How to Cite Legal Research
Write the name of the case., Identify where the case was published., Place the year the case was decided in parentheses., Include conditional items., Add parenthetical information.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Write the name of the case.
A legal citation to a court case begins with the title of the case itself, as it appears in the case reporter you're using.
Generally, you should only use last names or business names.Don't include the phrase "et al." to indicate there is more than one party to the suit.
Italicize the phrases "In re." or "ex rel." If the reporter says "on behalf of," or "for the use of," change that to "ex rel." If the reporter says "In the matter of" or "Petition of," use "In re." in your citation.
Table 6 of the Bluebook contains abbreviations that must be used.
Any words in the name of the case that are listed on that table should be abbreviated according to that table.
Generally, omit the word "the" from the beginning of a case name.
Abbreviate states unless they are parties.
Then you must spell them out.
If you're referencing a state case, just use "State" or "Commonwealth." However, if it's a federal case and the state is a party, use just the name of the state.
For example, if you were citing a U.S.
Supreme Court case, the name would be "Virginia v.
Smith," not "The Commonwealth of Virginia v.
Mary Smith." However, if the case was a Virginia Supreme Court case, the name would be "Commonwealth v.
Smith." If you're citing the case within the text rather than in a footnote, the case name should be italicized.
In court documents such as briefs or motions, the case name typically is underlined. -
Step 2: Identify where the case was published.
Place a comma after the name of the case and follow it with the volume number of the case reporter, the name of the case reporter, and the page number on which the case begins.For U.S.
Supreme Court opinions, you must use the U.S. reporter.
The abbreviation is "U.S." with no spaces.
For Federal Court of Appeals cases, use F., F.2d, or F.3d, with no spaces.
Federal District Court decisions normally are cited from "F.
Supp." Note that there is a space between the abbreviations.
The volume number of the reporter is the first number after the comma following the case name.
Then type the name of the reporter, followed by a space, followed by the page number on which the case starts.
If you are citing a particular page of the case rather than the case as a whole, put a comma after the first page of the case, add a space, and then put the page number of your pinpoint cite.
For example, at this point your citation might look something like this: "Virginia v.
Smith, 60 F.2d 313,
327." If the material you are citing covers several pages, provide the first and last page of the excerpt with a hyphen between them: "Virginia v.
Smith, 60 F.2d 313, 327-30." Note that you should only use the last two digits of the ending page if the first is identical. , Follow the page numbers with a space, then put the year of the case in parentheses.
The name of the court that decided the case also should be included in parentheses, if it isn't obvious from the reporter used.For example, the United States Reports only includes U.S.
Supreme Court cases.
So if your citation is to a Supreme Court case published in the U.S.
Reports, you can just use the year, like so: "Virginia v.
Smith, 24 U.S. 283, 287 (1982)." For federal Court of Appeals cases, you must provide the circuit.
If you're citing a federal District Court case, identify the district.
If the court is the highest court in the state, you would include the state abbreviation.
Put a space after the court identification, then the year the case was decided.
At this point, a federal Court of Appeals citation would look something like this: "Virginia v.
Smith, 60 F.2d 313, 327 (2d Cir. 1979)."
If you're not citing a majority opinion, or if anything happened to the case after the decision you're citing, this should be included next, using the explanatory phrases and abbreviations included in Table 8 of the Bluebook.Descriptions having to do with the case itself are included in parentheses.
For example, if the opinion had no author, you might put "(per curiam)" after the year, with a space between the parentheses, such as "Virginia v.
Smith, 24 U.S. 283, 287 (1982) (per curiam).
To add procedural history – that is, something that happened to the case after the opinion you're citing that may affect the authority of that particular case – put a comma after the parentheses, then a space, then write the applicable phrase.
Keep in mind that the explanatory phrase should be italicized and followed by a comma.
For example, suppose the federal appeals court decision you are citing was affirmed by the U.S.
Supreme Court.
Your citation would look like this: "Virginia v.
Smith, 60 F.2d 313, 327 (2d Cir. 1979), aff'd, 24 U.S. 283 (1982)."
After all of the citation information, you may feel it necessary to add some information in parentheses that explains specifically why you're citing that case, or what importance it has to your own argument.This information is never necessary, but you should consider adding it if you think it would enhance the citation for the reader.
One circumstance where it arguably is necessary is if, in the portion of the case you're citing, the judge is paraphrasing or citing another case.
Parenthetical information typically is a phrase beginning with a gerund, such as "(holding cupcakes are form of self-expression protected by the First Amendment)." If you're using such a phrase, there are no capitals, and the phrase is not italicized.
In other instances, you may want to draw the reader's attention to a particular passage in the opinion.
Put that in parentheses with quotes around it.
For example, you might write "("Words written in icing are entitled to no less protection than words written in pen...")." -
Step 3: Place the year the case was decided in parentheses.
