In Text Citations
Any time a law or a court case is mentioned in the text of a paper, include an appropriate “in-text citation” (usually in parentheses). For court cases, that includes the main party names as well as the year – e.g. (Griswold v. Connecticut, 1965). For laws (statutes), the preferred form includes the name of the law and the year – e.g. (Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act of 1974). The APA style manual indicates anything cited in the text should also have a complete listing in the References list.
Court cases:
(Griswold v. Connecticut, 1965)
For court cases, in the text include party name v. party name and the year.
Statutes (named):
(Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, 2010)
(Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act of 1974)
For statutes (bills passed by Congress or a state legislature and signed into law), in the text of your paper list the name of the law and the year. The name of the law can sometimes be found at the beginning of the bill as signed into a law and/or the beginning of the appropriate section of the codified version. The year is sometimes included in the law's name.
Statutes (no name):
(18 U.S.C. § 2258)
It is not always possible to find the name of a law, especially if the citation is to the codified version (published in the U.S. Code or one of the California / state codes). To cite existing law without a name, often a section of the USC or a California code, some authors simply include the legal citation in the text, e.g. (18 U.S.C. § 2258), and omit the entry from the References list.
References List format:
Party v. Party, Legal Citation (Issuing court abbreviation year)
Example Entries:
Christopher S. v. Stanislaus County Office of Education, 384 F.3d 1205 (9th Cir., 2004)
Griswold v. Connecticut, 381 U.S. 479 (1965)
People v. Stockton Pregnancy Control Medical Clinic, 203 Cal. App. 3d 225 (Cal. App. 3d 1988)
Tarasoff v. Regents of the University of California, 131 Cal. Rptr. 14 (Cal. 1976)
Part of the legal citation for a court case:
Example:
384 = volume 384
F.3d = Federal Supplement 3rd Series
225 = page 225
Note: The issuing court abbreviation is not always included (especially for Supreme and Appellate Court cases).
Reporters and Legal Citations:
Reporters:
Federal and state supreme and appellate court decisions are usually gathered from the official court releases, and reprinted in commercial sources known as "reporters." Each reporter will provide a "legal citation" to a case, which usually includes a volume or year, reporter abbreviation, and a page number.
140 P. 3d 775 - California supreme court case republished in the 3rd series of the Pacific Reporter (P. 3d), in volume 140 and starting on page 775.
References List format:
Party v. Party, Legal Citation (Issuing court abbreviation year)
Example Entries:
Christopher S. v. Stanislaus County Office of Education, 384 F.3d 1205 (9th Cir., 2004)
Griswold v. Connecticut, 381 U.S. 479 (1965)
Issuing Court:
Use abbreviations for court that issued ruling (Skip this if you are unable to find the abbreviation but be sure to include the year.)
U.S. Supreme Court = U.S.
U.S. Court of Appeals for the nth Circuit = 1st Cir., 2nd Cir., etc.
U.S. District Court for California
Central District of California = C.D. Cal.
Eastern District of California = E.D. Cal.
Northern District of California = N.D. Cal.
Southern District of California = S.D. Cal.
References List format:
Party v. Party, Legal Citation (Issuing court abbreviation year)/
Example Entries:
People v. Stockton Pregnancy Control Medical Clinic, 203 Cal. App. 3d 225 (Cal. App. 3d 1988)
Tarasoff v. Regents of the University of California, 131 Cal. Rptr. 14 (Cal. 1976).
Notes:
Party names are displayed at top of court opinion in legal research tools like Lexis or Westlaw. (If the list of party names is overly long, often only the first name or institution is used.)
Legal Citation = volume # Reporter Abbreviation starting page #
Issuing Court: Abbreviation for court that issued ruling (Skip this if you are unable to find the abbreviation but be sure to include the year.)
Abbreviations for Issuing Courts in California:
California Supreme Court = Cal.
Court of Appeal of California, First Appellate District = Cal. 1d.
Court of Appeal of California, First Appellate District = Cal. 2d.
