How to Cite a Court Case in MLA

Case citations follow the legal guides: AGLC4 in Australia, OSCOLA in the UK and the Bluebook in the US. APA and MLA borrow the legal form. This page follows MLA 9th edition, 9th edition (2021).

MLA format for a court case

MLA 9th edition

Works Cited entry

Mabo v Queensland (No 2). 175 CLR 1, 1992.

In-text citation

(Mabo v Queensland (No 2) 42)

Language

Style: MLA 9th edition

Or enter it yourself:

Check the details

Source type

2 required fields are empty: the citation will be incomplete until you fill them in.

Case name (required)Parties as reported: Mabo v Queensland (No 2).

Missing: most styles need this.

Year (required)

Missing: most styles need this.

Volume

Law report series (abbreviated)

Starting page

Court (abbreviated)

Medium neutral citation or docket number

URL

Cite a specific place (optional)

Pinpoint typeWhere

Quotation

Preview: MLA 9th edition

Works Cited (0)

Your citations appear here, formatted in MLA 9th edition. They are saved in this browser only: nothing is sent to us, and no account is needed.

Where to find the details

Cite the authorised report series when the case is reported in one (CLR for the High Court of Australia).

Required in most styles: case name, year.

Cite a court case in another style

Questions

What do I need to cite a court case in MLA?

At minimum: case name, year. Cite the authorised report series when the case is reported in one (CLR for the High Court of Australia).

What does a court case look like in MLA?

Works Cited entry: Mabo v Queensland (No 2). 175 CLR 1, 1992. In-text citation: (Mabo v Queensland (No 2) 42)

Is this free?

Yes. No account and no limit. Your bibliography is saved in this browser only, and you can export it to Word, BibTeX, RIS or CSL-JSON.

Citations are formatted by citeproc-js by Frank Bennett (CPAL-1.0, or AGPL-1.0), the engine behind Zotero and Mendeley, running the official Citation Style Language styles (10,863 styles, commit 2e93558) and locales (commit a89adec), used under CC BY-SA 3.0. AGLC4 citations use the LexIntellect AGLC4 engine, checked against the Guide's worked examples. Always check a citation against the manual or your institution's guide before you submit.