Keith Mack
The American Psychological Association (APA) outlines a specific style for citing laws and other legal materials in research papers. This style is detailed in the 6th and 7th editions of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association and the APA Style Blog. The standard legal citation style used across all disciplines is outlined in The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation, which the APA defers to for legal materials. This includes citing federal laws, also known as statutes or acts, which are published in the United States Code (U.S.C.).
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What You'll Learn
Citing a law in APA style
APA (American Psychological Association) style is a citation style commonly used in social sciences. Citing a law in APA style is a straightforward process.
When citing a federal law in APA style, the basic structure includes the name of the law, the title, "U.S.C." (United States Code), the section, and the year. For example:
> Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq. (1990)
Here, "Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990" is the name of the law, "42" is the title, "U.S.C." indicates the United States Code, "§ 12101 et seq." denotes the section, and "1990" is the year. The "et seq." is a Latin abbreviation indicating that the section number is the first in a series of sections related to the act.
If a law is not included in the United States Code or is spread across various sections, you should use the public law number in your citation. For example:
> Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, Pub. L. No. 111-2, 123 Stat. 5 (2009)
In this example, "Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009" is the name of the law, "Pub. L. No. 111-2" is the public law number, "123 Stat. 5" indicates the source where the law was published, and "2009" is the year.
Additionally, when citing a court case in APA style, include the main party names, the year, the volume, reporter, page number, court, and optionally, the URL. For example:
> Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954)
Here, "Brown v. Board of Education" indicates the main party names, "347 U.S." is the volume, "483" is the page number, and "1954" is the year.
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Citing a court case in APA style
Citing a court case or decision in APA style involves listing specific details of the case in a specific format.
Firstly, it is important to note that APA Style for legal citations differs from other APA citations. Legal citations do not list authors, and abbreviations are used to make them more concise.
To cite a court case or decision, list the following details:
- Name of the case: The case name is italicized in the in-text citation but not in the reference list.
- Volume: This refers to the volume of the reporter, the publication in which the case is documented.
- Reporter: The name of the reporter should be abbreviated.
- Page number: Specify only a single page number—the page where the coverage of that case begins—instead of a full page range. If the case has not been reported in print and does not have a specific page number, include a series of three underscores where the page number would usually appear.
- Name of the court: This can be abbreviated.
- Year: Use the year when the law was published in the compilation you looked at.
- URL (optional): Including a URL is optional in APA Style reference entries for legal sources. It can be useful to include it to help the reader retrieve the source, but it is not required.
Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954).
If you are citing a court case reported in multiple publications, it is recommended to cite all the reporters (publications reporting cases) in which a court case appears. This is called parallel citation. Don't repeat the name of the case, court, or year; just list the volume, reporter, and page number for each citation, separating them with commas.
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Citing a bill in APA style
APA (American Psychological Association) style is a citation style commonly used in social and behavioural sciences. While most legal materials are cited using Bluebook style, APA defers to Bluebook style for legal materials and uses those templates and patterns in bibliographies.
When citing a bill in APA style, the following information is required:
- Title of the bill
- H.R. or S. bill/resolution number
- Congress number
- Year
- URL (optional)
> H.R.200 – 117th Congress (2021-2022): National Intersection and Interchange Safety Construction Program Act of 2021, H.R.200, 117th Cong. (2021), https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/200.
In this example, "H.R.200" is the bill number, "117th Congress" is the Congress number, "(2021-2022)" is the year range, and the URL is provided for reference.
It is important to note that the specific format and information included in a bill citation may vary depending on the specific style guide or requirements of the institution or publication. Additionally, the APA style may be updated periodically, so it is always a good idea to refer to the official APA guidelines or a current APA manual for the most up-to-date and comprehensive information on citing legal sources.
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Citing a patent in APA style
To cite a patent in APA Style, list the name of the inventor as the author, followed by the year of issue in parentheses. Then, include the title of the patent in italics, the patent number, the name of the issuing body, and the URL if available.
Hiremath, S. C., Kumar, S., Lu, F., & Salehi, A. (2016). Using metaphors to present concepts across different intellectual domains (U.S. Patent No. 9,367,592). U.S. Patent and Trade-mark Office. http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?patentnumber=9367592
Note that the URL can sometimes be quite long, so it may be helpful to use a URL shortener. The APA in-text citation for this example would be: (Hiremath, S. C., Kumar, S., Lu, F., & Salehi, A., 2016).
It is worth noting that the APA Style Guide does not provide specific guidance on how to cite patent applications or patents from outside the United States. In these cases, it is recommended to consult with your professor or supervisor to determine the appropriate format for your specific context.
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Citing a law in APA style in Canada
When citing a law in APA style in Canada, there are a few key guidelines and resources to keep in mind. Firstly, the APA manual suggests following the Bluebook: "A Uniform System of Citation" (2015), which outlines the standard legal citation style used in all disciplines. The Bluebook includes Canadian citation examples for Common Law and Civil Law (Quebec), constitutions, statutes, and regulations. Additionally, the Canadian equivalent, "The McGill Guide," or the "Canadian Guide to Uniform Legal Citation", is recommended for referencing Canadian legal materials.
For citing Canadian government documents specifically, the APA style has a few formatting guidelines. When citing a document found online, include the URL of the document, giving the direct website address:
[Title of document], [URL of document] retrieved from [Agency Name] website: [URL of Agency website]
For example:
British Columbia Ministry of Health. (2008). Meals and more: A foods and nutrition manual for homes of adults and children with 24 persons or fewer in care. Retrieved from the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia website: http://www.llbc.leg.bc.ca/public/pubdocs/bcdocs/454480/meals_and_more_manual.pdf
When citing a law specifically, the general APA format includes the name of the law, the title, "U.S.C." (United States Code), the section, the year, and optionally, the URL. For example:
Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act of 1974, 42 USC §§5101–5106
However, it's important to note that in Canada, the citation format may vary depending on the year of publication. Federal statutes passed after 1985 are cited as "SC" for Statutes of Canada, with chapter numbers indicated by numbers only:
Youth Criminal Justice Act, SC 2002, c 1
For statutes in effect before 1985, they are referred to as RSC 1985, for Revised Statutes of Canada, 1985, and the chapter number includes the initial letter of the name of the act:
Criminal Code, RSC 1985, c C-46
Additionally, when citing cases or court decisions, include the URL from which you retrieved the case information, as this can aid readers in retrieving the source. The standard format for court cases is:
[Party name] v. [Party name], [Year]
For example:
Griswold v. Connecticut, 1965
In summary, when citing a law in APA style in Canada, it's important to follow the Bluebook and Canadian guides for legal citations, and to format citations according to the specific type of document, such as government websites, laws, or court cases, with slight variations depending on the year of publication.
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Frequently asked questions
To cite a federal law, list the name of the law, the title, “U.S.C.”, the section, the year, and optionally the URL.
For court cases, include the main party names as well as the year in your in-text citation, e.g. (Griswold v. Connecticut, 1965). In the text of your paper, include the party name v. party name and the year.
Most legal materials are cited using Bluebook style, which is the standard legal citation style used in all disciplines. APA defers to Bluebook style for legal materials and uses those templates and patterns in bibliographies.
If the law is not in the United States Code, you should cite it using its public law number and information about where it was published.
Legal conventions may differ outside the US. If you are looking for legal citation information in the Hong Kong context, the Faculty of Law at CUHK provides a comprehensive Legal Citation Style Guide. Additionally, if you are citing a legal source and there is not an appropriate rule in the APA Manual, you should consult The Canadian Guide to Uniform Legal Citation (also called The McGill Guide).
