California Court Cases: Law Review Cite Applications

California's rules for citing court cases are complex. Generally, only published cases can be cited, and there are specific rules for determining the publication status of an opinion. The California Courts Website, LexisNexis, and Westlaw are useful tools for this purpose. California Rules of Court, Rule 8.1115 states that unpublished opinions of a California Court of Appeal or superior court appellate division must not be cited or relied upon, except in specific circumstances, such as when relevant under the doctrines of law of the case, res judicata, or collateral estoppel. Additionally, California has specific rules for citing cases in academic writing and court documents, including formatting guidelines for case names, pin cites, and court parentheticals.

California Court of Appeal opinions and their publication rules

Opinions of the California Supreme Court and the Courts of Appeal are public record, whether published or unpublished. However, only published opinions can be cited as legal authority, with some exceptions. The publication rules for California appellate cases are quite complex.

All opinions of the California Supreme Court are published in bound volumes called the Official Reports.

Some opinions issued by the California Courts of Appeal are certified for publication by the Court of Appeal or ordered published by the Supreme Court because they meet specific criteria. These opinions are known as "published" or citable opinions.

The majority of Court of Appeal opinions are not certified for publication and are thus not published in the Official Reports. These opinions are known as "unpublished", and generally, they cannot be cited or relied upon in other cases.

There are two exceptions to the rule against citing unpublished opinions:

• When an opinion is relevant under the doctrines of law of the case, res judicata, or collateral estoppel;
• When an opinion is relevant to a criminal or disciplinary action because it states reasons for a decision affecting the same defendant or respondent in another such action.

The publication status of an opinion can be determined using sources such as LexisNexis, Westlaw, the California Courts Website, or print sources.

Rules for publishing California appellate cases

• All opinions of the Supreme Court are published in the Official Reports (California Reports) per CRC Rule 8.1105(a).
• An opinion of a Court of Appeal or a superior court appellate division is published in the Official Reports (California Appellate Reports) if a majority of the rendering court certifies the opinion for publication before the decision is finalised. (CRC Rule 8.1105(b)).
• If a rehearing is granted in a case, the court's original opinion is no longer considered published (CRC Rule 8.1105(e)(1)(A)).
• Partial publication occurs when the rendering court certifies some but not all parts of the appellate opinion for publication (CRC Rule 8.1110(a)).
• The Supreme Court may order that an opinion certified for publication is not published (CRC Rule 8.1105(e)(2)). This can be done on their own motion or at the request of any person (CRC Rules 8.1125(a), (c)).
• The Supreme Court may also order that an opinion not certified for publication be published (CRC Rule 8.1105(e)(2)).
• Any person may request that an appellate court opinion be published by sending a letter to the court that rendered the opinion (CRC Rules 8.1120(a)(1), (2)).
• The Supreme Court's decision to publish or depublish an opinion does not indicate agreement or disagreement with the decision or the law stated in the opinion (CRC Rules 8.1120(d), 8.1125(d)).
• The Supreme Court may order a review of a Court of Appeal decision, either wholly or partially (CRC Rules 8.512, 8.516).
• Court of Appeal opinions can remain published after a grant of review by the Supreme Court (CRC Rule 8.1115(e)).
• A Court of Appeal opinion under review has no binding or precedential effect and may be cited for potentially persuasive value only. Any citation must note the grant of review and any subsequent action by the Supreme Court (CRC Rule 8.1115(e)(1)).
• After the Supreme Court's decision, the Court of Appeal opinion has binding or precedential effect unless it conflicts with the Supreme Court's decision or is disapproved by them (CRC Rule 8.1115(e)(2)).
• The Supreme Court may order that a Court of Appeal opinion under review is not citable or has a different binding or precedential effect (CRC Rule 8.1115(e)(3)).

