No Colon After a Noun of Direct Address (Salutations in Court)
The Colon
Rulebase Summary
Do not use a colon after a noun of direct address in courtroom transcripts. Salutations and greetings such as 'Members of the jury,' 'Ladies and gentlemen,' 'Counselors,' and 'Good morning, members of the jury' should be set off with commas, not colons. The speaker identification colon (Rule 36) has already appeared — the salutation that follows is part of the spoken text and uses standard comma rules for direct address.
Examples
THE COURT: Members of the jury: you must consider only the evidence presented in this courtroom.
THE COURT: Members of the jury, you must consider only the evidence presented in this courtroom.
Comma after direct address in court — not a colon.
MR. HOLT: Ladies and gentlemen: I want to thank you for your attention.
MR. HOLT: Ladies and gentlemen, I want to thank you for your attention.
Courtroom salutations use commas, not colons.
Style Guide References (1)
Morson's