-
Step 4: Include conditional items.
-
Step 5: Add parenthetical information.
Detailed Guide
A legal citation to a court case begins with the title of the case itself, as it appears in the case reporter you're using.
Generally, you should only use last names or business names.Don't include the phrase "et al." to indicate there is more than one party to the suit.
Italicize the phrases "In re." or "ex rel." If the reporter says "on behalf of," or "for the use of," change that to "ex rel." If the reporter says "In the matter of" or "Petition of," use "In re." in your citation.
Table 6 of the Bluebook contains abbreviations that must be used.
Any words in the name of the case that are listed on that table should be abbreviated according to that table.
Generally, omit the word "the" from the beginning of a case name.
Abbreviate states unless they are parties.
Then you must spell them out.
If you're referencing a state case, just use "State" or "Commonwealth." However, if it's a federal case and the state is a party, use just the name of the state.
For example, if you were citing a U.S.
Supreme Court case, the name would be "Virginia v.
Smith," not "The Commonwealth of Virginia v.
Mary Smith." However, if the case was a Virginia Supreme Court case, the name would be "Commonwealth v.
Smith." If you're citing the case within the text rather than in a footnote, the case name should be italicized.
In court documents such as briefs or motions, the case name typically is underlined.
Place a comma after the name of the case and follow it with the volume number of the case reporter, the name of the case reporter, and the page number on which the case begins.For U.S.
Supreme Court opinions, you must use the U.S. reporter.
The abbreviation is "U.S." with no spaces.
For Federal Court of Appeals cases, use F., F.2d, or F.3d, with no spaces.
Federal District Court decisions normally are cited from "F.
Supp." Note that there is a space between the abbreviations.
The volume number of the reporter is the first number after the comma following the case name.
Then type the name of the reporter, followed by a space, followed by the page number on which the case starts.
If you are citing a particular page of the case rather than the case as a whole, put a comma after the first page of the case, add a space, and then put the page number of your pinpoint cite.
For example, at this point your citation might look something like this: "Virginia v.
Smith, 60 F.2d 313,
327." If the material you are citing covers several pages, provide the first and last page of the excerpt with a hyphen between them: "Virginia v.
Smith, 60 F.2d 313, 327-30." Note that you should only use the last two digits of the ending page if the first is identical. , Follow the page numbers with a space, then put the year of the case in parentheses.
The name of the court that decided the case also should be included in parentheses, if it isn't obvious from the reporter used.For example, the United States Reports only includes U.S.
Supreme Court cases.
So if your citation is to a Supreme Court case published in the U.S.
Reports, you can just use the year, like so: "Virginia v.
Smith, 24 U.S. 283, 287 (1982)." For federal Court of Appeals cases, you must provide the circuit.
If you're citing a federal District Court case, identify the district.
If the court is the highest court in the state, you would include the state abbreviation.
Put a space after the court identification, then the year the case was decided.
At this point, a federal Court of Appeals citation would look something like this: "Virginia v.
Smith, 60 F.2d 313, 327 (2d Cir. 1979)."
If you're not citing a majority opinion, or if anything happened to the case after the decision you're citing, this should be included next, using the explanatory phrases and abbreviations included in Table 8 of the Bluebook.Descriptions having to do with the case itself are included in parentheses.
For example, if the opinion had no author, you might put "(per curiam)" after the year, with a space between the parentheses, such as "Virginia v.
Smith, 24 U.S. 283, 287 (1982) (per curiam).
To add procedural history – that is, something that happened to the case after the opinion you're citing that may affect the authority of that particular case – put a comma after the parentheses, then a space, then write the applicable phrase.
Keep in mind that the explanatory phrase should be italicized and followed by a comma.
For example, suppose the federal appeals court decision you are citing was affirmed by the U.S.
Supreme Court.
Your citation would look like this: "Virginia v.
Smith, 60 F.2d 313, 327 (2d Cir. 1979), aff'd, 24 U.S. 283 (1982)."
After all of the citation information, you may feel it necessary to add some information in parentheses that explains specifically why you're citing that case, or what importance it has to your own argument.This information is never necessary, but you should consider adding it if you think it would enhance the citation for the reader.
One circumstance where it arguably is necessary is if, in the portion of the case you're citing, the judge is paraphrasing or citing another case.
Parenthetical information typically is a phrase beginning with a gerund, such as "(holding cupcakes are form of self-expression protected by the First Amendment)." If you're using such a phrase, there are no capitals, and the phrase is not italicized.
In other instances, you may want to draw the reader's attention to a particular passage in the opinion.
Put that in parentheses with quotes around it.
For example, you might write "("Words written in icing are entitled to no less protection than words written in pen...")."
About the Author
Jason Hernandez
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