figures for numbers above 10.
Never start a sentence with a figure.
4. Write out "percent"; do not use the "%" symbol unless it is part of a quotation
or a chart. E.g.: four percent, 120 percent.
G. Trademarks.
Trademarks and trade names should have an initial capital letter. E.g., Polaroid,
Breathalyzer, Photostat, Coke (for Coca-Cola).
H. Signals.
Signals (see; but see; see also; see, generally; etc.) should not be italicized.
Commas should not be placed after a signal unless used to set off a parenthetical
expression:
See People v Jones
See, e.g., People v Jones
See, for example, People v Jones
Similarly, see People v Jones
See, generally, People v Jones
Cf. People v Jones
Accord People v Jones
See, also, People v Jones or
See also People v Jones
Do not use:
See also, People v Jones
I. Capitalization.
1. Governmental and geographical units.
a) States
state of Michigan
New York State
North Central States
the state

commonwealth of Pennsylvania
province of Ontario
the province
Dominion of Canada
41

this state
state and local taxes

state's attorney
the people

b) Counties.
Oakland County (not county of Oakland)
county government
county road
defendant county
c) Cities, villages, and townships.
city of Detroit
city ordinance
village of Chelsea
home-rule village
Sylvan Township
(not township of
Sylvan)

defendant city
village of Cement City
general law village
Lansing Charter Township
township zoning ordinance

d) Districts.
Waverly School District
the school district
the district
Thumb District Health Department
Twelve-Town Drainage District
e) Branches of government.
the Michigan Legislature
the Legislature (Michigan only)
legislative intent
Congress
the Congress
the Senate
the House
the House of Representatives
Sixth Congressional District
24th Senatorial District
57th Representative District
f) Municipal units.
Ingham County Board of Commissioners
county board of commissioners
board of commissioners
the board
defendant board
42

commissioners
Lansing Township Board
township board
the board
Lansing City Council
city council
common council
councilman
Councilman Smith
g) Administrative agencies.
Michigan Tax Tribunal
the Tax Tribunal
the tribunal
Workers' Compensation Appeal Board
the board
2. Statutes.
See pp 12-16.
3. Courts, judges, and others.
a) In general.
Generally, when referring to courts, capitalize the name of the court only if it is
given in full. When quoting statutes or court rules, follow the capitalization in the
official version even though it conflicts with this guide.
b) Supreme courts.
By convention, when the word "Court" is used alone to refer to the Michigan
Supreme Court or the United States Supreme Court, it is capitalized. Use a lower case
"c" for other state supreme courts (the court held . . .).
c) Intermediate appellate courts.

43

Capitalize "Court" when referring to the Michigan Court of Appeals; do not


capitalize "court" when referring to federal or sister state appellate courts.
d) Trial courts.
Circuit courts may be referred to as, e.g., the Wayne Circuit Court
(not the Wayne County Circuit Court). Strictly speaking, neither
of these names is accurate___it is the Circuit Court for the Third
Judicial Circuit___but the first form has the sanction of long usage.
e) Other lower courts.
Refer to other lower courts as, e.g.,
the 54th District Court
the 45A District Court
the district court
the Washtenaw County Probate Court
the probate court
f) Judges.
Justice __________
Judge __________
my Brother Justice __________
my Sister Justice __________
my brother
my colleague
the justices
the panel
my brothers and sisters
the majority
the dissent
g) Other.
Gov. Jennifer Granholm
Sen. Smith
hearing referee (do not use
Administrative Law Judge)
See "Administrative law judge," p 49.

the Governor
the senator

J. a/k/a--d/b/a.
A/k/a and d/b/a, as abbreviations for "also known as" and "doing business as,"

44

should never be used in the text of an opinion except in a quotation. In cases where these
identifications are used, they are usually unnecessary. An action or prosecution will be
brought against the person, corporation, or partnership that is the real party in interest. If
it is necessary to further identify a party to provide clarity, the entire phrase should be
used.
K. Federal.
The word "federal" should be spelled with a lower case "f" unless the word is part
of an official title, e.g., Federal Reserve Board.
L. Post and Ante.
When quoting or pointing to a portion of another justice's or judge's opinion in a
case, use "post" to quote from or point to a portion of a succeeding opinion and use
"ante" to quote from or point to a preceding opinion.
E.g., post at 10.
M. Proofmarks.
Reporter's office suggested changes in opinion drafts are indicated by check
marks in the right margin of the opinions. Longer comments may appear in any margin
where space permits. Some of the more common marks are shown below. Marks other
than comments or explanations in the left margin of an edited opinion are for the purpose
of coding for publication and may be disregarded.

