when to capitalize attorney general

by Mrs. Pauline Williamson 5 min read

I understand that "attorney general" by itself should not be capitalized but capitalizing attorney general should be done if it is accompanied by a name (e.g., Attorney General Stewart). But how about the actual office. Should "office of the attorney general" be capitalized as "Office of the Attorney General?"

Conversation. AP Style tip: Use attorney general, attorneys general. Never abbreviate. Capitalize as a title before a name: Attorney General Eric Holder.Sep 26, 2014

Full Answer

Should the word attorney general be hyphenated?

The general rule is simple: don’t hyphenate after prefixes. ... concern compound terms — whether to spell as two words, hyphenate, or close up as a single word. ... Attorney General is adamant ...

Should county attorney always be capitalized?

You should capitalize his or her name, just as you would with anyone else. If you want to refer to the law practice by its official name, you would capitalize that. And if you want to use “attorney” or “esq.” instead of “Mr.,” “Mrs.” or “Ms,” you would then capitalize the title. 170 views

Should probation services be capitalized?

Specific programs and services available to service members should be capitalized, but general services should not be: The Family Advocacy Program is one of several advocacy services available to service members on an installation.

Should legal assistant be capitalized?

When it comes to occupation titles, whether or not you capitalize comes back to context. Titles should be capitalized, but references to the job are not. For instance, if you are using a job title as a direct address, it should be capitalized.

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Is Attorney General always capitalized?

Capitalize the titles of high-ranking government officials when used with or before their names. Do not capitalize the civil title if it is used instead of the na,e. a. Examples – The governors, lieutenant governors, and attorney generals are called a special task force.

Do you have to capitalize general?

Military ranks or titles like general, colonel, captain, and major are often capitalized in documents and publications of the armed forces and in news stories. In general, capitalize such words only when they are used as part of a name or in place of one. Otherwise, lowercase them when used as common nouns.

Should attorney be capitalized?

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.

Does Governor General need to be capitalized?

When a title precedes a name but is set off by a comma, it is lower case: The minister of agriculture, food and rural affairs, Jeff Leal, visited campus last week. All references to the current Governor General and the Queen are capitalized: Governor General Julie Payette.

Do you capitalize the name of a position?

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.

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.

Do you capitalize attorney in fact?

A lawyer is a person admitted to practice in a court system. Someone who holds this distinction is usually called an attorney at law. You should not abbreviate these two terms. You should also not capitalize these terms unless it is an officeholder's title.

Which title is capitalized correctly?

Capitalize the first and the last word of titles and subtitles. Capitalize nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs (including phrasal verbs such as “play with”), adverbs, and subordinate conjunctions (major words). Lowercase articles (a, an, the), coordinating conjunctions, and prepositions of four letters or fewer.

Is Prosecuting attorney capitalized?

Answer: No. Formal titles used after a name are lowercased in AP style (q.v. AP entry "titles"): "In general, confine capitalization to formal titles used directly before an individual's name."

Should president be capitalized in a sentence?

Similarly, you would capitalize the title President Abraham Lincoln when the title is directly before the person's name. The title president should also be capitalized when it is used in place of a president's name or when addressing a president directly, as in Hello, Mr. President.

Do you capitalize Secretary of state?

Some style manuals stipulate that prestigious titles—such as President of the United States, Secretary of State, or Senator—should always be capitalized even when they stand alone. Other manuals recommend these titles be treated like any other, and should not be capitalized unless followed by a name.

Do you Capitalise state government?

Capitalise State and Government when referring to a specific political division or party.

What does the word "general" mean in the phrase "Attorney General"?

In the phrase attorney general , attorney is the main part, and the word general is descriptive—it tells us what kind of attorney we have to deal with.

How many attorneys generals are there in the US?

The US has one attorney general, but we have many state attorneys general.

How many editors are there in the Atlantic?

The Atlantic has had 14 editors in chief.

Is "deputy attorney general" a modifier?

Although I couldn't find an answer in a style book, my gut instinct is that it would be deputy attorneys general because attorney is still the main noun and deputy is a modifier. When I can't find an answer in a style book, sometimes I search major newspaper websites to see what they use, and it looks like my instincts are right: the New York Times highly favors deputy attorneys general.

When to capitalize title?

Rule: Capitalize a title when used as a direct address even when the person is not named.

Who will address Congress?

