Template:Infobox SCOTUS case

[edit] Template documentation

This template employs intricate features of template syntax. You are encouraged to familiarise yourself with its setup and parser functions before editing the template. If your edit causes unexpected problems, please undo it quickly, as this template may appear on a large number of pages. Remember that you can conduct experiments, and should test all improvements, in either the general Template sandbox or your user space before changing anything here.

[edit] Assistance

If you find yourself confused in how to use this template or need assistance, please feel free to leave comments on the talk page.

[edit] Usage

This template aims to standardize U.S. Supreme Court cases. It's a very versatile template that includes features such as: argue dates that are automatically formatted correctly, citations that include a link to the text of the case, and accurate court membership with a much lower chance of error.

For a detailed description of this template's usage, see below. For information about commonly inserted information, refer to this guide. The template is part of WikiProject U.S. Supreme Court cases.

[edit] Parameters

Optional parameters

Most parameters in this template are optional. Leaving parameters such as ReargueDate, Concurrence5, or Overruled blank is OK and will not change or alter anything in the template. Parameters such as Majority, JoinMajority, etc. are all optional. Any fields that need to be added can be done so easily – either add the code if you feel comfortable doing so, or contact me and I will add the fields you need.

Common need {{Infobox SCOTUS case | Litigants = | ArgueDate = | ArgueYear = | DecideDate = | DecideYear = | FullName = | USVol = | USPage = | Citation = | Prior = | Subsequent = | Holding = | SCOTUS = YEAR-YEAR | Majority = | JoinMajority = | Concurrence = | JoinConcurrence = | Concurrence2 = | JoinConcurrence2 = | Concurrence/Dissent = | JoinConcurrence/Dissent = | Dissent = | JoinDissent = | Dissent2 = | JoinDissent2 = | LawsApplied = }}

Uncommon need {{Infobox SCOTUS case | Litigants = | Litigants2 = | Litigants3 = | Litigants4 = | Litigants5 = | OriginalJurisdiction = yes | ArgueDate = | ArgueDateA = | ArgueDateB = | ArgueYear = | ReargueDate = | ReargueDate2 = | ReargueDateA = | ReargueDateB = | ReargueDateA2 = | ReargueDateB2 = | ReargueYear = | ReargueYear2 = | SubmitDate = | SubmitYear = | DecideDate = | DecideYear = | FullName = | Docket = | Docket2 = | Docket3 = | Docket4 = | Docket5 = | Oral Argument = | CitationNew = | Citation = | USVol = | USPage = | Claim = | Prior = | Procedural = | Subsequent = | Holding = | SCOTUS = YEAR-YEAR | PerCuriam = yes | Majority = | JoinMajority = | Majority2 = | JoinMajority2 = | Majority3 = | JoinMajority3 = | Plurality = | JoinPlurality = | Concurrence = | JoinConcurrence = | Concurrence2 = | JoinConcurrence2 = | Concurrence3 = | JoinConcurrence3 = | Concurrence4 = | JoinConcurrence4 = | Concurrence5 = | JoinConcurrence5 = | Concurrence/Dissent = | JoinConcurrence/Dissent = | Concurrence/Dissent2 = | JoinConcurrence/Dissent2 = | Concurrence/Dissent3 = | JoinConcurrence/Dissent3 = | Concurrence/Dissent4 = | JoinConcurrence/Dissent4 = | Concurrence/Dissent5 = | JoinConcurrence/Dissent5 = | Concurrence/Dissent6 = | JoinConcurrence/Dissent6 = | Concurrence/Dissent7 = | JoinConcurrence/Dissent7 = | Concurrence/Dissent8 = | JoinConcurrence/Dissent8 = | Dissent = | JoinDissent = | ConcurrenceDissent = | Dissent2 = | JoinDissent2 = | ConcurrenceDissent2 = | Dissent3 = | JoinDissent3 = | ConcurrenceDissent3 = | Dissent4 = | JoinDissent4 = | ConcurrenceDissent4 = | Dissent5 = | JoinDissent5 = | ConcurrenceDissent5 = | NotParticipating = | Seriatim = | Seriatim2 = | Seriatim3 = | Seriatim4 = | Seriatim5 = | LawsApplied = | Superseded = | Overruled = }}

{{{Litigants}}} Supreme Court of the United States Full case name: {{{FullName}}} Citations: {{{USVol}}} U.S. {{{USPage}}} Holding {{{Holding}}} Court membership Case opinions

[edit] Argue dates

Most cases will only need to use ArgueDate, ArgueYear, DecideDate, & DecideYear. Only cases that have more than one argue date need to use ArgueDateA & ArgueDateB. ReargueDate and ReargueYear should only be used if there was a reargue date.

