In a date parenthetical accompanying a Supreme Court case citation, which statement is correct?

In a date parenthetical accompanying a Supreme Court case citation, which statement is correct?

• A. Do not include a court abbreviation in the date; the court is clear from the reporter name
• B. Include a court abbreviation in the date
• C. Include a full court name in the date
• D. Use the year only in the date

Answer: (A)

In a Supreme Court citation, the date in the parenthetical is the year of the decision, and the court is already identified by the reporter name (for example, the U.S. Reports symbol indicates the Supreme Court). Because of that redundancy, you do not add any court abbreviation in the date. The proper format shows the year only in that spot, with the reporter name making the court clear. So a citation ends with the year in parentheses after the reporter, e.g., Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954). Including a court abbreviation or a full court name in the date would be unnecessarily duplicative, while the essential rule is to keep the date as the year only because the reporter name communicates the court.

In a Supreme Court citation, the date in the parenthetical is the year of the decision, and the court is already identified by the reporter name (for example, the U.S. Reports symbol indicates the Supreme Court). Because of that redundancy, you do not add any court abbreviation in the date. The proper format shows the year only in that spot, with the reporter name making the court clear.

So a citation ends with the year in parentheses after the reporter, e.g., Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954). Including a court abbreviation or a full court name in the date would be unnecessarily duplicative, while the essential rule is to keep the date as the year only because the reporter name communicates the court.