Notes are student-written pieces of legal scholarship, and are typically shorter than Article submissions.  A Note may focus on a particular case or issue.  Successful Notes should have the following characteristics:  

1. Originality: it should advance a particular area of legal scholarship beyond its current state. The best notes are insightful and creative. It may take many forms and need not be a “mini-article.”
2. Well-supported: it should provide persuasive evidence for each of its conclusions and acknowledge the limits of its arguments. Authorities should support each step in the argument. Citations should be complete and unambiguous.
3. Well written and well organized: it should contain clear and concise wording with a logical presentation. It should clearly convey its thesis and the relevance of each section.

Please pay attention to spelling, Bluebooking and other technical details. A neat and clean presentation will undoubtedly affect the Committee’s impression of the note.

Each note should be accompanied by a brief Statement of Originality, a detailed explanation of what makes the piece original and how it stands apart from existing literature on the topic. Please do not be intimidated by the statement of originality. Just think of it as a chance to pitch your novel idea to an inexpert audience. This will enable the reviewing staff to understand the background and purpose for your piece and can significantly increase its chances of acceptance. The maximum length for this statement is two single spaced pages, although a half page of single spaced text should be sufficient.  Please DO NOT include your name on this statement. Only include the title of the Note.

All Notes should conform to these formatting guidelines:

1. Notes have a word limit of 15,000 words, excluding footnotes.
2. 12 font Times New Roman font, consecutively numbered pages, double spaced with 1” margins on all sides.
3. Footnotes using The Bluebook (18^th ed.) formatting guidelines. No endnotes allowed.
4. Include a cover page with the title of your work, you name and contact information, and a brief author biography of no more than 150 words in length.
5. In order to facilitate an anonymous review, please do not include you name on the Note or statement of originality. Identifying information should only appear on the cover page.

1. Was the case correctly decided?
2. How does the case fit into the law preceding it? Does it change the law?
3. How is it significant? Does it provide a new model for analysis?
4. How will this case impact future cases?
5. Does the court provide an adequate rationale for its new result or approach?
6. Is the reasoning sound and logically persuasive?
7. How does the decision square with public policy? Are there alternative analyses (from other courts, commentators, or you) that might better accommodate policy considerations?
   
8. Consider the three strongest counterarguments to your analysis and reasoning. Explain why they ultimately fail.

A Comment is not simply a shorter version of a Note. Comments are written about recent developments in law or legal scholarship, and often analyze recent cases, books, articles, statutes, or policy changes. Comments are very short, thus, to achieve brevity, originality and interest, the comment must cut to the chase. After a brief introduction, a Comment moves quickly into the argument. Also, a Comment need not be critical of its topic; a Comment may reveal a policy’s hidden virtues, defend a case against likely criticism, or explain why a particular book or article is important.  Yet, whatever its subject, a Comment must present a strong argument.

Book Comment

Book Comments are short, student-written reviews of contemporary works of scholarship. A Book Comment should assess its subject critically, explaining and evaluating its thesis and placing it in context within its academic field. Most importantly, it should focus on a single, innovative legal argument, which both engages the book and can be addressed effectively within the page limits. A successful book comment should :

1. Introduce the book in context, state the book’s central thesis, and state the reviewers basic assessment of that central thesis. This material should be less than one page.  
2. Summarize the book’s central thesis and supporting legal arguments. This material should be about two pages.
3. Assess the book’s central thesis and supporting arguments. The focus should be on the thrust of the book as a whole, rather than on a particular peripheral argument. It should be critical, but not disparaging, and the reviewer should discuss the strengths and weaknesses  of the book. This should be the bulk of the Comment, or about three to four pages.

Case Comment

A Case Comment addresses recently decided cases. The best Case Comments analyze decisions that have the potential to change an area of law significantly. Thus, it is good for the case to have interesting fact, but it is essential that it analyze an important legal controversy. Many Case Comments focus on a federal court of appeals case for which a petition for certiorari has been filed or granted. However, we hope to receive submissions on other federal, state, foreign or international court decisions as well. Some elements of a successful case comment are:

1. Focus and analyze a single case or significant circuit or state split.
2. Address an issue that has the potential to change the state of the law significantly.
3. Address one manageable issue – most good Case Comments have a simple, clear thesis that can be stated in one sentence. Thus one should present the case, its holding and the facts are generally in one to two paragraphs, introduce the context of the case in two to four paragraphs, and make one nuanced and innovative argument about the case in six to eight paragraphs remaining.
4. Go beyond the opinions in the case – it should present a clear legal argument that goes beyond agreeing or disagreeing with the majority, concurrence or a dissent.
5. Offer a unique or creative view on the issue.

Again, we welcome submissions on any recent case(s), however, we will not be able to consider submissions if (1) the author is currently involved in litigating the case at issue, or (2) Certiorari has been granted by the Supreme Court and oral argument will be held before the piece is published. It is the author’s responsibility to track the progress of the case and to report to the Midwest Journal Staff immediately if any significant changes occur.

Legislation Comments

Legislation Comments should focus on a single, innovative argument that effectively address the legislation. An interesting Legislation Comment often has a complicated history with multiple facets, one of the most important tasks in preparing a Legislation Comment will be in identifying the particular aspect of the law on which the Comment will focus.  A narrow and deeper focus is preferred over a broad and less specific issue.  Both federal and state legislation are proper subjects. Foreign legislation may also be discussed if the author adequately explains any differences in the foreign legislative process that might impact the author’s argument and with which the average reader might not be familiar. Proposed legislation may also be suitable.

The Journal is open to and interested in seeing a variety of formats for Legislative Comments, however we highly recommend that the jurisdiction, status and method of enactment, and relevant text of the legislation be incorporated.

Policy Comments

Policy Comments are an opportunity to briefly react to policy changes besides those codified in recent legislation, or handed down via judicial decision. The types of developments that are appropriate for a policy comment stem from new or proposed federal or state rules and regulations, new administrative decision or rulings and executive orders.  We also encourage policy comments on international or foreign legal developments. Again, a narrower yet deeper focus is preferred to one with more breadth but less specificity.

The best Policy Comments will focus on recent developments and preferably those that have not received endless attention in the popular media, unless you have something interesting and new to contributed.  It is important that you engage in a single, innovative argument, and present this clearly and explicitly in your thesis statement. Although we encourage a variety of formats, we highly recommend that the comment include the following:

1. The jurisdiction, method of enactment, and relevant text of the policy change
2. Its current status
3. The reason(s) why the proposed or enacted change represents a significant and new development in policy.

All Comments should conform to these formatting guidelines: 

1. Comments  have a word limit of 3,500  words, excluding footnotes.
2. Footnotes in 10 point font, using The Bluebook (18^th ed.) formatting guidelines.
3. 12 font Times font, consecutively numbered pages, double spaced with 1” margins on all sides.
4. Include a cover page with the title of your work, you name and contact information, and a brief author biography of no more than 150 words in length.
5. In order to facilitate an anonymous review, please do not include you name on the Comment. Your name should only appear on the cover page.