do you capitalize district attorney when you're not using the name?

My dictionary gives "district attorney" as lower case only. I'd leave it as lower case except when it's being used as a personal title (e.g., "District Attorney Smith") or part of an official name ("the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office").

Full Answer

Is district attorney capitalized in a sentence?

If you've just used it as upper case and then use "District Attorney" to avoid repeating the whole phrase, consistency could justify capitalizing it, but I'd consider it optional in that case. Thanks for contributing an answer to English Language & Usage Stack Exchange!

Do you capitalize the word department in a court case?

In California, when referring to a state trial court, capitalize “department,” as in “law and motion department,” only when stating the formal title, such as in the caption of a pleading. Otherwise, use lowercase: “The matter was transferred to the law and motion department.”

Is the name of a district capitalized?

Yet here, what appears to be the name of a district"Lake District" is capitalized here. Question: why aren't the names of the districts both capitalized in each sentence? When the term "district" is used as a description it is not a proper name and is not capitalized.

Do you capitalize the name of a police department?

In other words, you may use author’s discretion. If you are referring to a full proper name of a specific department, such as “Springfield Fire Department,” it should be capitalized. References to departments generically, such as “police department” or “building and zoning department,” are generally not capitalized.

Should attorney be capitalized before a name?

Some words identifying occupations or professions are pseudo titles and should not be capitalized even if they precede the name. Do not capitalize "attorney Jane Doe" or "pianist John Doe." Titles are not capitalized when used in conjunction with the name of an office, department or program.

Should district name be capitalized?

1 Answer. Show activity on this post. When the term "district" is used as a description it is not a proper name and is not capitalized. Usages such as "the business district", "the industrial district", "the financial district", or "the historic district" are descriptions and do not get capital letters.

Is Da capitalized?

In modern times, Italian da, de, del, della, di, and d' are usually capitalized and used with the last name alone.

How do you address a DA in a letter?

District Attorneys are typically elected in a general election. As such, they are traditionally entitled to be addressed as 'the Honorable (Full Name)'.

Do you capitalize job positions?

To summarize the capitalization of job titles, you should always capitalize the job title when it comes immediately before the person's name, in a formal context, in a direct address, in a resume heading, or as part of a signature line.

Do you capitalize titles without names?

If there is no name, the title is usually lowercase. For example, if you write, The president came to dinner. president is lowercase.

Is District Attorney a proper noun?

My dictionary gives "district attorney" as lower case only. I'd leave it as lower case except when it's being used as a personal title (e.g., "District Attorney Smith") or part of an official name ("the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office").

Why are some names not capitalized?

During the late 17th and 18th centuries, it was customary to emphasize most English nouns with a capital letter. Personal names and proper names were indistinct from ordinary nouns, with the ultimate decision left up to the writer.

What is the rule for capitalization?

In general, you should capitalize the first word, all nouns, all verbs (even short ones, like is), all adjectives, and all proper nouns. That means you should lowercase articles, conjunctions, and prepositions—however, some style guides say to capitalize conjunctions and prepositions that are longer than five letters.

How do you address a DA in an email?

The salutation, or greeting, normally begins with "Dear." It is acceptable to begin your salutation with "Dear Mr./Madame District Attorney" or "Dear Mr./Ms. (surname)."

What is the proper way to address an attorney in an email?

Address an attorney as "Mr." or "Ms." in most contexts. In the salutation for a letter or email, address an attorney the same way you would any other respected professional- using "Mr." or "Ms." followed by their surname.

How do you write a formal letter to a prosecutor?

The address should include the prosecutor's organization, street address, city, state and ZIP code, one under the other. Begin your letter with a suitable greeting. To address a prosecutor, use "Dear Mr." or "Dear Ms." followed by the prosecutor's last name.

When to capitalize a proper noun?

Rule: When you refer back to a proper noun using a shortened version of the original name, you may capitalize it.

Why is the word "Parliament" capitalized?

The word is capitalized when it is referring specifically to a legislative body that is actually called “Parliament” in a country using that form of government; for example, the British Parliament.

What is the full name of an estate tax form?

The full name of a U.S. estate tax form is: Form 706 United States Estate (and Generation-Skipping Transfer) Tax Return. When referring to an estate tax return and estate tax, what are the rules for capitalization of “federal” and when referring to the Return itself, if never properly named in a paragraph?

When to capitalize federal or state?

Our Rule 9 of Capitalization says, “Capitalize federal or state when used as part of an official agency name or in government documents where these terms represent an official name. If they are being used as general terms, you may use lowercase letters.

