To cite a lawsuit, you combine five pieces of information in an order set by your citation style: the case name, the reporter volume, the reporter’s abbreviation, the first page of the opinion, and a parenthetical with the court (if not obvious from the reporter) and the year. Bluebook is the standard for legal writing; APA, MLA, and Chicago each arrange the same elements a little differently for academic work.
The Five Elements Behind Every Case Citation
Whichever style you use, you need the same building blocks:
- The case name, with the parties separated by “v.” (Brown v. Board of Education).
- The volume number of the reporter.
- The reporter abbreviation. U.S. is United States Reports (Supreme Court). F., F.2d, and F.3d are the three series of the Federal Reporter (circuit courts). F. Supp. and F. Supp. 2d are the Federal Supplement (federal district courts). S. Ct. is the Supreme Court Reporter.
- The first page of the opinion in that volume.
- The court and year, in parentheses. If the reporter itself identifies the court (as “U.S.” does), you can drop the court abbreviation.
United States Reports is the official reporter for Supreme Court decisions. Published circuit court opinions appear in the Federal Reporter, and district court opinions selected for publication go in the Federal Supplement.1Library of Congress. Legal Research: A Guide to Case Law – Federal Court Decisions
Bluebook Format
The Bluebook, currently in its 22nd edition, is the citation system used in American legal writing. It has two flavors: the Bluepages for court filings and legal memos, and the Whitepages for law review articles. The structure is identical; the case name styling changes.
A full Bluebook citation to a Supreme Court case looks like this:
Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954)
The case is in volume 347 of United States Reports, starting at page 483, decided in 1954. No court abbreviation appears because “U.S.” already identifies the Supreme Court. For a court that the reporter alone doesn’t identify, the abbreviation goes in the parenthetical:
Longhi v. Mazzoni, 914 N.E.2d 834 (Ind. Ct. App. 2009)
In briefs and memos, italicize (or underline) the case name. In law review footnotes, the case name in a full citation appears in ordinary roman type; short-form case names are italicized.2University of Cincinnati Libraries. Cases – Bluebook Citation 101 – Academic Format
Shortening Party Names
Use only the first party listed on each side, and only last names for individuals. Drop “et al.,” “d/b/a,” and a leading “The.” So “The Travelers Insurance Company et al. v. Tom Jones and Tim Jones” becomes “Travelers Ins. Co. v. Jones.”
Pinpoints, Short Forms, and “Id.”
When you’re pointing to a specific page rather than the case as a whole, add a pincite after the first-page number with “at”:
Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483, 495 (1954)
Once you’ve given the full citation, later references can use a short form that keeps an identifiable piece of the case name plus the volume, reporter, and pincite:
Brown, 347 U.S. at 495
If you’re citing the same source as the immediately preceding citation, use “Id.” (italicizing the period as well). For a different page in the same source, write “Id. at 490.” One catch: “Id.” only works when the preceding citation contains a single authority. If the previous footnote strung together two or more sources, “Id.” is ambiguous and shouldn’t be used.3The Bluebook. 4.1 Id.
Concurrences, Dissents, and Subsequent History
If you’re quoting a concurring or dissenting opinion rather than the majority, add a parenthetical after the date identifying the judge and the type of opinion:
Parker v. Randolph, 442 U.S. 62, 84 (1979) (Stevens, J., dissenting)
Always flag this. A reader who sees a bare citation will assume you’re relying on the majority.
When the case was later reviewed by a higher court, the Bluebook wants you to include that subsequent history, introduced with a phrase like “aff’d,” “rev’d,” or “cert. denied”:
Smith v. Jones, 500 F.3d 200 (2d Cir. 2007), aff’d, 555 U.S. 100 (2009)
You can skip subsequent history when certiorari was denied more than two years ago, when the case was simply remanded, or when the original court withdrew its own decision.
APA Format
APA borrows Bluebook’s basic structure for the reference-list entry and then adds a URL if you have one:
Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954). https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/347/483
The italics rule is the opposite of what APA does with other sources. Case names are not italicized in the reference list, but they are italicized in in-text citations: (Brown v. Board of Education, 1954).4Purdue OWL. APA Legal References For a lower court, include the court abbreviation before the year, the same way Bluebook does.
MLA Format
MLA treats court cases as government documents, so the entry begins with the government entity, then the italicized case name, then source information. MLA now recommends italicizing case names both in the text and in the works-cited list.5The MLA Style Center. Documenting Legal Works in MLA Style
From a print reporter:
United States, Supreme Court. Brown v. Board of Education. United States Reports, vol. 347, 17 May 1954, pp. 483–97.
From a website, the site becomes the container:
United States, Supreme Court. Brown v. Board of Education. 17 May 1954. Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School, www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/347/483.
For lower federal courts, name the specific court (“United States, Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit”). For a state case, the state is the author, followed by the court.5The MLA Style Center. Documenting Legal Works in MLA Style
Chicago Format
Chicago handles cases through footnotes or endnotes rather than a bibliography, and the footnote form looks a lot like Bluebook.6Purdue OWL. Legal, Public and Unpublished Materials
A Supreme Court case:
1. Citizens United v. Federal Election Comm’n, 558 U.S. 310 (2010).
A federal appellate case with a pincite:
2. United States v. Christmas, 222 F.3d 141, 145 (4th Cir. 2000).
For academic papers outside law reviews, Chicago generally does not require legal sources to appear in a separate bibliography; citation in the notes is the accepted form.7The Chicago Manual of Style Online. Chicago-Style Citation Quick Guide
Unpublished and Database-Only Opinions
Plenty of opinions never make it into a printed reporter. To cite one from Westlaw or LexisNexis, use the docket number, the database identifier, an asterisk pincite for the screen page, the court abbreviation, and the full date (month, day, and year):
Beaven v. U.S. Dep’t of Justice, No. 03-84-JBC, 2007 WL 1032301, at *3 (E.D. Ky. Mar. 30, 2007)
On Lexis, the same case reads:
Beaven v. U.S. Dep’t of Justice, No. 03-84-JBC, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 24459, at *3 (E.D. Ky. Mar. 30, 2007)
The short form uses the database identifier: Beaven, 2007 WL 1032301, at *3. Check local rules before you rely on an unpublished opinion; many courts restrict or forbid it.
Where to Pull the Details From
The official reporters (United States Reports for the Supreme Court, the Federal Reporter for the circuits, the Federal Supplement for the districts) carry every element a citation needs.8Supreme Court of the United States. U.S. Reports In practice most people read those details off Westlaw, LexisNexis, or Google Scholar, which display the reporter volume, page, and court information at the top of each opinion. For unpublished cases and court filings, docket numbers and dates come from official court websites or PACER.
One catch on very recent Supreme Court decisions: the U.S. Reports page number may not exist yet. Until it’s assigned, cite to the Supreme Court Reporter (S. Ct.) or use the slip-opinion format.1Library of Congress. Legal Research: A Guide to Case Law – Federal Court Decisions