Legal Research Tutorial

Reference list citation

Harper & Row v. Nation Enterprises, 471 U.S. 539 (1985).

In-text citation:

(Harper v. Nation, 1985)

Most court decision APA citations have three basic elements:

1. Name of the case
2. Volume number, source reporting the decision, and page number
3. Court* and date of the decision

Name of Case

Harper & Row v. Nation Enterprises,

Volume, Source & Page Number

471 U.S. 539

Court

(E.D. Wis. 1972).

*Omit the name of the Supreme Court and its jurisdiction in references to the Supreme Court Reporter (S. Ct.) and United States Reports (U.S.). Likewise, omit the court’s name and its jurisdiction if (a) the deciding court is the highest court of a state or (b) the name of the case reporter already conveys the name of the court and its jurisdiction.

Date

(1985).

See The University of Akron's Bluebook Quick Reference: Abbreviations and How-tos for help with abbreviations​.

See Publication Manual, 11.4