Template:Infobox US Supreme Court case

Template documentation[view] [edit] [history] [purge]

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

Parameter names shown opposite in italics indicate parameters that form external links.

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.

Commonly needed

Uncommonly needed

{{Infobox SCOTUS case |Litigants= |ArgueDate= |ArgueYear= |DecideDate= |DecideYear= |FullName= |USVol= |USPage= |ParallelCitations= |Docket=XX-XXX |OralArgument=https://www.oyez.org/cases/YYYY/YY-Docket |OralReargument=https://www.oyez.org/cases/YYYY/YY-Docket |OpinionAnnouncement=https://www.oyez.org/cases/YYYY/YY-Docket |Prior= |Subsequent= |Holding= |Majority= |JoinMajority= |Concurrence= |JoinConcurrence= |Concurrence2= |JoinConcurrence2= |Concurrence/Dissent= |JoinConcurrence/Dissent= |Dissent= |JoinDissent= |Dissent2= |JoinDissent2= |LawsApplied= }}

{{Infobox SCOTUS case |Litigants= |Litigants2= |Litigants3= |Litigants4= |Litigants5= |ArgueDate= |ArgueDateA= |ArgueDateB= |ArgueYear= |ReargueDate= |ReargueDate2= |ReargueDateA= |ReargueDateB= |ReargueDateA2= |ReargueDateB2= |ReargueYear= |ReargueYear2= |SubmitDate= |SubmitYear= |DecideDate= |DecideYear= |FullName= |Docket= |Docket2= |Docket3= |Docket4= |Docket5= |OralArgument= |ParallelCitations= |USVol= |USPage= |Claim= |Prior= |Procedural= |Subsequent= |QuestionsPresented= |Holding= |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= |Dissent= |JoinDissent= |Dissent2= |JoinDissent2= |Dissent3= |JoinDissent3= |Dissent4= |JoinDissent4= |Statement= |Statement2= |NotParticipating= |Seriatim= |Seriatim2= |Seriatim3= |Seriatim4= |Seriatim5= |LawsApplied= |Superseded= |Overruled= |Overturned previous case= }}

Argue dates

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

Citations

USVol and USPage

Cases should be cited using the U.S. Reports volume and page number in the USVol and USPage fields, respectively. If the case does not yet have a page assigned, use "|USPage=___" (three underscores).

ParallelCitations

The ParallelCitations field is for additional (parallel) citations for the same case (e.g. "|ParallelCitations=111 S. Ct. 1282; 113 L. Ed. 2d 358").

Docket

For newer cases (those decided after 2000 or so), you should enter the Supreme Court docket number in the Docket field (e.g. "|Docket=06-1234").

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.

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.

Questions Presented

A brief summary of the questions that were presented to the Supreme Court in the case's petition. These are typically listed in numerical order in the petition to the court in the case docket. This field should be filled in while the case is in progress, but can be removed after the decision is issued.

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.

Court membership

The court membership is determined by the DecideDate and DecideYear parameters. These lists of justices can be edited at Template:Infobox SCOTUS case/courts or its sandbox page.

Case opinions

All the written opinions handed down in the case are listed in the following categories of majority, concurrence, 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: If a judge recused or was otherwise absent, use the NotParticipating field to document that.

Majority

The justice who authored the majority opinion.

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.

Concurrences, concurrence/dissents, dissents

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

Concurrence/dissent

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.

Statement

Statements made by a Justice but not in any form of concurrence or dissent, such as by Justice Ginsburg at Thompson v. Hebdon.

Laws applied

These are citations to the constitutional and statutory provisions that were the primary basis for the decision only. They do NOT include case law, nor every law that happens to be cited in the case or that is rejected as inapplicable with minimal discussion.

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. Sandford, 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 parameter names 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, Superseded, Overruled, and Overturned previous case.

Litigants

In almost all cases, Litigants will be the same as 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, but if a date can not be found, leave the parameters blank. 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 are the United States Reports volume number and starting page on which the case was reported.

Docket number

Newer cases should use Docket (e.g. "|Docket=05-184") [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 ParallelCitations 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 (e.g. "|ParallelCitations=87 S. Ct. 1817; 18 L. Ed. 2d 1010; 1967 U.S. LEXIS 1082").

Newer cases that have yet to be assigned a specific volume and page should use "|USPage=___" (three underscores). 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 in-depth [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 is optional. 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.

Case opinions

Laws applied

Previous cases

Superseded

Superseded is used when a later case partially changes the ruling in an earlier case. For example, the case of Ring v. Arizona superseded Walton v. Arizona, as it partially overruled the previous case. The earlier case gets the |Superseded= parameter set to the italicized, wikilinked named of the later case (as if the parameter were actually named "Superseded by", which is the heading that appears in the Infobox).

For example, in Walton v. Arizona, we set |Superseded=''[[Ring v. Arizona]]'' .

Note: There is currently no equivalent "Supersedes" parameter to be set in the later article.

