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How Do I Cite a Case?

If you are writing a college term paper and find that you need to cite a court case, you may find yourself wondering how your citation should be formatted. Luckily, the Modern Language Association (MLA) offers easy-to-follow guidelines for citing court cases at all levels. The basic bibliographic information that must be listed includes the names of plaintiffs and defendants, case number, name of the court, the date of the court decision and the medium of publication. Once you have gathered this information you are ready to arrange your citation.

Instructions

- 1
  Begin your citation with the last name of the first plaintiff, followed by "v." Then list the last name of the first defendant, followed by a period. For example:
  
  Smith v. Jones.
- 2
  List the number of the court case, followed by a period.
- 3
  List the name of the court in which the case was decided, followed by a period. For example:
  
  Maine Supreme Court.
- 4
  List the day, month and year that the case was decided, followed by a period. Abbreviate the names of months down to three letters. For example:
  
  11 Mar. 2010.
- 5
  List the medium of publication as:
  
  Print.
  
  The finished citation should appear as follows:
  
  Smith v. Jones. No. 119-56. Maine Supreme Court. 11 Mar. 2010. Print.

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