How do I cite a Supreme Court case?

Name v. Name, Volume U.S. Page (Year) — e.g., Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954). The case name is italicized in your prose.

Do APA and MLA cite cases differently?

Both adopt The Bluebook's structure, so the core format matches; they differ only in light wrapping and in-text style (APA: name + year; MLA: shortened name).

How do I cite a statute?

Act name, code volume and abbreviation, the § section number, and the year: Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. § 12101 (1990).

How do I cite the U.S. Constitution?

By article or amendment and section, with no year or page: U.S. Const. art. I, § 8, or U.S. Const. amend. XIV, § 1.

How to Cite Court Cases and Statutes

Updated November 2026

Legal citation is its own world. APA and MLA both defer to The Bluebook (the standard legal citation guide) for the structure of cases and statutes, then wrap it lightly. Here's enough to cite the common ones correctly; full legal writing uses the Bluebook directly.

Court cases

Name v. Name, Volume Reporter Page (Court Year). Example: Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954).

A case citation is the case name (italicized in MLA, plain in APA reference lists), the volume, the reporter abbreviation (U.S., F.3d), the first page, and the court and year in parentheses. The format is the same idea in APA and MLA because both adopt the Bluebook structure.

Cite non-legal sources — free

Set up for this page. Paste and go.

We'll identify it and build your citation.

Already have a reference list? Format it →

Citation style

Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th edition (2020). The 7th dropped the publisher location and the "Retrieved from" prefix that the 6th required.

Statutes and the Constitution

Statute: Name of Act, Volume Source § Section (Year). e.g. Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. § 12101 (1990). Constitution: U.S. Const. art. I, § 8.

Statutes cite the act name, the code (U.S.C. for federal), the section symbol §, and the year. The Constitution is cited by article/amendment and section — no year, no page.

In-text and practical notes

APA in-text — the case name and year: (Brown v. Board of Education, 1954); statutes by name and year.
MLA in-text — a shortened case name: (Brown); the full entry sits in Works Cited.
Italics — case names are italicized in your prose and in MLA; APA italicizes them in text but not always in the reference.
For serious legal work, use the Bluebook (or your jurisdiction's guide) directly — these are the academic-paper simplifications.

When you need this

Most students cite a case or statute occasionally inside a non-law paper — the formats above cover that. Pre-law and law students should learn the Bluebook proper. For everything non-legal in the same paper, the generator handles APA/MLA/Chicago normally.

Keep every citation you make.

A free account saves your citation history and organizes sources into projects with notes and tags.

Create a free account

Find the sources you should be citing.

Premium searches 250 million scholarly works by topic, recommends citations for your claims, and flags statements in your writing that need support.

Go Premium — $5/month

Frequently asked questions

How do I cite a Supreme Court case?: Name v. Name, Volume U.S. Page (Year) — e.g., Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954). The case name is italicized in your prose.
Do APA and MLA cite cases differently?: Both adopt The Bluebook's structure, so the core format matches; they differ only in light wrapping and in-text style (APA: name + year; MLA: shortened name).
How do I cite a statute?: Act name, code volume and abbreviation, the § section number, and the year: Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. § 12101 (1990).
How do I cite the U.S. Constitution?: By article or amendment and section, with no year or page: U.S. Const. art. I, § 8, or U.S. Const. amend. XIV, § 1.

Generate a citation now — free