NEW JERSEY

MANUAL ON STYLE

FOR

JUDICIAL OPINIONS

2017
 ABOUT THIS MANUAL

The New Jersey Manual on Style sets standards for the

formatting and presentation of judicial opinions. It is divided

into four sections: (1) opinion form, (2) the system of citations,

(3) style, and (4) a summary of the exceptions from the Bluebook

rules. Bluebook rules will be denoted as “BBR” and New Jersey

Court Rules will be denoted as “Rule” or “R.”

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. OPINION FORM............................................... 3
II. SYSTEM OF CITATIONS....................................... 5
A. Introductory Signals & the Structure of Citations ....... 5
B. Case Names .............................................. 5
C. Reporters ............................................... 6
D. To-Be-Published & Unpublished Opinions; Multiple Opinions 10
E. Prior & Subsequent History ............................. 12
F. Constitutions, Statutes, Rules, Commentary, & Regulations . 14
G. Citations of Treatises, Law Reviews, & Other Materials ... 17
H. Short Citation Forms ................................... 21
I. Pages & Footnotes ...................................... 22
J. Underscoring ........................................... 23
K. Internet & Other Non-Print Materials ................... 23
III. STYLE................................................... 24
A. Quotations ............................................. 24
B. Punctuation, Capitals, & Foreign Expressions ........... 26
IV. LIST OF NEW JERSEY EXCEPTIONS TO THE BLUEBOOK............ 29

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I. OPINION FORM

The caption and attorney appearance sections in Supreme Court

opinions should follow the “Supreme Court of New Jersey Guidelines

for Writing Captions,” and the Appellate Division opinions should

follow the “Appellate Division Guidelines for Captions and

Attorney Appearance Sections in Memos and Opinions” (collectively,

Captions Guidelines).

An opinion should first state the title (giving the names of

the parties and their trial and any appellate court designations)

and, in appellate opinions, the dates the matter was argued (or

submitted) and decided. In trial court opinions, only the date

the case was decided is necessary.

Next, in appellate decisions, the opinion should list the

court or agency from which the appeal was taken and a citation to

the opinion below if reported. Next appears the listing of the

attorneys who participated, which follows the Captions Guidelines.

Where one attorney argued the cause, but other attorneys were of

record, of counsel, on the brief, etc., the listing of the latter

should appear in parentheses. All titles, such as Messrs., Mr.

and Ms., should be eliminated from the designation of the parties’

legal representatives.

Thus, in appellate opinions in argued cases, the appearances

should follow this style: John R. Brown argued the cause for

3
respondent (Brown & Jones, attorneys; James Roche, of counsel;

John R. Brown and Thomas Smith, on the brief). Where an appellate

case was not argued, the format would be: Brown & Jones, attorneys

for respondent (Joseph Brown, on the brief). However, in trial

court opinions, the proper style of appearances is: John R. Brown

for plaintiff (Brown & Jones, attorneys).

At the beginning of the trial court opinion or in a signed

Appellate Division opinion, insert the last name of the judge who

authored the opinion, followed by the abbreviation J.A.D., J.S.C.,

etc. (see Rule 1:37-3 for abbreviations). If a judge is

temporarily assigned to the court, the abbreviation of his or her

permanent office should be followed by: (temporarily assigned).

A retired judge, recalled and assigned pursuant to N.J.S.A. 43:6A-

13, should use his or her permanent title at the time of retirement

followed by: (retired and temporarily assigned on recall).

The prefatory language, “The opinion of the court was

delivered by,” should be used in signed Appellate Division

opinions, but not in trial court opinions. In Supreme Court

opinions, the appropriate language is “JUSTICE SMITH delivered the

opinion of the Court.” In all unsigned opinions, the language

should be “PER CURIAM.”

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II. SYSTEM OF CITATIONS

In preparing opinions, judges should generally follow the

system of citations contained in the current edition of The

Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation, published by the Harvard

Law Review Association (Bluebook). However, that system is subject

to the limited exceptions set forth in this manual. This section

provides an easy reference to the most frequently used forms of

citation in the Bluebook and identifies the limited exceptions to

Bluebook rules that should be used in opinions of the New Jersey

courts. The authorized exceptions from the Bluebook system of

citation are listed on pages 29 and 30 of this manual.

A. Introductory Signals & the Structure of Citations

A signal introducing a citation shows the degree of support

the citation gives to the proposition stated. BBR 1.2 describes

the appropriate form of introductory signals and when each signal

should be used. BBR 1.3 details the order of signals, and BBR 1.4

describes the order in which authorities should be presented within

each signal. Additional information about an authority may be

given parenthetically. BBR 1.5.

