Court opinions
How to cite Texas Supreme Court and Court of Criminal Appeals opinions
Cite a decision of the Texas Supreme Court and Court of Criminal Appeals with the case name, the reporter citation, and a parenthetical that gives the year, adding the state’s abbreviation when the reporter is a regional one.
The examples below use S.W.3d.
The book’s Table A lists Texas’s courts, reporters and citation rules.
3 real examples
Each citation is printed as the book prints it, from an authority the book checked against its source.
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
Mason v. State, No. PD-0300-24, slip op. at 1 (Tex. Crim. App. Sept. 24, 2026) (Schenck, P.J., dissenting).
- Case name
- Mason v. State
- Docket number
- No. PD-0300-24
- Slip-opinion page
- slip op. at 1
- Court and date
- (Tex. Crim. App. Sept. 24, 2026)
The authority
- Mason v. State (Tex. Crim. App., Sept. 24, 2026)Source (search.txcourts.gov)
Where the book teaches this
Pidgeon v. Turner, 538 S.W.3d 73 (Tex. 2017).
- Case name
- Pidgeon v. Turner
- Volume, reporter and first page
- 538 S.W.3d 73
- Court and date
- (Tex. 2017)
The authority
- Pidgeon v. Turner (Tex., June 30, 2017)Copy (courtlistener.com)
Where the book teaches this
Where the book teaches this
The full rule, its exceptions and the reasons for it are in these sections.