Manual of Legal Citation/Quotations
R37. General Principles for Quotations[edit | edit source]
R37.1. Quotation marks[edit | edit source]
- Quotations should be designated with quotation marks, except for block quotations.
R37.2. Flow with surrounding text[edit | edit source]
- The quotation should flow with the rest of the text unless it is a block quotation (see below).
R37.3. Punctuation in quoted text[edit | edit source]
- Punctuation that is part of the quoted text should appear inside the quotation marks. Commas and periods that are not part of the quoted text should also appear inside the quotation marks.
R37.4. Citation sentence placement[edit | edit source]
- Insert the citation sentence for the quoted material directly after the close of the quotation marks.
R38. Alterations of Quotations[edit | edit source]
R38.1. Omission of Letters from a Common Root Word[edit | edit source]
- Place an empty bracket at the end of a common root word to indicate the change.
- Example: “The court dismissed the claim[].”
R38.2. Mistakes in the Original Quotation[edit | edit source]
- To acknowledge a significant mistake in the original quotation, keep the problematic word or phrase and follow it with [sic] to indicate this to the reader.
- Example: “The Copyright Office are [sic] a department of the Library of Congress.”
R38.3. Substitution of Letters or Words[edit | edit source]
- Any substitutions into quoted material should be bracketed. This includes:
- words which might add clarity and context
- changes to the capitalization of letters
- Example: “[T]he [Copyright] Office is a department of the Library of Congress.”
R38.4. Use of Parenthetical Clauses to Indicate Changes to Quotation[edit | edit source]
- (emphasis added)
- (alteration in original)
- (citation omitted)
- (emphasis omitted)
- (internal quotation marks omitted)
- (footnote omitted)
R38.5. Quotation within a quotation[edit | edit source]
- When using a quotation within a quotation, you can either
- attribute it to the original source with a parenthetical, or
- acknowledge it by signalling that its citation has been omitted.
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The following should not be indicated in a parenthetical:
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R39. Omissions in Quotations[edit | edit source]
R39.1. Generally[edit | edit source]
- Omissions are indicated by an ellipsis [ . . . ]
- The ellipsis in legal writing is represented by three periods, with a space after the last letter of the preceding phrase, a space between each period, and a space before the first letter of the following phrase.
- An ellipsis never begins a quotation.
R39.2. Omitting the beginning of a quoted sentence[edit | edit source]
- When omitting the beginning of a quoted sentence, do not use an ellipsis. Instead, capitalize the first letter and place it in brackets.
- Example: “[T]he actual knowledge provision turns on whether the provider actually or subjectively knew of specific infringement, while the red flag provision turns on whether the provider was subjectively aware of facts that would have made the specific infringement objectively obvious to a reasonable person.”
R39.3. Omitting the middle of a quoted sentence[edit | edit source]
- When omitting the middle of a quoted sentence, insert an ellipsis to indicate the omission
- Example: “The difference between actual and red flag knowledge is . . . between a subjective and an objective standard.”
R39.4. Using a quotation as a complete sentence[edit | edit source]
- When using a quotation as a complete sentence:
- Example: “The difference between actual and red flag knowledge is thus not between specific and generalized knowledge, but instead between a subjective and an objective standard. In other words, the actual knowledge provision turns on whether the provider actually or subjectively knew of specific infringement, while the red flag provision turns on whether the provider was subjectively aware of facts that would have made the specific infringement objectively obvious to a reasonable person.” Viacom Int’l, Inc. v. YouTube, Inc., 676 F.3d 19, 31 (2d Cir. 2012).
R39.5. Using a quotation as a phrase or clause[edit | edit source]
- When using a quotation as a phrase or clause: If there is an omission within the quotation, mark the omission with an ellipsis.
- Example: Exxon Mobil Corp. v. Allapattah Servs., Inc., 545 U.S. 546, 571 (2005) (noting that “[t]he distinguished jurists who drafted the Subcommittee Working Paper . . . agree that this provision, on its face, overrules Zahn.”).