Example:

Marginal Mark:

Meaning:

Genesee Trustee
Corporation

Delete

ation
Cite omitted

Insert the material


at the caret

The language of the

Begin a new
45

paragraph
obscrure

9sp

Spelling error, delete


"r"

People v Hall

9ital

Italicize marked
material

See

9rom

Remove underscoring
or italic. Not italic but
roman type is indicated

one hundred five

Should be written as
numerals

Spell out in words

U.S.

Spell out

Comma

Period

Semicolon

Colon

transpose to read: said

insert quotation mark

insert single quotation

siad

mark or apostrophe
off the record

Close up space

Tort feasor

Close up space to
make one word

caselaw

Insert space

one year old child

Insert hyphens
46

The Court found that


The legislature
4 p.m.

Change to a lower
case letter

Change to a capital
letter

no mark

47

Optional. This
indicates that in the
published version, the
lower case letters
"p.m." will be typeset
in small caps. A font
change may be used
to render the example
4 P.M.

N.

Courts no Longer Publishing Official Reports.

State

Last Volume

Last Year

Alabama

295

1976

Alabama Appeals

57

1976

Alaska

17

1958

Arizona Appeals

27

1976

Colorado

200

1980

Colorado Appeals

44

1980

Delaware

59

1966

Delaware Chancery

43

1966

Florida

160

1948

Indiana

275

1981

Indiana Appeals

182

1981

Iowa

261

1968

Kentucky

314

1951

Louisiana

263

1972

Louisiana Appeals

19

1932

Maine

161

1965

Minnesota

312

1977

Mississippi

254

1966

Missouri

365

1956

Missouri Appeals

241

1955

North Dakota

79

1953

Oklahoma

208

1953

Oklahoma Criminal Appeals

97

1953

Rhode Island

122

1980

South Dakota

90

1976

Tennessee

225

1971

Tennessee Appeals

63

1971

1918

Texas

163

1962

Texas Criminal Appeals

172

1963

Texas Civil Appeals

63

1911

Tennessee Civil Appeals

Utah

30 Utah 2d

Wyoming

80

48

1974
1959

O.

Misused and Incorrect Words and Phrases.

1. A/an. Use "an" before words or acronyms beginning with a vowel sound:
an unemployed claimant
a universal truth
a unanimous opinion
an alternate theory
a one-in-ten chance.

a PERA provision
an FBI report

Also use "an" before words beginning with an "h" where the
"h" is silent:
an hour
an honor,
or where the initial syllable is unstressed:
an habitual offender, but a habit;
an historic occasion, but a history;
an hypnotic state, but a hypnotized subject;
an hypothesis, but a hypothetical example
2. Above cases or above-cited cases. Use "these cases" or "the cases cited."
3. Accord/Accordance. "In accord" means "in agreement with"; "in accordance"
means "in conformity (or compliance) with." Thus, "Permanent forfeiture of work loss
benefits is not in accord with a liberal construction of the worker's compensation act";
while "The preliminary examination was not conducted in accordance with the court
rules."
4. Administrative law judge. When referring to an administrative law judge, use
"hearing referee." See minutes of the December 3, 1987, conference, item no. 4-87-54.
5. Admit to. Use "admit."
6. Afterward/afterwards. Afterward is the preferred usage.
7. Age/aged/age of. "The defendant, aged 20 at the time (not age 20)"; "Workers

49

generally may not retire until the age of 65 (not age 65)."
8. Agreed to/on (instruction). This is an awkward phrasal adjective; use: on
which the parties' agreed.
9. All of. Generally omit "of" in formal writing: "All the elements of a crime
must be proved" (not "all of the elements"), except where followed by a pronoun: "All of
them."
10. Amendment to/of. Use "amendment of" a court rule, statute, etc.
11. And/or. "A device, or shortcut, that damages a sentence and often leads to
confusion or ambiguity." Strunk & White, p 40. A legalistic term that should be avoided
in ordinary writing. Gregg Reference Manual, p 255___use "or" in most instances.
12. Any such: use such a. See "Such," p 61; Fowler, p 849.
13. Approvingly. Awkward, e.g., instead of approvingly cited, use cited with
approval.
14. Around/about. "He left the house about 10 P.M." (not around, which is
informal).
15.