B. Case Names

Case names in both textual sentences and citation clauses and

sentences should conform to BBR 10.2.1. In citation clauses and

sentences, case names should be further abbreviated as required by

BBR 10.2.2. The case name should be as it appears at the beginning

5
of the opinion in the official reporter, as modified by the

provisions of BBR 10.2.1. For example, the only names required in

case citations are the surname or corporate name of the first-

listed party on each side. Omit words indicating multiple parties,

such as “et al.” In long case names, omit words not necessary for

identification. Abbreviate “in the matter of,” “petition of,” and

similar expressions to “In re.” BBR 10.2.1(b).

Do not rely on the running heads or citations prepared by

legal publishers for proper abbreviations because they often fail

to follow the Bluebook’s requirements.

C. Reporters

A reported decision of a New Jersey court should be cited

solely to one of the New Jersey reporters. The following examples

correctly cite New Jersey cases:

1 N.J. 102 (1948).

1 N.J. Super. 102 (App. Div. 1948).
1 N.J. Super. 322 (Ch. Div. 1948).
1 N.J. Super. 600 (Law Div. 1948).
3 N.J. Super. 450 (Cty. Ct. 1949).
9 N.J. Tax 259 (Tax 1987).
182 N.J. Super. 179, 3 N.J. Tax 482 (Tax 1981).
130 N.J. Eq. 102 (Ch. 1940).
130 N.J. Eq. 214 (E. & A. 1941).
130 N.J. Eq. 380 (Prerog. Ct. 1941).
130 N.J.L. 242 (Sup. Ct. 1943).
130 N.J.L. 511 (E. & A. 1943).
10 N.J. Misc. 885 (Dist. Ct. 1932).
10 N.J. Misc. 942 (Dep’t Labor 1932).

6
 In addition, “C.P.” should be used for the former Common Pleas

Court; “Cir. Ct.” for the former Circuit Court; “Cty. Dist. Ct.”

for the former County District Court; and “J. & D.R. Ct.” for the

former Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court.

A citation to a decision of the Supreme Court of the United

States should be made only to the official U.S. Reports if the

decision has been paginated there -- without parallel cites:

Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966).

If the case has not yet been paginated within the United States

Reports but has been paginated in the Supreme Court Reporter,

provide a U.S. cite with underscoring to denote unavailable page

numbers and also the S. Ct. cite:

Lewis v. Clarke, 581 U.S. ___, 197 S. Ct. 631, 641 (2017).

For “Id.” cites, it is necessary to give only the S. Ct. page.

If neither the U.S. Reports nor the Supreme Court Reporter

has been paginated, cite to the U.S. Reports and to the slip

opinion, available -- with the reporter number -- on the Supreme

Court’s website (https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/

opinions.aspx):

Cooper v. Harris, 581 U.S. ___ (2017) (slip op. at 4).

Except as noted above, the reporter, court, and date of

decision should be cited in conformity with BBR 10.3, 10.4, and

10.5 and table T1 of the Bluebook.

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 If a state court decision is published in a regional reporter,

such as Atlantic or Pacific, the citation should be solely to that

reporter. If a state court decision is not published in a regional

reporter, it should generally be cited to the other sources listed

in table T1 of the Bluebook. However, if a published opinion of

a state court is not available in a regional reporter or a state

reporter, cite to Lexis if available there. If the opinion is not

available in any of those sources, use public domain citations.

Otherwise, do not use public domain format citations.

The reporter citations generally should be followed by

parentheses with the jurisdiction, the abbreviated name of the

court, and the year of decision. The name of a state should be

omitted if it appears in the reporter title. If a decision is by

the state’s highest court, only the abbreviated state name and the

year of the decision should be provided. BBR 10.4(b). The

following examples correctly cite the decisions of federal and

other state courts:

751 F.2d 90 (2d Cir. 1984).

275 F. 348 (2d Cir. 1921).
43 F. Supp. 99 (W.D. Pa. 1940).
220 S.E.2d 130 (Ga. 1975).
571 A.2d 157 (Conn. App. Ct. 1990).
351 So. 2d 21 (Fla. 1977).
279 Cal. Rptr. 625 (Ct. App. 1991).
561 N.Y.S.2d 562 (App. Div. 1990).

8
 A citation to a decision of a state administrative agency

reported in the New Jersey Administrative Reports, which contains

state-agency decisions issued through 1990, should be cited:

12 N.J.A.R. 129 (Div. on Civil Rights 1986).

The parentheses following the volume and page of the administrative

reports should set forth the name of the agency issuing the

decision and the date of the final agency decision. There is no

need to give the date of the Administrative Law Judge’s initial

decision, unless the final agency decision appears in a different

place from the initial decision of the Administrative Law Judge.

