23. Bankruptcy, Tax, Immigration, and Specialist Forums

23.1 Identify the forum before borrowing a form

A specialist source may resemble an ordinary case while using a different publication series, document class, or procedural vocabulary. Capture the issuing body and its source designation before shortening the reference. A bankruptcy court opinion, district court bankruptcy appeal, bankruptcy appellate panel decision, and court of appeals decision are different authorities even when they concern the same estate.

23.2 Bankruptcy research records

Retain the bankruptcy case number and, when applicable, the adversary proceeding number. Distinguish orders in the main case from decisions in related proceedings. For a proof of claim, plan, disclosure statement, or confirmation order, identify the document actually supporting the sentence. A filed proposed plan does not establish the contents of the confirmed plan.

Use the court's local rules, judge-specific procedures, and applicable national rules to establish filing requirements. The official national-rules index links the Bankruptcy Rules; the circuit and state gateways in this reference do not replace bankruptcy district research. Current federal rules.

23.3 Tax decisions and administrative materials

Keep the court's stated opinion type, identifying number, filing date, and locator. Tax Court opinions and orders are distinct document classes in the Court's public search tools. Verify the particular item before selecting a reporter or memorandum form. Tax Court opinion search guidance.

For a revenue ruling, revenue procedure, notice, letter ruling, or other tax agency material, preserve its official designation and publication source. Do not treat similar numbering conventions as evidence that the materials carry the same authority. This chapter supplies source-identification practice; it does not determine the legal weight of each category.

23.4 Immigration decisions

Differentiate an immigration judge's order, a Board decision, an Attorney General decision, an agency memorandum, and a judicial review opinion. Preserve the issuing body and any precedent designation. When a later agency or judicial decision changes the treatment of an earlier authority, describe the later action specifically rather than relying only on the old citation.

23.5 Intellectual property and specialist adjudication

A patent publication number, grant number, application number, and administrative proceeding number refer to different objects. For a prosecution document or board proceeding, include enough identifying information to distinguish the application or case from the cited item within it. A manual section can explain an examination practice without being the adjudicatory decision in the dispute. USPTO MPEP.

Handoff rule. When you cannot determine a specialist document's role, record the original identifier and open the issuing body's classification or practice materials. Do not force the item into a generic “case” form and lose the uncertainty.