Legal Cases
When citing legal cases, you need to include as much information about the case as possible.
The general format of citations will look like this:
Example:
American Cancer Association v. Mowly, 148 U.S. 267, 303-305 (2023).
The following color coding was applied:
- Red – First party vs. Second party
- Blue – Reporter volume number
- Pink – Reporter abbreviation
- Green – First page of the case
- Black – Specific page referred to
- Sienna – Deciding court (omit when it coincides with the reporter)
- Peach – Date of decision
Constitutions
When citing constitutions, include its abbreviation, the abbreviation for “amendment” (amend.), “article” (art.) or “clause” (cl.), the number of the amendment, and section symbol or number:
Example:
NY. Const. art. III, § 18, cl. 9.
U.S. Const. amend. §7.
Statutes
Include the official name of the act, the source where it is located, the section with appropriate symbols, and the year of publication if available:
Example:
An Act to amend An Act to Amend the Criminal Code (Medical Assistance in Dying), 317 §7 (2023).
Bills and Resolutions
For bills and resolutions, mention the name of the bill (if applicable), the abbreviation of the house, bill number, congress number, section number, and year of publication:
Example:
H.R. Res. 652, 118th Cong. (2024).
S. Res. 55, 117th Cong. (2023).
Hearings
Give the full subject matter title in italics, bill number (if applicable), subcommittee name (if applicable), committee name, congress number, session number (for state committee hearings), page number (if citing a specific page), year:
Example:
United States-China science cooperation: Hearings before the Subcomm. on Science, Research, and Technology of the Comm. on Science and Technology, U.S. House of Representatives, 118th Cong. (2022).