JD Record Editorial Guidelines

Goals

The JD Record is a newsletter designed to keep the Judicial Division membership engaged and informed of the Divisions activities through concise, easy to read articles. Circulated via email and posted online, the contents shall include, in easily identifiable sections for the Division and each Conference:

• A column authored by the JD Chair and each Conference Chair.
• A bulletin board for notices and announcements of future Division and Conference events, activities, and deadlines.
• Articles that cover current topics of interest within the Division’s programming and membership.
• Articles reporting on past events and activities which were important to the mission of the Division and Conferences, including the recognition of outstanding leaders.

Purpose

The JD Record provides a platform to promote Judicial Division wide news and events, and an opportunity for members to express and share information, insights and experiences relating to the judiciary with other members of the Judicial Division.

Philosophy

The Judicial Division encourages in-depth writing and seeks to publish the highest quality of content and materials. The Judicial Division encourages the expression of a variety of viewpoints on undecided or contested issues and seeks to publish thoughtful analysis when presented in a civil and courteous manner.

Editorial Policy

The Judicial Division grants its authors a wide latitude of expression and encourages thoughtful presentation of a wide variety of viewpoints but reserves the right to edit and, if necessary, revise any submission before publication to conform to the ABA’s editorial requirements and procedures, including ABA standards of style, editing, and format, and the Judicial Division’s policies and procedures.

All publications are required to be reviewed and approved by the JD Record Editorial Board before publication. The Judicial Division reserves the right to reject any submission and to retract or reject any publication at any point in the publication process if there are any concerns with its content, including any content that is inconsistent with the ABA’s goals and policies. The Judicial Division does not guarantee publication of any submission.

For any content submitted for potential publication, the Judicial Division will assume that the submitted content has not been submitted or already published elsewhere. The publication may not be submitted elsewhere while it is being evaluated by the Judicial Division for potential publication. If the submission has been previously published or is scheduled to be published elsewhere, the Author must communicate that fact to the Judicial Division.

Comply with ABA Standards

By submitting a work for publication, all authors acknowledge they have reviewed the ABA Business Conduct Standards (BCS) and agree to comply with all applicable provisions.

The Judicial Division requires that all conflicts of interest, such as those identified in the ABA Business Conduct Standards, be disclosed in any content or material submitted for publication. At a minimum, the Judicial Division requires that any content or material submitted for publication contain the identity of all authors and their professional affiliations, both to establish their qualifications and to reveal any potential conflicts of interest.

Authors must agree not to submit any content that infringes upon or violates the copyrights, trademarks, or other intellectual property rights of any person or organization.

Prohibit Content That Is Partisan Political Advocacy For or Against Any Political Candidate or Party

The Judicial Division will not publish any content or material that is partisan political advocacy for or against any political candidate or party; however, fair criticism, analysis and comment consistent with the policies contained within this Editorial Policy will be considered for publication.

Prohibit Content That Is Defamatory or Violates the Law

The Judicial Division will not publish any content or material that is defamatory or violates the law. The Judicial Division supports the expression and publication of a variety of viewpoints, including those that are controversial or unpopular, but only when done in a civil manner. Decisions to publish articles that express unpopular opinions or encourage controversy are within the Judicial Division’s discretion.

Disclaimer of ABA Opinion and Disclaimer of Legal Advice

The publication will carry the following disclaimer statements:

The materials contained herein represent the opinions of the authors and editors and should not be construed to be those of either the American Bar Association or the Judicial Division unless adopted pursuant to the bylaws of the Association.

The materials contained herein are not intended as and cannot serve as a substitute for legal advice. Readers are encouraged to obtain advice from their own legal counsel. These materials and any forms and agreements herein are intended for educational and informational purposes only.

Author Obligations

Before publication, all prospective authors must sign an ABA publication agreement, and all publication agreements are required to be reviewed and approved by the Judicial Division and the ABA Office of the General Counsel (GCO).

Authors have an obligation to correct mistakes if they discover a significant error or inaccuracy in their publication. Upon discovering such an error, the author must contact [Entity Name] and identify the error. A decision on how to correct the publication will be made by [Entity Name] depending on the nature of the error.

Style Guidelines

ABA

Never spelled out in articles

Annual Meeting

The following references are acceptable, also apply to Midyear Meeting:

• Annual Meeting
• ABA 2022 Annual Meeting
• 2022 ABA Annual Meeting in Toronto

Bylines

All articles need bylines. If there is more than one contributor, the lead author should be listed, and the end of the article should have a listing of contributors. Title, Name, City, State.

Conference Names

• In the JD section, write out the entire name of the conference for the first reference. For subsequent references, use the conference acronym only.
• In each conference section, use only the conference acronym. When referring to other conferences, follow the guidelines for the JD section.
• Don’t capitalize “conference” unless it refers to a specific conference.

Numbers

• One through nine – write out the number
• 10 and over – use the number
• Never begin a sentence with a numeric figure

Punctuation

• “Periods always go inside quotation marks.”

Titles

Compositions

• All titles should be in quotes for: books, movies, TV programs, lectures, speeches and works of art.
• Magazine names should be italicized but not placed in quotes.

People

• Judges should be referred to as “Judge Smith”
• Capitalize titles before names: Conference Chair Judge Yu
• Don’t capitalize titles after names: Judge Smith, conference chair

Procedures for Submission

1. Save each article as a separate Word file. Recommended 750 words, use Times New Roman, 12 pt, single spacing. Align the title left in bold, sentence case; not all caps.
2. Every article must include a byline. For judges, it should read: Hon. Name, City, State (i.e. Hon. Jane Doe, San Francisco, CA). For lawyers, include the name, city, and state.
3. Every article that includes a hyperlink will be automatically hyperlinked. If there are any other links that need to be included, please create a list with the name of the article, location of the link or words to be hyperlinked, and full URL.
4. Pictures should be submitted as separate .jpg or .png files and not embedded within the document. Photos should be high resolution. The preferred size is 2560px width. The minimum size requirements are 1000px width. Please include captions for all submitted photos that include the names of every person in the photo and a reference to which article the photo goes with.
5. If a photo is procured from professional photographer, website or copyrighted source, please have the owner of the photograph fill out a release form for the Contribution to a Collective Work. You may obtain the release form from staff.
6. Send all articles and pictures together in one e-mail by the current issue deadline to [email protected] to be forwarded to the editors.
7. Have all authors sign the applicable publications agreement and send to staff.