Ellipses & Omissions: Bluebooking and Beyond
When you’re quoting a case or other source, sometimes you want to leave out some words. This is called an omission, and the Bluebook rule for it is 5.3.
According to the rule, you should ask yourself whether the beginning, middle, or end of the sentence is being omitted. Below are examples for each. Pay attention to the spaces between the dots, these actually count for something in the Bluebook. Also, note the three dots in the second example, and the four dots in the last example.
Beginning omitted – “[P]oodles generally look great in chunky winter sweaters, and can rock the booties, too.”
Middle omitted – “Standard poodles generally look great in . . . sweaters, and can rock the booties, too.”
End omitted – “Standard poodles generally look great in chunky winter sweaters . . . .”
The use of ellipses and omissions is not just an academic exercise. Here are some articles on the topic that you may be interested in reviewing (all available on Westlaw):
- Elizabeth Ruiz Frost, Decoding Hyphens, Dashes and Ellipses, 75-JUL Or. St. B. Bull. 13 (2015).
- Anthony J. Rella, Ellipses…Anyone? Lish v. Harper’s Magazine, 19 Colum.-VLA J.L. & Arts 85 (Fall 1994/Winter 1995).
- Nathan M. Crystal, Scrivener: The Mighty Period and Ellipsis, 26-SEP S.C. Law. 48 (2014).
- Gary Stein, Common Errors to Avoid in Writing Opinions, 257-APR N.J. Law. 49 (2009).
- Harold Anthony Lloyd, Law’s “Way of Words”: Pragmatics and Textualist Error, 49 Creighton L. Rev. 221 (2016).
