Skip to content
counselcitecounselcite
    • StudentsFree for students. We've all been there.
    • Law firmsCheck a document before it is filed.
    • GovernmentFor courts, agencies and public defenders.
  • Case checker
  • Format checker
  • Pricing
  • About
  • Blog
Sign inCheck a document
  • Students
  • Law firms
  • Government
  • Case checker
  • Format checker
  • Pricing
  • About
  • Blog
  • Sign in
  • Check a document
counselcitecounselcite

Citation review for court filings and law-review articles, checked against the Bluebook and the public court record.

Product

  • Check a document
  • Case citation checker
  • Pricing
  • How it works
  • Case record
  • Rule library

Who it's for

  • Students
  • Law firms
  • Courts and agencies

Company

  • About
  • Blog
  • Contact

Legal

  • Terms of service
  • Privacy policy
  • Security

© 2026 Counselcite. Not affiliated with the Bluebook or its publishers.

Bluebook is a registered trademark of the Columbia Law Review Association, the Harvard Law Review Association, the University of Pennsylvania Law Review, and The Yale Law Journal.

Citation rules/Capitalisation/8 Capitalization

Lowercase the adjective form

Style note2Federal courts, Illinois courts21st and 22nd editions

Congress, the President and the Constitution take capitals as nouns; the adjectives formed from them stay lowercase, as in “his constitutional rights”, unless part of a proper name.1

Check a document
  1. 1R. 8(d)(ii) Exceptions; R. 8(c)(ii) Exceptions; R. 8(d)(i) Nouns that identify specific persons, officials, groups, government offices, or government bodies; R. 8(c)(i) Nouns that identify specific persons, officials, groups, government offices, or government bodies.
  2. 2A style note: the rule in note 1 allows both forms and prefers one.
PreviousLowercase short words in an article titleNextLowercase the short word in the title

More in 8 Capitalization

  1. Capitalize “Act” in the statute’s name
  2. Capitalize “Circuit”
  3. Capitalize "Congress"
  4. Capitalize “Federal”
  5. Capitalize the agency's initialism
  6. Capitalize the amendment’s name
  7. Capitalize the bare “constitution”
  8. Capitalize the constitution’s name
  9. Lowercase the adjective form

Back to Capitalisation

More in 8 Capitalization

  1. Capitalize “Act” in the statute’s name
  2. Capitalize “Circuit”
  3. Capitalize "Congress"
  4. Capitalize “Federal”
  5. Capitalize the agency's initialism
  6. Capitalize the amendment’s name
  7. Capitalize the bare “constitution”
  8. Capitalize the constitution’s name
  9. Lowercase the adjective form

Back to Capitalisation

Sign inCheck a document
  • Sign in
  • Check a document