JOURNAL OF THE MISSOURI BAR STYLE GUIDE

JOURNAL OF THE MISSOURI BAR STYLE GUIDE Academic studies In referencing someone’s academic degree, do not capitalize an area of study unless it is a p...
Author: Howard Kennedy
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JOURNAL OF THE MISSOURI BAR STYLE GUIDE Academic studies In referencing someone’s academic degree, do not capitalize an area of study unless it is a proper name. Example: He earned his bachelor’s degree in American history, but went on to receive a master’s degree in sociology. Accept, except Accept means to receive. Except means to exclude. Ages Always use figures for people and animals (but not for inanimates): The girl is 15 years old; the law is eight years old. Use hyphens for ages expressed as adjectives before a noun or as substitutes for a noun. Example: A 5-year-old boy has a sister who is 10 years old. a.m., p.m. Lowercase, with periods. Avoid the redundant 10 a.m. this morning. Annual Unless it is part of the formal title of an event, lowercase annual. Example: The 21st annual Civic Education Summit will take place next week. Attorney general, attorneys general Capitalize only when used as a title before a name: Attorney General Eric Holder. Attorney, lawyer Do not capitalize unless it is an officeholder’s title: defense attorney Perry Mason, lawyer Perry Mason, District Attorney Hamilton Burger. Author NEVER use it as a verb: The author signed copies of his book, BUT NOT He authored 12 books and articles on the subject. Board Capitalize only when an integral part of a proper name. Example: The Board of Adjustment was scheduled to vote on the matter. However, the board never addressed the issue. Book titles Italicize books and italicize magazine titles. Put all other titles (i.e., articles, songs, CLE topics) in quotation marks. Never underline.

City Capitalize only when used as part of a municipality’s official name: the City of Springfield. Otherwise, city should be lowercased. City council Capitalize when part of a proper name: the Joplin City Council. Lowercase in all other uses: the city council. Constitution Capitalize references to the U.S. Constitution, with or without the U.S. modifier: The president said he supports the Constitution. When referring to state constitutions, capitalize only with the name of the state: the Missouri Constitution, the state constitution, the constitution. Court of Appeals (Missouri) On first reference, identify the court by district: Missouri Court of AppealsWestern District, Missouri Court of Appeals for the Eastern District. On subsequent references, use Court of Appeals unless there is a need to distinguish between districts. Court names For courts identified by a numeral: 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Dashes DO NOT confuse dashes with hyphens. Use dashes to denote an abrupt change in thought in a sentence or an emphatic pause. Dashes should be preceded and followed by a space. Example: We will fly to Paris I June – if I get a raise. Smith offered a plan – as expected – to raise revenues. In addition, when a phrase that would otherwise be set off by commas contains a series of words that must be separated by commas, use dashes to set off the full phrase. Example: He listed the qualities – intelligence, humor, conservatism, independence – that he liked in an executive. e-mail e-mail (NOT email) Education Degrees should be identified by the appropriate acronym (i.e., B.S., B.A., J.D). Ensure, insure Use ensure to mean guarantee: Steps were taken to ensure accuracy. Use insure for references to insurance: The policy insures his life. Federal Always lowercase unless part of a proper name: the federal court, the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Governor Always abbreviate as a title. Lowercase the word “governor” when used without a name. Example: Gov. Jay Nixon was elected in 2008. The governor is part of the executive branch. Health care Health care (NOT healthcare) Internet Use “Internet,” not “internet.” Judge Judges on all state courts (including the Supreme Court of Missouri) are judges, NOT justices. The only exception is the chief justice of the Supreme Court of Missouri. By contrast, all members of the U.S. Supreme Court should be referenced as justice, except for the chief justice. Note, however, that the officeholder is the chief justice of the United States, not chief justice of the Supreme Court. Legal Articles When using a shortened term to describe a legislative act or other written document (i.e., “the act” or “the article”), always lowercase. NOT “the Act.” Legislature The correct title is “Missouri General Assembly.” However, using “Missouri Legislature” is also correct. NOTE: When using the word “legislature” alone, DO NOT capitalize the word. Login, etc. Login, logon, logoff when used as a noun. Use as two words in verb form. Example: I log on to my computer. Missouri Bar The name of the organization is The Missouri Bar (with a capital “T”), not the Missouri Bar or the Missouri Bar Association. Millions Unless using a direct quote, use figures with the word “million” in all cases. Example: The plaintiff received a $7 million verdict. Missouri Court of Appeals On first reference, cite to the full name of the court (i.e., the Missouri Court of Appeals-Western District). On subsequent references, it is permissible to use just the geographic designation (i.e., Western District).