[edit] Citations

[edit] USVol and USPage

Most cases should be cited using the U.S. Reports volume and page number in the USVol and USPage fields, respectively.

[edit] Citation

This field is for additional citations for the same case (parallel citations) such as from the Supreme Court Reporter (S. Ct.) or the United States Supreme Court Reports, Lawyers' Edition (L. Ed.), e.g., "Citation=111 S. Ct. 1282; 113 L. Ed. 2d 358".

[edit] Newer Cases

For newer cases that do not have a full volume or page number, the following fields should be filled:

• CitationNew: you should enter the entire citation, for example: 526 U.S. ___ (2006)
• Docket: you should enter the Supreme Court docket number, for example: 06-1234

[edit] Prior History

This field can contain citations to prior decisions in the case, in trial court or lower appellate courts, or prior decisions by the subject court; these should be preceded by a two to four word description of the ruling—this (together with the subsequent history, following) is merely the bare bones procedural history of the case—what happened when at what court. Please use the citation only for the preferred court reporter (not all parallel citations) to reduce length. If unreported (as with most criminal convictions, for example), list the ruling, the court, and the date.

[edit] Subsequent history

This field can contain citations to or general descriptions of subsequent decisions by lower courts after a remand or vacation, or by the same court, as in a denial of rehearing, or continuing proceedings in a trial court.

[edit] Holding

A very brief (one or two sentence) description of what the central ruling of the case was. This may or may not be fact specific, depending on how broadly the court's opinion was worded; follow with a short statement of what the specific outcome of the case was

[edit] Court membership

To add the court membership, you need to put in the key from the list below which covers the relevant year in which the court issued the case decision, not heard oral argument. This will automatically fill in the members of the court for the appropriate year. The syntax is SCOTUS=YEAR-YEAR, e.g., enter "SCOTUS 1994-2005" if the case was decided in 2002.

Note: some courts didn't last more than one year and will only require SCOTUS YEAR. See the key below for reference.

For example: in Dred Scott v. Sandford, the case was decided in 1857, so the field in the template:

|SCOTUS=YEAR-YEAR     would be changed to     |SCOTUS=1853-1857

[edit] Court composition key

To view the make-up of each Court, see List of Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States by court composition.

[edit] Case opinions

All the written opinions handed down in the case are listed in the following categories of majority, concurrent, etc. Always follow the designations used in the reported decision.

List all justices under these headings only by their last name, as their full names are already given above in the court membership section.

Note: List at the end, after all opinions, if a judge was on the court at the time the decision was rendered yet did not participate in the case because of a recent appointment, recusal, or other absence. Example: "Kennedy took no part in the consideration or decision of the case".

[edit] Majority by:

The justice who authored the majority opinion.

[edit] Joined by:

The justices who joined in the majority/plurality opinion. Early cases (18th-mid 19th century) may not list who has joined in the majority—unless they are listed as the author of a separate concurrence or dissent, or as joining such a separate opinion, list them as joining the majority. If the decision was unanimous, simply say that it was joined by a "unanimous court" rather than relisting every judge.

[edit] Concurrences, concurrence/dissents, dissents

List all concurrences, followed by concurrence/dissents, followed by dissents. Within each grouping, try to order the opinoins by the seniority of the authoring justice, with the chief justice always considered the most senior regardless of actual length of tenure.

[edit] Concurrence/dissent by:

These will usually be labeled in the original opinion as "Concurring in part and dissenting in part"—follow these designations, because from the text of the opinion alone it is sometimes difficult to tell concurrences from dissents from partial concurrences/partial dissents.

[edit] Laws applied

Citations to the constitutional and statutory provisions that were the basis for the decision only—NOT case law, and not every law that happens to be cited in the case or rejected as inapplicable with minimal discussion.

[edit] Manual of Style

This is a proposed manual of style. Its contents are based on the infoboxes found in various case articles, but notably the styles used in the three featured-article cases: Dred Scott v. Sanford, Roe v. Wade, and Lawrence v. Texas. This manual attempts to add consistency throughout all of the case articles. This manual's aim is to focus on the style that is currently widely used throughout United States Supreme Court cases. It is in no way a final draft, or set in stone. Changes should be made to it, and then implemented in the different articles.