In that event, both decisions should be cited with each citation

bearing the date of that decision, subject to BBR 10.5(c).

The New Jersey Administrative Reports Second is a set of

loose-leaf binders with separate pagination for each state agency.

It contains state-agency decisions issued from 1991 through June

1997. It should be cited:

91 N.J.A.R.2d 10 (Div. on Civil Rights).

The number preceding N.J.A.R.2d refers to the year the final

agency decision was rendered. The number following N.J.A.R.2d is

the cited page of the reports of the particular agency indicated

in the parentheses.

The New Jersey Administrative Reports ceased publication

after June 1997. Agency decisions after that date should be cited

to Lexis if they are published there, in the following format:

9
 Bacon v. Dep’t of Educ., 2002 N.J. AGEN LEXIS 616
(Sept. 23, 2008).

If the decision is not available on Lexis, cite to the Rutgers Law

School website, http://njlaw.rutgers.edu/collections/oal/, if

there, using the following format:

Dep’t of Envtl. Prot. v. Naylor, EFG 277-99,

initial decision, (June 22, 1999),
http://njlaw.rutgers.edu/collections/oal/html/
initial/efg277-99_1.html.

If the decision is not published on either Lexis or the

Rutgers website, indicate the name of the case, agency, and docket

number (if there is one), whether the case is a final or initial

decision, and the date:

Doe v. Dep’t of Envtl. Prot., DEP 1000-02,

initial decision, (Jan. 1, 2002).

Note, however, that unpublished administrative opinions, like

unpublished judicial opinions, may be cited only in the limited

circumstances set forth in Rule 1:36-3.

A citation to an opinion of the Public Employment Relations

Commission should be cited:

In re Borough of Montvale, P.E.R.C. No. 81-

52, 6 N.J.P.E.R. ¶ 11259, 1980 N.J. PERC
LEXIS 186 at 22 (1980).

D. To-Be-Published & Unpublished Opinions; Multiple Opinions

Opinions of New Jersey courts that have been approved for

publication but do not yet appear in the advance sheets should be

cited:

10
 State v. Smith, ___ N.J. ___, ___ (2017) (slip op. at 7).

When one of the express purposes detailed in Rule 1:36-3 is

present and an unpublished opinion may therefore be cited, the

appropriate form of citation for a New Jersey opinion would be:

State v. Wilson, No. A-4605-91 (App. Div. July 2,

2014) (slip op. at 7).

And, also limited to the uses set forth in Rule 1:36-3, unpublished

out-of-state cases should be cited:

Gibbs v. Frank, No. 02-3924, 2004 U.S. App.

LEXIS 21357, at *18 (3d Cir. Oct. 14, 2004).

Commonwealth v. Litt, No. 1059-EDA-14, 2015 Pa. Super.

Unpub. LEXIS 1297, at *8 (Pa. Super. Ct. May 8, 2015).

If a decision has dissenting or concurring opinions, “supra”

and “infra” should not be used in one opinion to refer to another.

Instead, “ante” should be used to refer to any opinion that

precedes the author’s, and “post” to any that follows it. If the

decision is going to be published, a “slip op.” designation should

also be used.

Thus, a majority opinion should refer to a concurring or

dissenting opinion as “Post at ___ (slip op. at 2).” A dissenting

opinion should refer to the majority or concurring opinion as “Ante

at ___ (slip op. at 3).” A concurring opinion would cite the

majority as “Ante at ___ (slip op. at 3)” and a dissent as “Post

at ___ (slip op. at 2).” For multiple dissents or concurrences,

the appropriate citation is determined by the sequence in which

11
the opinions occur, with “ante” for those that appear before the

author’s and “post” for those that appear after.

When there have been multiple successive opinions with one

name, give the cases numbered short forms as follows:

Abbott v. Burke (Abbott XXI), 206 N.J. 332, 362 (2011).

E. Prior & Subsequent History

Refer to BBR 10.6.3 & 1.5(b) for the order in which

parentheticals should appear. Whenever a decision that was decided

en banc is cited in full, include an “(en banc)” parenthetical.

For all cases cited in full, give the entire subsequent history of

the case, including dispositions in the United States Supreme

Court. As BBR 10.7 provides, include discretionary dispositions

in higher courts (such as certiorari denied in the United States

Supreme Court) only if the case cited is less than two years old

or the denial of review is particularly relevant, and omit the

history on remand or any denial of a rehearing unless relevant to

the point for which the case is cited.

