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APA Style 7th Edition: Citing Your Sources

• Basics of APA Formatting
• In Text Quick View
• Block Quotes
• Books & eBooks
• Thesis/Dissertation
• Audiovisual
• Conference Presentations
• Social Media
• Legal References

Standard Format

Formatting rules.

• Reports and Gray Literature
• Academic Integrity and Plagiarism
• Additional Resources
• Reference Page

Click on the categories below to see what types of information is included for that reference component for Legal References

Basic Format: What, Where (When = year). URL if available

Court Cases

URL (if available)

For Statutes (Laws and Acts)

Legislative Materials

• Legal style order- Title, source, and date (What, Where, When)
• Optional- provide a URL for the version used
• Court Cases: Title or name of the case is written in standard type for reference entry (italics for in-text citation)
• Use this format for enacted bill or resolution not signed into law
• Bills and resolutions passed by Congress & signed by the President to become law should be cited as statutes

Additional Resources:

Legal Information Institute at Cornell Law School : Guidance on legal citations.  Verify legal references containing necessary information and reflect current statues of legal authority (so you're not using amended, repealed or overturned cases).

Click on the categories below to see examples

United States Supreme Court Decisions

Ca court case, state statute, federal statute, ca bill/chapter, congressional bill.

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Bluebook Legal Citation System Guide

Getting started, six steps to creating a citation, bluebook navigation, bluebook troubleshooting, beyond the bluebook, citing & bluebooking faqs, getting help, what is the bluebook.

The Bluebook is a guide to a system of legal citation frequently used by law schools and law journals. This guide will introduce you to how to use the Bluebook. 

Print copies of the Bluebook are available in the Library in Reference and on Reserve at circulation. Copies can also be purchased in print or online at https://www.legalbluebook.com/ .

References to page numbers in this guide are from the 21st edition.

Before You Start

• There are other citation formats.
• Pick the correct one for your project.
• There are gaps in the Bluebook, particularly for non-traditional and non-U.S. sources.
• Use the closest analogous rule.
• Make sure that you are citing the same source or types of sources in the same way. 
• Keep in mind that the main goal for all citation systems is to make it easy for your reader to find the source you are citing. 

Six Steps to Your Citation

To create a Bluebook citation follow this six step process:

1. Identify the Type of Source

What  type of source do you want to cite?

• The Bluebook rules are organized by source type
• Common types include cases, statutes, books and book chapters,  journal articles, web pages, etc.

2. Find the Bluebook Rule

Go to the  Bluebook rule  for that source type. 

• Check the Quick Guides on the inside cover to identify major source types
• Use the index to find rules for other types of sources not included in the Quick Guides
• If you found a traditionally printed source online, review both the rules for the print source and the rules for online sources
• The print and online rules are often used together

3. Read the Rule & Examples

• Read the rule carefully
• Study any examples provided closely
• Examples are provided inside the front cover, at the beginning of each rule, and within the text of the rules
• Note which components are required to create a citation for a specific type of source

4. Gather the Citation Components

• Gather the required components of the citation from your source

5. Draft a Citation

• Draft a citation that looks like the most relevant example
• Do your best, but don't worry if your first draft isn't perfect

6. Edit the Citation

• Edit your draft citation using the Bluebook's style rules and tables
• Note typeface and punctuation conventions for different types of sources
• Note the rules for abbreviations and use the tables to abbreviate your citation

The Six-Step Process in Action

To see an example of how this process works with an article from the NY Times website, check out the powerpoint below.

• PowerPoint Slides: Six-Step Citation Creation Process

Organization & Blue and White Pages

The Bluebook is organized into sections:

• Style Rules
• Primary Law
• Secondary Law
• Internet & Electronic Sources
• Foreign & International Materials
• Tables: Jurisdictions & Abbreviations

Use the Bluepages   when drafting citations that will appear in documents like legal memoranda and court filings. 

Use the Whitepages  when drafting citations that will appear in legal academic publications.

Quick Guides

The Quick Reference inside front and back covers of the print include rule cross references and sample citations for common citation types:

• Inside Front: Quick Reference: Citations in Law Review Footnotes
• Inside Back: Quick Reference: Citations in Court Documents & Legal Memoranda

There is also a Quick Style Guide online for common citation types used in law reviews:

• Online: Quick Style Guide for Citations in Law Review Footnotes

Finding Aids

Consult the following to find the appropriate rule or table for your citation

• Back cover compact table of contents
• Full table of contents (pp. IX-XVI)
• Index (pp. 329-365)

Solving Citation Problems

The Bluebook isn't always clear.  Try the following if you're having difficulty with a citation:

• Make sure you have the correct rule for your type of resource
• If your type of resource isn't specifically included, find the one that is most similar
• If you are citing material for a country that isn't in the Bluebook, find a country with a similar legal system to base your citation on
• Search recent articles in law reviews on Hein, Westlaw and Lexis. Has anyone else cited this material?
• Check the resources linked in Beyond the Bluebook 
• Be consistent with the citation format you pick
• Make sure to include enough information for a reader to follow in your footsteps.

Library Help

We are not Bluebook experts, but we're happy to help guide you through the Bluebooking process.

• Provide access to Library copies of the Bluebook
• Assist you as you navigate Bluebook rules
• Help you locate supplemental citation guides and self-help materials

We cannot check footnotes for you, proofread your paper or provide authoritative Bluebook interpretations. 

Bluebook Orders, Comments & Corrections

• The Harvard Law School Library is not affiliated directly with  The Bluebook or the Harvard Law Review Association
• The Bluebook is compiled by the editors of the Columbia Law Review , the Harvard Law Review, the University of Pennsylvania Law Review , and the Yale Law Journal  and is published and distributed by the Harvard Law Review Association

Please contact the editors of The Bluebook directly ( https://www.legalbluebook.com/ ) with orders, questions, comments or corrections. 

Additional Bluebook Help

• Bluebook Guide (Georgetown Law Library)
• Foreign Law by Jurisdiction: Citation (NYU Law) List of citation guides and abbreviation dictionaries for foreign and international law sources.
• Cornell LII: Introduction to Basic Legal Citation

Over It? Here Are Some Other Options...

• ALWD Guide to Legal Citation The ALWD (Association of Legal Writing Directors) Guide to Legal Citation explains legal citation formats for all types of legal documents in a clear, pedagogically sound manner. The Guide’s plain language, numerous examples, and clear, integrated structure to explaining the legal system of citation for legal materials is easy for students, professors, practitioners, and judges to understand and use.
• The Indigo Book The Indigo Book is a free, Creative Commons-dedicated implementation of The Bluebook’s Uniform System of Citation. The Indigo Book was compiled by a team of students at the New York University School of Law, working under the direction of Professor Christopher Jon Sprigman.
• OSCOLA: Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities The Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities is designed to facilitate accurate citation of authorities, legislation, and other legal materials. It is widely used in law schools and by journal and book publishers in the UK and beyond.

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Case Finding and Advanced Searching Strategies

• Source Type
• Jurisdiction
• Topic / Practice Area
• Publication or Publisher
• Notes of/to Decisions

Citing References (Westlaw)

Citing decisions (lexis).

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In the annotated version of a statute, regulation, or court rule, Citing References (Westlaw) and Citing Decisions (Lexis) contain all cases that cite to that statute, regulation, or court rule.  If you have identified a relevant case, you should also check Citing References and Citing Decisions to see what subsequent cases have cited to that case.  The number of cases in Citing References and Citing Decisions may be voluminous, so take advantage of the filtering options ( e.g. , by jurisdiction, date, etc.) and also conduct searches within the results. 

You should use citing references and citing decisions during various stages of the research process:

• When looking for secondary sources discussing a particular primary source
• When working from a statute, regulation, or court rule to find cases
• When working from a relevant case to find other cases
• When checking to see whether cases are still good law

Citing References collect all cases that cite a particular statute, regulation, and court rule on Westlaw.  Beyond cases, citing references also include other types of materials, such as secondary sources, administrative decisions, and court documents. 

After you have found the relevant statute, regulation, or court rule, click on the "Citing References" tab near the top of the screen.

Citing References include content beyond just cases, such as secondary sources and court filings. Make sure "Cases" is selected if you are only interested in finding cases that cite to this statute, regulation, or court rule. 

