Week 1 Discussion - Business Law for Commercial Transactions
Legal Citations
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Page 2 of 3 Law and Ethics for Managers ©2017 South University
Legal Citations
Citing Legal Sources
In law, a citation is used to identify the source of any legal proposition or rationale introduced into a legal argument. The legal source can be the US Constitution, a statute, a reported case, or some other type of regulation.
For detailed information on how to cite legal references, please see Appendix 7.1 in Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association.
Note: Since this course is part of the business curriculum, other references such as the textbook, journal articles, websites, and similar resources should be cited according to regular APA rules, as the Bluebook provides different formats for these resources.
How to Read a Legal Citation
A legal citation in its basic form includes a volume number, an abbreviated title of the source, and the beginning page or section number. The citation may also include the year.
A legal citation for the reference section should have the following structure:
The name of the case (italicized) using a lower case "v" to separate the parties Konop v. Hawaiian Airlines, Inc.,
The volume number of the reporter containing the case, the abbreviated name of the
reporter, and the page number on which the case begins. 302 F.3d 868
The abbreviation of the court that decided the case and the year the case was decided, enclosed in parentheses and followed by a period. (9th Cir. 2002).
Konop v. Hawaiian Airlines, Inc., 302 F.3d 868 (9th Cir. 2002).
The in-text citation includes the names of the parties and the year the case was decided.
Konop v. Hawaiian Airlines, Inc. (2002) or (Konop v. Hawaiian Airlines, Inc., 2002)
Legal Citations Week 1 Discussion 3
Page 3 of 3 Law and Ethics for Managers ©2017 South University
Legal Citation
Smith v. Connecticut, 381 U.S. 479, 480 (1967)
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Smith v. Connecticut
The names of the parties involved (or the name of the case)
This includes the names of the parties involved (in other words, this is the name of the case).
381 U.S. The volume number of and the abbreviation of the reporter
The case is reported in volume 381 of the United States Reports (abbreviated "U.S.").
The Supreme Court decided the case. Because the United States Reports publishes only cases that the Supreme Court decides, the court deciding the case may be inferred from the reporter.
479, 480 The page number in the reporter on which the case begins
The case begins on page 479 of that volume of the reporter. 480 is the pinpoint page. Pinpoint cites direct readers to specific pages within the opinion.
1967 The year the judgment was rendered
The year of the opinion is important as dates inform readers of how recent the decision is.