Similar to improper comma placements, improper capitalization plagues today’s legal writing. Here are six of the most common capitalization crimes to avoid!
(1) Titles and Headings:
- Rule: Avoid ALL CAPS unless court rules require them. Instead, capitalize every word unless it’s (1) a preposition that has fewer than five letters (of, with); (2) a conjunction (and, or); or (3) an article (a, an, or the). But capitalize an article, conjunction, or preposition if it’s the first or last word of the title, or if it follows a dash or colon. For hyphenated words, capitalize both words.
(2) Legal Terms:
- Rule: Capitalize legal terms when they refer to a specific law, regulation, or principle (the Fifth Amendment, Civil Rights Act).
(3) Party Names:
- Rule: Lowercase part affiliations (defendant, plaintiff, appellant) unless you’re referring to the parties in the current dispute. Either way, skip the articles: “Defendant has failed to show . . . .” Not: “The Defendant.”
(4) Court:
- Rule: Lowercase court unless you’re referring to (1) the U.S. Supreme Court; or (2) the court you’re addressing in your document.
- Exception—Specific Court Name: When referring to a court by its official name, capitalize court (U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas).
(5) Federal, State, Commonwealth:
- Rule: Lowercase these words unless the word they modify is capitalized (Federal Reserve), they are part of a title (Commonwealth of Virginia), or you’re referring to a party (State v. Jones). You should thus lowercase “state law” and “federal law.”
(6) Orders & Motions:
- Rule: Lowercase these words when they are used generically to describe a category of actions or papers: “Defendant in this action has filed a motion to dismiss.” But capitalize the words when they describe a specific document: “But they disagree, as indicated in Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss.” Or “Plaintiff hereby files this Response to the Court’s Order.”
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