The president will address Congress. All senators are expected to attend. The governors, lieutenant governors, and attorneys general called for a special task force. Governor Connelly, Lieutenant Governor Martinez, and Senators James and Hennessy will attend the meeting. Rule: Capitalize a title when used as a direct address even when ...

Do you capitalize a title in a letter?

Guideline: Though there is no established rule on writing titles in the complimentary closing of a letter, we recommend capitalizing a person’s title when it follows the name on the address or signature line. However, you may also leave it in lowercase since titles are generally not capitalized when following a name in text.

When you use titles of world figures alone, is capitalization optional?

When you use titles of world figures alone, capitalization is optional.

Who is the 16th president of the United States?

We learned about Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States. The Secretary of Defense spoke about key issues during the meeting. Last week, the Prince of Wales went to Kenya. The Writer’s Brief Handbook says: When you use titles of world figures alone, capitalization is optional.

Do you capitalize the title of a high ranking official?

Capitalize the titles of high-ranking government officials when used with or before their names. Do not capitalize the civil title if it is used instead of the name. The president will address Congress. The governors, lieutenant governors, and attorneys general called for a special task force.

When should you capitalize a job title?

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.

When to capitalize a title in a direct address?

When a title is used in a direct address it is capitalized: "Is he going to pull through, Doctor?"

Is General Grant capitalized?

The rule of capitalization of job titles applies to abbreviations too. So, General Grant would be written as Gen. Grant. You wouldn't use the abbreviated form after a person's name, though. It would be incorrect to write "Joan Smith, acct. mgr., is present.". Here, you would write the full job title "account manager" and keep it lowercase.

Do you capitalize a job title in an email?

People often include their job title in their email signature line or when closing a business letter. In this case, the job title would be capitalized.

Do you put job titles on a resume?

Job Titles on Resumes and Cover Letters. Job titles aren't only included in writing that would fall under one of the major style manuals. They are commonly included in job search documents such as resumes, cover letters and reference lists.

Is the job title capitalized?

If the job title comes after the person’s name or is used instead of the person's name, then it is generally not capitalized. This would be the case with Sarah Smith, chairman of the board; Holden Lavesque, accounts receivable clerk; or the governor of California.

Is the title of a job description capitalized?

The answer is: sometimes. The heading or title of a job description should list the title of the job. In that case, the title is capitalized. When referencing the job throughout the job description, however, the job title will not be capitalized. The title of a job description for a payroll clerk position would be written as Payroll Clerk.

When to capitalize a state?

In Jones, the court held that the plaintiff had shown a likelihood of success of the merits. Capitalize when it is part of the full name of a state. Capitalize when it is used as an adjective modifying a proper noun. Capitalize when the state is a party to the matter before the court .

How long does a defendant have to file a responsive pleading?

A defendant has thirty days after service of the complaint to file a responsive pleading.

Do small things like capitalization affect readers?

However, “small things” like capitalization do affect our readers’ overall impression of our work. To a perfectionist (which many of our legal readers are), inconsistent capitalization may suggest at best that we are careless and at worst that we are not knowledgeable about capitalization rules.

Do you capitalize a complaint?

Capitalize when referring to the parties in the matter that is the subject of the document. The Court should allow Plaintiff to amend her Complaint in this matter. Do not capitalize when referring to parties generically. In Jones, the court held that the plaintiff had shown a likelihood of success of the merits.

When to capitalize a court?

When to capitalize references to a court: Referring to the U.S. Supreme Court (by full name or “the Court”) Referring to a court by its proper name (“the Wisconsin Supreme Court”) Referring to the court reading your brief (“this Court should find”) But NOT capitalized: Referring to a precedent decision (“In 1977, the Shepard court held”) 2.

When referring to a party without adding their last name, do you add the word "the"?

Note that when referring to a party without adding their last name, add the word “the.” See Anne Enquist & Laurel Oates, Just Writing 265 (3d ed. 2009).

Is the Wisconsin Constitution capitalized?

In a generic reference, the Wisconsin Constitution becomes “the constitution,” but the United States Constitution is still capitalized as “the Constitution.”. 5. When to capitalize references to a state: Capitalize “state” when referring to the state as a party to litigation (“the State brought this action”)

Do you capitalize court documents?

3. Capitalize the specific titles of court documents, but not generic references to court documents.

Do you capitalize the state of Kansas?

Capitalize the full title of a state or the word it modifies is capitalized (“the State of Kansas”) 6. When to capitalize certain nouns: Capitalize nouns referring to “specific persons, officials, groups, government offices, or government bodies” (the FDA or Congress)

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