Overruled

Overruled may be used where a later case changes the findings in an earlier one. As noted above in the Ring case, it also overruled Spaziano v. Florida. The earlier case gets the |Overruled= parameter set to the italicized, wikilinked named of the later case (as if the parameter were actually named "Overruled by", which is the heading that appears in the Infobox).

For example, in Spaziano v. Florida, we set |Overruled=''[[Ring v. Arizona]]'' .

Note: There is currently no equivalent "Overrules" parameter to be set in the later article.

Overturned previous case

If the holding of a case is completely changed by a later case, the original case is said to be overturned. Unlike |Overrules= and |Supersedes=, in the later case article, the |Overturned previous case= parameter should be set to the value of the earlier case, including italicizing and wikilinking markup (as if the parameter were actually named "Overturns").

For example, the Supreme Court overturned a prior case when it announced in Lawrence v. Texas that it had been wrong in deciding the original case of Bowers v. Hardwick. In the Lawrence v. Texas article, we set |Overturned previous case=''[[Bowers v. Hardwick]]''.

Note: There is currently no equivalent "Overturned by" parameter to be set in the earlier article.

Tracking categories

• Category:Pages using infobox US Supreme Court case with unknown parameters (0)
• Category:Flagged U.S. Supreme Court articles (229)

Categorization

This template automatically categorizes articles into Category:United States Supreme Court cases. In addition, if |PerCuriam= is set, it categorizes articles into Category:United States Supreme Court per curiam opinions.

Template data

This is the TemplateData for this template used by TemplateWizard, VisualEditor and other tools. See a monthly parameter usage report for Template:Infobox US Supreme Court case in articles based on its TemplateData.

TemplateData for Infobox US Supreme Court case

Infobox for United States Supreme Court cases

Template parameters[Edit template data]

This template prefers block formatting of parameters.

