Published January 28, 2021. Updated August 9, 2021.

To create a reference or citation for a court case in person, you will need to know basic information including the parties involved, court and case number, year, and URL (uniform resource locator).

The examples below will show you how to cite a court case in MLA, APA, Chicago style, and Harvard referencing.

Easily cite a court case in the style of your choice using the Chegg Writing citation generator.

Help protect your paper against accidental plagiarism with the Chegg Writing plagiarism checker and citation generator.

Citing a court case in MLA style

In-text citation example:

(Employment Division, Department of Human Resources of Oregon v. Smith)

Works cited entry example:

United Sates, Supreme Court. Employment Division, Department of Human Resources of Oregon v. Smith. United States Reports, vol. 494, 17 April 1990, pp. 872–890. Legal Information Institute, Cornell U Law School, www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/494/872%26gt%3B.

For more information on this citation style, see citing a court case in MLA style.

Citing a court case in APA style

In-text citation example:

People v. Suarez (2005)

Reference list entry example:

For more information on this citation style, see citing a court case in APA style.

Citing a court case in Chicago style, notes-bibliography

Footnotes example:

Note

1. People v. Suarez,

   
   

   6 NY3d 373 (2005).

Bibliography entry example:

People v. Suarez, 6 NY3d 373 (2005).

For more information on this citation style, see citing a court case in Chicago style.

Citing a court case in Chicago style, author-date

In-text citation example:

(People v. Suarez 2005)

Reference list entry example:

For more information on this citation style, see citing a court case in Chicago style.

How to cite a court case in Harvard referencing style

In-text citation example:

(‘Moreno v. The Motor Insurers’ Bureau’, 2016)

Reference list entry example:

For more information on this citation style, see citing a court case in Harvard referencing style.

Writing a paper? Don’t forget to include a bibliography.