You can narrow down the number of citing references by using the left sidebar to filter by jurisdiction ( e.g. , select a particular court or a level of court), restrict by a date or date range, and select whether the cases only include reported cases. 

To further narrow down your search, you can also conduct keyword searches within this set of results by using the "Search within results" option.  Note that you can conduct searches using terms and connectors and Boolean operators ( e.g. , AND, OR, /s, etc.). 

This example used a statute, but note that Citing References are also available for cases so you can see what cases have cited to a particular case.  You will need to check the Citing References for a case when confirming that it is still good law . 

Citing Decisions consist of all cases that cite to a particular statute, regulation, or court rule on Lexis.  To view the Citing Decisions on Lexis, click on "Shepardize this document" in the right sidebar.

The Shepard's Report contains a section for Citing Decisions.  The Other Citing Sources section includes secondary sources and court documents that cite that statute, regulation, or court rule. 

In the left sidebar, you can narrow your results by filtering based on how the case treated that statute, regulation, or court rule, as well as by selecting a court or a specific date range.  Additionally, you can also run keyword searches within your results. 

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Generate accurate APA citations for free

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• How to cite a law in APA Style

How to Cite a Law in APA Style | Format & Examples

Published on February 11, 2021 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on December 27, 2023.

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.

The year included is when the law was published in the source consulted, not when it was passed, amended, or supplemented.

Table of contents

Symbols and abbreviations in law citations, citing federal statutes with the public law number, citing state laws, frequently asked questions about apa style citations.

The United States Code and most other compilations of laws are divided into parts called “titles,” and within those titles, sections.

No symbol is used for the title in your reference, but the section number is preceded by the symbol §. To insert the section symbol in Word, click on “Insert,” “Symbol,” “More symbols,” “Special characters,” and then find it in the list under “section.”

When a law is spread across multiple consecutive sections, the term “ et seq .” (Latin for “and following”) is added after the initial section number. It is always italicized and followed by a period.

Scribbr Citation Checker New

The AI-powered Citation Checker helps you avoid common mistakes such as:

• Missing commas and periods
• Incorrect usage of “et al.”
• Ampersands (&) in narrative citations
• Missing reference entries

A law may also have a public law number . This is not used in the citation, except in special cases: when the law is not (yet) included in the United States Code , or when it is spread across non-consecutive parts of the Code .

Laws not included in the Code

A law that has not been codified (published in the United States Code ) should be cited using its public law number and information about wherever it was published.

The law below was published in the United States Statutes at Large , which is abbreviated to “Stat.”

Laws spread across different sections

When an act is codified across different non-consecutive sections of the Code , it is also cited using the public law number and information about its location in the Statutes at Large .

The example below was codified in titles 2, 28, and 42 of the Code , so it is cited using the public law number instead.

The laws and statutes of individual states are cited in a similar format to federal laws where possible. “U.S.C.” is replaced with an abbreviation for the law code of that state, and titles and sections are presented in the same way. However, some state codes use article or chapter numbers instead of or in addition to section numbers, or do not use titles.

Make sure to adapt your reference to the standards of the state. For example, the title for a law from the Virginia Code is included with the section number, separated by a hyphen , as shown in this example.

Generally, you should identify a law in an APA reference entry by its location in the United States Code (U.S.C.).

But if the law is either spread across various sections of the code or not featured in the code at all, include the public law number in addition to information on the source you accessed the law in, e.g.:

No, including a URL is optional in APA Style reference entries for legal sources (e.g. court cases , laws ). It can be useful to do so to aid the reader in retrieving the source, but it’s not required, since the other information included should be enough to locate it.

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.

Caulfield, J. (2023, December 27). How to Cite a Law in APA Style | Format & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved September 23, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/apa-examples/law/

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Bluebook Legal Citation

• Intro signals: E.g., See, See also, Cf., etc.
• Order of authorities
• Pages, Paragraphs, and Pincites
• Short form: Id., Infra, Supra, Hereinafter
• Typeface conventions

Case citation example

Case name rules, reporter rules, court and year parentheticals, parenthetical rules, case history, short form citations.

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Below is an example of a case citation.  This page will briefly covers the rules governing case citations.  For more in-depth information about the parts of a case citation, please see " citations explained " in Tarlton's Finding a Case guide. 

Katz v. United States, 369 F.2d 130 (9th Cir. 1966), rev'd , 389 U.S. 347 (1967).

Bluebook Rule (21st):  10.2

Law Review Typeface: Ordinary; italics  for procedural phrases

In general, rule 10.2 provides guidelines for creating simple and straightforward case names from the list of parties given at the beginning of every case report.

Rule 10.2 applies to both case names in textual sentences and citations and is divided into two sub-rules, designated rules  10.2.1 and 10.2.2 .  Rule 10.2.1 applies to case names in both textual sentences and citations, while rule 10.2.2 applies only to case names contained in citations.  The primary difference, however, is that rule  10.2.2 provides additional guidance for a more extensive abbreviation of words appearing in case names, including all words appearing in table T6 and geographic terms in table T10 .

Some of the basic rules are as follow:

    1) Omit parties or actions other than the first listed         Moe and Curly v. Larry v. Schemp -> Moe v. Larry          2) Omit words indicating multiple parties, such as " et al . "           3) Omit given names         Basil Schaban-Maurer v. Anna Maurer-Schaban ->  Schaban-Maurer v. Maurer-Schaban              4) Omit geographic terms such as "State of" or "City of"         Daniel Rey v. The State of Texas ->  Rey v. State

NOTE: Only use "State" as a party name when citing opinions within that state; otherwise use a state's proper name. 

            5) Abbreviate commonly known acronyms and the 8 words listed in rule 10.2.1(c)         Securities and Exchange Commission v. Kern ->  S.E.C. v. Kern              6) Omit multiple terms designating a party as a business entity         Acme Inc., Co. v. Wile E. Coyote ->   Acme Inc. v. Coyote

NOTE: NEVER abbreviate United States as "U.S." when it is a named party.  Instead always write out "United States."  While "U.S." is often used in case reporter headings, it is not allowed by the Bluebook because "U.S." is the preferred abbreviation for the United States Reports, the official report for United States Supreme Court decisions.  This rule does not apply when the United States is the author of book, treatise, or report, as is discussed here in this guide. 

Bluebook Rule (21st): 10.3

Law Review Typeface:  Ordinary; italics for procedural phrases

Case decisions are most frequently published in bound reporters.  A proper citation to a decision in a bound reporter will indicate:

• the volume of the reporter;
• an abbreviation of the reporter ; and
• the page upon which the case begins, followed by a pincite for a specific page cited if any.

There are many different reporters, both official and unofficial.  In court documents and filings, parallel citations to the same case as it appears in multiple reporters are often required.  As a general rule, however, the Bluebook does not require parallel citations. Rule 10.3.1 discusses parallel citations.  Bluebook rule 10.3.1(b) states that citations to the appropriate regional reporter are preferred.  Bluebook table T1 provides guidance on how to properly abbreviate reporter names.  For quick reference, you may consult the " Examples of Abbreviations " material in Tarlton's " Finding a Case " guide.  Rules 3.1 and 3.2 apply to volume and page numbers, respectively.  Note that volume numbers should be cited using Arabic numerals (1,2,3) even if they appear as Roman numerals (XXV) in the original source.  Page numbers, however, may be cited as either Arabic or Roman numerals, depending on how they appear in the original source:

            Sweatt v. Painter, 339 U.S. 629 (1950).

The proper way to cite to a specific page within a case is to place a comma and "pincite" to the specific page after the first-page citation:

            Sweatt v. Painter, 339 U.S. 629 , 632  (1950).

More information about volume numbers, pages, and pincites is available under "general rules" in this guide (link).

Public Domain Format

The only time the bluebook strictly requires a parallel citation is when a decision has also been published in a public domain format.

Bluebook Rule (21st): 10.4 (Court & Jurisdiction) & 10.5 (Year)

Law Review Typeface: Ordinary

After the reporter citation and pincite, if any, information related to the court and year of decision is placed in a parenthetical.  Rule 10.4 describes what information must be included in this parenthetical.  The information required by the bluebook can and will vary depending upon:

• whether a case was decided by a state or federal court;
• the level of the court within the court hierarchy, and, in some cases;
• which reporter is being cited.