Give prior history only if significant to the point for which

the case is cited or if the disposition cited does not intelligibly

describe the issues in the case, as in a Supreme Court disposition

without full opinion. BBR 10.7. The prior or subsequent history

of a case is appended to the primary citation and is introduced

and explained by underscored words, which are generally set off by

commas, between the citations. For example:

12
 State v. Blome, 459 N.J. Super. 227 (App.
Div.), certif. denied, 228 N.J. 458 (2016).

State v. Maure, 240 N.J. Super. 269 (App.

Div. 1990), aff’d o.b., 123 N.J. 457 (1991).

However, phrases that are followed by a case citation as their

direct object are not followed by a comma:

Nesmith v. Walsh Trucking Co., 123 N.J. 547

(1991), rev’g on dissent 247 N.J. Super.
360, 371-73 (App. Div. 1989).

The following is a partial list of abbreviations for

explanations of prior or subsequent case history: “aff’d,” for

“affirmed”; “aff’g” for “affirming”; “aff’d o.b.,” for “affirmed

on opinion below”; “rev’d,” for “reversed”; “rev’d on dissent,”

for “reversed on the basis of dissent”; “rev’g” for “reversing”;

“certif. denied,” for “certification denied”; and “cert. denied,”

for “certiorari denied.” See T8 for a full list.

When citing a case with several different decisions in the

same year, include the year only with the last cited decision in

that year, unless the exact date of decision is required for either

decision under BBR 10.5(d):

United States v. Eller, 114 F. Supp. 2d 284

(M.D.N.C.), rev’d, 208 F.3d 716 (4th Cir. 2016),
cert. denied, 582 U.S. ___, 347 S. Ct. 934 (2017).

13
 F. Constitutions, Statutes, Rules, Commentary, & Regulations

See infra Part III.B. for rules on capitalizing titles and

sections of constitutions in textual sentences.

In citations, the present New Jersey Constitution should be

identified as N.J. Const. art. IV, § 7, ¶ 2. There should be a

space between the symbol and the numeral. BBR 6.2(c). Citations

to the pre-1947 Constitutions should indicate the year of adoption:

N.J. Const. of 1844 art. IV, § 1, ¶ 3.

The United States Constitution should be cited as U.S. Const.

art. I, § 9, cl. 2, and amendments should be cited as U.S. Const.

amend. XIV, § 2.

New Jersey statutes should be cited as N.J.S.A. (not R.S. or

N.J.S.), followed by the applicable sections but no section symbol;

dates should be included only when particularly relevant, as when

a statute has been amended after the relevant time period:

N.J.S.A. 2C:43-6(c) (2013). Pamphlet laws should be cited as

L. 1961, c. 5, § 1. New Jersey Senate and Assembly bills should

be cited as S. 1284 (2014) and A. 421 (2014). When citing both

the Senate and the Assembly bills for a single law, use a slash:

S. 946/A. 1910 (2014).

When citing legislative history, refer to BBR 13. If the

document you want to cite is not covered by those examples, give

the title of the document and sufficient information to identify

14
the legislation to which the document refers. That will usually

require showing the number of the bill. For example:

Sponsor’s Statement to S. 1234 15-16 (L.

1999, c. 345).

S. Cty. & Mun. Gov’t Comm. Statement to S.

1234 4 (Mar. 1, 1981).

Mun. Gov’t Comm. Statement to S. 763 50

(May 3, 1980).

Governor’s Veto Statement to S. 763 (June

22, 1980).

Cty. & Mun. Gov’t Study Comm’n, Forms of

Municipal Government in New Jersey 25
(Jan. 15, 2009).

Pub. Hearing Before S. Law & Pub. Safety

Comm., S. Con. Res. 123 2 (2004).

The citation may vary with the information available and may

include the page number and, if the document has no date, the year

that the bill was enacted or the date of the bill itself. The

pamphlet law cites should be provided in parentheses when context

warrants their inclusion.

Federal statutes should be cited as 5 U.S.C. § 352.

Citations to federal, New Jersey, or other state statutes

that do not appear in U.S.C. or N.J.S.A. should be in the form set

forth in BBR 12 and in table T1 of the Bluebook.

When citing to an entire act, the proper form is N.J.S.A.

17:10-1 to -26, not N.J.S.A. 17:10-1 et seq. BBR 3.3(b).

15
 When citing to a subsection of a statute, the subsection must

be in parentheses. BBR 3.3(a). When citing to multiple

subsections, do not use dashes: N.J.S.A. 2A:162-20(a) to (b).

