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Citations to Cases Not Yet Published added March 17, 2007
 

    Because it takes some time for cases to make it into official and unofficial print reporters, and because attorneys may find it necessary to cite such cases in their briefs, both citation manuals provide guidance for citing such cases whose publication is pending. The processes follow under the ALWD Citation Manual or the Bluebook are outlined below, with examples.

    Some cases, however, are not ever going to be published, because the issuing court has not designated them for publication. In this instance, the attorney writing the brief should check the local court rules for the jurisdiction receiving the brief. Some local court rules explicitly prohibit the citation of unpublished opinions. Arkansas is one such jurisdiction. Check ALWD Appendix 2 or Bluebook table BT.2 to determine the status of the jurisdiction who will be receiving your brief.

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Under ALWD Rules

To cite a case that has not yet been published, turn to ALWD Rule 12.13, and follow the model there.

 

There are three differences between this kind of citation and a regular citation.

  1. You will type three underlined spaces before and after the reporter name, to indicate the missing volume and initial page information,
    e.g., ___ S.W.3d ___
     

  2. If the case is not yet available in either reporter, you will add the Westlaw or LEXIS citation as an additional parallel citation. It does not matter which of those services you use; pick your favorite. However, if the case is available in one of the two reporters, do not add the Westlaw or LEXIS citation.
     

  3. If you had to use a Westlaw or LEXIS parallel citation, expand the date parenthetical by adding the abbreviated month and day of the decision. If you have a case from the Arkansas Court of Appeals, you'll also provide information about the division, just as you do for any other citation to a case from that court.
     

ALWD Examples:

Henry v. Buchanan, ___ Ark. ___, ___ S.W.3d ___, 2006 Ark. LEXIS 5 (Jan. 5, 2006).

comment: This citation tells the reader that the case, which was handed down on January 5, 2006, hasn't yet appeared in either reporter, but that it can be retrieved on LexisNexis with the LEXIS citation.

Henry v. Buchanan, ___ Ark. ___, ___ S.W.3d ___, 2006 WL 23511 (Jan. 5, 2006).

comment: Same case, but this writer chose to use the Westlaw version as a parallel citation.

Henderson v. Callis, ___ Ark. App. ___, ___ S.W.3d ___, 2006 WL 3616296 (Divs. II & III Dec. 13, 2006).

comment: Here's one from the Arkansas Court of Appeals that isn't yet available in either reporter.

Escobedo v. Nickita, 365 Ark. 548, ___ S.W.3d ___ (2006).

comment: This case has been published in Arkansas Reports, but it is not yet available in South Western Reporter. Because it is available in one of the reporters, we didn't need to add a WL or LEXIS Citation, nor did we need to provide a more precise date of decision.

Smith v. McCracken, 96 Ark. App. 270, ___ S.W.3d ___, 2006 WL 2848585 (Div. IV 2006).

comment: This one has been published in Arkansas Appellate Reports, but isn't yet published in South Western Reporter. Note that the date parenthetical also indicates which division of the Arkansas Court of Appeals decided the case.
 

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Under Bluebook Rules

To cite a case whose publication is pending, turn to Bluebook Rule 10.8.1:

 

    If the case is available electronically, follow Bluebook Rule 18 to cite the electronic version of the case. Otherwise, cite--in order of preference--the case's slip opinion, or versions made available via a service (see rule 19), a periodical (see Rule 16), or the Internet (rule 18.2.2).

 

    Rule 18 mandates the following elements of the citation: case name, docket number, database identifier, court name, and full date of the most recent major disposition of the case.

 

Bluebook Examples:

 

Henry v. Buchanan, No. 05-533, 2006 Ark. LEXIS 5 (Ark. Jan. 5, 2006)

or

Henry v. Buchanan, No. 05-533, 2006 WL 23511 (Ark. Jan. 5, 2006).

Henderson v. Callis, No. 06-352, 2006 WL 3616296 (Ark. Ct. App. Dec. 13, 2006).

 

 

A case that is available in one print reporter, even if not available in parallel reporters, is cited to the single print version.
 

Escobedo v. Nickita, 365 Ark. 548 (2006).
 

Smith v. McCracken, 96 Ark. App. 270 (2006).