Federal Cases

In general, cases decided by the United States Supreme Court do not require any case information within the parenthetical, just the year of decision:

Sweatt v. Painter, 339 U.S. 629 (1950) .

When citing either a case decided by a federal district court or federal court of appeals, however, you should include both court information and year of decision.

Edgewater Foundation v. Thompson, 350 F.3d 694 (7th Cir. 2003) .

Adams v. United States, 350 F.3d 1216 (Fed. Cir. 2003) .

  Warren Publ'g Co. v. Spurlock, 645 F.Supp.2d 402 (E.D. Pa. 2009) .

NOTE: in citations, numeric ordinals ending in "2nd" or "3rd" are written as " 2d " or " 3d ":

  Wilson v. Aschcroft, 350 F.3d 377 (3d Cir. 2003) .  

State Cases

State case citations will typically be to one of the regional reporters.

Valadez v. Avitia, 238 S.W.3d 843 (Tex. App. – El Paso 2007) .

Mills Realty, Inc. v. Wolff, 910 S.W.2d 320 (Mo. App. E.D. 1995) .

There are a few special rules for state case citations.  First, you do not need to indicate the deciding court if it is the highest court, just the state:

Seeco, Inc. v. Hales, 22 S.W.3d 157 (Ark. 2000) .

Another is that you do not need to indicate the state if the reporter cited unambiguously indicates which state issued it:

DiLucia v. Madelker, 493 N.Y.S.2d 769 (App. Div. 1985) .

Both rules would apply when citing a decision of the highest court appearing in an official state reporter:

Bates v. Tappan, 99 Mass. 376 (1868) .

Bluebook Rule (21st): 10.6

Law Review Typeface:  Ordinary

Additional parenthetical information follows the court and year parenthetical.  There are three main types of parenthetical information that may be given and which should be always be listed in the following order ( rule 10.6.4 ):

• weight of authority;
• quoting or citing parentheticals; and
• explanatory parentheticals.

Weight of Authority Parentheticals

This parenthetical will indicate the weight of a decision or the portion of the decision being cited ( rule 10.6.1 ).

Quoting or Citing Parentheticals

This parenthetical is used when the case being cited is itself citing or quoting another case. After noting whether a case was cited or quoted include the full case citation following the same rules and typeface conventions as any other case citation (see  rule 10.6.3 ). 

Explanatory Parentheticals

Explanatory parentheticals provide additional information about the proposition for which a case has been cited and are strongly encouraged when there is an inferential step between an author's statement in the text and the cited source. Note that explanatory parentheticals and phrases are encouraged for other citations as well, including secondary sources, especially when an inferential step is indicated by the signal.

Often, although not always, explanatory parentheticals begin with a present participle verb (holding, arguing, noting, etc.) and then briefly indicate why the case was cited.

Bluebook Rule (21st): 10.7

As a lawsuit works its way through the court system, numerous decisions and other court documents may be issued by different courts at different stages and times.  Depending on which decision or document is being cited, the other decisions will be referred to as either prior or subsequent history. 

In many circumstances, citations to prior or subsequent documents must be appended to the specific opinion being cited. A partial list of the explanatory phrases indicating a case's prior or subsequent history (rev'd, aff'g, overruled, abrogated, etc.) can be found in  table T8 .

Bluebook Rule (21st): 10.9

In limited circumstances, case decisions may be cited in an abbreviated citation known as a "short form."  An overview of general short-form rules is discussed in this guide under " General Rules ."

What are those limited circumstances?

• The case is already cited in the same footnote, or
• The case is cited in one of the preceding five footnotes.

In all other circumstances, the full citation is required.

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FAQ: How do I cite a legal case (court decisions) in APA Style?

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Last Updated: Jun 22, 2023 Views: 57758

For further information on cases or court decisions, please see pages 357-361, section 11.4, of the APA manual.

American Psychological Association. (2020).  Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7 th ed.). https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000

Components of Citing Legal Cases in APA Style

There are five components to a legal citation: title or name of the case; citation; jurisdiction of the court writing the decision; date of the decision, and URL (optional).

Title or Name of the Case

General format.

Name v. Name

For Example

Plessy v. Ferguson

The court decisions are often found in publications called case reporters. You will need to identify the volume number, the name of the reporter, and the first page of the case. The name of the reporter will be abbreviated.  For example, F. Supp. for Federal Supplement (decisions from the U.S. District Court are published in the Federal Supplements).

Volume Number Reporter Page number

627 F. Supp. 418

This citation statement means that the court decision can be found in volume 627 of the Federal Supplement starting on page 418.

Jurisdiction of the Court Writing the Decision

The court will be in parentheses. Please note that legal citations frequently use abbreviations. For example, a court decision from the Texas Courts of Appeals would look like: (Tex. App.). For a partial list of abbreviations, please see Cornell Law School’s Legal Information Institute’s page of abbreviations This link opens in a new window .

Date of the Court Decision

This is in the same set of parentheses as the jurisdiction like this: (Tex. App. 1999)

This is the location from which you found the case information. It is optional, but it may help readers to locate the case.

Example Citations of Federal and State Court Decisions

Name v. Name, Volume number Reporter Page number (Court Year). URL

For Example - Federal

Meritor Sav. Bank v. Vinson, 477 U.S. 57 (1986). https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/477/57/ This link opens in a new window

U.S. Supreme Court decisions are published in the United States Reports (abbreviated “U.S.” in the reference). You do not need to indicate U.S. Supreme Court within the parentheses since the U.S. part of the citation makes it clear which court this is.

For Example - State

Bates v. Tappan, 99 Mass. 376 (1868). https://cite.case.law/mass/99/376/ This link opens in a new window

The abbreviation “Mass.” stands for Massachusetts Reports and it publishes decisions made by the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts. You do not need to indicate the court within the parentheses since the Mass. part of the citation makes it clear which court this is.

In-Text Citations

( Name v. Name , Year)

( Meritor Sav. Bank v. Vinson , 1986)

( Bates v. Tappan , 1868)

Unlike other reference types, the title or name of a case is written in standard type in the References but in italic type in the in-text citation. The year is not in italic type.

More Information

• Purdue Online Writing Lab – APA Legal References This link opens in a new window
• Legal Information Institute – Introduction to Basic Legal Citation This link opens in a new window

Further Help

This information is intended to be a guideline, not expert advice. Please be sure to speak to your professor about the appropriate way to cite sources in your class assignments and projects.

Campus Students

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• Table of contents
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• Citing Agency Material ... in Brief
• The Bluebook
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Legal Citations

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Tools for Reading Citations

• Prince's Bieber Dictionary of Legal Abbreviations by Mary Miles Prince Call Number: KF246 .B46 2017 (Location: Reference) Publication Date: 2017-01-01 The best guide for deciphering cryptic abbreviations.
• Cardiff Index to Legal Abbreviations (Online Resource) Web-based service allows you to search for the meaning of abbreviations for English language legal publications, from the British Isles, the Commonwealth and the United States, including those covering international and comparative law. A wide selection of major foreign language law publications is also included.

Definition of a Legal Citation

A citation (or cite) in legal terminology is a reference to a specific legal source, such as a constitution, a statute, a reported case, a treatise, or a law review article.  A standard citation includes first the volume number, then the title of the source, (usually abbreviated) and lastly, a page or section number.

IMPORTANT NOTE: This guide is not meant to provide guidance for correct legal citation format; rather, it is a basic guide to understanding the parts of a legal citation and a list of sources for looking up legal abbreviations. Be sure to follow the rules of your particular court for proper citation format.