What is a civil clerk?

Benjamin Jordan says: October 31, 2020, at 2:58 pm. In local government in the US, “clerk” is a title of a specific elected or appointer official.

What is a county assessor?

I believe that you are incorrect here. “County Assessor” and “County Recorder” are titles of specific individuals or departments within the local government. E.g. I work for the County Recorder and people can submit request to the County Assessor. (A lot of counties use the term interchangeably for the department and the individual who holds the office.)

When to capitalize civil titles?

Rule: Capitalize civil titles only when used with the name following or when addressing someone directly.

What is a title of a document?

Titles of Documents – When referring to a document that has been filed in the same matter in which you are filing your document:

What is the name of the court when the name is spelled out?

Always when the name of the court is spelled out, i.e., the United States District Court.

Which defense did the defendant use in Smith v Jones?

However, “The defendant in Smith v. Jones used the unclean hands defense.”

Do you capitalize parties in legal documents?

The Gregg Reference Manual says there is no uniform style for capitalization in legal documents, but common practice is to capitalize key terms such as the parties and the type of document you are working on. Since we’re talking about legal documents, I checked The Bluebook (19th ed.). Here is a quick breakdown of capitalization “rules” according to both sources:

Do you capitalize a defined term?

This can be tricky when a defined term is used in describing another case. Only capitalize the defined term in YOUR case. If you can substitute the full name of the defined term, you can capitalize it. For instance, using our definition of “Corporation” above:

Do you capitalize "court"?

Do not capital ize the word “court” when talking about a ruling in another case, i.e., “The court in Roe ruled . . .”

Is the motion for summary judgment untimely?

In its Motion for Summary Judgment (“Motion”), Plaintiff is attempting . . .. The Motion is untimely.

When should a job title be written in lowercase?

The job title usually should be written in full and in lowercase when it follows the name in a sentence.

How to write your job title in your signature?

To properly write your name and job title in your signature, first, write your name. Then follow it with a comma (,) and space, and later your job title. For example:

What are the words used in job titles?

Based on the job level and role, the following words are commonly found in job titles: Terms such as “executive”, “director”, “manager”, “supervisor”, “chief”, etc. denote management jobs.

What is a job title?

A job title describes, in a limited number of words (usually a word or two), the position an employee holds in a company. Based on the job, the title could describe the position level or the person’s responsibilities. When searching for a job, people use job titles as their search terms. Based on the job level and role, ...

Why do employers use job titles?

Employers even use job titles to indirectly communicate the compensation of the employee. Specific job titles could be linked to pay grades. Based on the title, one can ascertain the level or range of compensation the individual could be taking home. For example, between a general manager and a junior clerk, it’s quite evident that the former earns more.

Do you capitalize job titles in bullet points?

In most cases, for emphasis reasons, job titles can be capitalized in bullet point sentences in resumes.

Do you capitalize a job title?

The rules for capitalizing a job title are based on multiple factors. Though proper names are pretty much always capitalized, that isn’t always the case, however. Job title capitalization rules/requirements could vary based on the placement of the title and their intended usage.

Do you capitalize "high court" in California?

And, like The Bluebook, the California Style Manual tells us to keep court in lowercase when referring generally to a court or courts, e.g., “the circuit court,” “the federal courts of appeals,” or “the high court.”. In California, when referring to a state trial court, capitalize “department,” as in “law and motion department,” only ...

When do you capitalize "court"?

And of course, capitalize court when it happens to be the first word of a sentence and when it appears in the title of a document or paper. Convention calls for capitalizing court when referring to the highest tribunal within the system in which you are appearing.

Do you capitalize "court" in a bluebook?

Rule 7.3.1. and Rule 8 of The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation instructs us to capitalize the word, “court,” in all written briefing and other legal documents filed in federal courts in these instances:

Do you capitalize "law and motion department"?

In California, when referring to a state trial court, capitalize “department,” as in “law and motion department,” only when stating the formal title, such as in the caption of a pleading. Otherwise, use lowercase: “The matter was transferred to the law and motion department.”.

Is "appeal" singular or plural?

Keep in mind that in California, the word, “appeal,” in the title of our appellate courts takes the singular form, but in the title of federal appellate courts, it takes the plural. Like The Bluebook, the California Style Manual requires capitalization of court when using only part of the official names of the United States Supreme Court and ...

Who is Savannah Blackwell?

Attorney Savannah Blackwell is a former news reporter who covered government and politics for more than a decade, mostly in San Francisco. She can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter at @SavannahBinSF. Skip back to main navigation.