In rhetoric, a parenthesis or parenthetical phrase is an explanatory word or phrase inserted into a paragraph to help explain what precedes it. In legal writing, parentheticals will be used at the end of a source citation to make legal writing more detailed. Such parentheticals often explain the relevance of the source, by providing a concise description or by directly quoting language from the source.
Example: See Martinez v. Astrue, 261 Fed. Appx. 33, 35 (9th Cir. 2009) (“[T]he opinion that Martinez is unable to work is not a medical opinion, but is an opinion about an issue reserved to the Commissioner. It is therefore not accorded the weight of a medical opinion.”). Silvia Diaz v. Michael J. Astrue (2010).
See also: Bluebook
[Last updated in November of 2023 by the Wex Definitions Team]