Dissertation Consulting Company put together this comprehensive guide on sources and citations, but it wasn’t very specific on how to cite court cases in APA styles.
Citing court cases is a little different from citing regular sources, where you need to list the author, year of publication, publication title, title, and URL if applicable.
When citing court cases, you don’t have to know the author. You only need the name of the case, the decision source, and the court date and decision.
It’s time to learn all about how to cite court cases in APA style with examples and illustrations.
Name of the Case
Start the citation using the names as listed at the beginning of the court report. They are mostly the cases of the individuals involved in the case. Use the first name of the first party on both sides.
For example, if Alexander and Joanne are suing Joel and Theodore, the case name becomes Alexander v. Joel.
The APA style referencing calls for an abbreviation of the word versus to v. This is part of the other abbreviations used in APA style referencing. More of such are available in The Bluebook: A Uniform System for Citation.
Reporting the Court Decision
The second element of APA referencing involves stating the source of the record. Most court decisions are bound in volumes named case reporters.
Identify the number of the volume, the reporter’s name, and the first page of the given case. Mention the reporter’s name as abbreviated on the Bluebook.
For example;
425 U.S. 324 United States Reports, Volume 425, page 324.
Court and Date of the Decision
The last part of the court case citation in APA style is to mention the name of the court and the date of the decision. You should also include the geographical location if it is available.
Abbreviate the court’s name as shown in the Bluebook. For example, S.D.N.Y for United States District Court in the Southern District of New York.
Mention the year the court determined the case as the date when referencing. Use the year of the court term if the year of decision is unavailable.
For example, (Mich. 2014) Michigan Supreme Court decided 2014.
How to Cite Cases from the Various Courts in APA Style
The above formatting for court cases is general for every other court case. However, the specific levels of courts have to vary referencing options when citing for APA style. These include;
Citing Federal Court Cases
The federal courts are the national-level courts in the U.S. They are the U.S Supreme Court, and the circuit and district courts.
US Supreme Court
As the highest federal court, the Supreme Courts’ records are available in the United States Reports with an abbreviation of the U.S in the reference.
You don’t have to specify the court when referencing. You only mention the name of the case, reporting decision, and URL if available.
Format
Name v. Name, Volume U.S, Page (Year). URL
Example
Peter v. Gezin, 345 U.S 124 (2020). https://www.gureno.org/cases/2020/345/124
In-text citation
(Peter v. Gezin, 2020)
US Circuit Court
The circuit court is another high-level court whose reports appear on the Federal Reporter. There are currently three series of the reporter running from F, to F.2d and F.3d.
Given their 13 circuit courts in the U.S, you have to mention the number you refer to in the reference. You will list the name of the case, source, and page number, then year and URL on the citation.
Format
Name v. Name, volume, Page number, (Specific Court, Year). URL
Example
Joseph v. Helen, 256 F.3d 147 (8th Cir. 2017). https://casefiles.org/256/3d/147
In-text citation
(Joseph v. Helen, 2017)
US District Court
The District Courts are the last of the federal courts, with their records appearing in Federal Supplements. The records have appeared in three series; F. Supp 3d, F. Supp 2d, and F. Supp.
Given the several district courts around, you must specify the one you are referencing. Example N.D. Hawaii.
For the citation, you will mention the name of the case, volume number, the source where it appears, and the page number. You will then include the court and year in the bracket below, finishing with the URL.
Format
Name v. Name, Volume, F. Supp Page (Court Year). URL
Example
Smith v. Macbeth, 645 F. Supp 3d 464 (N.D Ohio 1999). https://courtcases.org/gdhf/supp3d/645
In-text citation
(Smith v. Macbeth, 1999)
Citing State Court Cases
State courts are those which operate within specific states and not nationally. There are two types of state courts; supreme and appellate courts. The courts have similar citation formats for APA style.
The structure involves stating the name of the case, volume Reporter Page (Court Year). URL
Format
Name v. Name, Volume Reporter Page (Court, Year of Case). URL.
Example
Jeremy v. State, 263 N,E 3d 405 (Ind. 2019). https://www.casejunks.com/state/3/263/405
In-text citation
(Jeremy v. State, 2019)
Other legal citations
Other than court cases, there are other legal references. These are;
Statutes
Statutes are laws passed through a parliamentary sitting. The US statutes are recorded in United States Code (U.S.C), covering various sections. Every new statute goes into a corresponding section.
Referencing a statute involves stating the name of the act, title, source, publication date, and URL.
Format
Name of the act, title source section, publication date, URL
Example
Motor Vehicle Act, 43 U.S.C 2340 (2004). https://www.mazenstats.com/statutes/43/363784-36
In-text citation
(Motor Vehicle Act, 2004)
Bills
Bills are part of a parliamentary discussion. To cite a bill, you state the bill number, title, parliamentary session, number of parliaments, and year.
Format
Bill number, Title, session of Parliament, Parliament number, year
Example
Bill 47, Human Rights Bill, 2nd Session, 45th Parliament, 2018.
In-text citation
(Human Rights Bill, 2018)
Regulations
Federal regulations depend on the year of consolidations for citations. The earlier regulations are cited as Consolidated regulations. The newer regulations, however, should come with the year and number when cited.
Examples
- Air Cushion Regulations, CRC c.3
- Trade-marks Regulations (2004), SOR/37-463
In-text citation
(Trade-marks regulations, 2004)
In Conclusion: Need Help With Legal Assignments?
Unlike other APA style citations, citing court cases requires more careful citation to capture accurate and relevant information. The format would change depending on the type and level of court. It also varies from the various legal documents.
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