Case Citations

Case citations designate the volume number of the reporter in which the case appears, the name of the reporter, the page on which the case begins, and the year the decision was rendered.  Thus, each citation is unique.  Cases, or judicial opinions, can be published by more than one publisher.  If this occurs, the case name may be followed by one or more “parallel citations.”  The official reporter is the one with whose publisher the court has contracted to publish the reports; any other citation is called “unofficial.”  (Sometimes a case will have only an unofficial citation, such as in the Federal Reporter; then the “unofficial” cite will be listed alone.)  The text of the opinions will be the same in the official or unofficial sources, but the unofficial may contain additional editorial features which differ from the official.    In California, the State Supreme Court cases are published officially in the California Reports, series 1-4; the Court of Appeals cases are officially published in the California Appellate Reports, series 1-4.  Unofficial reports are published by West; Supreme Court and Appellate Court decisions are published together in the West’s California Reporter, series 1, 2 & 3.  The Supreme Court decisions are also published in the Pacific Reporter, series 1, 2 & 3. 

Here are examples of citations for California:

Federal cases are cited in the same format as California cases.  For United States Supreme Court cases, the official reports, United States Reports, (abbreviated “US”) are published by the U.S. Government.  There are two parallel citations for Supreme Court cases: those published by West in the Supreme Court Reporter are abbreviated “S.Ct.”; those published by LexisNexis, the United States Supreme Court Reports, Lawyers’ Edition, are abbreviated “L.Ed.” or “L.Ed. 2d”  Court of Appeals cases, published only in West’s Federal Reporter, are abbreviated “F.,” “F. 2d.” or “F. 3d.”  Federal District Court cases are published only in West’s Federal Supplement, abbreviated “F. Supp.” or “F. Supp. 2d”  

Code Citations

Citations to California Codes do not begin with numbers; instead, the title of the code name is followed by the section number, the publisher, and the date of the volume (not the date the individual code section was enacted).  Parallel cites are not used for the code, since there is no official code for California.  The version of the unofficial code used (Deering’s or West) is indicated in the date portion of the citation.

Citations to the United States Code follow the same general format as cases; however, the first number refers to the title of the United States Code rather than a volume number, and the second number refers to the section number of the code rather than the page number.  Parallel cites are not used for the code, since the numbering is uniform for both official and unofficial codes.  The unofficial codes are designated by their own abbreviations, U.S.C.A. (West) and U.S.C.S. (Lexis). 

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Short Citation Forms

Thus far, this guide has described how to cite cases in long form, i.e., how you cite a case for the first time in a document. Because you will often cite a case (and other legal materials) multiple times in a document, The Bluebook has established a "short form" for use in subsequent citations.  

The main rule that describes the short form for cases is  Rule 10.9 . This rule also explains when you can use a short form for cases already cited in full in law review articles. You should consult Bluepages Rule B10.2 for when you can use a short form for cases already cited in full in briefs, filings, and legal memoranda.

In general, a short form for a case has the following elements:

• Name of the case (underlined or italicized and abbreviated according to Rule 10.2)
• Volume of the reporter
• Reporter abbreviation
• Pinpoint citation to specific page referenced preceded by "at"

Other short forms are acceptable as long as it's clear which case you are citing.  Here are examples of acceptable short forms for Universal City Studios, Inc. v. Corley , 273 F.3d 429 (2d Cir. 2001), assuming you were referencing text on page 435 of the case:

Universal City Studios, Inc. v. Corley , 273 F.3d at 435

Corley , 273 F.3d at 435

273 F.3d at 435

Id. is used when the case appeared in the immediately preceding citation and the citation included only that case .  Like case names, id. can be underlined or italicized.  Rule 4 provides additional information on using id.

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ACAP LEARNING RESOURCES

Reference with Harvard

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Reported Case Law

• Reference List
• In-text Citation

Do not use in-text citations for case law or legislation. Rather, mention the case or legislation in the written text. The reference list should have separate sections for cases and legislation where you list cases or Acts referred to in the body of the essay. See below for appropriate ways to cite these.

Reported Case Law in the Reference List

(This image has been taken from the AGLC4  p. 39. The AGLC4 and Style Manual follow the same format when referencing reported cases)

More examples of Reported Case Law in the Reference List:

R v Denyer [1995] 1 VR 186 R stands for Rex/Regina (King/Queen/Crown) Party names separated by v (which stands for and in civil matters and against in criminal matters) Denyer is the defendant [square brackets used around the year because the law report series has no independent volume number]. 1 refers to the part VR is the abbreviation for the  law report series - Victorian Reports 186 is the starting page of the case. Denyer v R (1997) 188 CLR 207 Party names separated by v. (round brackets used around the year because there is an independent volume number) 188 = volume number CLR is the abbreviation for the law report series 207 is the starting page

If you need to check a case law abbreviation, check the Monash Legal Abbreviations Page

According to the Navitas College of Public Safety Referencing Guide (p.20):

Do not use in-text citations for case law or legislation. Rather, mention the case or legislation in the written text. The references should have separate sections for cases and legislation where you list cases or Acts referred to in the body of the essay.

Case Law from AustLII (medium neutral citation format)

According to the Style Manual for Authors Editors and Printers, 6th edn, p.227.

'On first mention in the text, the authority should be cited in full. An abbreviated form or the name by which the case is commonly known can be given in parentheses following the formal citation. After that the abbreviated or common form can be used'. For example, when referencing the Mabo case from AustLII, use the following the first time: Mabo v Queensland (No 2) [1992] HCA 23 (3 June 1992) ("Mabo case"). Following on from this, you can refer to the Mabo Case in the body of your essay.

Remember - do not use in-text citations for case law or legislation. Rather, mention the case or legislation in the written text in full the first time and then you can use the abbreviated name for the rest of your essay.

The reference list should have separate sections for cases and legislation where you list cases or Acts referred to in the body of the essay. See below for appropriate ways to cite these. When referencing case law from AustLII, use the medium neutral citation referencing format. This is explained on page 54 of the AGLC4 .

The party names are separated by v The year is included in square brackets A unique court identifier is used instead of the court name The judgement number is listed The date is included in round brackets.

Re: the example above... When reading this case on AustLII, the information you need to reference a case is provided at the top of the page - see the diagram below. Simply copy this information and ensure that the party names are placed in italics

What is the green arrow in this diagram? It was one of the keywords used to locate this case on the database. Therefore, it is highlighted with a green arrow. For referencing purposes, ignore the green arrow.

'On first mention in the text, the authority should be cited in full. An abbreviated form or the name by which the case is commonly known can be given in parentheses following the formal citation. After that the abbreviated or common form can be used'.

For example, when referencing the Mabo case from AustLII, use the following the first time: Mabo v Queensland (No 2) [1992] HCA 23 (3 June 1992) ("Mabo case"). Following on from this, you can refer to the Mabo Case in the body of your essay.

Legislation

Legislation in the Reference List

(This image has been taken from the AGLC4  p. 67. The AGLC4 and Style Manual follow a similar format when referencing reported cases)

Crimes Act 1958 (Vic)

Crimes Act 1914 (Cwlth)

Note: The date is part of the title.

Note: Even though you are using the Harvard Author/Date referencing system, ACAP Criminology/Policing students are likely to see books and articles which use two different referencing styles - the Harvard and the Australian Guide to Legal Citation, 3rd ed., (AGLC3). There is a difference between the styles when referencing Commonwealth Legislation Harvard = Cwlth. Example: Crimes Act 1914 (Cwlth)  AGLC4 =  Cth. Example: Crimes Act 1914 (Cth)

• AGLC4 The AGLC4 was published in 2018.
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U.S. Supreme Court Decisions

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Legal Citation

Legal citations are very specifically formatted and include many abbreviations, and they can be a challenge to create or understand. Use the following resources for information on how to cite legal sources.

• Introduction to Basic Legal Citation (Cornell) Based on the 18th edition of the "Bluebook" and other legal citation sources.
• Thurgood Marshall Law Library Understanding Citations to Basic Legal Resources

Citing Cases

Legal citations take a different form than journal article citations and are very specifically formatted and include many abbreviations, and they can be a challenge to create or understand.

As an example, the case Roe v. Wade would be cited: Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973) .

The citation is read:

410 = Volume 410 of the

U.S. =  United States Reports

113 = case begins on page 113  

1973 = date of the case decision

The official reporter is the United States Reports (US) and the two unofficial, parallel reporters are the

Supreme Court Reporter (S.CT) and 

United States Supreme Court Reports Lawyers' Edition (L. Ed. or L.Ed.2nd).