R39.6. Omitting material from two consecutive sentences[edit | edit source]
- When omitting material at the end of one sentence and the beginning of the next sentence, use one ellipsis to mark the omission but include the final punctuation mark of the first sentence as well as bracket and capitalize the first letter of the following quoted sentence portion.
- Example: “The difference between actual and red flag knowledge is thus not between specific and generalized knowledge . . . . [T]he red flag provision turns on whether the provider was subjectively aware of facts that would have made the specific infringement objectively obvious to a reasonable person.”
R39.7. Omitting the end of a quoted sentence[edit | edit source]
- When omitting the end of a quoted sentence, insert an ellipsis between the last letter quoted and the punctuation mark of the original quote.
- Example: “The difference between actual and red flag knowledge is thus not between specific and generalized knowledge . . . .”
R39.8. Omitting a footnote or citation[edit | edit source]
- When omitting a footnote or citation, insert a parenthetical indicating the omission immediately after the citation to the quoted source (see Rule 36. Order of parentheticals and Rule 38.4. Use of Parenthetical Clauses to Indicate Changes to Quotation).
R39.9. Omitting material following sentence[edit | edit source]
- When omitting material following a final punctuation mark, do not use an ellipsis.
- Example: “The difference between actual and red flag knowledge is thus not between specific and generalized knowledge, but instead between a subjective and an objective standard.”
R39.10. Omitting material between sentences[edit | edit source]
- When omitting material following a final punctuation mark but including material in the next sentence use an ellipsis to connect the final punctuation with the beginning of the new quote and capitalize and bracket the next letter.
- Example: “The difference between actual and red flag knowledge is thus not between specific and generalized knowledge, but instead between a subjective and an objective standard. . . . [T]he red flag provision turns on whether the provider was subjectively aware of facts that would have made the specific infringement objectively obvious to a reasonable person.”
R40. Special Rules for Block Quotations[edit | edit source]
R40.1. Basic form[edit | edit source]
- Set off quotations consisting of 50+ words into a block quotation, which appears as in the example below:
Here is where the block quotation should begin and here is where it should end. See the indentations on the right and left sides? This is how it should appear in your writing. The reasoning behind this set-up is to offset the lengthy quotations from the rest of the text and to clearly indicate that this is all directly cited material.
R40.2. Formatting of block quotations[edit | edit source]
- Block quotations are single spaced.
- Indent both left and right.
- Block quotations should be formatted with “full justification”—that is, all lines in a paragraph are expanded so they butt up against both the left and right text margins. Note that this is not a Bluebook requirement, but it is required by many law reviews.
- DO NOT use quotation marks surrounding the block quotation.
- Internal quotation marks should appear as in the original.
- The citation following a block quotation should start at the line’s left margin, without any indentation.
- Example: Judge Patterson explains the excellence of the Harry Potter series:
Plaintiff J.K. Rowling is the author of the highly acclaimed Harry Potter book series [. . .] Written for children but enjoyed by children and adults alike, the Harry Potter series chronicles the lives and adventures of Harry Potter and his friends as they come of age at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and face the evil Lord Voldemort. [. . .] It is a tale of a fictional world filled with magical spells, fantastical creatures, and imaginary places and things [. . .]
Warner Bros. Entm’t Inc. v. RDR Books, 575 F. Supp. 2d 513, 518 (S.D.N.Y. 2008) (describing an excellent book series).
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Here is where some have noted that The Bluebook rules sometime produce odd results. The Bluebook makes no exception for quotations of 50 or more words in parentheticals (unless used in a footnote in a law review article), meaning that the following footnote is formatted correctly, if bizarrely:
See id. (
(citations omitted)). [Source: http://prawfsblawg.blogs.com/prawfsblawg/2005/05/the_bluebook_is.html] |