Legal Sources

When citing legal sources in APA Style, prioritize clarity and accuracy. Provide enough information so that readers can locate the exact legal material.

General Principles:
  • Title Case: Capitalize all major words in the titles of legal documents.
  • Italics: Italicize the titles of cases and statutes.
  • Abbreviations: Use standard abbreviations for legal terms (consult a legal dictionary or The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation for guidance).
  • Retrieval Dates: Generally, retrieval dates are not needed for legal sources.
  • URLs: Provide stable URLs when available.

1. Citing Statutes

Basic Format:
Title of Act. (Year). Volume Number Source Abbreviation Section Number. URL
Example:
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. (1990). 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq. https://www.ada.gov/statute.html
Detailed Breakdown:
  • Title of Act: The official name of the statute. Italicize.
  • (Year): The year the statute was enacted or amended. This is usually the year the act was passed, not necessarily the year of a specific edition of the code.
  • Volume Number: The volume number of the source code where the statute is found.
  • Source Abbreviation: The abbreviated name of the source code. The most common source code for federal statutes is the United States Code (U.S.C.). State statutes are found in state-specific codes (e.g., California Civil Code).
  • Section Number: The section number within the source code where the specific part of the statute is located. Use the section symbol (§). "et seq." (or "et seq") means "and the following sections".
  • URL: If available online, provide a stable URL. This should ideally link directly to the statute text, if possible.

2. Citing Cases

Basic Format:
Case Name. Volume Number Source Abbreviation Page Number (Year).
Example:
Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954).
Detailed Breakdown:
  • Case Name: The name of the case, including the parties involved. Italicize. Omit extraneous information like "Inc." "Co."
  • Volume Number: The volume number of the reporter.
  • Source Abbreviation: The abbreviated name of the case reporter. The reporter is a publication that contains the court's decision. For U.S. Supreme Court cases, the reporter is United States Reports (U.S.). Other courts have different reporters.
  • Page Number: The starting page number of the case in the reporter. This indicates where the case begins in that volume.
  • (Year): The year the case was decided.

3. Citing Regulations

Basic Format:
Title Number Code of Regulations Section Number. (Year). URL
Example:
45 C.F.R. § 46.101 (2009). https://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/regulations-and-policy/45-cfr-46/index.html
Detailed Breakdown:
  • Title Number: The title number of the Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.). The C.F.R. is a codification of the general and permanent rules published in the Federal Register by the executive departments and agencies of the federal government.
  • Code of Regulations Abbreviation: "C.F.R." for Code of Federal Regulations.
  • Section Number: The section number of the regulation. Use the section symbol (§).
  • (Year): The year the regulation was published or revised. Use the year that is on the CFR volume.
  • URL: Provide a stable URL.

4. Citing Executive Orders

Basic Format:
Executive Order Number, Title of Order, Volume Number Federal Register Page Number (Year). URL
Example:
Executive Order 13985, Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government, 86 Fed. Reg. 7009 (2021). https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/01/25/2021-01753/advancing-racial-equity-and-support-for-underserved-communities-through-the-federal-government
Detailed Breakdown:
  • Executive Order Number: The number of the executive order.
  • Title of Order: The title of the executive order. Italicize.
  • Volume Number: The volume number of the Federal Register.
  • Federal Register Abbreviation: "Fed. Reg." The Federal Register is the official journal of the federal government of the United States that contains government agency rules, proposed rules, and public notices.
  • Page Number: The page number in the Federal Register where the order begins.
  • (Year): The year the executive order was issued.
  • URL: A stable URL.
Important Notes:
  • Legal Citation Manuals: For very detailed legal citations, consult The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation or other legal citation manuals. APA style is a simplified approach for psychology papers.
  • Accuracy: Accuracy is crucial in legal citations. Double-check all information, including titles, dates, volume numbers, and page numbers.
  • Abbreviations: Use standard legal abbreviations.
  • State vs. Federal: The examples above primarily show federal legal materials. State legal materials will have different source codes and reporters (e.g., cite state statutes using the state's code, and state court decisions using state-specific reporters).
  • Subsequent References: For subsequent in-text citations, you can use a shortened version of the case name (e.g., Brown v. Board of Education can be shortened to Brown).
  • In-Text Citation: Cite legal sources in the text using the author and year. For cases, the first named party is considered the author.
    (Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, 1990)
    (Brown v. Board of Education, 1954)
More Examples:
California Civil Code § 1708. (2023). https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaysection.xhtml?lawCode=CIV&sectionNum=1708.
California Code of Regulations, tit. 22, § 50001 (2023). https://oal.ca.gov/title-22-social-security/
18 U.S.C. § 241 (2019). https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid%3AUSC-prelim-title18-partI-chapter13-section241&edition=prelim
People v. Powell, 14 Cal. 545 (1859).