The same case can also be found in the parallel reporters:

93 S.Ct. 705 = Volume 93 beginning at page 705

35 L.Ed.2d 147, Volume 35 at page 147.

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Footnotes, endnotes, and citations

What citations should I use in my essay?

Regular essays and timed exams

Most instructors at the undergraduate level (including instructors on law conversion courses) do not require students to do more than indicate the names of cases or statutes in the text of their essays and examinations, particularly in timed examinations. While it's preferable to give the full case name (such as Jones v Smith), in a timed examination you can get by with one name or the other. Usually people pick the first party's name, unless it's a very common name or a criminal case. Sometimes, though, you will notice that your textbook or lecturer uses the second party's name regularly. If you know that the case is commonly short-cited to the second party's name, go ahead and use that.

If you can't remember the name of a particular case or statute, simply describe it. For example, 'the snail in the bottle case' sufficiently evokes Donoghue v. Stevenson . 'The first Occupiers' Liability Act' gets you past worries about the particular year it was enacted. Of course, if you are working on a weekly essay or a long-term research project you must take the trouble of finding and putting in the proper title or citation.

Once you have used the full name once, feel free to use a short citation, such as ' Donoghue' or 'the 1984 Act.' There's no need to keep repeating the full name.

If you are writing your essay by hand, there is no need to use different coloured ink for a case or statutory citation. It often helps if you underline case names, but you won't lose points if you don't. If you are typing your essay, you can underline or italicise case names, but there's no need for elaborate type faces. Make your writing stand out rather than your design skills. Sometimes it seems that students spend more time formatting the essay than they do writing it. Don't be one of those students.

Typically, citations in a regular essay or timed examination are placed in the text next to the proposition they support. See the sample student essays in chapter 10 of the book for models.

These suggestions are only guidelines to use if you do not receive more specific instructions from your tutor or lecturer. If your university or instructors have particular rules that they wish you to follow, do so.

Long-term research essays and theses

If you are doing a long-term research project, you should use the full and proper citation, either in a footnote, an endnote or in the text. Again, once you have given the citation in full, you may use the appropriate short citation.

Very often, instructors will give formatting advice for long-term research essays. Certainly students doing masters theses will be given detailed information on the citation convention they are to use. If you have not been given any guidance, ask for it. Also, don't wait until the last minute to investigate your citation requirements. There's nothing worse than having to go back through all your research to add in specific page numbers or dates because you forgot to do it the first time. With a long-term project, you can and should plan ahead.

When should I quote and when should I paraphrase?

As mentioned in the book, quotes are good in the law. The words of Lord Justice Whozits are much more persuasive than a mere lawyer's. Use quotations freely, as long as you:

• use the exact words and punctuation found in the original source;
• use square brackets [ ] to indicate changes in capitalization, punctuation and language; and
• provide the source of the quotation.

Remember also that extensive quotations from statutes – particularly if you are permitted to use the statute book in an otherwise closed examination – are not particularly impressive. What is more important in those situations is your interpretation and use of the statute.

Never include the precise language of a source – or language that is virtually identical – without a proper attribution. Not only does that constitute plagiarism, it is counter to the use of source material in law. The law depends on published precedent for its authority. A legal principle is only as good as its source. Therefore, you want to demonstrate where your various propositions come from, since they will be more valuable if they come from an outside source.

However, there are times when you should paraphrase rather than provide a direct quotation. If the pertinent section is very long or discusses issues that are not relevant to the point you are making, then go ahead and paraphrase. Similarly, if the point you are making is only tangential to your larger argument, a paraphrase may be appropriate. Sometimes it's wise to save your ammunition for the big issues.

If you are paraphrasing someone, it is still helpful to identify the source so that your reader knows that you are not making the proposition up out of whole cloth. Again, lawyers and judges evaluate the strength of your argument based on the strength of your sources. Show your reader how well-read you are and earn every point you possibly can.

When should I use footnotes, when should I use endnotes and when should I put the citation in the text?

For the most part, undergraduates can put their citations in the text of their essays. The citation can be set off mid-sentence through parenthesis ( Hansel v Gretel ) or can follow the sentence. Hansel v Gretel . The one exception for undergraduates is on long-term research projects, where the instructors might ask for footnotes or endnotes.

There is no formal convention on when you should use footnotes rather than endnotes. For the most part, it's a matter of style and personal choice, although the choice may not be yours to make. If you are writing a postgraduate thesis or dissertation, your faculty or your supervisor may have very strict ideas on how the work is to be presented. Follow those rules to the letter. Similarly, if you are hoping to have your work published in a periodical or legal journal, ask to see the editorial guidelines. An editor is much more likely to accept your work if it conforms to the house style.

If the issue is left entirely up to you, then you simply need to decide which form of notes you find more helpful. Footnotes can be seen to break the flow of the text, but they also help the reader follow the argument, particularly if the text is comparing and contrasting different sources. Footnotes are also more useful than endnotes if the footnotes contain substantive information rather than simply providing source material. For the most part, British and European writers do not include anything in their foot- or endnotes other than the citations themselves, possibly with a “see also” reference to additional material. American authors, on the other hand, fill their footnotes with additional substantive information. Often the best information in an American law review article can be found in the footnotes.

American legal texts are also known for dropping a footnote at the end of almost every sentence, whereas texts from other countries do so much less, usually only following a direct quote. The reason why American journals use as many footnotes as they do is because most American law journals are edited by law students. British and European journals are peer-reviewed, meaning that an article is only accepted if it passes muster with other academics and/or practitioners. Therefore, the text of the article is verified before it is accepted for publication. American students are not experts in their fields, so they must – and do – check the substance of each and every footnote by hand to make sure that it supports the proposition stated. Therefore, American law journals contain excellent source material for researchers, since the footnotes point the reader to a wide variety of verified information and additional resources. Because American footnotes contain so much information, it makes sense to place them on the same page as the text they support rather than at the end of the article or book.

If you are writing for a non-American audience, you should strongly consider putting citations only into your notes. Once you have made that decision, it matters less whether you put the note on the page or at the end of the piece. If you have a multi-chaptered work (such as a book or doctoral dissertation), then you might consider putting the notes at the end of each chapter rather than at the end of the work as a whole. However, it is highly unlikely that the decision to use footnotes or endnotes will be left to your discretion if you are writing a book or dissertation. Again, conform your text to the guidelines of your institution.

Do remember your punctuation, however. Footnotes and endnotes should both end with a full stop.

What is 'proper' citation form?

If you are an undergraduate writing a weekly essay or timed examination, a case name or the short title of a statute should be sufficient, unless you are told otherwise. If you are writing a more elaborate work, you should follow proper citation guidelines.

There are entire books written on how to cite legal authorities. If you are writing a detailed research paper such as a thesis or dissertation, you should consult one of those books so that you cite your sources properly. Your law librarian can help you find those resources. Also, you should know that each jurisdiction has its own conventions on how to cite legal authorities, so the style of case citation, for example, may not appear consistent if you are citing materials from different countries, even if the individual citations are correct.

In the U.K., authors generally do not give parallel (i.e., multiple) citations except when citing both a neutral reporter and an official reporter, though they must follow strict rules regarding punctuation (or the lack thereof), the type of brackets, typeface, etc. Examples of common British case citations are as follows.

