Citing U.S. Supreme Court Cases in APA 7

Overview

This lecture explains how to cite U.S. Supreme Court cases in APA 7 style, covering both reference list entries and in-text citations.

Reference List Entries for Supreme Court Cases

• Supreme Court case reference entries must include: Name v. Name, volume number, US (United States Reports), page number, year, and optional URL.
• The title of the case is not italicized in the reference list entry.
• Use the format: Name v. Name, Volume U.S. Page (Year). URL (if available).
• If the Supreme Court case has no page number, use three underscores (___) in place of the page number.
• Include parallel citations if a case is reported in multiple sources; existing legal citations often provide these.__

In-Text Citations for Supreme Court Cases

• Two types: narrative (case name in text, year in parentheses) and parenthetical (case name and year together in parentheses).
• For narrative: Brown v. Board of Education (1954).
• For parenthetical: (Brown v. Board of Education, 1954).
• Italicize the case name in in-text citations.
• Place period after the parenthesis if citation is at the end of a sentence.

Finding and Formatting Case Information

• Obtain: case name, volume number, US, page number, year, and URL from sources such as Oyez.
• Example: Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483 (1954). https://www.oyez.org/cases/1940-1955/347us483

Key Terms & Definitions

• APA 7 style — The 7th edition of the American Psychological Association's citation guidelines.
• Reference list entry — The full citation of a source in your paper’s reference list.
• In-text citation — A brief acknowledgment of a source within the body of your paper.
• Narrative citation — Citation where the source is part of the sentence.
• Parenthetical citation — Citation included in parentheses, usually at the end of a sentence.
• Parallel citation — Multiple citations for one legal case, reported in different sources.

Action Items / Next Steps

• Review pages 357–361 in the APA Publication Manual, 7th edition, for more legal citation examples.
• Consult the Blue Book for additional legal citation standards.
• Visit the Legal Information Institute at www.law.cornell.edu for guidance.
• Ask a Columbus State reference librarian for further help if needed.