The standard Plessy v. Ferguson citation is Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 U.S. 537 (1896).1Justia U.S. Supreme Court Center. Plessy v. Ferguson That is the Bluebook form used in legal writing and, with only cosmetic differences, the form APA and Chicago use as well. MLA handles it differently, and any citation of the case in a brief should also flag that the ruling was overruled by Brown v. Board of Education in 1954.
What Each Part of the Citation Means
The citation is a set of coordinates for finding the opinion.
- 163 is the volume of the United States Reports.
- U.S. is the abbreviation for the United States Reports, the official reporter for Supreme Court opinions.2Supreme Court of the United States. U.S. Reports
- 537 is the page where the opinion begins.
- (1896) is the year of the decision, handed down on May 18, 1896.1Justia U.S. Supreme Court Center. Plessy v. Ferguson
To point a reader to a specific page inside the opinion, add a pinpoint page after 537. For a passage on page 544, the citation reads Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 U.S. 537, 544 (1896).3Georgetown Law Library. Federal Courts – Bluebook Guide
Parallel Reporter Citations
Two commercial reporters publish the same opinion with added editorial features. The Supreme Court Reporter cite is 16 S. Ct. 1138, and the Lawyers’ Edition cite is 41 L. Ed. 256. The full parallel form is Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 U.S. 537, 16 S. Ct. 1138, 41 L. Ed. 256 (1896).4Legal Information Institute. Plessy v. Ferguson Most writing does not need them. Include the parallel reporters only when a court’s local rules require them or when you are working in a database that indexes by those volumes.
Bluebook Format for Legal Writing
Briefs, law review articles, and court filings follow the Bluebook. The Bluebook requires citing to the United States Reports whenever the opinion appears there. Five elements: the italicized case name, the volume, the reporter abbreviation “U.S.,” the first page, and the year.3Georgetown Law Library. Federal Courts – Bluebook Guide For this case: Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 U.S. 537 (1896). Do not add parallel reporter citations unless a court’s local rules specifically require them.
Citing Justice Harlan’s Dissent
Justice John Marshall Harlan was the lone dissenter, and his dissent is quoted more often than the majority opinion by Justice Henry Billings Brown. To cite the dissent, add a parenthetical identifying the justice and the type of opinion, along with a pinpoint page: Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 U.S. 537, 552 (1896) (Harlan, J., dissenting).1Justia U.S. Supreme Court Center. Plessy v. Ferguson Without that parenthetical, readers will assume you are citing the majority. The same convention covers any concurring or dissenting opinion in any case.
APA, MLA, and Chicago Formats
Students writing research papers usually will not use the Bluebook. The three main academic styles each treat court cases a little differently.
APA
In-text, italicize the case name and give the year: (Plessy v. Ferguson, 1896). The reference-list entry uses the same elements as the Bluebook citation, with the case name italicized: Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 U.S. 537 (1896).5Purdue OWL. APA Legal References APA is one of the few styles that keeps the case name italicized in both places.
MLA
MLA departs from the legal format. The works-cited entry starts with the government entity as author, followed by the italicized case name, the decision date, and the source where you accessed the text. Citing the case through Cornell’s Legal Information Institute:
United States, Supreme Court. Plessy v. Ferguson. 18 May 1896. Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School, www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/163/537.6MLA Style Center. Documenting Legal Works in MLA Style
If your source includes the United States Reports volume, you can add a container listing the volume, date, and page range.
Chicago
The Chicago Manual of Style defers to the Bluebook for legal materials. Court cases appear in footnotes or endnotes rather than the bibliography, and the note itself uses the standard legal form: Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 U.S. 537 (1896). If an instructor asks for a bibliography entry, use the same format.
Flag the Overruling
Any responsible citation of Plessy for its legal holding acknowledges that the case was overruled. In 1954, the Supreme Court decided Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954), and held that the separate-but-equal doctrine had “no place in the field of public education.”7National Archives. Brown v. Board of Education (1954) In legal research databases, Plessy carries negative-treatment indicators warning that its reasoning is no longer good law.
The citation to Plessy itself does not change, but writers typically add a parenthetical noting the overruling: Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 U.S. 537 (1896), overruled by Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954). Omitting that in a brief would be a serious credibility problem with the court.