MLA Citations for Cases Explained
When referencing any type of scholarly work, the use of proper citation is vital. This is exclusively true in the realm of legal documents. The most popular and widely used format for academic writing is the Modern Language Association or MLA. The MLA Handbook is updated frequently, with the most recent iteration arriving in 2016. When it comes to legal cases in particular, the MLA is clear: Case names are italicized, with all words larger than four letters. There is a specific, consistent format for legal citations, whether it is a U.S. Supreme Court case, regional case or even an international one.
There are two elements to facilitate a case citation using MLA style: parenthetical references in the body of your writing, and record entries in bibliography form. Case-specific record entries are listed alphabetically by the first significant word in the case title. With parenthetical references , signals are used in the text of the writing to refer the reader to the bibliography entry. After citing the case once, the case name may be abbreviated for subsequent citations, but the abbreviation must be the same after each subsequent citation. Italicization is used for both the parenthetical references and the record entries. If the case name is a hyphenated name, there are different rules that apply to each individual section of the name. Parenthetical references use an abbreviation for the full name prior to the hyphen, while the record entry uses a full spelling out of the name prior to the hyphen. This is to ensure clarity about which portion of the hyphenated name is the reporter and which part is the court. It is very important to be precise when citing legal documents, even the most minute details can have a great deal of significance.
Basic Elements of a Supreme Court Case Citation
When using MLA format, the following are the basic components needed to cite a Supreme Court case. The case name, volume number, and page number are required. The year of the decision may also be included.
As always, italicize the title of the book, specifically, the U.S. Reporter volume number. In the case of Supreme Court cases, the year is included after the volume number. The case name is always italicized and always capitalized. Parentheses are used to separate each element of the citation and the periods denote the end of each part. The United States Supreme Court releases its opinions from the most recent term (the year of the decision) in the U.S. Reporter. The name of the court is not included. Supreme Court opinions are released from the Supreme Court of the United States. The publisher information is not included.
How to Cite a Supreme Court Case in MLA
When citing a Supreme Court case in MLA style, you will follow a three-part system to create the full reference. A proper citation will include the following components:
- Title of the document (i.e. description of the Government document)
- Title of the Supreme Court case (i.e. name of the case)
- Key number (i.e. key number in the US Reporter)
Here is a process for creating a full citation for a Supreme Court case:
- After listing the title of the document, make sure to include the title of the Supreme Court case. This is usually a full title that includes both parties involved in the case but may not always include the whole name for each party.
- Next, include the key number for the US Reporter. This is the page on which the case starts in the Supreme Court reporter as well as the range of pages for the document. Additionally, you will need the parallel citation to the third series of the United States Reports. This is the book citation that corresponds to the reporter used.
- Finally, include a period after the citation to tell the reader that the citation has ended.
Here is an example that includes each of these components:
"Liberty University v. Maciokas," 465 U.S. 1186-87 SCOTUS.
First, the title of the document includes the description of the government document: "465." This is the key number for the US Reporter. Then is the title of the case in quotation marks: "Liberty University v. Maciokas." This is the title of the Supreme Court case. Notice that the title is in inverted format with no periods after the initials and that the romal numerals only indicate the part of the US Reporter in full. This is followed by the parallel citation to the third series of the United States Reports for the case – "465 U.S. 1186-87 SCOTUS". The period after "SCOTUS" indicates the end of the citation.
Next is another example where the document analysis portion is not included in the title and the document is the case itself.
"Cleveland Board of Education v. Loudermill," 108 S. Ct. 2531 SCOTUS.
You can see that the title of the case is listed first in quotations and is mostly inverted except that the roman numerals are all in the title. Then the period appears to denotate the end of the document. Finally, the key number and other information is included in the citation:
The final example is where the title of the document was included in addition to the title of the Supreme Court case:
"Liberty v. Maciokas," 464 U.S. 1043-1046 SCOTUS (Government report).
Replace parenthesis with the appropriate date.
In this case, the title of the Government document, the US Reporter, and other bibliographic material come first, followed by the title of the Supreme Court case, which is not in inverted form.
Common Pitfalls to Avoid When Citing in MLA
Mistake #1: Forgetting to include the court name and date.
The most common mistake made by those trying to cite a court case in MLA format is forgetting to include the name of the court and the date on which the decision was handed down. You must include both of these facts in your parenthetical citation or works-cited entry. For example, an incorrect, incomplete parenthetical citation would look like this: This precedent had previously been established in Michigan v. Long (1982). Although that citation indicates the ruling court, which is obvious that it is from the U.S. Supreme Court, it fails to provide the date of the decision. To make this citation correct, you would need to add that fact. This precedent had previously been established in Michigan v. Long (U.S. Supreme Court 1982).