As/because/since.

With respect to causation, the preference is:

because/since/as. See Garner, pp 77-78.


16.

As between means "in comparison of," and should not be used as an

alternative for "between." See Garner, pp 79, 106 (D).


17. As long as/so long as. "As long as" is preferred to "so long as" in positive
statements. See Garner, p 80; Gregg Reference Manual, p 256.
18. As of. Something generally happens "on" a particular date, not "as of." Use
with caution. See Garner, p 80.

50

19. As to. A vague, all-purpose preposition to be avoided; "A spurious imitation


of legitimacy."

Generally, use "regarding,"

"with regard to,"

"with respect to,"

"concerning" or "about." See Garner, pp 85-86; Fowler, pp 31-32. Often, the phrase
simply may be eliminated, e.g., "The officer inquired whether . . . ," not "about whether"
or "as to whether." But see "So . . . as to," p 61.
20. Attorney Fees. Use attorney fees, not attorneys fees.
21. Bargained-for. "Bargained" alone will suffice.
22. Based on/on the basis of. Use of these phrases is often confused. For
example, a defendant may be convicted on the basis of a witnesss testimony, and
testimony may be based on a witnesss observations. But it would be incorrect to say
that based on a witnesss testimony, the defendant was convicted, because here the
meaning of the construction is that the defendant was based on the testimony.
23. Because. See "As/because/since," p 50.
24. Bench and bar. The article "the" is required: "The bench and bar," not
"bench and bar."
25. Both . . . as well as.

This is incorrect. Use both . . . and. See Garner,

p 115.
26. Both of. Generally omit "of."
27. Case law. Case law is two words, not one.
28. Center on/cluster around. It is possible to "center on" a particular thing or
idea or to "cluster around" it. It is logically impossible to "center around" something.
29. Cite/cite to/citation. "Cite" is a verb, and should not be confused with
"citation," a noun:
The plaintiffs cite (not cite to) People v Smith in support of
51

..

..
The plaintiff's citation of (not cite of or cite to) People v Smith
is offered in support of . . . .
See Garner, pp 155-156, and "Quote/quotation," p 60.
30. Collective nouns (noun/verb agreement). The following are examples of
collective entities that are treated as singular nouns when acting as a unit and that require
singular pronouns and verbs:
The Supreme Court issues its decision.
The Legislature indicates its intent.
The jury renders its verdict.
The appellate court makes its ruling.
Do not use: "issue their decision," "indicate their intent," or "render their verdict."
But where the action is not in unison, a plural verb is used:
A number of courts have addressed (not has addressed) the
issue.
31. Commentary to/on. Use "commentary on." "The commentary on 23
provides . . . ."
32. Commission is abbreviated Comm, not Comm'n. Commissioner is
abbreviated Comm'r, Commissioners: Comm'rs.
33. Complained of. Do not use this phrase as an adjective: "the complained of
instruction" or "the instruction complained of." Rather, use "challenged" (the challenged
instruction) or "asserted" (the error asserted). See "Objected to," p 58.
34. Compose/comprise. [T]he whole is composed of the parts; the parts are
comprised in the whole. The phrase is comprised of is always wrong and should be
52

replaced by either is composed of or comprises. See Garner, p 187.


35. Compound nouns/adjectives.
a. Compound nouns that express well-known concepts or institutions or that are
proper names are not hyphenated when used as adjectives.
Examples:
life insurance policy
income tax return
real estate agent
Supreme Court decision
Sixth Amendment right
b. Two or more words that function as a unit and express a single thought are
hyphenated when used as an adjective.
Examples:
well-known concepts
The child is well-behaved. (The participle "behaved" does not
become part of the verb, and, thus is hyphenated.)
up-to-the-minute reports
two-year limitation
part-time job
c. An adverb that modifies an adjective may express a single thought, but the
adverb and the adjective do not function as a unit and thus are not hyphenated.
Correct: newly discovered evidence ("newly" modifies "discovered," not
"evidence")
Wrong: newly-discovered evidence
As a rule of thumb: if a word ends in "ly" don't hyphenate. See Hyphenation,

53

pp 37-38; Gregg Reference Manual, 824.


