Cameron Miranda
Case citation is a system used by legal professionals to identify past court case decisions. Legal citations are formatted differently in different jurisdictions but generally contain the same key information. For example, in the US, APA Style is commonly used to cite federal laws, statutes, and acts. This involves including the name of the law, U.S.C. (United States Code), the title and section of the code, the year, and an optional URL. In Canada, there are several citation standards, and many legal publishing companies and schools have their own. In Europe, the European Case Law Identifier is a neutral citation system introduced in 2011 and used in Germany.
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What You'll Learn
Case citation systems
A case citation typically includes the case name, volume number, reporter or law report, page or paragraph number, and the year. For example, in the United States Supreme Court case of *Griswold v. Connecticut*, the citation includes parallel citations to three different reporters: "381 U.S. 479, 85 S. Ct. 1678, 14 L. Ed. 2d 510 (1965)". Here, "381 U.S. 479" refers to the volume number and page number in the United States Reports, "85 S. Ct. 1678" is the citation for the Supreme Court Reporter, and "14 L. Ed. 2d 510" refers to the Lawyers' Edition.
In some jurisdictions, square brackets are used for the year of publication, which may differ from the year the case was decided. For instance, in the Canadian case citation *Hunter v Southam* [1984] 2 SCR 145, the year of decision and publication are the same, so the date need not be listed after the Supreme Court Reports abbreviation. Additionally, the Style of Cause is italicised, and party names are separated by "v" or "c" for English and French cases, respectively.
Another example of a citation standard is the European Case Law Identifier, a "neutral" citation system introduced by the Council of the European Union in 2011, which Germany participates in. For instance, the German Federal Constitutional Court's decisions are published in the official collection abbreviated as BVerfGE, with BVerfG being an abbreviation for the court's name, and E standing for "Entscheidung" (decision).
It is worth noting that some jurisdictions, like Denmark, do not have an official standard or style guide for case citations. Nevertheless, most case citations in Denmark include the reporter or law report's name or abbreviation, the year or volume, the page number where the decision begins, and the court's name or abbreviation.
In the digital age, many court decisions are now published online, leading to the adoption of medium-neutral citation systems that utilise paragraph numbers instead of page numbers for pinpoint references. This ensures consistency across different printers and browsers.
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Citing federal laws
If the law has not yet been codified (published in the United States Code), cite it using its public law number and information about where it was published. For example, if the law was published in the United States Statutes at Large, use the abbreviation "Stat.".
If the law spans a range of sections, add "et seq." after the U.S.C. number to indicate "and what follows."
If the law is spread across non-consecutive parts of the Code, cite it using the public law number and information about its location in the Statutes at Large.
The laws and statutes of individual states are cited in a similar format to federal laws. “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.
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Citing state laws
When citing state laws, the laws and statutes of individual states are referenced. The format is similar to federal law citations, but "U.S.C." is replaced with an abbreviation for the law code of that specific state. For example, in Virginia, the official statutory code is the "Code of Virginia 1950 Annotated", which is abbreviated as "Va.".
State codes may also use article or chapter numbers instead of, or in addition to, section numbers. It's important to adapt your reference to the standards of the state in question. For instance, in Virginia, the title for a law from the Virginia Code is included with the section number, separated by a hyphen.
In APA style, the name of the law is preferred, and an entry in the References list is included whenever possible. The citation should include the name of the law, the state abbreviation, and the section number(s). The year is also included if available. For example:
> "Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act, Cal. Penal Code § 11164 et seq."
If a new law updates multiple code sections, the format changes to include the name of the law, state abbreviation, branch, bill number, and chapter number. For example:
> "California Fostering Connections to Success Act, Cal. Assemb. B. 12 (2010-2011), Chapter 559 (Cal. Stat. 2010)."
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Court decisions
When citing court decisions, it is essential to follow the appropriate style and format, which may vary depending on the jurisdiction and the specific court. Here is a guide on how to cite court decisions, specifically focusing on common law:
U.S. Supreme Court Decisions
When citing a case from the U.S. Supreme Court, the official reporter to be referenced is the "United States Reports". A citation in the United States Reports typically includes the following five elements:
- Name of the case (underlined, italicized, or abbreviated according to specific rules)
- Volume number of the United States Reports
- Page number of the case in the United States Reports
- Specific page number for the referenced material (if applicable)
- Year of the decision
An example of this citation style is: "Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113, 164 (1973)".