Walker v Sitter [2004] EWHC 1000 (Ch) [5]-[7] (neutral citation, pinpointing paragraphs 5 to 7)

Yin v Yang [2004] QB 123 (QB) at 125 (Schmidt, J) (pinpointing page, noting author)

Tweedledee v Tweedledum [2003] 2 All ER 456 (HL)

Re Luftborough Airport [2002] 1 WLR 89 (Com Ct)

Barking Mad Ltd v Crazy Horse Int'l Inc (2005) Times, 15 April (QB)

The neutral citation system was introduced in the U.K. in January 2001. All cases since then have a neutral citation as well as numbered paragraphs instead of page numbers. The abbreviations indicate which court heard the case. For example, the jurisdictions include:

UK United Kingdom (used only with House of Lords decisions)

EW England and Wales

Scot Scotland

NI Northern Ireland

The court abbreviations which follow the jurisdictional abbreviation in a neutral citation are:

HL House of Lords

CA Civ Court of Appeal (Civil Division)

CA Crim Court of Appeal (Criminal Division)

HC (Ch) High Court (Chancery Division)

HC (QB) High Court (Queen's Bench)

HC (Admin) High Court (Administrative Court Division)

HC (Fam) High Court (Family Division)

HC (Pat) Patents Court

HC (Comm) Commercial Court

HC (Admlty) Admiralty Court

HC (TCC) Technology & Construction Court

European jurisprudence follows its own conventions. You might see citations along the following lines:

Case 26/97 Commission v. Ireland [1999] ECR 321

Case 177/75 Belgium v. Spain [1976] ECR 722, para. 3

Case C-123/92P Y v Commission [1994] ECR I-4321

American legal citations follow a different format, using the style known as the 'Bluebook', which is a citation guide put out by the Harvard Law Review. You'll usually see citations similar to the following:

Darth Vader v Skywalker , 103 F.3d 1049 (2d Cir. 2005)

In re Ballyhoo , 998 F.Supp. 22 (D. D.C. 1999)

Grasshopper v The Ant , 37 App. 2d 24 (Ill. App. Div. 2003)

Cowboy v Cow , 42 S.W.3d 444 (Tex. 2004)

Many common words (railway, limited, public limited company) can be abbreviated in a case name. Those abbreviations can be found in citation guides such as OSCOLA, which is described below. Similarly, many reporting series are known by their abbreviations. Some of the more common British reporters follow, with their short titles. Be aware that some of these series may also have numbers appearing before the volume name (for example, 2 QB).

Official Law Reports AC, QB, Ch, Fam, P

Weekly Law Reports WLR

European Court Reports ECR

All England Law Reports All ER, All ER Com

Common Market Law Reports CMLR

Criminal Appeal Reports Cr App R

Family Law Reports FLR

Lloyd's Law Reports Lloyd's Rep

Official Journal of the EC OJ

Scots Law Times CLT

The Times The Times

Citation of statutes in the U.K. is a straightforward affair. Typically a student needs only cite the name of the legislation and the year, along with the appropriate section, chapter or paragraph number. For example:

Companies Act 1985, sch. 1, para. 3

Arbitration Act 1996, s. 69

European legislation is equally simple, though the titles are often longer and appear in lower case.

Council Regulation (EC) 2693/94 addressing the need to conform widget size in automobiles [1994] OJ L123

Directive 77/331 applying competition rules to the dairy industry [1977] OJ L78/41

When citing American federal legislation and rules, do not include the name of the enactment.

28 U.S.C. § 1391

Fed. R. Civ. P. 4

Students should be aware that two well-known U.S. treatise series – the Restatement (of Tort, of Contract, of Foreign Relations, etc.) and A.L.R. (American Law Reports) do not constitute binding authority in the U.S. Instead, these works simply generalise about the laws of the various U.S. states and should not be considered as authoritative in any particular jurisdiction. While some courts may adopt the Restatement position on a particular issue, the Restatement does not constitute the law in that jurisdiction until a court has so stated. In all instances, the authority comes from the court, not the Restatement.

Which reporting series should I use?

Since the introduction of the neutral citation system in 2001, it is always proper to cite to that series, using paragraph numbers instead of page numbers. If a case is reported in the official Law Reports (AC, QB, etc.), then you should use that report in addition to the neutral citation (at least for decisions after 2001). If the case is not reported in the official Law Reports, you should use to the Weekly Law Reports and All England Law Reports, in that order. After that, you may turn to any other published source, including specialist series such as Lloyd's or the Times.

What is OSCOLA and how does it relate to the Harvard citation style?

'OSCOLA' refers to the Oxford Standard Citation of Legal Authorities, which is available free of charge on the University of Oxford Faculty of Law website ( www.law.ox.ac.uk ). The faculty releases two publications: 'Big OSCOLA', which is over 300 pages in length, and 'Little OSCOLA', which is about 30 pages long. Both documents give you detailed instructions on how to cite cases, statutes, books, journals and other legal materials. Most people should start with Little OSCOLA unless they are doing a postgraduate degree at Oxford or are directed to use Big OSCOLA. The OSCOLA system reflects a common understanding of how British legal authorities should be cited and is a good place to learn how British and European cases should be referenced. Notably, the OSCOLA system proposes a citation methodology that conflicts with American usage, and those whose work includes a large number of American cases may prefer to consult the latest edition of the Bluebook, which is available in many university law libraries, for U.S. sources.

You may also hear about the Harvard style of citation, particularly if you conduct socio-legal or other multi-disciplinary research. The Harvard style is not the same as the Bluebook, even though that guide is also put out by Harvard. The Harvard style of citation focuses primarily on non-legal sources such as books and journal articles, and, as such, is not as useful for those taking a strict law course as OSCOLA is. Under the Harvard style of citation, cases are cited in the text, rather than in the footnotes.

Citation signals

Older sources make wide use of Latin phrases such as infra, supra, ante, id, op cit, loc cit and contra . American sources continue to use many of these phrases in addition to a number of signals ( see, see also, but see, cf., accord ) at the beginning of a cite and descriptors ( cert. denied , aff'd by, rev'd by, superseded by , etc.) following a cite. Current British usage avoids all Latin phrases except for ibid , which means 'in the place of' and refers to the preceding citation only. You may only use ibid if the subsequent citation is to the same page; otherwise, use ibid 345 (if, for example, the new citation is to page number 345) or ibid art. 3 (if, for example, the new citation is to article 3). You may also use cf (compare) as a signal, but avoid the American use of see, see also, but see , etc.

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• Email: [email protected]

The samples in this section cover basic citation format for case law. Complicated variations are not shown in these samples. Always consult the Bluebook for additional information on correct citation format.

Important: in the "Illinois" entry in Table 1 (p. 262), the Bluebook instructs you to cite to the North Eastern Reporter if a case is cited therein. This practice is incorrect when citing Illinois cases in Illinois courts.

• Illinois Supreme Court Rule 6 requires practitioners citing Illinois cases in Illinois courts to use Illinois official reporters for decisions issued prior to July 1, 2011 and the public domain citation format for decisions on or after July 1, 2011.
• If you do cite to a regional reporter, the parenthetical information must identify the court. If the court is a district court, the parenthetical must also include the district in which the case was decided.

For additional Illinois-specific citation information, see the PDF  Style Manual for the Illinois Supreme and Appellate Courts  (2017), available with the Illinois Courts Resources for Lawyers .

In general, cite to the case name, official reporter volume, name of the official reporter abbreviated, page number on which the opinion begins, pinpoint page(s) (if applicable), court district and year.

Sample Second District Illinois Appellate Court Opinion

Sample Illinois Supreme Court Opinion

Generally you cite to the public domain citation (if one exists). The Bluebook requires a parallel cite to the regional reporter when citing to the public domain citation. This is not required by Ill. Sup. Ct. R. 6. See R. 10.3.3 (pp. 104-105), Table 1 (some jurisdictions).

Slip Opinion: Cite to the case name, docket number, court, and exact date. See R. 10.8.1(b) (pp. 112-113), B10.1.4 (pp. 14-15).

Chatlas v. Allstate Ins. Co. , No. 1-07-2937 (Ill. App. Ct. 1st Dist. June 30, 2008).

Slip Opinion with pinpoint cite:

Chatlas v. Allstate Ins. Co. , No. 1-07-2937, slip op. at 2 (Ill. App. Ct. 1st Dist. June 30, 2008).

Pending & Unreported Cases Available in Electronic Format Only: See R. 10.8.1(a) (pp. 111-112), B10.1.4 (pp. 14-15).

Chatlas v. Allstate Ins. Co. , No. 1-07-2937, 2008 WL 2610471 (Ill. App. Ct. 1st Dist. June 30, 2008).

Chatlas v. Allstate Ins. Co. , No. 1-07-2937, 2008 Ill. App. LEXIS 655 (Ill. App. Ct. 1st Dist. June 30, 2008).

Parallel Citations: Use parallel citations when required by local rule or custom, or if they would be particularly helpful to the reader. See R. 100.3.1 (pp. 102-103), B10.1.3 (p. 14).

People v. Harston , 23 Ill. App. 3d 279, 319 N.E.2d 69 (2d Dist. 1974).

