Cite a court case in Chicago (author-date)
Court cases are the source type where Chicago (author-date) (17th ed.) diverges most from ordinary author-date patterns. Legal citations privilege the case name, reporter volume, reporter abbreviation, first page, court, and year. Some styles keep legal punctuation almost intact, while others adapt cases into reference-list entries, so every locator must be copied exactly.
Chicago (author-date) rules for a court case
- Case name is italicized in APA and Harvard, but plain in MLA and Chicago author-date.
- Include the reporter volume number.
- Copy the reporter abbreviation exactly, such as U.S. or F. Supp.
- Include the first page of the reported decision.
- Add the court abbreviation when it is not clear from the reporter.
- End with the decision year and URL when citing an online copy.
- Chicago legal notes follow footnote conventions more closely than author-date references.
- Use plain case names in author-date reference entries.
Worked example
Chicago (author-date) · court caseA real court case formatted using the Chicago (author-date) rules above.
Court, United States Supreme. 1954. "Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483." Legal Information Institute. accessed January 15, 2025. https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/347/483.
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