36. Concur in or with; dissent from.
37. Consistent with/consistently with. Use "consistent with" when an adjective
is desired; "consistently with," when an adverb is indicated.
38. Contractions. Avoid in formal writing.
39. Determination of. Use "determination" only. See "Issue (question)
of/whether," p 57. But use "regardless of."
40. Different than/from. Generally, use "different from." See Garner, pp 275276.
41. Dissent from; concur in or with.
42. Double negatives. Because of their potential for confusion, double negatives
generally should be avoided:
not unreliable___use reliable
N.B.: The construction "neither . . . nor" is not a double negative, but use of "not .
. . nor" is. E.g., "The defendant was not at the witness's house nor at home." Use "not at
the witness's house or at home."
43. Due. Deference is due (not "due to") longstanding interpretations of the
constitution.
44. Due to. The phrase means "attributable to" and should not be confused with
"because of" or "as a result of."
"The injury was due to (attributable to) the defendant's
negligence."
"The decision was reversed because of (not due to) the trial
court's abuse of discretion."
"The plaintiff's medical expenses were incurred as a result of
54

(not "due to") the accident."


See Garner, p 299; Gregg Reference Manual, p 259.
45. Duly means properly or according to law and generally is unnecessary.
Something that is duly constituted (e.g., pursuant to a statutory provision) would not be
"constituted" at all if not pursuant to law, and thus "constituted" will suffice.
46. Effect/impact. An incident of tremendous proportion can have a metaphoric
"impact" on something, such as the "impact" of the Famine, the Depression, or the
Miranda decision. Barring events of such magnitude, "effect" should be used. Reserve
use of "impact" for references to wisdom teeth and vehicular accidents!
Wrong: The impact of his actions . . .
Use: The effect of his actions . . .
Wrong: The decision impacted adversely . . .
Use: "redounded adversely," or "The decision had an adverse
effect on . . . "
47. End result. Redundant, use result.
48. End run. Slang. Use bypass, "evade," circumvent, or "outflank."
49. Equate with. Not equate to. See Garner, p 321.
50. Evince/evidence (as a verb). A favorite of callow journalists. See Garner,
p 333. Use show, express, indicate.
51. Exit a vehicle/building. This is police-report jargon and has no place in
formal writing. Use: "got out of the vehicle" or "left the building."
52. Firstly, secondly . . . . "Firstly" requires "secondly, thirdly, etc." "First"
requires "second, third, etc." They should not be mixed: "first, secondly, etc."
53. Forgo/forego. "Forgo" means "give up, renounce"; "forego" means "to go
before."

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54. Goes to/went to. Use "is relevant to" or "was relevant to": The defendant's
fault is relevant to (not "goes to") the question of causation.
55. Half of. Half is sufficient. See Garner, p 396.
56. Heretofore. Use until now, or previously.
57. He/she; he or she. Use of this combination is suggested only as a last resort
by leading legal writing authorities. It derives from the "all purpose" form, where it was
intended to enable a user to cross out the gender that did not apply. The examples below
indicate approaches to gender neutrality that comport with formal writing standards.
The sentence:
An attorney must file his or her response to a complaint within
...,
can be rewritten:
An attorney must file a response . . . ,
or
Attorneys must file responses . . . ,
or
Responses to complaints must be filed by attorneys . . . .
58. Hypothetical. Used by itself, this word is an adjective, not a noun. Thus use
"in this hypothetical situation," or "in this hypothetical example," not "in this
hypothetical."
59. Identical with/to. "Identical with" is to be used in formal writing.
60. Importantly. Avoid. See Strunk & White, p 49.
61. Infer/imply. In the phrasing of a statute, only the Legislature may imply
(suggest) something (e.g., a remedy); a court must infer (deduce) the existence
56

(implication) of a remedy from the text of the statute.


Wrong:

The Court will imply a remedy from the


plain language of the statute.

Correct:

The Court will infer a remedy . . . .

Alternate:

Implicit in the words of the statute is the


remedy the plaintiff seeks.

