Citing legal filings in MLA format

Kate of Lokys

My usual resource (the OWL at Purdue) is useless here, and my google-fu is failing me: how do I cite an active legal filing in MLA format? Specifically, this and this? They're both Fairey v. AP v. Fairey, and they have the same case number, but they're obviously different documents... any ideas?

kaliyama

You should (probably) still cite these as Fairey v. AP; the AP just countersued in the same initial filing. I don't know if MLA really has a standard citation for this. I'd use the bluebook, the standard american guide to legal citation, or the canadian equivalent - the description of each document will be included - i.e. "Plaintiff and Counterclaim Defendant's Answers and Affirmative Defenses", along with the date of the filing, the case name (Fairey v. AP), and the case number. It'd be bluebook rule 10 t.1, I believe, but I can't give you the proper format because I don't have one where I am right now.

MLA will probably have a guide for citing case decisions - the judge's ruling on Fairey v. AP - but they may not for these briefs. So be careful to not get confused if you do find a guide to citing legal cases.

Gaffero

From the Diana Hacker Style Guide: For a court case, name the first plaintiff and first defendant. Then, give the case number, the court name, and the date of the decision. In a works cited entry, the name of the case is not underlined.

Try this:

Shepard Fairey v. Associated Press. No. 09-01123. US District Court Southern District of New York. 14 April 2009.



EDIT: I've actually never cited a court case in a body of work; this merely represents my best effort to put you on the right track.

RUNN1NGMAN

One is the AP's answer, and one is Fairley's answer to the counter-claim. I don't know what the MLA wants you to do for court documents, but citation guidelines are just that; guidelines. It's ok to bend the rules a little as long as it's clear what you're doing.

I would cite the first one you linked as Fairley Answer; Fairley v. AP and the second one as AP Answer; Fairley v. AP. Add whatever information is necessary like the case number and the court, and then massage all that so it blends in or looks like the closest example you have for MLA format.

I wouldn't worry too much about the details, I doubt anyone who's grading your paper has any clue how to do it either.