Citation rules for California appellate cases

• An opinion of a California Court of Appeal or the appellate division of the Superior Court can be cited as authority only if it has been certified for publication or ordered published (CRC Rule 8.1115(a)).
• The two exceptions mentioned earlier also apply here: unpublished opinions can be cited in specific circumstances.
• "Depublished" opinions are considered unpublished and cannot be cited unless one of the exceptions applies.
• Only the published parts of a partially published opinion can be cited (CRC Rule 8.1110(c)).
• If citing an unpublished opinion under an exception, a copy of the opinion must be attached to the brief filed with the court, and copies must be provided to other parties (CRC Rule 8.1115).

California Appellate Courts Case Information System

This system provides case information for California Supreme Court and Court of Appeal cases, including copies of opinions, both published and unpublished. Case information is updated hourly throughout the business day.

Citing California Supreme Court opinions

The California Supreme Court is the state's highest court, and its opinions are considered precedents that must be followed by all California appellate and superior courts. All opinions of the California Supreme Court are published in the Official Reports (California Reports) and are available to the public. They can be found in hard copy, online, or on the California Courts Website.

When citing a California Supreme Court opinion, it is important to follow the correct format. The basic structure of a citation is as follows:

Name of Case, [volume] [reporter] [page number] ([year])

For example, if you are citing the case of Smith v. Jones, which can be found in volume 123 of the California Reports, starting on page 456, and was published in 2022, your citation would look like this:

Smith v. Jones, 123 Cal. 456 (2022)

In this example, "Cal." is the abbreviation for the California Reports, and "123" is the volume number. The page number where the case starts is "456", and the year the case was decided is "2022".

It is worth noting that the rules regarding the publication and citation of California state appellate court opinions, including those of the California Supreme Court, can be quite complex. Generally, only "published" cases can be cited, and there are specific rules outlining when an opinion is considered published. For the California Supreme Court, all opinions are automatically published in the Official Reports.

Additionally, there may be specific formatting requirements depending on the style guide you are using, such as Bluebook or Chicago style. It is important to consult the relevant style guide and legal authorities to ensure your citations are correct and compliant with the applicable rules.

Rules for citing unpublished California court opinions

In California, the rules regarding the publication of state appellate court opinions are complex. Generally, only published cases can be cited. However, there are exceptions to this rule, and unpublished opinions can be cited under certain circumstances.

According to Rule 8.1115 of the California Rules of Court, an opinion of a California Court of Appeal or superior court appellate division that is not certified for publication or ordered published must not be cited or relied on by a court or a party in any other action. However, there are two exceptions to this rule:

• Relevance to the case under the doctrines of law of the case, res judicata, or collateral estoppel: Unpublished opinions can be cited when they are relevant to a case under these doctrines, which prohibit a party from suing over the same case or controversy more than once.
• Relevance to a criminal or disciplinary proceeding: Unpublished opinions can also be cited when they are relevant to a criminal or disciplinary proceeding because they state reasons for a decision affecting the same defendant or respondent.

How to Cite an Unpublished Opinion

If you are citing an unpublished opinion under one of the exceptions to Rule 8.1115, you must attach copies of the opinion to the brief that you file with the court and serve copies on any other parties. This requirement applies even if the case is going to be published but is currently only available in a computer database such as Westlaw or Lexis, or in the Daily Appellate Reports.

It is important to note that these rules only govern the California state courts and are limited to the citation of unpublished California court opinions in California cases.

Citing California Court of Appeal decisions

In California, the rules regarding the publication of state appellate court opinions are complex. However, they are important to understand because, generally, only "published" cases can be cited.

Publication Rules for California Appellate Cases

All opinions of the Supreme Court are published in the Official Reports (California Reports) (CRC Rule 8.1105(a)).

Generally, an opinion of a Court of Appeal or a superior court appellate division is published in the Official Reports (California Appellate Reports) if the majority of the rendering court certifies the opinion for publication before the decision is finalised in that court (CRC Rule 8.1105(b)).

If the rendering court grants a rehearing, the original opinion is no longer considered published (CRC Rule 8.1105(e)(1)(A)). "Partial publication" occurs when the rendering court certifies some, but not all, parts of the opinion for publication (CRC Rule 8.1110(a)).

