How citations work
The court-and-year parenthetical
The parenthetical after a case citation tells the reader which court decided the case and when.
Name the court only when the reporter does not already show it, and give the year the court decided the case, not the year it was argued or published.
When there is no reporter page yet, give the full date instead of the year.
12 real examples
Each citation is printed as the book prints it, from an authority the book checked against its source.
Gibbs v. Maxwell House, 738 F.2d 1153 (11th Cir. 1984).
- Case name
- Gibbs v. Maxwell House
- Volume, reporter and first page
- 738 F.2d 1153
- Court and date
- (11th Cir. 1984)
The authority
- Gibbs v. Maxwell House (11th Cir., Aug. 9, 1984)Copy (static.case.law)Find it on CourtListener
Where the book teaches this
City of Hopewell v. Shree Arihant Motel, Inc., No. 251193, slip op. at 7 (Va. July 16, 2026).
- Case name
- City of Hopewell v. Shree Arihant Motel, Inc.
- Docket number
- No. 251193
- Slip-opinion page
- slip op. at 7
- Court and date
- (Va. July 16, 2026)
The authority
- City of Hopewell v. Shree Arihant Motel, Inc. (Va., July 16, 2026)Source (vacourts.gov)
Where the book teaches this
Brownback v. King, No. 19-546, slip op. at 6 (U.S. Feb. 25, 2021).
- Case name
- Brownback v. King
- Docket number
- No. 19-546
- Slip-opinion page
- slip op. at 6
- Court and date
- (U.S. Feb. 25, 2021)
The authority
- Brownback v. King (U.S., Feb. 25, 2021)Source (supremecourt.gov)
Where the book teaches this
(People v Harris, 2002 NY Slip Op 50715[U], *2 [Sup Ct, NY County 2002])
- Court and date
- (People v Harris, 2002 NY Slip Op 50715[U], *2 [Sup Ct, NY County 2002])
- Case name
- People v Harris
The authority
- People v Harris (Sup Ct, NY County, Feb. 19, 2002)Source (nycourts.gov)
Where the book teaches this
Ex parte Perry, 483 S.W.3d 884 (Tex. Crim. App. 2016).
- Case name
- Ex parte Perry
- Volume, reporter and first page
- 483 S.W.3d 884
- Court and date
- (Tex. Crim. App. 2016)
The authority
- Ex parte Perry (Tex. Crim. App., Feb. 24, 2016)Copy (courtlistener.com)
Where the book teaches this
Thaler v. Perlmutter, 130 F.4th 1039 (D.C. Cir. 2025).
- Case name
- Thaler v. Perlmutter
- Volume, reporter and first page
- 130 F.4th 1039
- Court and date
- (D.C. Cir. 2025)
The authority
- Thaler v. Perlmutter (D.C. Cir., Mar. 18, 2025)Source (media.cadc.uscourts.gov)
Where the book teaches this
Cherry v. Wash. Dep’t of Fish & Wildlife, No. 25-4763 (9th Cir. Aug. 21, 2026).
- Case name
- Cherry v. Wash. Dep’t of Fish & Wildlife
- Docket number
- No. 25-4763
- Court and date
- (9th Cir. Aug. 21, 2026)
The authority
- Cherry v. Wash. Dep’t of Fish & Wildlife (9th Cir., Aug. 21, 2026)Source (govinfo.gov)
Where the book teaches this
Megalomedia Inc. v. Phila. Indem. Ins. Co., No. 23-20570 (5th Cir. Sept. 14, 2026).
- Case name
- Megalomedia Inc. v. Phila. Indem. Ins. Co.
- Docket number
- No. 23-20570
- Court and date
- (5th Cir. Sept. 14, 2026)
The authority
- Megalomedia Inc. v. Phila. Indem. Ins. Co. (5th Cir., Sept. 14, 2026)Source (ca5.uscourts.gov)
Where the book teaches this
U.S. Bank Tr. Nat’l Ass’n v. Thomas, No. CAAP-24-0000837 (Haw. Ct. App. Oct. 8, 2026) (summary disposition order).
- Docket number
- No. CAAP-24-0000837
- Court and date
- (Haw. Ct. App. Oct. 8, 2026)
The authority
- U.S. Bank Tr. Nat'l Ass'n v. Thomas (Haw. Ct. App., Oct. 8, 2026)Source (courts.state.hi.us)
Baldwin Hackett & Meeks, Inc. v. Early Warning Servs., LLC, No. 23-3502 (8th Cir. Aug. 29, 2025).
- Case name
- Baldwin Hackett & Meeks, Inc. v. Early Warning Servs., LLC
- Docket number
- No. 23-3502
- Court and date
- (8th Cir. Aug. 29, 2025)
The authority
- Baldwin Hackett & Meeks, Inc. v. Early Warning Servs., LLC (8th Cir., Aug. 29, 2025)Source (ecf.ca8.uscourts.gov)
Where the book teaches this
Wilson-Bey v. United States, 903 A.2d 818 (D.C. 2006) (en banc).
- Case name
- Wilson-Bey v. United States
- Volume, reporter and first page
- 903 A.2d 818
- Court and date
- (D.C. 2006)
The authority
- Wilson-Bey v. United States (D.C., July 20, 2006)Source (dccourts.gov)
Zarate v. Rodriguez, 542 S.W.3d 26 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2017, pet. denied).
- Case name
- Zarate v. Rodriguez
- Volume, reporter and first page
- 542 S.W.3d 26
- Court and date
- (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2017, pet. denied)
The authority
- Zarate v. Rodriguez (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.], Oct. 17, 2017)Source (search.txcourts.gov)
Where the book teaches this
Where the book teaches this
The full rule, its exceptions and the reasons for it are in these sections.
- 1.4 Identity: is it the authority you think it is?
- 1.6 Support: does the passage say what you say it says?
- 4.8 One passage, several page numbers: slip opinions, reporters and star pages
- 6.2 Briefs, motions and memos: what goes in italics
- 7.2 Spacing and periods: the single-capital rule
- 7.3 Words in case names, places and months
- 7.4 Courts, reporters and journals: identifiers, not words
- 7.10 Errors to catch