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Citations Guide

Citation Guide for APA, MLA, and Chicago Styles

Legal Citations: Overview

Legal Citations are used in Community College of Aurora's Paralegal Program.

Citation examples are from The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation, 21st edition.

Please ask a librarian if you have any questions about citing your legal sources.

Legal Citations

Basic Format	Case Name, published or unpublished source Reporter p. # and if necessary, pinpoint citation to specific page number(s) (Court Year of decision) (other information if applicable) (subsequent case history if applicable).
Regional Reporter	Case Name [Marchetti v. Parsons], Reporter Vol. # [638] Reporter Abbreviation [A.2d] first page of case [1047], Pinpoint Citation [1052] (State Court Abbreviation [R.I.] Year Decided [1994]. Marchetti v. Parsons, 638 A.2d 1047, 1052 (R.I. 1994).
US Supreme Court	Case Name [Kansas v. Marsh], US Report Vol. # [548] Reporter Abbreviation "U.S." or "S.Ct." [U.S.] page # [163] (Year of decision [2006]). Kansas v. Marsh, 548 U.S. 163 (2006)
US Court of Appeals	Case Name [United States v. DeAngelo], Federal Reporter Vol [13] Reporter abbreviation [F.3d] page #s [1228, 1233] (abbreviation for deciding court [8th Cir.] Year decided [1994]). United States v. DeAngelo , 13 F.3d 1228, 1233 (8th Cir. 1994).
US District Court	Case Name [Glassroth v. Moore], Vol # to Federal Supplement [229] Reporter Abbreviation [F. Supp. 2d] page # [1290] (Deciding court abbreviation [M.D. Ala.] Year decided [2002]). Glassroth v. Moore, 229 F. Supp. 2d 1290 (D. Mass. 2002).

State	State abbreviation [Neb.] Code's abbreviation [Rev. Stat.] Statutes section # [§§ 33-114] (Year on the spine [1998]). Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 33-114 (1998). This is slightly different for Texas and some other states. Ask a librarian for help or click here to view a list put together by Cornell University Law School. If there isn't a spine because the citation appears in a supplement, give the latest copyright year. *No underlining or Italics
Federal	The official name of the act [Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act], Title # [42] Code abbreviation [U.S.C.] Statutes section # § [405(a)] (Year on the spine [2000]). Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, 42 U.S.C. § 405(a) (2000). *No underlining or Italics

General Format	Volume # for multi-volume sets Author's Name(s) as listed on title page, Title page or section # [edition #] (Year of publication).
Book	17 Charles Wright & Arthur Miller, Federal Practice and Precedure §1006 (3d ed.1998). or Stephen D. Luca et al., Torts § 89 (2008).

Newspapers & Magazines	Author's full name [Zev Borow], Title of article [Spousal Support], Abbreviated name of periodical [N.Y. Times], article date/date on cover [Oct. 5, 2009], at p. # [at 36]. Zev Borow, Spousal Support, N.Y. Times, Oct. 5, 2009, at 36.
Law Reviews & Journals	Author's name as it appears, Article Title, Vol. # Abbreviated Name of Review/Journal p. #, Pinpoint citation p. # (Publication Year). Dan M. Kahan, Secret Ambition of Deterrence, 113 Harv. L. Rev. 413, 419 (1999).

Cases	Case Name [Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission], Docket # [No. 08-205] (Court abbreviation and decision date) [U.S. Jan. 21, 2010], URL [http://www.supremecourtus.gov/opinions/09pdf/08-205.pdf] Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, No. 08-205 (U.S. Jan. 21, 2010), http://www.supremecourtus.gov/opinions/09pdf/08-205.pdf Always use print citation instead of online if available If multiple online formats exist, use PDF when possible
Website	Author's Name(s) [David Lateral], Title of specific page of website [Movie Night with Justice Brewer], Title of the main page of the website [Above the Law], Date and time [Oct. 27, 2017, 4:20pm], the URL [http://abovethelaw.com/media/2017/movie-night-with-justice-brewer/]. David Lateral, Movie Night with Justice Brewer, Above the Law (Oct. 27, 2017, 4:20pm), http://abovethelaw.com/media/2017/movie-night-with-justice-brewer/. *If there is no date on the specific webpage, use the "last modified" or "last updated" date after the URL. If no date can be found, use the date you last visited the webpage. Example: www.yahoo.com (last visited September 2, 2021).
Email	E-mail from Rita Wilson, Gov. Doc. Coordinator, UTSA John Peace Libr., to Emme Lopez, Temp. Reference Librarian, UTSA John Peace Libr. (Jan. 12, 2010, 12:43 CST) (on file with author). *Email addresses are not necessary.