The manual follows the template's layout. All parameters (or places where the user inputs information) are in bold (e.g. Litigants). Cases inside a single set of brackets [ ] are examples where a certain item can be seen "in action."

[edit] General notes

Formatting is done automatically. There is no need to use wiki markup ('' or ''') or HTML (<b> or <i>) for most parameters. Exceptions are: Prior, Subsequent, and Overruled.

[edit] Litigants

In almost all cases, Litigants will be the name of the article, often also known as the short name of the case found at the top of the printed pages of the case [Dred Scott v. Sandford].

[edit] Argue date

Most cases will simply need to use ArgueDate and ArgueYear. If the case was argued over more than one day, ArgueDateA and ArgueDateB can be employed. Unless the argue dates span over more than one month, the month's name should only be used once [Eisenstadt v. Baird]. If a case was reargued, the same style should be used [Champion v. Ames]. Also, the full name of the month should always be used.

Older cases may not list an argue date. Thorough research can generally produce one, however, if a date can not be found, leaving the parameters blank is OK. Other old cases will have a submitted date. In these instances, use SubmitDate and SubmitYear [Nix v. Hedden].

[edit] Decide date

There is only ever one DecideDate and DecideYear.

[edit] Full name

The full case name should try to include the first and last names of all parties and whatever other information is included in the full name of the case [Bowers v. Hardwick]. For example, Michael J. Bowers, Attorney General of Georgia v. Michael Hardwick, et al. If that information cannot be found, using a shorter name of the case is permissible.

Any time "et al." is used, there should always be a comma preceding it.

[edit] Volume and page

USVol and USPage indicate that you should enter the numbers of the case from the United States Reporter of Decisions. Make sure to use "Show preview" before using these fields to check if the resulting FindLaw link works; if it does not, use the "CitationNew" and "Docket" fields instead. Only use these fields if the full U.S. Reports citation has been assigned; this takes about a year from the time an opinion is handed down. Only numbers should be entered in this fields, nothing else.

[edit] Docket number

Newer cases should use Docket [Hamdan v. Rumsfeld].

[edit] Citations

The U.S. Reports citation will be generated automatically from the USVol and USPage fields. Most cases should include additional citations such as the Supreme Court Reporter (S. Ct.) in the Citation field. You should not begin this field with anything other than the next citation; a semicolon or another space is redundant [Loving v. Virginia]. Each citation should be separated by a semicolon and a single space, never any other type of punctuation.

Newer cases that have yet to be assigned a specific volume and page should use CitationNew. If CitationNew is used, Docket should be used as well. Citation, USVol, and USPage should not be used when CitationNew is filled in. CitationNew should begin as so: ### U.S. ___; . The correct volume that a case will be in when it's assigned its page can be found on the Supreme Court's website; it will be on top of every odd-numbered page of the PDF slip opinion except the first. Other citations will be available and should be separated by a semi-colon and a single space [eBay Inc. v. MercExchange, L.L.C.].

[edit] Prior history

Prior is the most lenient field. The information here should be whatever you can gather. Sometimes that will be only a short statement [Immigration and Naturalization Service v. Chadha] or may be more indepth [Roe v. Wade]. All formatting here must be added by the user. Prior should never end in a period, comma, or semi-colon. An exception can be made if a period is used as part of an abbreviation.

[edit] Subsequent history

Subsequent may or may not be filled in. Newer cases most likely won't have a subsequent history. Older cases may never have gone any further after being decided by the Supreme Court. A simple "None" can be used in this instance. Once again, Subsequent should never end in a period, comma, or semi-colon. An exception can be made if a period is used as part of an abbreviation and all formatting here must be added by the user.

[edit] Holding

Holding consists of a few sentences describing the Court's ruling. It should be concise and it should always end in a period.

[edit] Court membership

SCOTUS is a field in which you enter the court composition years in which the case was decided [Lawrence v. Texas]. Use the key above and fill in the code for the relevant years during which the case was decided, e.g., enter "SCOTUS 1994-2005" if the case was decided in 2002. This will automatically fill in the members of the court for the appropriate year.

[edit] Case opinions

[edit] Laws applied

[edit] Superseded and overruled