How to cite court cases in a paper?

Asked by: Lavinia Quigley | Last update: January 31, 2026

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Citing court cases involves including the case name (italicized in-text), reporter volume and abbreviation, starting page, court, and year, often following styles like Bluebook (for law) or APA (for general papers). For example, Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954) in a footnote, while in-text might be (Brown v. Board of Education, 1954). Always check your specific style guide (APA, MLA, Bluebook) for exact formatting, especially for online sources or unpublished opinions, using official reporters where possible.

How to cite a court case in-text?

Any time a law or a court case is mentioned in the text of a paper, include an appropriate “in-text citation” (usually in parentheses). For court cases, that includes the main party names as well as the year – e.g. (Griswold v. Connecticut, 1965).

How do you cite a court case?

Case citations generally includes the case name, followed by the reporter volume, the reporter abbreviation, the first page of the case, the specific page for the cited material, and the court abbreviation and date in parentheses (unless the court name is obvious from the reporter abbreviation).

How do you cite a court case in an essay?

Citing court cases (decisions/opinions)

Include: title or name of the case. 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. Date of the decision.

How to cite a court case in-text example?

Parenthetical citations and narrative citations in-text are formatted the same as with any other source (first element of the reference list entry, year), though unlike with other sources, court decisions and cases use italics for the title in the in-text citation. For example, (Brown v. Board of Education, 1954).

The secret code to reading legal opinions and case law. IRAC and the Case Brief. Civics 101.

27 related questions found

How do I reference a legal case?

Citations should follow the format: case number | case name | [year] | report abbreviation | first page. Case T–344/99 Arne Mathisen AS v Council [2002] ECR II–2905.

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.

How do I refer to a case in an essay?

Cases are often known by an abbreviated title. On first mention of the case name, follow it with the abbreviated title in parentheses. For in-text references, write this title in italics and use title case (maximal capitalisation). You can then use the abbreviated title throughout the content.

How to write a legal citation?

Citation of a court case requires the following components:

The name of the case.
The source where you found the case.
The court where the case was decided.
The year the decision took place.

How to cite a case paragraph?

For example, when citing cases, use the following format:

reported case: R v Cooper, 2002 ABCA 156.
reported case with pinpoint reference to paragraph number: R v Cooper, 2002 ABCA 156 at para 3.
reported case with pinpoint reference to page numbers: Moge v Moge, 1992 CanLII 25, [1992] 3 SCR 813 at 832-833.

How to cite a case in a letter?

A full case citation includes five basic components: 1. The name of the case; 2. The published or unpublished source in which the case may be found; 3. A parenthetical indicating the court year and decision; 4.

How to write a court case in an essay?

The following are some essential steps for how to write a brief of a case.

Review the case thoroughly. ...
Case name and citation. ...
Outline the case facts. ...
Describe the procedural history. ...
State the legal issue. ...
State the court's holding and reasoning. ...
Summarize the rule of law applied by the court.

How to properly cite a law in APA?

To cite federal laws (also commonly referred to as statutes or acts) in APA Style, include the name of the law, “U.S.C.” (short for United States Code), the title and section of the code where the law appears, the year, and optionally the URL.

What is a citation for a court case?

A citation is a reference to a source that supports a statement or is otherwise related to it. In legal documents, the source may be a primary legal authority (such as a case or a statute) or a secondary legal authority (such as a treatise or dictionary).

What's an in-text citation example?

In-text citation examples vary by style (like APA or MLA), but generally include the author and year (APA) or author and page (MLA) for paraphrasing, and add page numbers for direct quotes, like (Smith, 2023) or (Smith, 2023, p. 42), with formats changing for multiple authors or no author.

Do you italicize court cases in writing?

Basic Case Citation

Note: In court documents (briefs, motions) and legal memoranda, a full case name is usually italicized or underlined. In academic legal writing (i.e., a law review article), full case names are generally not underlined or italicized.

How to cite a court case?

To cite a court case or decision, list the name of the case, the volume and abbreviated name of the reporter, the page number, the name of the court, the year, and optionally the URL. The case name is italicized in the in-text citation, but not in the reference list.

How to write a citation correctly?

To write a proper citation, you need an in-text citation (author, date/page) and a full entry in the reference list, following a specific style like MLA, APA, or Chicago, which dictates formatting for author, title, publisher, and date, with key elements being author-date for APA (e.g., (Jones, 2023)) or author-page for MLA (e.g., (Jones 23)), directing readers to the corresponding entry in your bibliography for complete details. Always check your instructor's guidelines for the required style, as formats vary.

What is the citation style for a legal essay?

Most legal materials are cited using Bluebook style, which is the standard legal citation style used in all disciplines (see Bluebook style in The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation, 2015).

How to properly reference a case?

Cases without a neutral citation tend to be cases which pre-date the year 2001, i.e. older cases. In your reference, you need to include 'Name of case' (year) title of law report, volume number, page numbers. In-text citation: It was decided in the case of 'Bibby Cheshire v. Golden Wonder Ltd' (1972) that...

What does v mean in court cases?

"V." is an abbreviation for "versus" or "against." It is used in case names to indicate the opposing parties involved. For example, in "Roe v. Wade," "Roe" is listed first, indicating that "Roe" is the plaintiff, and "Wade" is the defendant. [Last reviewed in June of 2024 by the Wex Definitions Team]

How to write a summary of a court case?

Here are some steps you can follow when writing a case brief:

Choose the right case brief format. ...
Start with the title, citation and author. ...
State the facts of the case. ...
Declare the legal issue. ...
Outline the rule of law. ...
Explain the holding and reasoning. ...
Concurrences and dissents.

Does criminal justice use MLA or APA?

APA is the preferred formatting and citation style for most courses in the Criminal Justice major.

How to cite a legal case in MLA text?

For example, you can name the full case in the body of the sentence: The Court's decision in Shelby County v. Holder explicitly signals the... (110). (Note: only the page number is required in the citation if you name the court case in the sentence.

Do lawyers use APA?

The Bluebook is the most widely used style guide for legal citations in the United States. Other style guides, such as Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS) and American Psychological Association (APA), generally defer to Bluebook style for citing legal materials.