62. Infringe. Infringe is a transitive verb; thus, do not use infringe on. For
an intransitive verb, use impinge on. See Garner, p 422.
63. In propria persona. Use "in propria persona" or "pro se," not "in pro per."
64. Issue (question) of/whether. "Of" should not be used when stating an issue:
This case presents the issue whether the plaintiff is required to
...
not
This case presents the issue of whether . . .
Often, the entire phrase "the issue of" may be deleted. Use "of" when identifying what
the issue concerns:
This is an issue of first impression.
It is only a question of time.
See Fowler, p 479; Garner, p 727. See also "Whether or not," p 63; "Determination of," p
54.
65. Its/it's. "Its" is a possessive pronoun.
The Court speaks through its orders.
"It's" is the contraction of "it is."
It's time to begin.
66. Look to. Instead, use "examine," assess, "rely on," "review," or "view,"

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depending on context.
67. Method/methodology. "Methodology" refers to "the science or study of
methods." See Garner, p 560. Use: The method applied . . . .
68. Myriad of. Use "myriad."
69. Not . . . nor. See "Double negatives," p 54.
70. Objected to. The phrase is not adjectival. Use "challenged" or "asserted."
E.g., "The testimony was not challenged" (not "objected to"). "The asserted error . . ."
(not "objected to error"). See "Complained of," p 52.
71. Off of. Use "off."
72. On. See "As to," p 51. Proofs must be offered regarding or concerning (not
on) the question of intent.
73. One-on-one. Use "one-to-one."
74. Outside of: "is always inferior to outside." Garner, p 629.
75. Own: as in "their own" usually is superfluous.
76. Parenthetical abbreviations are not necessary in the text of an opinion where
the reference is obvious.
Example:
Following a reference to the Federal Bureau of
Investigation, (FBI) is unnecessary. FBI is a well-known
short-form reference, and there will be no
misunderstanding if it is used later in an opinion.
Where abbreviations such as WCAB, NLRB, HHS, OSHA, MIOSHA, SADO,
and like agencies are used, spell out the name in the text the first time it is used, but do
not follow it with the abbreviation in parentheses.
For the same reason, it is not necessary to use similar parenthetical designations
58

for other obvious references.


Wrong:

Oakland County (County); International


Brotherhood of Teamsters, Local 695
(Teamsters); plaintiff XYZ Corp (XYZ); etc.

Parenthetical references should be used where the reference is not well known or readily
recognized.
Correct:

personal injury protection benefits (PIP);


Michigan United Conservation Clubs
(MUCC); City and Village Zoning Act
(CVZA); etc.

77. Per. Use "a" or "an." E.g., "at a rate of ten an (not per) hour . . .," "five a
minute."
78. Period of time/point in time. These phrases are redundancies. Use "during
that period," "during that time," or "at that point;" likewise, time period.
79. Per se. This phrase means "by (of) itself." It should not be used as an
adjective. When in doubt, translate the phrase into English and insert it into your
sentence to see if it works:
His arrest without probable cause was a violation of his Fourth
Amendment rights per se;
or
. . . was a violation per se of his . . .;
not
. . . was a per se violation of his . . . .
The same reasoning applies to the Latin phrase "de novo," i.e., review de novo,
not de novo review.
80. Plaintiff/defendant. When referring to the plaintiff or the defendant involved
in a cited opinion, use of the before plaintiff or defendant is preferable to its omission.
59

However, omission of the when referring to the plaintiff or defendant in the case before
the court is a recognized convention and, if desired by a judicial author, will be treated as
stylistic.
81. Pleaded/pled. "Pleaded" is the preferred usage. See Garner, p 667.
82. Predecessor. One statute or rule may be a predecessor of (not to) another.
83. Prior to/before. "Before" is preferred. Likewise, use "after," rather than
"subsequent to." See Garner, p 692.
84. Prong/pronged. A test may be two-pronged or three-pronged, etc., but not
two prong, etc.
85. Pulled. Pulled a gun/knife, etc. Use "drew."
86. Pulled off/over/up. Use "stopped," "pulled in front," "crossed in front."
87. Quote/quotation. A "quotation" is "quoted." "Quote" a "quotation," don't
"quote" a "quote." See "Cite/cite to/citation," p 51.
88. Red ink. Slang. Use "financial loss."
89. Regard/regards. The preferred usage is "in regard to."
90. Regardless of whether. See "Determination of," p 54, and Garner, p 747.
91. Remand back. "Back" is a redundancy. Use "remand" only.
92. Reversible error. Although widely used, this is a logical impossibility.
"Error" cannot be "reversed," although its results can be remedied; it is the erroneous
decision of a court that is reversed. Thus, a court cannot commit reversible error; rather,
it renders a decision or ruling that on appeal is determined to have been error, and it is the
appellate court that reverses the decision. Use "error requiring reversal" or error that
warrants reversal.

