Rule 14_Appx GR 14 - Appendix 1 - Office of Reporter of Decisions Style Sheet

Effective September 1, 2026 and Subject to Revision GENERAL PRINCIPLES

1. The Twentieth Edition of The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation is the basic citation resource for briefs, pleadings, motions, and other documents and papers filed with the court except as noted below.

2. The latest edition of The Chicago Manual of Style is the authority for punctuation and style matters.

3. Webster’s Third New International Dictionary of the English Language (as updated by the online version, Merriam-Webster Unabridged) is the authority for spelling, including spacing and hyphens between nouns (e.g., website, seat belt, decision-maker). Where two or more spellings are listed, use Webster’s preferred spelling rather than the variant.

4. For matters not covered by the Bluebook, The Chicago Manual of Style, or Webster’s, use formal, traditional, noncolloquial English.

5. Use and cite to official sources, which in most instances are printed publications. Do not cite to an unofficial source unless the official source is unavailable.

ABBREVIATIONS The following abbreviations are used for citing to primary Washington legal materials. The list replaces the list of abbreviations for Washington materials found in Bluebook table T1.3, at 300.

TITLE (ABBREVIATION)

Washington Constitution (Const. art. VI, § 1)

Revised Code of Washington (Official) (RCW)

Revised Code of Washington Annotated (West) (RCWA)

Annotated Revised Code of Washington (LEXIS) (ARCW)

Session Laws (Laws of 2002, ch. 107, § 3)

special sessions (Laws of 1995, 2d Spec. Sess., ch. 14, § 21)

extraordinary sessions (Laws of 1963, 1st Ex. Sess., ch. 26)

Washington Reports, 1st, 2d & 3d Series (Wash.; Wn.2d; Wn.3d)

Washington Territory Reports (Wash. Terr.)

Washington Appellate Reports, 1st & 2d Series (Wn. App.; Wn. App. 2d)

Washington Administrative Code (WAC)

Washington State Register (Wash. St. Reg.)

Early Statutes Ballinger Code (Bal. Code)

Code of 1881 (Code of 1881)

Hill’s Code of Procedure (Hill’s Code of Proc.)

Hill’s General Statutes (Hill's Gen. Stat.)

Pierce’s Code (Pierce’s Code)

Remington’s Revised Statutes (Rem. Rev. Stat.)

Remington’s 1915 Code (Rem. 1915 Code)

Note: In citations, “Const.,” “Laws of,” and the names of codes and statutes (e.g., “Code of 1881,” “Rem. Rev. Stat.”) are printed in the official reports in large and small caps, but ordinary typeface is acceptable in court documents. In text, both the official reports and court documents use ordinary typeface.

EXCEPTIONS TO BLUEBOOK

1. Exception to Bluebook rules 2.1 & 2.2, at 67-70: Ignore rules about using roman type for case names. Case names should be in italics no matter where or how they are used.

2. Exception to Bluebook rule 5.3(b)(iv) at 86: The deletion of matter after the final punctuation of a sentence may be indicated by a three-dot ellipsis.

3. Exception to Bluebook rule 6.1(b) at 88: Do not use abbreviations for entities with widely recognized initials in text (unless previously set out in a parenthetical), in case citations (unless abbreviated in source) (this is also an exception to Bluebook rule 10.2.1(c) at 98), or as institutional authors.

4. Exceptions to Bluebook rule 6.2(a) at 88-89: In text, spell out numbers zero to nine. Use arabic numerals for higher numbers. Use commas in numbers 1,000 and higher (e.g., 9,876) except when citing a page number in a case or court document.

5. Exception to Bluebook rule 6.2(d) at 89: In text, always write out “percent” rather than using a percentage sign (%).

6. Exception to Bluebook rule 8, at 91-93: Ignore this section. The Reporter’s Office generally follows The Chicago Manual of Style to resolve capitalization issues although, other than capitalizing proper nouns and maintaining consistency throughout the document, the author’s preference governs.

7. Exception to Bluebook rule 9(a) at 94: When a judge is named in text, the use of the judge’s first and middle names/initials is discretionary with the author.

8. Exception to Bluebook rule 10.2.1(a) at 97: When a case has both an adversary and a nonadversary name, cite to only the first case name in the official reports caption.

9. Exception to Bluebook rule 10.3.1, at 102-103 and Table T1: For Washington cases, cite the official reports (Wash., Wn.2d, Wn.3d, Wn. App., or Wn. App. 2d) if therein; otherwise cite the regional reporters (P., P.2d, or P.3d). For non-Washington cases, cite the regional reporters if therein; otherwise cite the official reports.

10. Exception to Bluebook rule 10.7, at 109-11: Review denied and review granted: for Washington cases, cite only to Wash., Wn.2d, or Wn.3d if therein; otherwise cite only the regional reporters (P., P.2d, or P.3d); for non-Washington cases, cite only to the regional reporter. Cert. granted or cert. denied in the United States Supreme Court: cite only to U.S. if therein; otherwise, cite to only one of the following: S. Ct., L. Ed. or L. Ed. 2d, or U.S.L.W. in that order of preference.

11. Exception to Bluebook rule 10.7.1(c) at 110: “Overruled by” (or “abrogated by”) is appropriate when a case explicitly repudiates (or effectively overrules or departs from) an earlier decision of a lower court as well as an earlier decision of the same court. Do not use “superseded by statute” or “superseded by constitutional amendment” subsequent history.

12. Exception to Bluebook rule 12.3.1(d) at 124: When citing to a current or former, official or unofficial, version of a statute that is published by a private publisher, do not add the name of the publisher and year of publication, e.g., “(West)” or “(LexisNexis 2003),” unless the volume is being cited for something other than the text of the statute, in which case include the publisher name and year.

13. Exception to Bluebook rule 12.3.2, at 124-25: Do not add the year in parentheses after a citation to a presently effective version of a statute or code.

14. Exception to Bluebook rule 12.9.2, at 130: Do not add “Wash.” for codes and ordinances of Washington local governments. Do not add the year in parentheses after a citation to a presently effective version of a local code or ordinance.

15. Exception to Bluebook rule 12.10(c) at 134: “Section” may be spelled out in text when referring to U.S.C. sections.

16. Exception to Bluebook table T1.3, at 289: For Pennsylvania Superior Court cases, omit the public domain citation after the A.3d citation becomes available.