[DRAFT] How to cite a court case in APA
To cite a court case in a reference entry in APA style 6th edition include the following elements:
- Name of the case: Give the Name v. Name of the court case
- Volume number: The volume number is also italicized.
- Reporter: Reporter refers to the publications in which cases are documented
- Page numbers:
- Court:
- Year of decision: Give the year in brackets followed by a full stop.
Here is the basic format for a reference list entry of a court case in APA style 6th edition:
Name of the case, Volume number Reporter Page numbers Court, (Year of decision).
APA reference list examples
Take a look at our reference list examples that demonstrate the APA style guidelines for a court case citation in action:
A court case in APA
Shelby County v. Holder. 133. U.S. Supreme Court. p.2167-2652, (2013).
APA in-text citations
When citing court cases parenthetically, you'll make use of the title of the court case and the year of decision in parentheses.
Using the case listed above, an in-text citation would look like this <intext>(Shelby County v. Holder, 2013)/intext>
It's important to take note of the fact that the title of the case is italicized in the in-text citation. Another interesting element of citing court cases parenthetically is the use of abbreviations. Legal documents commonly make use of abbreviations, and this also applies to case titles.
This means that "v." is used in the place of "versus" and even "vs." which is sometimes used in other APA citations.
There are a lot of nuances to citing legal documents like court cases. Some levels of court require their own unique type of citation - in these cases, it's best to do further reading to determine exactly what needs to be included.
This citation style guide is based on the official Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6th edition).