U.S. Civil Procedure / U.S. law practice

Court system chart

New York state courts

Note

Federal Courts

Federal circuit map:

http://www.uscourts.gov/court_locator.aspx

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:US_Court_of_Appeals_and_District_Court_map.svg

1st – 12th Cir., D.C. Cir., Fed. Cir.

Reporting / citing of federal judgments

Trial court: F. Supp. 2d

D. Mass., M.D. Tenn., D.D.C.

Court of Appeals: F.3d or Fed. Appx.

1st Cir., CA1 3-judge panels or en banc

Court web sites

No-cite rules (“unpublished” opinions of federal appeals courts)

http://www.uscourts.gov/uscourts/RulesAndPolicies/rules/Unpub_Opinions.pdf

State judgments

N.E.2d, So. 2d, etc.

Controlling judgments

Other reporters

• Bankruptcy

• F.R.D. (federal rules decisions)

What if you are unsure how to cite?

See how it’s been cited by other courts or in law reviews

Helpful resources

Bluebook (19th ed.)

Brian Garner, A Dictionary of Modern Legal Usage

Armstrong & Terell, Thinking Like a Writer

Westlaw / Lexis

the firm library & librarians

Some firms have their own style guide

• Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (Fed. R. Civ. P.)

• Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure (Fed. R. Crim. P.)

• Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.)• U.S. Code (U.S.C.), U.S. Code Annotated

(U.S.C.A.)• Moore’s Federal Practice• Wright & Miller, Federal Practice & Procedure

Court dockets

From Westlaw or Lexis

From PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records)

PACER

Memos

Typical Memo structure:

Question Posed

Brief Answer

Facts

[Statutory / Regulatory provisions]

Analysis

Conclusion

Make sure you understand what’s being asked

Deadline / length, etc.