A manual for writers of research papers, theses, and dissertations, 7th edition - Kate L. Turabian 2007

Legal cases
Notes-bibliography style: citing specific types of sources
Part II. Source Citation

Citations of legal cases generally take the same form for courts at all levels. In notes, give the full case name (including the abbreviation v.) in roman type, not enclosed in parentheses. Include the volume number (arabic), name of the reporter (abbreviated; see below), ordinal series number (if applicable), abbreviated name of the court and date (together in parentheses), and other relevant information, such as the publisher for a loose-leaf service or the name of a state or local court (if not identified by the series title). A single page number designates the opening page of a decision; an additional number designates an actual page cited.

Cite statutes in notes only; you do not need to include them in your bibliography.

N: 18. United States v. Christmas, 222 F.3d 141, 145 (4th Cir. 2000).

21. Profit Sharing Plan v. MBank Dallas, N.A., 683 F. Supp. 592 (N.D. Tex. 1988).

A shortened note may consist of the case name and, if needed, a page number.

N: 35. United States v. Christmas, 146.

42. Georgia v. Brailsford, 2.

The one element that depends on the level of the court is the name of the reporter. The most common ones are as follows.

U.S. Supreme Court. For Supreme Court decisions, cite United States Supreme Court Reports (abbreviated U.S.) or, if not yet published there, Supreme Court Reporter (abbreviated S. Ct.).

N: 21. AT&T Corp. v. Iowa Utilities Bd., 525 U.S. 366 (1999).

39. Arthur Andersen LLP v. United States. 125 S. Ct. 2129 (2005).

Lower federal courts. For lower federal-court decisions, cite Federal Reporter (F.) or Federal Supplement (F. Supp.).

N: 3. United States v. Dennis, 183 F. 201 (2d Cir. 1950).

15. Eaton v. IBM Corp., 925 F. Supp. 487 (S.D. Tex. 1996).

State and local courts. For state and local court decisions, cite official state reporters whenever possible. If you use a commercial reporter, cite it as in the second example below. If the reporter does not identify the court's name, include it before the date, within the parentheses.

N: 6. Williams v. Davis, 27 Cal. 2d 746 (1946).

8. Bivens v. Mobley, 724 So. 2d 458, 465 (Miss. Ct. App. 1998).