Court Rules effective on or after September 8, 1969, should

be cited as R.; those effective between September 1953 and

September 7, 1969, should be cited as R.R. A comment in the

annotated Rules should be cited as Pressler & Verniero, Current

N.J. Court Rules, cmt. 2 on R. 2:3-2 (2016). A later cite to a

comment should be: Pressler & Verniero, cmt. 2 on R. 2:3-2.

Appendices to the New Jersey Court Rules are now only at

www.gannlaw.com. They should be cited as: Child Support

Guidelines, Pressler & Verniero, Current N.J. Court Rules,

Appendix IX-A to R. 5:6A, www.gannlaw.com (2017). A citation to

other guidelines in the rule book that are not in the appendix

should be cited as: Guidelines for Operation of Pretrial

Intervention in New Jersey, Pressler & Verniero, Current N.J. Court

Rules, Guideline 1, following R. 3:28 at 1190 (2016).

Current rules of evidence should be cited as N.J.R.E.

803(a)(1). The 1967 rules should be cited as Evid. R. 63(1)(a).

A comment in the annotated Rules of Evidence should be cited as

Biunno, Weissbard & Zegas, Current N.J. Rules of Evidence, cmt. 1

on N.J.R.E. 803(a)(1) (2015).

16
 A comment in the annotated Code of Criminal Justice should be

cited as Cannel, N.J. Criminal Code Annotated, cmt. 11 on N.J.S.A.

2C:11-3 (2015-2016).

Cite the New Jersey Administrative Code as N.J.A.C. 12:18-

2.27 and the New Jersey Register as 46 N.J.R. 77(a) (Jan. 6, 2014).

Cite a regulation in the Code of Federal Regulations as FTC

Credit Practices Rule, 16 C.F.R. § 444 (1999).

G. Citations of Treatises, Law Reviews, & Other Materials

When citing treatises, books, and other nonperiodic

materials, you must include: volume, if more than one (BBR 3.1);

author or editor (BBR 15.1 and 15.2); title (BBR 15.3); page,

section, or paragraph, if only part of a volume is cited (BBR 3.1,

3.2, 3.3); edition, if more than one has appeared; publisher, if

not the original one; and date (BBR 15.4). For example:

6 James W. Moore et al., Moore’s Federal

Practice, § 56.10 (3d ed. 1999).

Generally, the author’s full name as it appears on the

publication should be given the first time a work is cited,

including any designation such as “Jr.” or “III.” Degrees and

professional titles should not be noted. BBR 15.1. Do not

abbreviate middle names to middle initials unless the author does

so. If a work has more than two authors, use the first author’s

name followed by “et al.” BBR 15.1(b). For example:

Laurence H. Tribe, American Constitutional

Law § 15-4 at 1314 (2d ed. 1987).

17
 Reynolds Robertson & Francis R. Kirkham,
Jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of the
United States § 445 (Richard F. Wolfson &
Phillip B. Kurland eds., 2d ed. 1951).

6 James W. Moore et al., Moore’s Federal

Practice ¶ 56.07 (2d ed. 1988).

However, New Jersey permits, when citing standard treatises that

are commonly referred to in a shortened form, the first name and

initials of the author to be omitted and the title of the book

abbreviated. For example:

5 Williston on Contracts § 661 (Jaeger ed.

1961).

6 Wigmore on Evidence § 1819 (Chadbourn rev.

1976).

McCormick on Evidence (Cleary ed., 3d ed.

1984).

Pressler & Verniero, Current N.J. Court

Rules, cmt. 2 on R. 2:3-2 (2017).

Cite law review articles by author, title of work, volume

number, periodical name, first page of the work and page or pages

on which specific material appears, and date enclosed in

parentheses at the end of the citation. BBR 16.1. The author’s

full name should be supplied in the same form as in a citation to

a book or treatise. For example:

Randall L. Kennedy, Racial Critiques of

Legal Academia, 102 Harv. L. Rev. 1745
(1989).

18
Signed and titled student notes and comments should be cited in

the same manner as any other signed article in a law review, except

that the designation of the piece should appear before the title

of the work to indicate it is student-written. BBR 16.1. For

example:

Dawn M. Johnsen, Note, The Creation of Fetal

Rights: Conflicts with Women’s Constitutional
Rights of Liberty, Privacy, and Equal
Protection, 95 Yale L.J. 599 (1986).

Cite unsigned notes, comments and shorter commentary by the

designation as given by the periodical, such as “Note” or

“Comment.” BBR 16.1. For example:

Note, From Private Places to Personal

Privacy: A Post-Katz Study of Fourth
Amendment Protection, 43 N.Y.U. L. Rev. 968
(1968).