Court of Appeal of California, Third Appellate District = Cal. 3d.
Format for in-text citations:
Name of the law, year
If the name of the law is not available, some authors use the Legal Citation (e.g. to the US Code section) only:
# U.S.C. § #
Examples for in-text citations:
(Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act of 1974)
(Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, 2010)
:(18 U.S.C. § 2258).
References list:
Format 1 – law name with US Code citation
Name of law, title # U.S.C. § section #.
Example Entry:
Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act of 1974, 42 USC §§5101–5106.
Format 2 – law name with Public Law and/or Statutes at Large information included
Name of law, Pub. L. ##-##, volume Stat. page, codified as amended at title U.S.C. § section #.
Example Entry:
Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act of 1974, Pub. L. 93-247, 88 Stat. 4, codified as amended at 42 U.S.C. §§5101–5106.
Format 1 - Code (usually preferred format, using citation to California Codes):
Name of law (if available), State Abbreviation Code Abbreviation § section number(s) (Year if available).
Example Entry:
Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act, Cal. Penal Code § 11164 et seq.
Format 2 – Bill/Chapter (use if new law updates many code sections instead of one):
Name of law, State Abbreviation Branch (Assemb. or S.) Bill number, Chapter number (Cal. Stat. Year).
Example Entry:
California Fostering Connections to Success Act, Cal. Assemb. B. 12 (2010-2011), Chapter 559 (Cal. Stat. 2010).
Text Citations
References are cited in text with an author-date citation system, while each item referenced in text must appear in the reference list (174).
One author: You are required to include the authors’ last names and year of publication, and encouraged to provide a page number where the information that is cited may be found. Ex: (Taylor & Green, 2004, p. 56)
No author: Abbreviate title. Ex: (“Quest for Redemption,” 2007)
Multiple authors:
2 authors: List both authors when you cite the work (175). Ex: (Wagner & Clarke, 1999)
3 to 5 authors: List all authors the first time you cite the work (175). Ex: (Kern, Cornwell, Jones, Berry, & Howard, 2003) In subsequent citations, list the first author followed by et al. Ex: (Kern et al., 2003)
6 or more authors: List the first author followed by et al. each time you cite the work (175). Ex: (Williams et al., 2007)
References
APA requires that the reference list be double-spaced and that entries have a hanging indent (180).
Book (202):
Author, A. A. (Year). Title: Subtitle. Location: Publisher.
Ex:
Berk, R. (1981). Water shortage: Lessons in conservation from the great California drought, 1976-1977. Cambridge, MA: Abt Books.
Web page (205):
Author, A. A. (Year). Title: Subtitle. Retrieved from URL
Ex:
California Department of Fish and Game (2017). Coho Salmon. Retrieved from https://www.wildlife .ca.gov/Conservation/Fishes/Coho-Salmon
Journal article from an online database with DOI (198):
Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (Year). Title of article. Title of Periodical, Volume number(Issue number), Page numbers. doi:
Ex:
Hladik, M. L., Domaglski, J. L., & Kuivila, K. M. (2009). Concentrations and loads of suspended sediment-associated pesticides in the San Joaquin River, California and tributaries during storm events. Science of the Total Environment, 408(2),356-364. doi:/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2009.09.040
Numbers
The general rule on the use of numbers is to use numerals to express numbers 10 and above and words to express numbers below 10 (111).
Use numbers expressed in numerals when (111-112):
Use numbers expressed in words when (112):
Combine numerals and words to express numbers when (112-113):
When conveying back-to-back modifiers. Ex: ten 7-point scales
When readability may suffer, spell out both numbers. Ex: first two items
Ordinal numbers (113):
Treat ordinal numbers as you would cardinal numbers (113). Ex: the fourth graders; four grades
Commas in numbers (114):
Use commas between groups of three digits in most figures of 1,000 or more (114).
Exception: page numbers page 1029
Plurals in numbers (114):
To form the plurals of numbers, add s or es along, without an apostrophe (114).
Ex: 10s and 20s; fours and sixes
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