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Legal minds, what do empty brackets mean inside a quote? Like this: Can I "ask[ ] you?"
(media.kbin.social)
I came across this usage in excerpts from the dissent by Justice Kagan to the US Supreme Court's decision [see image I will attempt to attach, that I snagged from here: https://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/2023/06/john-roberts-demonstrates-a-justified-lack-of-confidence-in-his-arrogation-of-congressional-and-presidential-authority]. I'm going to guess that it indicates a tense change, so like in my example in the post title maybe the quote was "asked you" and I changed it to "ask[ ] you" to fit my sentence. I went to a lot of schooling but I don't recall this empty brackets usage. I figure, why not Ask Kbin!
It's worth noting that this is nothing to do with legal writing in particular. You'll find this in all academic writing as well, and in journalism.
For some reason I have never noticed this before, or else I have just forgotten it in the 3 decades since I was in college.