Mistake #2: Including the unnecessary U.S. abbreviation.
It is usually unnecessary to include the abbreviation for the United States in the citation of a U.S. Supreme Court decision unless it is your first mention of the case. You basically provide the abbreviation as a means of indicating the court that ruled. For example, if you were simply referring to a U.S. Supreme Court case in your work, such as The Federal Trade Commission v. National Lead Company, you would not need to include the abbreviation "U.S." in the parenthetical citation or works-cited entry. You should include the "U.S . " abbreviation in your first parenthetical citation and works-cited of the case you are citing, but then drop it from further citations. For example, an incorrect entry for your initial parenthetical citation of the case Hunter v. City of Pittsburgh listed as: …(Hunter v. City of Pittsburgh). The correct citation for that same first entry would be: …(Hunter v. City of Pittsburgh (U.S. Supreme Court 1975)). For subsequent citations, though, omit the "U.S." and the "Supreme Court" from the parenthetical citation, so you have: …(Hunter v. City of Pittsburgh (1975)).
Mistake #3: Mismatching case names in citations and entries.
Your parenthetical citation and your works-cited entry must match when it comes to the case name you use to identify the case. For image cases decided by the U.S. Supreme Court, the style may vary depending on the case and you may have to determine which is used most frequently by the courts themselves at justices’ discretion. Even so, you must be consistent in your citations and entry, even if your book of common usage example demonstrates otherwise. For example, you must choose either the formal name, United States v. County of Allegheny or the less formal, County of Allegheny v. United States. You cannot switch between those two in your paper. You also must apply that same consistency rule to the parenthetical citation and work-cited entry regardless of where it appears, regardless of whether it is the first time you mentioned the case or a subsequent mention.
Leveraging Tools for MLA Citations in Legal References
With digital technology playing such an ever-present role in everyday living, the internet and its myriad of applications offer a wide range of resources to facilitate MLA citing of Supreme Court cases, even when using solely online information. Useful applications for citations are many and diversified, including certain search engines that automatically identify web page contents with corresponding citation information. Online packages include a variety of writing aids, charting and organizing systems, messaging services, and networking tools for collaboration. For example, with Google Scholar, users have free access to the complete text of court opinions from the U.S. Supreme Court, as well as from Circuit Courts of Appeals, Federal District Courts, and Bankruptcy Courts. This resource will provide citation details from its built-in reference manager, identified with the *Cite* link; it also accommodates a variety of styles such as MLA, and will automatically supply in-line citations from within Google Docs via Google Scholar’s browser add-on for the Microsoft Word or Google Docs. Now in beta as of Fall 2018, Google Docs’s automated format assistant the *Explore* Tool, as its name implies, attempts to locate and extract excerpts as inline citations while users type, attempting to make the process as easy as typing one’s paper. It also will be able to query material for generating a bibliography at the end. Another app, www.Citefast.com, offers the experience of sourcing information by subject or category, such as location or subject and using the ready reference manager for citations and bibliographies. There are presently four online formats supported—MLA, APA, Tuthill, or Turabian—while a basic level of service is offered for free. Most academic writing programs, word processors and even new web-based writing tools will have in-line menu options for generating citations, though not all are exclusively focused on MLA style. Tools may be available from a general web search for "citation" for adding special helper features for managing bibliographies with specific features for each of several standard types of writing formats. In any event, when collecting documents from dedicated Court sites such as the Cornell University Law School, the Federal Courts Library or the Legal Information Institute, independent efforts to literally skin and extract the citation metadata won’t be necessary. Even when utilizing online information for materials, if all else fails, noting elements of the case name, establishing that it is a Supreme Court case, identifying the date of the decision or the date of publication if available, specifying the type of publication, such as the volume, and its publisher’s name, can still be the basis for a manually formatted citation.
Additional Reading and Resources for MLA Citations
• Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 7th ed. New York: Modern Language Association of America, 2009. (Note: The MLA Manual currently in circulation may differ from the 2016 publication currently in the process of being adopted at law schools.)
• Kowalski, William. Easy Writer Professional Edition. Bedford St. Martin’s, 2015.
• Schofield , Anne. Research and Writing Across the Curriculum: A Guide for Students. 3rd ed. Aspen, 2013.
• Smith, Julie L. MLA Made Easy. New York: Learning Express, 2007.
• UChicago Library. Citing Legal Materials.
• Purdue University Online Writing Lab. MLA Format.
• The Writing Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. MLA Works Cited Page Basics.
