Legal/Government References

Remember to properly format your References

Remember to put your References in alphabetical order, use hanging indentations, and double space them

Supreme Court Cases

Supreme Court Case with page number

Plantif v Defendant, Volume Source Page (Date) URL

 

Example 1:

Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973) https://www.oyez.org/cases/1971/70-18

Parenthetical citation (not using the name of the case in the text): (Roe v. Wade, 1973)

Narrative citation (using the name of the case in the text): Roe v. Wade (1973)

Note that the name of a court case will be in italics in the intext citation.

Example 2:

Obergefell v. Hodges, 576 U.S.___ (2015) https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/576/14-556/

This case has not yet been published in the U.S. Repports so it has no page number.  Use three underscores ___ instead of the page number.

Parenthetical citation: (Obergefell v. Hodges, 2015)

Narrative citation: Obergefell v. Hodges (2015)

Note that the name of a court case will be in italics in the intext citation.

Statutes (Laws and Acts)

Federal Statute

Name of Act, Title Source § Section Numebr (Year). URL

Example 1:

Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990, 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq. (1990). https://www.ada.gov/pubs/adastatute08.htm

Parenthetical citation: (Americans With Disabilities Act, 1990)

Narrative citation: Americans With Disabilities Act (1990)

Note the et seq. in the citation is a short hand way of saying that the act not only covers the initial section (42 U.S.C. § 12101) but also others that follow. So this will not be in all of your citations. The symbol § stands for section.

 

Note: If the Act is codified in more than one United States Code (U.S.C.) or if it is not codified in the U.S.C. then cite the Public Law Number.

Example 2:

Civil Rights Act of 1964, Pub. L. No. 88-352, 78 Stat. 241 (1964). https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/STATUTE-78/pdf/STATUTE-78-Pg241.pdf

Parenthetical citation: (Civil Rights Act, 1964)

Narrative citation: Civil Rights Act (1964)

Legislative Materials

Unenacted federal bill or resolution

Template for a bill:

Title, H.R. or S. bill number, xxx Cong. (Year). URL 

Note: The H.R. stands for House of Representatives, and the S. stands for Senate.

Example:

Improving Diagnosis in Medicine Act of 2019, H.R. 5014, 116th Cong. (2019). https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/5014

Parenthetical citation: (Improving Diagnosis in Medicine Act, 2019)

Narrative citation: Improving Diagnosis in Medicine Act (2019)

 

Template for a resolution:

Title, H.R. or S. Res. resolution number, xxx Cong. (Year). URL

Example:

A resolution expressing the sense of the Senate with respect to health care rights, S. Res. 273, 116th Cong. (2019). https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-resolution/273

Parenthetical citation: (S. Resolution 273, 2019)

Narrative citation: Senate Rsolution 273 (2019)

Note: In the parenthetical ciation use the S. as an abreviation for Senate. In the narrative citation spell out the word Senate.

Administrative and Executive Materials

Executive order

Exec. Order No. xxxxx, 3 C.F.R. Page (Year). URL

Note: Always include 3 C.F.R. as Executive Orders fall under section 3 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

Example:

Exec. Order No. 13,901, 3 C.F.R. 398 (2019). https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CFR-2020-title3-vol1/pdf/CFR-2020-title3-vol1-eo13901.pdf

Parenthetical citation: (Exec. Order No. 13,901, 2019)

Narrative citation: Executive Order No. 13,901 (2019)

Note: Use the Exec. abbreviation for Executive in the parenthetical citation, in the narrative citation spell out Executive.

Federal regulation

Title or Number, Volume C.F.R. § xxx (Year). URL

Note: Always use C.F.R. in the citation, it stands for Code of Federal Regulations.

Example:

Equipment Authorization, 47 C.F.R. § 96.49 (2015). https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CFR-2015-title47-vol5/pdf/CFR-2015-title47-vol5-sec.pdf

Parenthetical citation: (Equipment Authorization, 2015)

Narrative citation: Equipment Authorization (2015)

 

Constitution

Article of the U.S. Constitution

U.S. Const. art. xxx, § x.

Example:

U.S. Const. art. 1, § 1.

Parenthetical citation: (U.S. Const. art. 1, § 1)

Narrative citation: Article 1, Section 3, of the U.S. Constitution

Note: You do not include a date when citing the U.S. Constitution.

Article of a state constitution

State Const. art. xxx, § x.

Example:

Cali. Const. art. 1, § 1.

Parenthetical citation: (Cali. Const. art. 1, § 1)

Narrative citation: Article 1, Section 1, of the California Constitution

Note: You do not include a date when citing a state Constitution.

Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

U.S. Const. amend. xxx.

Example:

U.S. Const. amend. XIII.

Parenthetical citation: (U.S. Const. amend. XIII)

Narrative citation: Amendment XIII to the U.S. Constitution

Note: You do not include a date for amendments to the Constitution unless they have been repealed.

 

 

Repealed amendment to the U.S. Constitution

U.S. Const. amend. xxx (repealed Year).

Note: The year that the amendment was repealed is included in the citation.

Example:

U.S. Const. amend. XVIII (repealed 1933).

Parenthetical citation: (U.S. Const. amend. XVIII, repealed 1933)

Narrative citation: Amendment XVIII to the U.S. Constitution was repealed in 1933

U.S. Bill of Rights

U.S. Const. amend. I-X.

Parenthetical citation: (U.S. Const. amend. I-X)

Narrative citation: Amendments I-X to the U.S. Constitution

Note: If you are citing only one of the ten amendments included in the Bill of Rights then cite it as an amendment (see above example).

 

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