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PaperclipPerfector  1yr ago (text post)   3148 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for September 29, 2023

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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Think of it as a folder hierarchy on a computer. The "most important" item always is the folder at the top of the hierarchy—in this case, the reporter.

F[ederal Reporter]

Ser[ies] 2

Vol[ume] 774

Order [starting on page] 1515

The point of putting the informational stuff in parentheses rather than in parenthetical commas is to make it easier for the reader to skip over it if he wants to. I'm not a lawyer, but when I read court opinions I find the parenthetical commas rather confusing and annoying.

Central Florida Nuclear Freeze Campaign v. Walsh ([also known as] F[ederal Reporter] ser[ies] 2 vol[ume] 774 op[inion starting on page] 1515 ([further information: Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit], [year] 1985, cert[iorari] denied ([also known as] US [Reports] vol[ume] 475 order [starting on page] 1120 ([year] 1986)))) p[age] 1521

can be simplified to

Central Florida Nuclear Freeze Campaign v. Walsh ([also known as] F[ederal Reporter] ser[ies] 2 vol[ume] 774 op[inion starting on page] 1515) p[age] 1521

or

Central Florida Nuclear Freeze Campaign v. Walsh p[age] 1521

Of course, I am used to the standard form, so it is hard for me to say how others view it. But note that in legal citation, the most important material is often placed in parentheses. So it is usually a "read this" signal rather than a "it's ok to skip this" signal.

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