In Text Citations
Any time a law or a court case is mentioned in the text of a paper, include an appropriate “in-text citation” (usually in parentheses). For court cases, that includes the main party names as well as the year – e.g. (Griswold v. Connecticut, 1965). For laws (statutes), the preferred form includes the name of the law and the year – e.g. (Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act of 1974). The APA style manual indicates anything cited in the text should also have a complete listing in the References list.
Court cases:
(Griswold v. Connecticut, 1965)
For court cases, in the text include party name v. party name and the year.
Statutes (named):
(Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, 2010)
(Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act of 1974)
For statutes (bills passed by Congress or a state legislature and signed into law), in the text of your paper list the name of the law and the year. The name of the law can sometimes be found at the beginning of the bill as signed into a law and/or the beginning of the appropriate section of the codified version. The year is sometimes included in the law's name.
Statutes (no name):
(18 U.S.C. § 2258)
It is not always possible to find the name of a law, especially if the citation is to the codified version (published in the U.S. Code or one of the California / state codes). To cite existing law without a name, often a section of the USC or a California code, some authors simply include the legal citation in the text, e.g. (18 U.S.C. § 2258), and omit the entry from the References list.
References List format:
Party v. Party, Legal Citation (Issuing court abbreviation year)
Example Entries:
Christopher S. v. Stanislaus County Office of Education, 384 F.3d 1205 (9th Cir., 2004)
Griswold v. Connecticut, 381 U.S. 479 (1965)
People v. Stockton Pregnancy Control Medical Clinic, 203 Cal. App. 3d 225 (Cal. App. 3d 1988)
Tarasoff v. Regents of the University of California, 131 Cal. Rptr. 14 (Cal. 1976)
Part of the legal citation for a court case:
Example:
384 = volume 384
F.3d = Federal Supplement 3rd Series
225 = page 225
Note: The issuing court abbreviation is not always included (especially for Supreme and Appellate Court cases).
Reporters and Legal Citations:
Reporters:
Federal and state supreme and appellate court decisions are usually gathered from the official court releases, and reprinted in commercial sources known as "reporters." Each reporter will provide a "legal citation" to a case, which usually includes a volume or year, reporter abbreviation, and a page number.
140 P. 3d 775 - California supreme court case republished in the 3rd series of the Pacific Reporter (P. 3d), in volume 140 and starting on page 775.
References List format:
Party v. Party, Legal Citation (Issuing court abbreviation year)
Example Entries:
Christopher S. v. Stanislaus County Office of Education, 384 F.3d 1205 (9th Cir., 2004)
Griswold v. Connecticut, 381 U.S. 479 (1965)
Issuing Court:
Use abbreviations for court that issued ruling (Skip this if you are unable to find the abbreviation but be sure to include the year.)
U.S. Supreme Court = U.S.
U.S. Court of Appeals for the nth Circuit = 1st Cir., 2nd Cir., etc.
U.S. District Court for California
Central District of California = C.D. Cal.
Eastern District of California = E.D. Cal.
Northern District of California = N.D. Cal.
Southern District of California = S.D. Cal.
References List format:
Party v. Party, Legal Citation (Issuing court abbreviation year)/
Example Entries:
People v. Stockton Pregnancy Control Medical Clinic, 203 Cal. App. 3d 225 (Cal. App. 3d 1988)
Tarasoff v. Regents of the University of California, 131 Cal. Rptr. 14 (Cal. 1976).
Notes:
Party names are displayed at top of court opinion in legal research tools like Lexis or Westlaw. (If the list of party names is overly long, often only the first name or institution is used.)
Legal Citation = volume # Reporter Abbreviation starting page #
Issuing Court: Abbreviation for court that issued ruling (Skip this if you are unable to find the abbreviation but be sure to include the year.)
Abbreviations for Issuing Courts in California:
California Supreme Court = Cal.
Court of Appeal of California, First Appellate District = Cal. 1d.
Court of Appeal of California, First Appellate District = Cal. 2d.
Court of Appeal of California, Third Appellate District = Cal. 3d.
Format for in-text citations:
Name of the law, year
If the name of the law is not available, some authors use the Legal Citation (e.g. to the US Code section) only:
# U.S.C. § #
Examples for in-text citations:
(Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act of 1974)
(Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, 2010)
:(18 U.S.C. § 2258).
References list:
Format 1 – law name with US Code citation
Name of law, title # U.S.C. § section #.
Example Entry:
Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act of 1974, 42 USC §§5101–5106.
Format 2 – law name with Public Law and/or Statutes at Large information included
Name of law, Pub. L. ##-##, volume Stat. page, codified as amended at title U.S.C. § section #.
Example Entry:
Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act of 1974, Pub. L. 93-247, 88 Stat. 4, codified as amended at 42 U.S.C. §§5101–5106.
Format 1 - Code (usually preferred format, using citation to California Codes):
Name of law (if available), State Abbreviation Code Abbreviation § section number(s) (Year if available).
Example Entry:
Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act, Cal. Penal Code § 11164 et seq.
Format 2 – Bill/Chapter (use if new law updates many code sections instead of one):
Name of law, State Abbreviation Branch (Assemb. or S.) Bill number, Chapter number (Cal. Stat. Year).
Example Entry:
California Fostering Connections to Success Act, Cal. Assemb. B. 12 (2010-2011), Chapter 559 (Cal. Stat. 2010).