The New Jersey Practice series should be cited as 6 N.J.

Practice, Wills and Administration § 661, at 241 (Alfred C. Clapp

& Dorothy G. Black) (rev. 3d ed. 1984).

Restatements should be cited as Restatement (Third) of Unfair

Competition § 3 (Am. Law Inst. 1995), and comments in a Restatement

should be cited as Restatement (Second) of Conflicts of Laws § 305

cmt. b, illus. 1 (Am. Law Inst. 1977). BBR 12.9.4. If a

Restatement contains a subtitle, retain the subtitle in the

citation, as in: Restatement (Third) of Prop.: Wills and Donative

Transfers § 2.1 (Am. Law Inst. 1999).

19
 The style for annotations is: Andrea Levinson Ben-Yosef,

Annotation, Hog Breeding, Confining, or Processing Facility as

Constituting Nuisance, 93 A.L.R.5th 621 (2001). BBR 16.7.6.

Gann books should be cited:

Dreier, Keefe & Katz, Current N.J. Products

Liability & Toxic Torts Law § 10:3 (2012).

Encyclopedias should be cited as 89 C.J.S. Trusts § 146

(1955); 17A Am. Jur. 2d Contracts § 74 (1991).

Dictionaries should be cited: Ballentine’s Law Dictionary

1190 (3d ed. 1969); Black’s Law Dictionary 712 (9th ed. 2009).

That is a departure from BBR 15.8(a).

Model Jury Charges should be cited:

Model Jury Charges (Criminal), “Recklessly

Endangering Another Person (N.J.S.A. 2C:12-
2b(2))” (rev. Apr. 19, 2004).

Model Jury Charges (Civil), 2.12, “Personnel

Manual Creating a Contract” (approved Jan.
1997).

Administrative Directives issued by the Judiciary should be

cited:

Administrative Directive #21-06, “Approved

Jury Selection Standards” (Dec. 11, 2006).

Executive orders issued through 1995 should be cited to the

Laws of New Jersey books:

Exec. Order No. 151 (Dec. 11, 1986), 1 Laws of

New Jersey 1986 1069.

20
Because the Laws of New Jersey are not easily accessible after

1995, cite to the New Jersey Register for executive orders

issued in 1996 and later:

Exec. Order No. 1 (Jan. 20, 2010), 42 N.J.R.

575(a)-77 (Feb. 16, 2010).

The orders and cites to the Register can be found in Lexis.

H. Short Citation Forms

Note that New Jersey no longer uses “supra” to refer to

previously cited sources. When an authority has been fully

cited previously, “id.” or “ibid.” should be used when

appropriate. A published case that has already been cited in

full in the same general discussion should be shortened to:

Miranda, 384 U.S. at 478.

In the rare case in which an unpublished case may be cited

pursuant to Rule 1:36-3, its short form would be as follows:

Smith, slip op. at 8.

But cite a case that will be published:

Smith, ____ N.J. ____ (slip op. at 8).

When citing to a treatise or law review article, use a short

form that consists of the last name(s) of the author or authors of

the work, or when there is no author, the title of the article,

followed by a comma.

For example:

Tribe, § 15-1.

21
 Kennedy, 102 Harv. L. Rev. at 1758.

Note, From Private Places to Personal Privacy,

43 N.Y.U. L. Rev. at 985.

“Id.” should be used to cite to the immediately preceding

authority. Thus, if there is a citation to State v. Bull, 227

N.J. 555, 561 (2017) (quoting State v. Purnell, 161 N.J. 44, 53

(1999)), and the next citation is to Bull, it should be cited as:

Id. at 563. “Ibid.” should be used to indicate the same source at

the same page as the immediately preceding authority. When there

are two sources cited equally, however -- e.g., State v. Bull, 227

N.J. 555, 561 (2017); State v. Purnell, 161 N.J. 44, 53 (1999) --

then neither id. nor ibid. could be used in the next cite.

I. Pages & Footnotes

Where the principle for which a case or other source is cited

is stated on a particular page or pages, the relevant page or pages

should always be indicated as follows: State v. Jarbath, 114 N.J.

394, 404 (1989); Sisler v. Gannett Co., 104 N.J. 256, 280-81

(1986). Always retain the last two digits but drop other

repetitious digits: Baker v. Carr, 369 U.S. 186, 195-96 (1962).

BBR 3.2(a). Cite nonconsecutive pages by giving the individual

page numbers separated by commas: Township of Wayne v. Ricmin,

Inc., 124 N.J. Super. 509, 514, 517 (App. Div. 1973).