It is worth noting that there are also unofficial reporters for U.S. Supreme Court decisions, such as the "Supreme Court Reporter" (abbreviated as "S. Ct.") and the "United States Supreme Court Reports, Lawyers' Edition" (commonly known as "Lawyers' Edition" and abbreviated as "L. Ed."). These unofficial reporters provide additional annotations and are preferred by some attorneys and legal writers for more context.
Federal Courts of Appeals and District Courts
Cases from the federal courts of appeals and district courts in the U.S. are not compiled in an official government reporter. Many of these cases are published in West's "Federal Reporter". When citing a case from the Federal Reporter, the Bluebook guide specifies including six elements:
- Name of the case (underlined, italicized, or abbreviated)
- Volume of the Federal Reporter
- Page number of the case in the Federal Reporter
- Circuit and year information
- Specific page number for the referenced material (if applicable)
An example of this citation style is: "Universal City Studios, Inc. v. Corley, 273 F.3d 429 (2d Cir. 2001)".
European Case Law
In Europe, the European Case Law Identifier (ECLI) system has been introduced by the Council of the European Union. This "neutral" citation system is used in countries like Germany, where the Federal Constitutional Court publishes its most important cases in an official collection abbreviated as "BVerfGE". An example of a citation in this system is: "BVerfGE 65, 1 (43), Urteil des Ersten Senats vom 15. Dezember 1983".
Supreme Court of the Philippines
The citation style for the Supreme Court of the Philippines may vary depending on the reporter relied on. The official reporter for decisions of the Supreme Court of the Philippines is "The Philippine Reports". The standard format for citation includes the case name, volume number of the Philippine Reports, the abbreviation "Phil.", and the year. For example: "Disini v. Secretary of Justice, 727 Phil. 28 (2014)".
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Case name and pinpoint references
Case citations are formatted differently in different jurisdictions, but they generally contain the same key information. A case citation usually includes the case name, year, volume, law report series abbreviation, starting page, and pinpoint reference.
The case name in a citation typically includes the surnames of the plaintiff(s) and defendant(s), with the plaintiff's name coming first, followed by the defendant's. For example, the case name "Roe v. Wade" indicates that Roe is the plaintiff and Wade is the defendant.
The year of the judgment is included in the citation and is placed within square brackets if it is essential to locating the report. If the year is not essential but provides useful additional information, it is placed within round brackets.
The volume number is included in the citation if it is required to identify the specific book in a series that contains the case report.
The law report series abbreviation is used to identify the specific law report series in which the case can be found.
The starting page of the case report is always included in the citation and is separate from the pinpoint reference.
The pinpoint reference is used to refer to a specific part of the case report, such as a particular page or paragraph. If pinpointing to a specific page, the page number is repeated if it is the first page of the report. If pinpointing to a span of pages, the first and last page numbers are included, separated by a dash. If pinpointing to multiple individual pages, the page numbers are listed separately, with a comma between each number.
- Brown v Tasmania (2017) 261 CLR 328, 335–42 (pinpointing to pages 335 through 342)
- Callery v Gray [2001] EWCA Civ 1117, [2001] 1 WLR 2112 [42], [45] (pinpointing to paragraphs 42 and 45)
- Case C–411/05 Palacios de la Villa v Cortefiel Servicios SA [2007] ECR I–8531, Opinion of AG Mazák, paras 79–100 (pinpointing to paragraphs 79 to 100)
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Frequently asked questions
Case citation is a system used by legal professionals to identify past court case decisions, either in series of books called reporters or law reports, or in a neutral style that identifies a decision regardless of where it is reported.
To cite federal laws, list the name of the law, the title, “U.S.C.”, the section, the year, and optionally the URL.
A law that has not been codified should be cited using its public law number and information about where it was published.
Bluebook style 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.
