Citation tips from the Fifth Circuit

On a related note, we are unfortunately obliged to remind Williams’s counsel that litigants must append record citations to factual assertions in their briefs to this court. Citations on the order of “See Pelkowski entire Deposition” and “See deposition of Williams” are not what we, as a court bound to apply the law to the facts, are looking for. Page numbers are important and not just because they are convenient. Concise and thoughtful briefing (replete with meaningful citations) best serves client interests, encourages fairness and mutual respect among parties to a lawsuit, and, as a happy byproduct, promotes the judiciary’s truthseeking function.

-- Williams v. Merck & Co., Inc. (5th Cir. June 16, 2010) (unpub. op.).