The Supreme Court may order that an opinion certified for publication is not published (CRC Rule 8.1105(e)(2)). This can be done on the court's own motion or at the request of any person (CRC Rule 8.1125(a), (c)). The court being requested may submit a response supporting or opposing the request (CRC Rule 8.1125(b)).

Any person may request that an appellate court opinion be published. This request must be made by letter to the court that rendered the opinion (CRC Rule 8.1120(a)(1)-(2)). If the court does not or cannot grant the request before the decision is final, the Supreme Court may order the opinion published or deny the request (CRC Rule 8.1120(b)-(c)).

Citation Rules for California Appellate Cases

An opinion of a California Court of Appeal or the appellate division of the Superior Court can generally be cited as authority only if it has been certified for publication or ordered published (Rule 8.1115(a), California Rules of Court).

There are two exceptions to this rule:

• An unpublished opinion can be cited or relied upon if it is relevant under the doctrines of law of the case, res judicata, or collateral estoppel.
• It can also be cited if it is relevant to a criminal or disciplinary action because it states reasons for a decision affecting the same defendant or respondent in another such action (CRC Rule 8.1115(b)).

"Depublished" opinions are considered unpublished and, therefore, cannot be cited unless one of the above exceptions applies.

Additional Considerations

When citing a California Court of Appeal decision, it is important to note that only the published parts of a partially published opinion can be cited, as unpublished parts are treated as unpublished opinions (CRC Rule 8.1110(c)).

Additionally, if citing an unpublished decision under an exception to Rule 8.1115, you must attach copies of the opinion to the brief filed with the court and serve copies to any other parties. This requirement applies even if the case is going to be published but is only available in a computer database such as Westlaw or Lexis, or in the Daily Appellate Reports (California Rules of Court, Rule 8.1115).

Bluebooking California Regulations

This guide will provide an overview of the rules and best practices for bluebooking California regulations, focusing on the specific format and style requirements. It is important to note that California has complex rules regarding the publication and citation of court cases, and these rules will be discussed in relation to bluebooking conventions.

Basic Bluebook Format for California Regulations

When bluebooking California regulations, the basic format to follow is: "Cal. Code Regs. tit. [title number], § [section number]". For example, "17 CCR § 16201" would be converted to "Cal. Code Regs. tit. 17, § 16201". This format ensures consistency and clarity in legal citations.

Academic Writing vs. Court Documents

It is important to distinguish between academic writing and court documents when bluebooking California regulations. In academic writing, "Cal. Code Regs." should be in small caps, with everything else in normal type. To create small caps in Microsoft Word or other Microsoft products, use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Shift+K on a PC or Command+Shift+K on a Mac.

On the other hand, in court documents, everything, including "Cal. Code Regs.", should be in normal type. Consistency in formatting is crucial to ensure compliance with bluebooking standards.

Finding Citation Information

The citation information for the California Code of Regulations can be found on both Lexis and Westlaw. However, these databases use an abbreviated format that mimics the format for the Code of Federal Regulations. Therefore, it is essential to convert the citation into the Bluebook-required format as described earlier.

California Style Manual (CSM)

In addition to the Bluebook, the California Style Manual (CSM) provides specific guidelines for citing California regulations. It is important to refer to both resources to ensure accurate and compliant citations. The CSM offers guidance on topics such as book and treatise citations, periodical citations, and more.

Updates and Amendments

Both the print and online versions of the California Code of Regulations are updated weekly. Therefore, unless it is the first week of January, the year of citation will always be the current year. This is an important consideration to ensure the accuracy and currency of your citations.

California Court Cases

California has specific rules regarding the publication and citation of court cases. Generally, only "published" cases can be cited as legal authority. The publication status of a case can be determined using LexisNexis, Westlaw, the California Courts Website, or print sources. The California Rules of Court outline the guidelines for publication and citation of appellate cases.

In summary, when bluebooking California regulations, it is important to follow the basic format, distinguish between academic writing and court documents, find the correct citation information, and be aware of updates and amendments. Additionally, understanding the rules for citing California court cases is crucial, as they have specific publication and citation requirements. By following these guidelines, you can ensure accurate and compliant bluebooking of California regulations.

Frequently asked questions