60

93. Right to/of. A defendant has a right to confront witnesses, but a right of
confrontation.
94. Run. In the context of a statute of limitations, use expired.
95. Said. Use the, that, this, etc. See Garner, pp 778-779.
96. Saving/savings. The constitution contains a Saving Clause; money is
deposited into a savings account. See "Taking/takings," p 62.
97. Scenario. This refers to an imagined sequence of events. It is not a synonym
for situation.
98. Separate out. Out is superfluous. Likewise, distribute out, cancel out, etc.
See Garner, p 629.
99. Since. See "As/because/since," p 50.
100. So . . . as to. Unlike "as to," criticized above, this construction may often be
useful. The trial court's holding was so egregious as to require reversal. See Garner,
p 814.
101.

Speak to/address. Points raised below should be "addressed" on appeal.

The Court should not "speak to" them.


102. Statute/period of limitations. A statute of limitations provides a period (or
periods) of limitations. Thus, the period (not statute) of limitations for contract actions
under MCL 600.5807(8) is six years.
103. Stipulate to. "Stipulate" is sufficient and preferred.
104. Subsequent to/after. See "Prior to/before," p 60.
105.

Such.

As a pronoun it is "barbarous sounding" (Garner, p 849); the

"illiterate such" (Fowler, p 581). E.g., "Such is dictum." Use "That is dictum," "It is
dictum," etc. Such requires an antecedent, e.g., The plaintiff failed to show that the
defendant owed him a fiduciary duty, because such a duty requires that a fiduciary . . . .
61

106. Such that. Use "in such a manner that," "so that," to such an extent that,
"to the extent that," of a kind or sort that, in which.
107. Taking/takings. A taking is effected by eminent domain under the Taking
(not Takings) Clause, Const 1963, art 10, 2. See "Saving/savings," p 61.
108. Testify to. Use "testify about" or "regarding," or "related" in testimony.
109. Than what. "Lower than what he began with . . . ." Omit "what."
110. That which. Beyond that which was used. Use Beyond what was used.
111. That/which. As a rule of thumb, if a clause is nonrestrictive (set off by
commas, etc.), use "which"; if it is restrictive, use "that."
This weapon, which was found at the scene, was determined to be
the defendant's. (Nonrestrictive.)
This is the weapon that was found at the scene. (Restrictive.)
See Garner, pp 765 ff., 877; Gregg Reference Manual, 1062; Strunk & White,
p 59.
112. Tortfeasor. One word, not two.
113. Tortious/tortuous. Tortious refers to torts, i.e., a tortious act; tortuous
refers to twists and turns, i.e., a tortuous path. See Garner, pp 885-886.
114. Toward/towards. "Toward" is the preferred usage.
115. Triggers. Informal; generally use "gives rise to," "causes," "engenders,"
"initiates," or "operates to."
116. True facts. Facts by definition are true. Use facts only. See Garner,
pp 347, 892.
117. Trump. Use "supersede, overturn, set aside, prevail over."

62

118. Unaccounted for. Use "unexplained."


119. Upon. The word is overused. Generally on will suffice.
120. Verbal. Can mean written or spoken words. When spoken words is
meant, use oral. See Garner, p 910.
121. Via. Informal, use: "by" or "by way of," "on the basis of," "through."
122. Voir dire. Should not be used as a verb. An attorney does not voir dire a
juror; rather, a juror is questioned during voir dire.
123. Warrantless search/arrest. This phrase should be avoided because it is
possible to assign either of two meanings: search without a warrant or an unwarranted
search. Use "search without a warrant."
124. Weigh in. Slang; use "offered an opinion" or "participated."
125. Where/in which. Use "This is a case in which (not where) . . . ."
126. Whether or not. "Or not" is implied in the concept "whether," and thus is
superfluous. See Garner, p 930.
127. Wired. Slang; use "wire tapped," "engaged in surveillance," or "equipped
with a listening device/transmitter," as warranted by the situation.

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