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HED 6501: The Law and Higher Education: Legal Documents

How To Cite Legal Documents In APA Format

For more information in citing legal resources look at Westfield State University's  APA Style Citing Legal Materials.

Please note the following examples in APA format:

  • Supreme Court Cases
    Format:  Case title, U.S. Reports citation, year of decision, and Internet address.
    Fullilove v. Klutznick, 448 U.S. 448 (1980) [Online] Available: http://www.lexisnexis.com/us/lnacademic

  • U.S. Code
    Format:  Act or Section Name, Abbreviated Citation et seq. (Edition year of the Code) Retrieved date from LexisNexis Academic database
    National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 § 102, 42 U.S.C. § 4332 (1994)

What Is A Citation?

A  reference system to identify the past judicial decisions on cases or other information.   With a citation, one can quickly locate the full text of the case. See citation format and examples below:

Case Citation Format in Reporters or Law Reports:

Plaintiff | Defendant |Volume |Reporter |Page |Court   |Year

Blackburn v. Fisk          433       F.2d        121    (6th Cir. 1971)

 "F.2d" stands for The Federal Reporter, 2nd series.  Please note that not all citations follow the full format, e.g., 834 N.E.2d 432.  Also, one case could have more than one citations, for example, all of these four citations 834 N.E.2d 432; 162 Ohio App. 3d 642; 2005 Ohio 4331; 2005 Ohio App. LEXIS 3932 refer to one case.              

Federal Reporters

  • 100 F.2d 1
  • 134 F.3d 817

State Reporters

  • 246 App Div 2d 682
  • 19 Cal 4th 142
  • 23 Fla. Law W. D 733

Regional Reporters

  • 723 A.2d 852
  • 250 Cal. Rptr. 21
  • 100 N.E.2d 497

U.S. Law Reviews & Journals

  • 74 Fordham L. Rev. 1475
  • 54 Emory L.J. 1139
  • 22 U. Mich. J.L. Reform 901

U.S. Statutes, Codes, and Regulations

Annotated U.S. Code (USCS)

The system recognizes the following statute citation formats:

  • 5 USCS SEC 5901
  • 5 USCS SECTION 5901

U.S. Code of Federal Regulations

Format your Code of Federal Regulations citation like the examples below:

  • 40 CFR 129.4
  • 20 CFR PART 404 APPENDIX I

Federal Register

Format your Federal Register citation like the examples below:

  • 64 FR 71680
  • 63 FR 33835
  • 58 FR 51735

State Registers

  • Mississippi  - 15 msgr 3
  • Florida  -      23 faw 463
  • Louisiana  -  26 LR 99

The Bluebook

The APA style of citing legal materials is based on The Bluebook Uniform System of Citation.