Parameter		Description	Type	Status
Litigants	Litigants	no description	Unknown	required
Litigants2	Litigants2	no description	Unknown	optional
Litigants3	Litigants3	no description	Unknown	optional
Litigants4	Litigants4	no description	Unknown	optional
Litigants5	Litigants5	no description	Unknown	optional
Date argued	ArgueDate	no description Example January 1	Unknown	suggested
ArgueDateA	ArgueDateA	no description	Unknown	optional
ArgueDateB	ArgueDateB	no description	Unknown	optional
ArgueDateC	ArgueDateC	no description	Unknown	optional
Year argued	ArgueYear	no description Example 1970	Unknown	suggested
Date reargued	ReargueDate	no description	Unknown	optional
Year reargued	ReargueYear	no description	Unknown	optional
ReargueDate2	ReargueDate2	no description	Unknown	optional
ReargueYear2	ReargueYear2	no description	Unknown	optional
ReargueDateA	ReargueDateA	no description	Unknown	optional
ReargueDateA2	ReargueDateA2	no description	Unknown	optional
ReargueDateB	ReargueDateB	no description	Unknown	optional
ReargueDateB2	ReargueDateB2	no description	Unknown	optional
Date submitted	SubmitDate	no description	Unknown	optional
Year submitted	SubmitYear	no description	Unknown	optional
Date decided	DecideDate	no description Example January 1	Unknown	suggested
Year decided	DecideYear	no description Example 1970	Unknown	suggested
Full case name	FullName	no description	Unknown	suggested
United States Reports volume number	USVol	no description	Unknown	suggested
United States Reports page number	USPage	no description	Unknown	suggested
Parallel citations	ParallelCitations	no description	Unknown	suggested
Docket number	Docket	Supreme Court docket number for newer cases (those decided after 2000 or so)	Unknown	suggested
Docket2	Docket2	no description	Unknown	optional
Docket3	Docket3	no description	Unknown	optional
Docket4	Docket4	no description	Unknown	optional
Docket5	Docket5	no description	Unknown	optional
Oral argument URL	OralArgument	no description Example http://www.oyez.org/cases/YYYY-YYYY/YYYY/YY-Docket/argument/	Unknown	suggested
Oral reargument URL	OralReargument	no description Example http://www.oyez.org/cases/YYYY-YYYY/YYYY/YY-Docket/reargument/	Unknown	suggested
Opinion announcement URL	OpinionAnnouncement	no description Example http://www.oyez.org/cases/YYYY-YYYY/YYYY/YY-Docket/opinion/	Unknown	suggested
Claim	Claim	no description	Unknown	optional
Prior	Prior	no description	Unknown	suggested
Procedural	Procedural	no description	Unknown	optional
Subsequent history	Subsequent	no description	Unknown	suggested
Questions presented	QuestionsPresented	no description	Unknown	optional
Holding	Holding	no description	Unknown	suggested
If the opinion was per curiam	PerCuriam	If set, places article in [[:Category:United States Supreme Court per curiam opinions]].	Unknown	optional
Majority opinion by	Majority	The justice who authored the majority opinion.	Unknown	suggested
Majority joined by	JoinMajority	no description	Unknown	suggested
Second majority by	Majority2	no description	Unknown	optional
Second majority joined by	JoinMajority2	no description	Unknown	optional
Third majority by	Majority3	no description	Unknown	optional
Third majority joined by	JoinMajority3	no description	Unknown	optional
Plurality by	Plurality	no description	Unknown	optional
Plurality joined by	JoinPlurality	no description	Unknown	optional
Second plurality by	Plurality2	no description	Unknown	optional
Second plurality joined by	JoinPlurality2	no description	Unknown	optional
Third plurality by	Plurality3	no description	Unknown	optional
Third plurality joined by	JoinPlurality3	no description	Unknown	optional
Fourth plurality by	Plurality4	no description	Unknown	optional
Fourth plurality joined by	JoinPlurality4	no description	Unknown	optional
Concurrence	Concurrence	no description	Unknown	suggested
JoinConcurrence	JoinConcurrence	no description	Unknown	suggested
Concurrence2	Concurrence2	no description	Unknown	suggested
JoinConcurrence2	JoinConcurrence2	no description	Unknown	suggested
Concurrence3	Concurrence3	no description	Unknown	optional
JoinConcurrence3	JoinConcurrence3	no description	Unknown	optional
Concurrence4	Concurrence4	no description	Unknown	optional
JoinConcurrence4	JoinConcurrence4	no description	Unknown	optional
Concurrence5	Concurrence5	no description	Unknown	optional
JoinConcurrence5	JoinConcurrence5	no description	Unknown	optional
Concurrence6	Concurrence6	no description	Unknown	optional
JoinConcurrence6	JoinConcurrence6	no description	Unknown	optional
Concurrence7	Concurrence7	no description	Unknown	optional
JoinConcurrence7	JoinConcurrence7	no description	Unknown	optional
Concurrence8	Concurrence8	no description	Unknown	optional
JoinConcurrence8	JoinConcurrence8	no description	Unknown	optional
Concurrence/Dissent	Concurrence/Dissent	no description	Unknown	suggested
JoinConcurrence/Dissent	JoinConcurrence/Dissent	no description	Unknown	suggested
OralArguments	OralArguments	no description	Unknown	optional
Concurrence/Dissent2	Concurrence/Dissent2	no description	Unknown	optional
JoinConcurrence/Dissent2	JoinConcurrence/Dissent2	no description	Unknown	optional
Concurrence/Dissent3	Concurrence/Dissent3	no description	Unknown	optional
JoinConcurrence/Dissent3	JoinConcurrence/Dissent3	no description	Unknown	optional
Concurrence/Dissent4	Concurrence/Dissent4	no description	Unknown	optional
JoinConcurrence/Dissent4	JoinConcurrence/Dissent4	no description	Unknown	optional
Concurrence/Dissent5	Concurrence/Dissent5	no description	Unknown	optional
JoinConcurrence/Dissent5	JoinConcurrence/Dissent5	no description	Unknown	optional
Dissent by	Dissent	no description	Unknown	suggested
Dissent joined by	JoinDissent	no description	Unknown	suggested
Second dissent by	Dissent2	no description	Unknown	suggested
Second dissent joined by	JoinDissent2	no description	Unknown	suggested
Third dissent by	Dissent3	no description	Unknown	optional
Third dissent joined by	JoinDissent3	no description	Unknown	optional
Fourth dissent by	Dissent4	no description	Unknown	optional
Fourth dissent joined by	JoinDissent4	no description	Unknown	optional
Fifth dissent	Dissent5	no description	Unknown	optional
Fifth dissent joined by	JoinDissent5	no description	Unknown	optional
Justice not participating	NotParticipating	If one or more judges were 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, list them here.	Unknown	optional
Seriatim	Seriatim	no description	Unknown	optional
Seriatim2	Seriatim2	no description	Unknown	optional
Seriatim3	Seriatim3	no description	Unknown	optional
Seriatim4	Seriatim4	no description	Unknown	optional
Seriatim5	Seriatim5	no description	Unknown	optional
Laws applied	LawsApplied	no description	Unknown	suggested
Superseded	Superseded	no description	Unknown	optional
Overruled	Overruled	no description	Unknown	optional
Previous cases overturned	Overturned previous case	no description	Unknown	optional
Abrogated	Abrogated	no description	Unknown	optional
italic title	italic title	no description	Unknown	optional
category	category	no description	Unknown	optional
Citation	Citation	no description	Unknown	optional
Outcome	Outcome	no description	Unknown	optional
Related	Related	no description	Unknown	optional

See also

• Template:Infobox COA case For US court of appeals cases.
• Template:Infobox high court to create a US State Supreme Court template, for example, Oregon Supreme Court

The above documentation is transcluded from Template:Infobox US Supreme Court case/doc. (edit | history)
Editors can experiment in this template's sandbox (edit | diff) and testcases (edit) pages.
Add categories to the /doc subpage. Subpages of this template.