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Rule: B10; R10.2
Case Names
DO NOT ITALICIZE the comma
following the case name
LOTS of Rules, go through 10.2 à
here are the highlights
• Omit all parties other than the first party
listed on each side of the ”v.” (B10.1.1)
• Abbreviate case names in accordance with T6
• Special rules for geographical units à 10.2(f)
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General Rules in B10.1.2 and R10.3.2
Cases:
Reporter &
Date
Only list one reporter
The reporter to use can be found in T1 à varies by
state. T1 will tell you which reporter the state
prioritizes
Only put the year- R 10.5
• Ex: (Tex. 2003).
• Exception: unreported cases/electronic database cases.
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Rule: B10.1.3 or 10.4
SCOTUS: B 10.1.3(i)
Cases: Court
Sutter v. Lowes, 432 U.S. 123,
222 (1997).
Federal Courts of Appeal: Sutter v. Lowes, 123 F.2d 456,
457 (5th Cir. 2020).
B 10.1.3(ii)
Federal District Courts: B
10.1.3(iii)
Sutter v. Lowes, 878 F. Supp. 2d
787, 788 (E.D. Tex. 2020).
Texas Supreme Court
Sutter v. Lowes, 123 S.W.2d 333,
334 (Tex. 2008).
NOTE: if you have to cite a state other than Texas,
go to T1 of the Bluebook
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Generally: GBR 4.1
Texas Cases:
Courts of
Appeal
• Sutter v. Lowes, 123 S.W.3d 456, 789 (Tex. App.—
Houston [14 th Dist.] 2018, pet. denied)
District rules: GBR 4.3
• Put the district by city name, not number
• Em dash (—) between Tex. App. and City
• Mac shortcut option: option + shift + minus
• Windows shortcut: windows key + period à
select the Symbols icon à find the em dash
• Do NOT abbreviate the cities
• IF it’s a Texas case, think: petition history
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Looking up Petition/ Writ History
Looking up the petition/writ history
is NOT OPTIONAL
Step 2: What’s the date of the
opinion?
•This goes inside the parentheses (but for
separate SCOTX decisions, leave outside the
parentheses)
•Gonzales v. Moran, 123 S.W.3d 456, 478 (Tex.
App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2018, pet.
denied) (per curiam).
Step 1: Look up the subsequent
history on WL (“history”) or Lexis
(“Shepardize”)
•On or after Sept. 1, 1997 à go to Step 3a
•Before Sept. 1, 1997 à go to Step 3b
Step 3a: use petition history, GBR
4.4.1
Step 3b: use writ history, GBR 4.4.2
If SCOTX does grant the petition,
you must include what SCOTX did
•Appendix E (pp. 109–11)
•Appendix D (pp. 105–08)
•no pet vs. no pet h. (see practice tip, p. 22)
•GBR 4.6.1 and must see T8 in Bluebook for
explanatory phrases
•Gonzales v. Moran, 123 S.W.3d 456, 460 (Tex.
App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2018), aff’d on
other grounds, 987 S.W.3d 654, 650 (Tex. 2020).
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Generally – B10.1.4
The pincites will be
noted in the opinion
using asterisks
Lexis/Westla
w Cases
Caution: Lexis and WL
pagination are not the
same!
Must include the FULL
DATE, not just the year
Cook v. Withers, No. 14-03-00816-CV, 2004 LEXIS 3292, at *4 (Tex.
App.—Houston [14th Dist.] Apr. 13, 2004, no pet.).
à short form: Cook, 2004 LEXIS 3292, at *4.
Cook v. Withers, No. 14-03-00816-CV, 2004 WL 768948, at *3 (Tex.
App.—Houston [14th Dist.] Apr. 13, 2004, no pet.).
à short form: Cook, 2004 WL 768948, at *3.
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Rudder, 217 P.3d at __.
• Rule: B 10.2
• Use this short form if you have already cited the case, but the immediate
preceding authority is not the same case.
217 P.3d at __.
SHORT
FORM
• The short form to use if you used the case name in the sentence à In Rudder,
the court held that the agreement was entered into involuntarily because the
wife did not have knowledge of the husbands assets. 217 P.3d at __.
• Rule: B 10.2
Id. at __.
• Place the pincite if you are citing from the same preceding authority, but
gathering the information from a different page
• Rule: B 10.2; B 4
• Do not use with string citations!
Id.
• Usually only id. when the information can be found on the same page as the
previous citation
• Rule: B 10.2; B 4
• Do Not use with string citations!!
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Statutes
◦
B 12 & R12
◦
Note: the space between
the § and the number
◦
For statutes currently in
force, do not put the date
or publisher – GBR 10.2.1
◦
List of TX subject matter
codes- Appendix H
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B3 and R 3.2
Give page numbers before date parentheticals
Pincites
A reference to the specific pages within the source that support your
claim. THEY ARE ALWAYS REQUIRED unless you are citing “Id.”
to the same exact page (not range) as cited immediately before.
When citing to a range of pages, use an en dash or hyphen
Must include the last two digits (ex: 333–34)
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Introductory Signals
◦ Signals that indicate support
◦ [No signal] – the citation directly states your proposition, identifies a quote, or identifies an
authority referenced
◦ See – authority supports your position; doesn’t directly state it, but your argument/point
follows from it
◦ You will use the ”See” signal a lot in your application section
◦ Like in Rudder, Moran did not have equal sophistication to her husband because she did not finish
high school and he had an IQ similar to Einstein. See 454 S.W.2d at 333.
◦ See also – an authority that further demonstrates a proposition already cited; usually to
elaborate example cases
◦ See, e.g., – authority supports but doesn’t clearly state the proposition, as would a bunch of
other cases; usually used when there are a ton of cases that support your point but you only
are going to point to one
◦ E.g., – authority states the proposition, as would a bunch of other cases
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Extra Tips
Subsequent history – subsequent
history is always necessary in
Texas Court of Appeals cases
How do we string cite if we have
already previously cited a case but
the other cases in the string cite
have not been cited previously (are
appearing for the first time)?
• Use short form for the case you have
already cited
Signals: Signals like See are used
when you are relying on inference
from the case à in your memo
you will use See in the application
section
Rules for abbreviating state
names: look at T1, T1 will also tell
you the desired reporter to use
If a sentence directly cites to a
case, the See signal is likely not
appropriate.
Make sure when a case is being
cited for the first time that it has
both parties cited. After a case has
been cited once, then you can use
one party in the short form.
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