To cite a footnote, give the page on which the footnote begins

followed by “n.” and the footnote number, with no space between

22
the “n.” and the number: Abbott v. Burke, 119 N.J. 287, 370 n.34

(1990). See BBR 3.2(b) for further instructions.

Text in footnotes should begin two spaces after the number:

1 Footnote starts here.

Footnotes should be in the same font (including size) as the main

text. If there is more than one footnote on a page, skip a line

between them.

J. Underscoring

Where the Bluebook says to italicize, the New Jersey practice

is to underline instead, as shown throughout this manual.

Introductory signals such as Cf. and See; words or phrases used to

introduce prior or subsequent case histories; the names of cases,

constitutions, court rules, law reviews, and restatements; and id.

and ibid. should be underscored.

K. Internet & Other Non-Print Materials

Citation to internet, electronic media, and other non-print

resources generally should follow BBR 18.

If material is available in a printed source, citation

generally should be to the printed material. BBR 18.2. If there

is an authenticated, official, or exact copy of the printed source,

it may be appropriate to include a URL along with the citation of

the traditional medium, if doing so would substantially improve

access to the source information or if the source “is so obscure

that it is practically unavailable.” BBR 18.2.1(b). In such a

23
case, cite the printed source first, then append the URL directly

to the end of the citation set off only by a comma. For example:

In re Montes, ACJC No. 2013-130 (Mar. 28,

2014 (slip op. at 22),
http://www.judiciary.state.nj.us/pressrel/
2014/ACJC%20Presentement%20Montes.pdf.

Note that citations to sources readily available on the Judiciary’s

website should not provide URLs; such sources include model jury

charges, court rules, rules of evidence, notices to the bar, and

administrative directives.

The Bluebook distinguishes between direct citations to

internet sources, BBR 18.2.2, and traditional citation formats to

which a URL should be appended, BBR 18.2.1(b). Direct internet

citations generally should follow BBR 18.2.2, except text shown in

the Bluebook as italics or all caps should be underlined instead.

III. STYLE

A. Quotations

Follow BBR 5.1, 5.2, and 5.3 on formatting, altering, and

omitting portions of quotations.

A quotation of fewer than fifty words should be included in

the regular text. Longer quotations should be indented ten spaces

(one inch) from the side margins and single spaced. Indenting a

quote this way takes the place of quotation marks before and after

the quote. A block quote that is taken entirely from a single

source should not be surrounded by quotation marks.

24
 A citation to the source of an indented quotation should be

placed in brackets immediately below the quotation. For example:

There is no requirement that police stop a

person who enters a police station and states
that he wishes to confess to a crime, or a
person who calls the police to offer a
confession or any other statement he desires
to make. Volunteered statements of any kind
are not barred by the Fifth Amendment. . . .

[Miranda, 384 U.S. at 478.]

A “see also” cite after a block quote should begin at the left

margin; it should not be part of the block quote citation.

To show an omission within a quotation, use an ellipsis, which

is “three periods separated by spaces with a space before the first

and after the last period (“_._._._”).” BBR 5.3. Ellipses should

be used even when only one word is omitted. See BBR 5.3.

An ellipsis is never correct at the beginning of a quotation

or at the end of a quotation if it ends with a complete sentence.

If words at the end of a sentence are omitted, do not replace them

with [.]. Use an ellipsis followed by the final punctuation of

the sentence. BBR 5.3(b)(iii). If one or more entire paragraphs

are eliminated from a block quote, indent and insert four periods

(._._._.) separated by spaces on a new line. BBR 5.1(a)(iii). Do

not insert an ellipsis for an omitted footnote or citation;

indicate such an omission by a parenthetical phrase -- (footnote

omitted) or (citation omitted)) -- immediately following the

citation to the quoted source. BBR 5.3 and 5.4(c).

25
 If language at the beginning of an original sentence is

omitted, do not use an ellipsis. Instead, capitalize the first

letter and place it in brackets if it is not already capitalized.

Thus: “[C]ompulsory process must be available for the production

of evidence.” BBR 5.3(b)(i).

When the writer underscores part of a quotation for emphasis,

that should be noted by the parenthetical phrase

“(emphasis/emphases added)” after the citation. Do not indicate

“(emphasis in original).” BBR 5.2(d)(iii). Any editing inside a

quotation should appear in brackets. BBR 5.2(a). No parenthetical

is needed to indicate that you have altered the quoted text;

however, if the text you are quoting already contains an

alteration, an “(alteration(s) in original)” parenthetical should

be included in your citation. Alteration and emphasis

parentheticals thus work in opposite ways.

