Citing Cases | STL Library

Citing Cases

Case Names

Omit all parties other than the first party listed on each side of the v.
- Ho v. Russi
For names of individuals, use only last names
Omit words indicating multiple parties (such as “et al.”)
Abbreviate words according to Table 6. If a word is listed in T6, you should abbreviate it, if not, do not abbreviate it.
Abbreviate states, countries, and other geographical units according to T10.
- Unless the geographical unit is a named party
  - Example: Chandler v. State of Texas
- Never abbreviate United States when it is a named party
  - Example: Brown v. United States

Reporters

Cite a reporter by listing:
- 1. The volume number of the reporter in which the case is published
- 2. The abbreviated name of the reporter (listed in T1)
- 3. The page on which the case reports begin
Examples:
- Turner v. United States, 865 F.3d 338 (6th Cir. 2017).
For the United States Supreme Court, the official reporter is the United States Reporter (U.S.).
For cases from the United States Court of Appeals, the official reporter is the Federal Reporter (F.; F.2d; F.3d; F.4th).
For state cases, you should look at T1 to determine which reporter to cite

Pincite

To point your reader to the specific pages that relate to the cited proposition, you must also include a pinpoint citation, often called a “pin cite.”
A pin cite could be a range
- 123-25
- 2020-24
- Where the page numbers consist of three or more digits, drop any repetitious digits other than the final two digits
A pin cite could also be several non-consecutive pages
- 87, 90-91

Court and Year of Decision

In the parenthetical following the pin cite, indicate the year the case was decided and the court that decided the case.
When the reporter clearly indicates the court that issued the opinion, you do not need to include the case in the parenthetical.
- For example: Bruton v. U.S., 391 U.S. 123 (1968)
- This is because the reporter, U.S., is only used by the Supreme Court.
But if the reporter does not indicate the court, you still need to include the court in the parenthetical after the pin cite.
- Alonso v. WestCoast Corporation, 920 F.3d 878 (5th Cir. 2019).

Pending and Unreported Cases

Cite to Westlaw electronic report of the case when one is available.
The citation should include:
- 1. Case name
- 2. Case docket number
- 3. Database identifier and electronic report number
- 4. Star page number
- 5. Court and full date parenthetical
Example:
- Brenner v. Greenberg, No. 08 C 826, 2011 WL 862224, at *2-3 (N.D.IL. March 10, 2011)

Short Form Citation for Cases

The following formats are acceptable short form citations of page 936 of DVM Co. v. Bricker, 672 P.2d 933 (Ariz. 1983).
- DVM Co., 672 P.2d at 936.
- 672 P.2d at 936.
- Id. at 936.
When to use 672 P.2d at 936?
- When the proposition clearly indicates you are talking about the case DVM Co.
When to use Id. at 936?
- When the immediately preceding citation is DVM Co.

ld.

In academic articles, Id. must be italicized, but not underlined.
Id. is used to refer to the immediately preceding authority
The “i” in Id. is only capitalized when it begins a citation sentence
The underline in Id. runs under the period.
You can use Id. to refer to the identical pin cite in the immediately preceding citation.
- Citation 1: DVM Co., 672 P.2d at 936. Citation 2: Id.
You can use Id. to refer to a different pin cite.
- Citation 1: DVM Co., 672 P.2d at 936. Citation 2: Id. at 938.
You cannot use Id. if there are more than one citation in the immediately preceding citation sentence.