Using punctuation correctly and to best effect is essential to achieving clarity and readability in writing. In legal writing, this is especially so when it comes to the comma. For example, failing to use a serial comma after the second to last word in a list of two or more items joined by a conjunction can change the meaning and effect of a statute.
With that in mind, let us welcome the new year by brushing up on these often-overlooked rules concerning commas:
Commas and Dates
For American audiences, when writing out a date within a sentence, place a comma after the day, the month, AND the year, as in these three examples:
Plaintiff Strawberry Fields & Co. requested summary judgment on Tuesday, January 3, 2023, the same day that defendant Octopus Gardens, Inc. sought removal to federal district court.
In his public address commemorating the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) called September 11, 2001, “a day that will live in infamy,” just as President Franklin D. Roosevelt famously called December 7, 1941, the day the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor.
Justice Ginsburg’s death on September 18, 2020, caused great mourning among civil rights activists and all those across the nation concerned about the preservation of fundamental liberties.
When writing only the month and the year for American or British readers, do not place a comma after the month.
Not this: She signed the settlement agreement in April, 2019.
But this: She signed the settlement agreement in April 2019.
If you use ordinal numbers when writing a date, the comma rules are the same: Her grandmother died on June 6th, 2009.
But if you use the word “of” when writing a date, do not use a comma: Her grandmother died on the 6th of June 2009.
Commas and Geographic Names
Use commas after geographic place names within a sentence and to separate cities from states, and cities or states from nations, as in these two examples:
Following the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer, downtown Portland, Oregon, became a primary site of continuous protests and rioting.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates, is the plaintiff’s primary place of business.
Commas and Geographic Addresses
When a street address is contained in a sentence, the street, city, state, and country should be separated with commas, and the last part of the address should be followed by one:
From 1970 to 1980, the old National Guard armory building located at 525½ Barton Springs Road, Austin, Texas, USA, was the site of Armadillo World Headquarters, a beloved rock venue that became world famous.
Commas and Multiple, Sequential Adjectives
Place a comma between adjectives that modify a noun similarly or equally. When each adjective equally or independently modifies a noun, they are called “coordinating” adjectives and should be separated with commas. Adjectives are coordinating if the first neither depends on nor modifies the next. Could you switch the order of the adjectives and not affect the meaning? If so, place a comma after each adjective except the last one before the noun.
Here are three examples provided by legal writing guru Bryan Garner in The Elements of Legal Style (2d. ed.):
an ambitious, entrepreneurial woman
a reserved, cautious person
a simplistic, fallacious conclusion
And here is an example of coordinating adjectives provided by Richard C. Wydick in Plain English for Lawyers (5th ed.):
an old, rattly, blue truck
But, as Wydick explains, if the last adjective and the noun together form the term that is modified by the prior adjectives, do not place a comma before the last adjective.
Here is his example:
an old, rattly Ford truck
Also, when one adjective modifies or qualifies the next, do not use a comma between them.
Here are two examples from Plain English:
a bright red tie
a strong constitutional argument
In the first example, bright modifies red or red tie. As Wydick points out, red, bright tie has a different meaning.
In the second example, strong modifies constitutional argument.
Here are three examples of non-coordinating adjectives from The Elements:
a Scottish legal theorist
a distinguished foreign journalist
a small white rabbit
Both Garner and Wydick advise mentally inserting the word and between adjectives to decide whether a comma is needed between them. If the meaning does not change and the and makes sense (as in, an ambitious and entrepreneurial woman), then separate the adjectives with a comma. But if, as Garner puts it, the and “seems awkward, forced, or otherwise inappropriate” (as in, a small and white rabbit), then leave out the comma.
Click here to read part two of Blackwell’s tips on how the punctuation mark should be used in sentence construction.
About the Author:
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 savannah.blackwell@gmail.com. Follow her on Twitter at @SavannahBinSF