How are court opinions cited?

Asked by: Amy Wisoky PhD  |  Last update: March 18, 2026
Score: 4.4/5 (35 votes)

Court opinions are cited by including the case name, reporter volume, reporter abbreviation, first page, and year in parentheses, like Marbury v. Madison, 5 U.S. 137 (1803), with specific details varying for federal vs. state courts, often adding the court abbreviation (e.g., 9th Cir.) for lower federal courts and sometimes parallel citations for state cases.

How to cite a court opinion in MLA?

  1. Court Decision. Government Entity as Author. Name of the Case. Date of the Decision. ...
  2. Statute (Legislation) Government Entity as Author. Name of the Public Law. Title of Container, Date, Pages. ...
  3. Unenacted Bill or Resolution. Government Entity as Author. Name of the Bill or Resolution. Title of Container, URL.

Do opinions need citations?

In general, if it's your words, your opinion, your photo, or your graph, of course, you don't need to cite it. HOWEVER, if you are using information from one of your own previously published works (journal article, book chapter, etc.), you MUST cite it just as you would cite another author's work.

How to cite an opinion piece in MLA?

Author's Last Name, First Name. "Title of Article." Title of Newspaper [City of Publication if not stated in newspaper title], Day Month Year of Publication, URL. Note: If you are citing an opinion or editorial piece, add the following at the end of your citation: Op-ed.

Do you use APA or MLA for law?

The most frequently used style manual for citing to Legal Documents is the The Bluebook : a uniform system of citation. APA, MLA and Chicago Manual of Style all refer to the Bluebook for citing to certain documents such as cases. Below are links to online guides and information on accessing The Bluebook.

Citing Judicial Opinions

40 related questions found

Is criminal justice MLA or APA?

APA is the preferred formatting and citation style for most courses in the Criminal Justice major. Some courses may also allow the use of MLA citation.

Is APA harder than MLA?

MLA Formatting. In an ideal world, students should learn APA first because it is a little harder than MLA. Therefore, when students learn MLA, it will be a breeze.

Can you cite opinion pieces?

"You sure can. So long as your opinion has been published in the form of a research article reviewed by your peers and found in a legitimate scientific journal."

How to cite proceedings in MLA?

Conference paper in print proceedings:

Author's Surname, Given Names, and Given Names Author's Surname. "Title of Paper." Title of Published Proceedings: Proceedings of the Title of Conference, Location, Date. Edited by Editors Names, Publisher, Year, pp. page numbers.

What citation style should I use?

How to do I choose a citation style?

  • APA (American Psychological Association) is used by Education, Psychology, and Sciences.
  • MLA (Modern Language Association) style is used by the Humanities.
  • Chicago/Turabian style is generally used by Business, History, and the Fine Arts.

What are two things you do not need to cite?

What you don't need to cite

  • facts that are found in many sources (ex: Marie Antoinette was guillotined in 1793.)
  • things that are easily observed (ex: Many people talk on cellphones while driving.)
  • common sayings (ex: Every man has his price.)

Is having 100 citations good?

almost 44% of all published manuscripts are never cited. If you have even 1 citations for a manuscript you are already (almost!) in the top half (top 55.8%). With 10 or more citations, your work is now in the top 24% of the most cited work worldwide; this increased to the top 1.8% as you reach 100 or more citations.

What is the rule 8.1115 citation of opinions?

Citation of opinions. Except as provided in (b), an opinion of a California Court of Appeal or superior court appellate division that is not certified for publication or ordered published must not be cited or relied on by a court or a party in any other action.

Is MLA spacing 1.5 or 2?

MLA format requires double-spacing throughout the entire paper, including the body, block quotes, and the Works Cited page, with one-inch margins, a 12-point readable font (like Times New Roman), and a half-inch paragraph indentation, according to Purdue OWL and The University of Central Oklahoma. 

How to cite 3 sources in one sentence in MLA?

To cite three sources in one sentence in MLA style, list their parenthetical citations together at the end of the sentence (before the period) or within the sentence, separating each with a semicolon, like (Smith 42; Bennett 71; Jones 105). You can order them alphabetically or by importance, and use the first author's last name plus "et al." if there are three or more authors for any single source.
 

How to cite a law review in MLA?

Lastname, Firstname, MI. "Article Title." Journal Title in Italics volume #, no. # (Publication Date): Page(s). Accessed month day, year.

How to cite a court decision in MLA?

Court/Governing Body Name. Title of Case. Docket no., Date of Case. Publisher, URL (if applicable).

How to cite proceedings from a conference?

Basic format to reference conference proceedings

  1. Author or authors of paper. Surname followed by first initials.
  2. Year.
  3. Title of paper.
  4. Editors of conference proceedings.
  5. Title of conference proceedings (in italics).
  6. Pages of paper (in round brackets).
  7. Publisher.
  8. DOI or URL.

How to cite a court proceeding?

Citing court cases (decisions/opinions)

  1. title or name of the case.
  2. volume and page number of the court reporter, e.g. U.S.= United States Reports is the official source (reporter) of U.S. Supreme Court Opinions.
  3. Date of the decision.

How do I reference a legal opinion?

Citing court opinions (also known as "case citations")

  1. The abbreviated names of the main parties (the plaintiff or appellant versus the defendant or appellee)
  2. a number representing the volume of the "reporter" where the opinion is published.
  3. an abbreviation of the name of the "reporter"

What are common citation mistakes?

10 Common Citation Mistakes (and How to Ensure You Avoid Them)

  • Missing References or Citations. ...
  • Citations in Alphabetical Order. ...
  • Missing Page Numbers. ...
  • Not Citing Paraphrased Information. ...
  • Outdated or Bad Resources. ...
  • Not Including Web Addresses. ...
  • Unnecessary Citations. ...
  • Incorrectly Using et al.

How to cite an opinion article in MLA?

"Title of Article." Title of Newspaper [City of Publication if not stated in newspaper title], Day Month Year of Publication, pp. Page Numbers. Note: If you are citing an opinion or editorial piece, add the following at the end of your citation: Op-ed.

Do colleges prefer MLA or APA?

Both the APA and MLA referencing formats are well known and widely popular. Because of this, you may be asking yourself, do colleges use MLA or APA? The short answer is that they use both. The format that you are required to use is determined by the college you go to as well as the courses you take.

What does APA stand for?

APA primarily stands for the American Psychological Association, a professional organization that publishes the widely used APA Style guide for formatting academic papers, especially in social sciences, education, and psychology, focusing on clear, precise, and inclusive scholarly communication, including source citation and paper structure. 

What are common mistakes in APA formatting?

1. Incorrect Placement of Periods in Citations – The period should be placed after the parenthetical citation (e.g., This is an example (Smith, 2020).) 2. Overuse of Direct Quotes – APA prefers paraphrasing over direct quotes, with direct quotes only used when necessary.