Remember to look at the general abbreviation table (Table 6), R. 10, and Tables 1, 7, 8, and 10 for citation specifics.

Citation to the Federal District Court: See R. 10 generally (pp. 94-188), R. 10.4(a) (pp. 105-106) for court and jurisdiction information, Table 1 (pp. 233-236), B10.1.2 & .3 (pp. 12-14).  This sample is a case from the Northern District of Illinois.

United States v. Evergreen Media Corp. of Chi. , 832 F. Supp. 1179 (N.D. Ill. 1993).

Citation to the Federal Appellate Court: sample is a case from the 7th Circuit.

United States v. Harris , 761 F.2d 394 (7th Cir. 1985).

Citation to the United States Supreme Court:

Pulley v. Harris , 465 U.S. 37 (1984).

Note: Most lawyers and courts (including the Supreme Court itself) use parallel citations to both the unofficial reporters S. Ct. (West) and L. Ed. 2d (Lexis) when citing to United States Supreme Court decisions. This practice is not required. When citing to the U.S. Supreme Court, you must cite to the U.S. Reports (U.S.); the parallel cites are optional. However if there is no U.S. cite yet, proper cite form dictates you use the format ___ U.S. ___, followed by a parallel cite to a printed source.

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• Last Updated: May 5, 2023 10:19 AM
• URL: https://libguides.niu.edu/law-sample-bluebook-citations

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NWU Law House Style Referencing Guide

• Introduction
• Bibliography
• Chapters in books
• Conference contributions
• Theses and dissertations
• Journal articles
• Newspaper articles
• Other literature resources
• Legislation
• International law instruments
• South African government publications
• Internet sources
• LAW PDF Reference Guide

Other styles

• NWU Harvard Referencing Guide 
• APA Referencing Guide

If reported Footnote 1 President of the Republic of South Africa v Hugo 1997 4 SA 1 (CC) para 15.

Bibliography (under the heading "Case law") President of the Republic of South Africa v Hugo 1997 4 SA 1 (CC)

If unreported Footnote 1 Free State Cheetahs (Pty) Limited v Mapoe (O) (unreported) case number 4587/2010 of 29 September 2010 para 4. Bibliography (under the heading "Case law") Free State Cheetahs (Pty) Limited v Mapoe (O) (unreported) case number 4587/2010 of 29 September 2010

(a) The name of a case must be provided in full in the bibliography . Non-essential information such as NO, NNO, and others, and another, amicus curiae must be left out (in the text, footnotes and the bibliography).

(b) In footnote references to cases the specific page number(s) or paragraph number(s) must be provided, for example: Bareki v Gencor Ltd 2006 1 SA 432 (T) 436A-D or para 123. Please see General (J)  of this document for the abbreviation of "paragraph" and "paragraphs".

(c) The full reference must be provided when a court case is referenced for the first time (either in the text or in a footnote). After the first full reference it may be abbreviated in brackets whereafter only the abbreviated form should be used in all footnotes and in the text, for example: Bareki v Gencor Ltd 2006 1 SA 432 (T) (hereafter the Bareki case).

(d) The court’s abbreviation should be in the same language as the text of the document.

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• Next: Legislation >>
• Last Updated: Aug 28, 2024 12:18 PM
• URL: https://libguides.nwu.ac.za/law-referencing

Law: Citing & Referencing

• Introduction
• Journals & Databases
• Finding Information & Keeping Current
• Writing your paper
• Citing & Referencing
• Academic Integrity, Writing and Citing Law @ UL
• EU and International Law
• Innovations in Legal scholarship and practice
• legal references

Cite It Right 4th Edition

The Glucksman Library wrote a guide called Cite it Right: Guide to Harvard Referencing Style . To access the 4th edition of  Cite It Right go to  https://libguides.ul.ie/citeitright . A PDF version of the 4th edition can be accessed below:

• Cite It Right 4th Edition - Print optimised version This version of the Cite It Right 4th edition has been optimised for printing. For best results and to only use 13 sheets of paper: Print 2 pages per sheet; Print page border; Print on both sides of paper (i.e. double-sided); Flip on short edge.

Referencing Guides

In addition to Cite It Right there are several other referencing guides available in the Library and these can be found at shelfmark 808+. Some examples are shown below:

Referencing: An Introduction

Referencing acknowledges the books, articles, websites, and any other material used in the writing of a paper, essay or thesis.

1. Essential Elements of Referencing

• Citing:  referring to sources you quote within your document. This brief citation refers the reader to the exact place in your reference list or bibliography where you will provide the extended details of the source.
• Reference list:  the detailed list of sources that have been cited within the text. Every reference must have enough information for the reader to find the source again.
• Bibliography:  a list of all references consulted in preparing the document, whether cited or not.

This is an example of in-text citing  (citations are in bold for demonstration only) :

The early 21st century has seen the development of a global epidemic of obesity, as emphasised by a growing body of articles, popular books, and most recently the movie Supersize Me  (Spurlock 2004) . To prevent obesity, habits need to be changed and dietary education as part of the school curriculum is key  (MacDonald 1997, p.78) . It is clear that to decrease obesity levels in populations, significant sociological changes will need to take place.

This is how the entries would look in your reference list:

Macdonald, G. (1997) ‘Innovation diffusion and health education in schools’, in Sidell, M., Jones, L., Katz, J. and Peberdy, A., eds.,  Debates and dilemmas in promoting health , London: Open University, 55-83.

Spurlock, M. (2004)  Supersize me: a film of epic proportions  [film], Beverly Hills: Roadside Attractions.

2. Plagiarism

Passing off another scholar’s work as your own is plagiarism and is considered a major disciplinary offence. Read more about plagiarism in Chapter 6 and Appendix 3 of the  UL Student Handbook .

Turnitin.com is used at the University of Limerick to check for instances of plagiarism in students’ work. Check with your department with any questions about the use of Turnitin.

3. Harvard (Name-Date) referencing style

Many departments in the University of Limerick recommend a style based on the Harvard (Name-Date) referencing style. There are variations and interpretations within the Harvard referencing style. This guide gives you a version of Harvard based on ISO 690:2010 and BS 5605:1990 approved by UL, hereafter called Harvard UL. However, you should check which style or variation your department or thesis supervisor recommends. Whatever referencing style you are required to follow you must ensure:

• Consistent application of the rules of whatever variation you are following;
• Acknowledgement of all sources;
• Sufficient bibliographic detail to enable your reader to locate the item to which you are referring.

4. Referencing styles by discipline or subject

In addition to the Harvard UL style, there are several other styles used in the University of Limerick as other styles are more appropriate to specific disciplines or subjects such as:

• History – The  Irish Historical Society  (IHS). See the  Rules for Contributors  on  http://irishhistoricalstudies.ie/ .
• Law –  OSCOLA Ireland  based on the OSCOLA (Oxford Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities) standard. See  http://www.legalcitation.ie/  for more information.
• Culture and communication –  MLA Style   (Modern Language Association)
• Psychology –  APA Style   (American Psychological Association)

There are thousands of other referencing styles including:

• ASME Citation Style   (American Society of Mechanical Engineers)
• Chicago Manual of Style   / Turabian Citation Style
• IEEE Citation Style   (Institute of Electrical & Electronic Engineers)
• Vancouver Citation Style

If submitting a paper to a publisher, you should check with them to see if there is a particular style that they would like you to use.

The Glucksman Library’s Referencing & EndNote LibGuide provides more information on the different referencing styles and EndNote bibliographic management software at  https://libguides.ul.ie/referencing-endnote .

You can direct referencing queries or comments to the Information Desk, your Faculty Librarian or via  Ask Us – Tell Us  on the library website:  www.ul.ie/library .

For further information on how to cite and sample references see Cite It Right .

Stíl Tí an Ghúim / An Gúm Irish Language Style Guide

Stíl Tí an Ghúim / An Gúm Irish Language Style Guide

This style guide to the Irish language draws from New Hart’s Rules and the MHRA Style Guide.

Reference Management Software

Reference management software can help you:

• Gather references automatically from databases;
• Format  documents & citations instantly in a variety of styles;
• Generate bibliographies;
• Create a personal database of references & PDFs.

