Template:Infobox US Supreme Court case/doc
| This is a documentation subpage for Template:Infobox US Supreme Court case. It contains usage information, categories and other content that is not part of the original template page. |
Contents
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.
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.
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.
{{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=
}}
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{{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=
}}
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[[Category:Template:Pagetype with short description]]
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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.
Citations
Most cases should be cited using the U.S. Reports volume and page number in the USVol and USPage fields, respectively. Additional citations such as from the Supreme Court Reporter (S. Ct.) or the United States Supreme Court Reports, Lawyers' Edition (L. Ed.) should be entered in the Citation field (e.g., "Citation=111 S. Ct. 1282; 113 L. Ed. 2d 358"). 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
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
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.
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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."
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.
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].
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].
Decide date
There is only ever one DecideDate and DecideYear.
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.
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.
Docket number
Newer cases should use Docket [Hamdan v. Rumsfeld].
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.].
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.
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.
Holding
Holding consists of a few sentences describing the Court's ruling. It should be concise and it should always end in a period.
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.