Monetary amounts If a monetary amount is in whole dollars, eliminate the decimal point and cents (for example, use $150, not $150.00). More than, less than Use more than and less than (NOT “over” or “under”) Example: More than 150 people attended the event. The rally attracted less than half the number expected. Numerals Unless using quoted material, spell out a numeral at the beginning of a sentence. There is one exception – a numeral that identifies a calendar year. Occupational titles They are always lowercase. Office Capitalize office when it is part of an agency’s formal name: Office of Management and Budget. Lowercase all other uses, including phrases such as: the office of the attorney general, the U.S. attorney’s office. Online One word in all cases for the computer connection term. Over It generally refers to spatial relationships: The plane flew over the city. More than is preferred with numerals: Their salaries went up more than $200 a week. Parties in a case When referencing parties in a case, DO NOT capitalize the first letter (i.e., Plaintiff, Respondent, etc.). These are not proper names. Example: The plaintiff claimed damages of $1 million. Percent One word. Always use figures with percent, even if it is less than 10. DO NOT use the percentage sign (%). Example: 5 percent President of the United States Always capitalize when used before a name, but lowercase when used alone. Example: President Obama made a major foreign policy speech. The speech outlined the president’s stance on trade issues. Professor Prof. before a name; lower-case and written out after.

Punctuation  After a period, there is only one space (NOT two spaces) prior to the start of the next sentence.  Commas and semi-colons always go inside quotation marks.  Colons always go outside quotation marks.  An ellipsis (three periods) should be preceded and followed by a space. Regardless, irregardless Irregardless is not a word. Always use regardless. Representative Always abbreviate as a title. Example: Rep. Matt Bruns Section Unless in a direct quotation or the first word in a sentence, always use the section symbol (§) when referencing any specific federal or state statute, code, or other similar enactments. Example: Section 4.67, RSMo, was signed into law in 2003. These provisions are contained in § 4.67, RSMo. Senator Always abbreviate as a title. Example: Sen. Claire McCaskill Social Security Capitalize all references to the U.S. system. State of Missouri Use only when referencing state government (State of Missouri). Otherwise, DO NOT capitalize “state.” Example: The State of Missouri requires all eligible citizens to pay income tax. The state of Missouri is among the nation’s largest agricultural producers. State names When referencing a town, only add the state name if the town is outside of the geographic boundaries of Missouri. DO NOT write, for example, The trial took place in Warrensburg, Missouri but rather The trial took place in Warrensburg). Supreme Court of Missouri It is “Supreme Court of Missouri,” NOT Missouri Supreme Court. On second reference, use “Court” capitalized. Titles

In general, confine capitalization to formal titles used directly before an individual’s name: President George Washington, Sen. Claire McCaskill. If the title appears after the person’s name, lowercase it: Robert Gibbs, press secretary, would not confirm the report. In a hyphenated title that precedes a proper name, the second word should be capitalized. Example: President-Elect John Doe (NOT President-elect John Doe) Unique It means one of a kind. Do not describe something as very unique or most unique. U.S. Supreme Court It is U.S. Supreme Court in all references, NOT “United States Supreme Court” or “Supreme Court of the United States.” Website Website (NOT Web site) Workers’ compensation Place the apostrophe after the “s” in workers. (revised March 1, 2016)