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I am trying to determine the correct Bluebook citation (footnote - law review article) for a recent U.S. Supreme Court denial of certiorari in which Justice Sotomayor wrote a 'Statement' and Justice Gorsuch dissented.

My best guess for each:

Mathis v. McDonald, 834 F. 3d 1347 (2016) (denial of hearing en banc), cert. denied, Mathis v. Shulkin, No. 16-677 (Sotomayor, J., statement) (June 26, 2017)

Mathis v. McDonald, 834 F. 3d 1347 (2016) (denial of hearing en banc), cert. denied, Mathis v. Shulkin, No. 16-677 (Gorsuch, J., dissenting) (June 26, 2017)

Questions:

1) Should I have "slip op." in there somewhere, perhaps:

Mathis v. McDonald, 834 F. 3d 1347 (2016) (denial of hearing en banc), cert. denied, Mathis v. Shulkin, No. 16-677, slip op. (U.S., Sotomayor, J., statement) (June 26, 2017)

2) According to Bluebook (I have the 20th edition, which I think is the most recent) in Table 7, the abbreviation for the U.S. Supreme Court is "U.S." - That is also the abbreviation for United States Reports, which I guess is okay, but I'm not sure.

3) Should I include the United States Reports volume and preliminary print part number in which the case will appear? - It is 582/2 according to the Supreme Court website, under Opinions Relating to Orders - 2016. I'm thinking not, since it will eventually be a page number (not a part number) that specifies the case, e.g., 582 U.S. xxx (2017).

4) The Secretary of Veterans Affairs was McDonald in 2016 when the decision to not hear the case en banc was made by the Federal Circuit, therefore the case citation for that decision is: Mathis v. McDonald, 834 F. 3d 1347 (2016).

But by the time the Supreme Court entertained the writ of certiorari, Shulkin was the Secretary, thus the change in case name.

Many thanks for any insights y'all can share. :O)

Mark

Mark D Worthen PsyD
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  • Another possibility: Mathis v. McDonald, 834 F. 3d 1347 (2016) (denial of hearing en banc), cert. denied, Mathis v. Shulkin, U.S. No. 16-677, slip op. (Sotomayor, J., statement) (June 26, 2017) – Mark D Worthen PsyD Oct 11 '17 at 17:13
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    The abbreviation "U.S." means Supreme Court when it is found within the date parenthetical because there is not a citation to a reporter that only serves that court. It is to the reporter when used as part of a citation to the reporter. So, either Mathias v. Shulkin, No. 16-677 . . . (U.S. June 26, 2017) or Mathias v. Shulkin, No. 16-677, 582 U.S. ____ . . . (June 26, 2017). There used to be a rule that required sub nom. if the case changed name midway through, but I don't know if it survived. Slip op. would only be used if there was a pinpoint cite to a part of a multi-page slip opinion. – ohwilleke Oct 12 '17 at 02:34
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    "Should I include the United States Reports volume and preliminary print part number in which the case will appear?" Yes. You should also cite to any other reporters that might already have a page number. Lawyer's edition usually is quicker to assign a page number than U.S. reports. – ohwilleke Oct 12 '17 at 02:37
  • Thanks! ... I don't have access to any of the reporters - too expensive for an individual. – Mark D Worthen PsyD Oct 12 '17 at 02:39

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