• BibTex Bibliographic management software used in combination with the typesetting system LaTeX. It is possible to include BibTeX bibliographies in Word documents using third-party tools such as Bibshare.

Harvard UL EndNote Style

• Harvard UL_2016 2016 update on the Harvard UL EndNote style based on Cite It Right 4th Edition (2016)
• Notes on using the Harvard UL_2016 style Notes on how to use Harvard UL_2016 EndNote style in order for different reference types to match the item types included in the 4th edition of Cite It Right

The Harvard UL EndNote style has been updated to reflect the changes made to the Harvard style that UL uses as laid out in the  2016 edition of Cite It Right 4th Edition .

• To install Harvard UL_2016, download  Harvard UL_201 6  style  above.
• Browse to the location on your computer where you downloaded the style.
• Double-click on the style file to open it.
• The style should open in EndNote.
• In EndNote, go to the File menu and select Save as.
• Click on the Save button.
• You should then be able to select your style by going back to Word and using the drop-down Style menu to Select another style. You should now be able to see your style in the list and to select it.

The PDF document above details some additional instructions on how to use the different reference types in EndNote Harvard UL_2016 style in order to match exactly the item types included in the Cite It Right 4th Edition.

In EndNote Online ,  Harvard UL_2016 should be available as a style in the drop-down list in Word (or by choosing "Select Another Style"). If it is not listed then go to EndNote Online and  select Format > Bibliography and click on "Select Favorites". Then select Harvard UL_2016 and copy to "My Favorites". Harvard UL_2016 will now be available in the drop-down list in Word.

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• Next: Academic Integrity, Writing and Citing Law @ UL >>
• Last Updated: Aug 22, 2024 6:07 PM
• URL: https://libguides.ul.ie/law

Controversial law designed to free up hospital beds to be tested in Ontario court

Advocacy organizations says bill 7 is 'coercive,' province argues it is a 'deterrent'.

Controversial law designed to free up Ontario hospital beds to be tested in court

Social sharing.

A new charter challenge set to get underway on Monday will test the constitutionality of a controversial Ontario law that allows hospitals to place discharged patients into long-term care homes not of their choosing or face a $400-per-day charge if they refuse.

The Advocacy Centre for the Elderly and the Ontario Health Coalition argues the law, known as the More Beds Better Care Act or Bill 7, violates the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

The province disagrees.

One core item the court will address is whether the new law has fulfilled its purpose by improving the flow of patients. Documents filed with court reveal the two sides have reached different conclusions on that question.

Premier Doug Ford's government rammed Bill 7 through the legislature within days in September 2022, bypassing public hearings.

The law allows hospital placement coordinators to choose a nursing home for a patient who has been deemed by a doctor as requiring an "alternate level of care," or ALC, without consent.

They can also share the patient's health information to such homes without consent. Patients can also be sent to nursing homes up to 70 kilometres from their preferred spot in southern Ontario and up to 150 kilometres away in northern Ontario. The law sparked outrage among seniors.

In its factum filed with court, the organizations opposing Bill 7 say it has not had its intended effect of reducing the number of so-called ALC patients. They point to government data from Ontario Health that shows the number of these patients has actually increased by 30 per cent more than a year after the law took effect.

There were about 2,300 discharged patients waiting in hospital for a spot in a nursing home at the end of January, the court documents say.

"The evidence belies any contention that Bill 7 has actually expedited the transition from hospital for the vast majority of ALC-LTC patients," the organizations say.

• Exclusive Her loved one got $5,200 bill related to long-term care law. Ontario repeatedly said no charges were reported
• Nearly 300 Ontario patients moved to LTC homes they didn't choose, province says

The primary reason for the bottleneck is not the patients fault, they say.

"The most significant cause of delay in transitioning from the hospital is simply the lack of long-term care beds as evidenced by the very long wait lists for admissions particularly for homes that provide better and more suitable care," the organizations wrote.

Because the law is ineffective, they argue, it is arbitrary. They say the law should be struck down.

Premier says hospitals need bed capacity

Ford defended the law Monday, but lamented the threat of fines.

"I'm never in favour of that," he said at an unrelated news conference.

He said hospitals need bed capacity and that discharged patients should be in a long-term care home, not a hospital. The hospitals appreciate the new law, he said.

"There's no one happier than the CEOs of all the hospitals. I've talked to them, and it's the right thing to do for elderly people," Ford said.

Ontario argues the increased number of so-called ALC patients is not proof of the law's ineffectiveness, but due to a spike in population growth.

The province also points to evidence of several hospital administrators who support the law and say it has increased patient flow.

Some hospital leaders cite progress

Trillium Health Partners, which runs two large hospitals in Mississauga, said the law has helped move 240 ALC patients to nursing homes over a recent three-month span.

"In the absence of Bill 7, I expect patient flow would decrease, as more acute beds would be occupied by patients who do not require acute care, leading to more patients waiting for a bed," Scott Jarrett, the chief operating officer of Trillium, said in an affidavit.

Other hospital leaders cited similar progress.

• Ontario silent on fines for patients resisting LTC transfers
• New Ontario nursing home law violates Charter, advocates allege in lawsuit

The Advocacy Centre and the Ontario Health Coalition also say the law largely targets seniors of poor mental and physical health and deprives them of their ability to choose where to live and how their health information is shared.

More than 80 per cent of ALC patients are 65 or older and the vast majority live with incurable conditions usually associated with age. The law, they argue, interferes with the Charter's right to life, liberty and security.

"Bill 7 infringes an ALC-LTC patient's liberty rights by depriving them of personal autonomy with respect to their medical treatment and health care," the organizations argue.

"Simply put, Bill 7 clearly deprives ALC-LTC patients of the fundamental rights to informed consent to where they are likely to spend their final days, and to the protection of their personal health information."

Shortage of hospital, LTC beds

What both sides agree on is that there are not enough hospital or long-term care beds in Ontario. While the province is building more hospitals and incentivizing the construction of dozens of nursing homes, there's nowhere near enough supply to meet demand, the documents say.

Provincial lawyers say the law is needed to open up beds for patients needing to get into a hospital.

"The purpose of a hospital bed is not to act as a waiting area for (long-term care) home admission," the province says.

The province argues patients do not have a Charter right to live free of charge in a hospital after discharge. Nor does the law discriminate on the basis of age or disability, it says.

"Bill 7 does not infringe anyone's Charter rights," provincial lawyers wrote.

On Jan. 31, 2024, there were 2,243 ALC patients awaiting a spot in a nursing home who had spent a total of nearly 200,000 days in hospital beds, the province said.

The Charter does not protect against the sharing of private health information, provincial lawyers argue, pointing to several other laws that lay out how personal health information can be shared, including under court orders.

• Provincial government refuses to answer more questions on controversial long-term care law
• Ontario hospital patients who refuse pre-arranged long-term care spot will now be charged $400 a day

The province also said the law does not force patients into any particular nursing home. The patient can refuse such a placement.

"The consequence for an ALC patient who refuses to leave hospital despite being discharged is purely economic: they must pay a portion of the cost of the publicly funded hospital bed that they have chosen to occupy," the province said.

5 people charged under law: health minister's office

The organizations say the threat of a $400 per day fine is "coercive," while the province contends it acts as a "deterrent" to patients in the effort to get them to agree to be moved to a home they didn't choose.

Only five people have been charged under the law, the health minister's office said recently.

• Ontario government passes controversial long-term care bill without public input
• Ford government passes motion to skip public hearings on long-term care legislation

The threat of a fine didn't deter Ruth Poupard's family. Michele Campeau, who has power of attorney for her 83-year-old mother, refused a hospital's attempts to force her into a long-term care home she hated in Windsor. Campeau said the front door was unlocked, so she walked right in only to find the place filthy with little staff. She walked back out and decided it wasn't the place for her mom.

Hotel-Dieu Grace Healthcare began charging the family $400 per day and they ended up with a $26,000 bill in the spring, which Campeau refused to pay. Poupard ended up in her top choice for a nursing home.

By mid-September, no one had come calling for the money, Campeau said.

"I would encourage others to fight back because in the end, the fight is worth more than putting your loved one in a horrible situation," Campeau said.

Related Stories

• Ontario's Bill 7 makes seniors living at home a lower priority for long-term care, says caregiver