B. Punctuation, Capitals, & Foreign Expressions

Two spaces should follow every sentence and citation. Thus,

aside from use within citations, periods and colons should be

followed by two spaces. When quoting from a text that uses only

one space after periods and colons, add a second space.

Periods and commas are always placed inside quotation marks.

A colon, semicolon, question mark, or exclamation point should be

placed inside the quotation marks only if it is part of the quoted

material; otherwise, it is outside the ending quotation mark.

26
 Where no day is included, a comma should not separate the

month from the year, e.g., “March 2014.” (Do not write “March of

2014.”) Where a day is included, it should be written as a numeral,

not an ordinal, i.e., “March 15, 2014,” not “March 15th, 2014.”

Numbers zero through ninety-nine should be spelled out;

figures should be used for any number over ninety-nine. However,

where there is a series of numbers in the same sentence and any

are over ninety-nine, all are to be put in figures. BBR 6.2(a)

(but see exceptions in that rule). A sum of money should be

written as “$50,” not “$50.” or “$50.00.”

Avoid unnecessary capitals. Do not capitalize “a.m.” or

“p.m.” Capitalize nouns referring to people or groups only when

they identify specific persons, officials, groups, government

offices, or government bodies (Rule 8(c)(i)):

Judge Cedarbaum
Captain Sam Jones
the Board
the Agency
the DEP
the Legislature
the Governor

But:
the legislative hearings
the gubernatorial veto
administrative agencies

Capitalize “Court” only when naming a court in full or when

referring to the Supreme Court of the United States (BBR 8

(c)(ii)), or to the Supreme Court of New Jersey (a New Jersey

27
exception to the Bluebook rule). “State” should be capitalized if

it is part of the full title of a state, if the word it modifies

is capitalized, or when referring to a state as a governmental

actor or party to litigation. BBR 8(c)(ii). For example:

the State of New Jersey

the State Commissioner of Education
the State relitigated the issue

Capitalize references to sections within constitutions in

sentences, for example: “The Fourth Amendment of the Federal

Constitution and Article I, Paragraph 7 of our State Constitution

prohibit unreasonable searches and seizures.” BBR 8(c)(ii). But

the adjective “constitutional” should not be capitalized: The

voters approved the state constitutional amendment.

Use of Latin expressions like “inter alia” and “sub judice”

should be avoided because English equivalents are readily

available (for example, “among other things”; “the present case”).

Latin expressions not commonly used as part of the English language

should be underlined, except when they are not italicized in

Black’s Law Dictionary. Common non-emphasized terms include:

ad hoc in camera res ipsa

ad valorem in limine loquitur
contra in personam res judicata
de facto per se respondeat
de novo pro bono superior
dictum/a pro rata scienter
en/in banc pro se sua sponte
ex officio quantum meruit ultra vires
ex parte quasi

28
IV. LIST OF NEW JERSEY EXCEPTIONS TO THE BLUEBOOK

1. A citation to a decision of a New Jersey court should be

solely to the applicable New Jersey reporter.

2. A citation to a decision of the Supreme Court of the

United States should be made only to the decision in the official

United States Reports, if there is one. If there is no decision

yet in the United States Reports, citation should be to the U.S.

Reporter, with blanks as appropriate, and to the Supreme Court

Reporter. If there is no citation yet in Supreme Court Reporter,

cite to the slip opinion.

3. Citations to statutes should include the date of the

statute only when that date is significant, such as a statute that

was later modified. New Jersey statutes should be cited solely to

the New Jersey Statutes Annotated. Citations to federal statutes

should be solely to the United States Code. Citations to statutes

from other jurisdictions should follow the Bluebook, aside from

the date rule.

4. An abbreviated form of citation may be used in citing

standard treatises that are commonly known in a shortened form.

5. A short form of citation should be used for repeat

citations of cases as well as other authorities unless id. or ibid.

is appropriate.

6. Capitalize “Court” when referring to the Supreme Court

of New Jersey or the Supreme Court the United States.

29
 7. Underlining should be used instead of italics.

8. “Ibid.” should be used to indicate the same source at

the same page as the immediately preceding authority. Id.

signifies the same source but at a different page. (Id. at 423).

9. A citation to the source of an indented quotation should

be placed in brackets immediately below the quotation.

10. If a non-New Jersey case is found in a regional reporter,

use only that cite. Otherwise, use the sources in table T.1 of

the Bluebook, but cite to Lexis if the decision is not in a regional

or state reporter and use a public domain citation if the case is

also not available on Lexis.

11. Dictionaries should be cited in this way: Black’s Law

Dictionary 712 (9th ed. 2009).

30