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MLA Style: Court Decisions

"Students and scholars working outside the legal profession and using MLA style should follow the MLA format template to cite laws, public documents, court cases, and other related material. . . . Following one of the fundamental principles of MLA style, writers citing legal works should document the version of the work they consult—not the canonical version of the law, as in legal style. As with any source in MLA style, how you document it will generally depend on the information provided by the version of the source you consulted."

Gibson, Angela. "Documenting Legal Works in MLA Style." MLA Style Center, 5 April 2017, style.mla.org/documenting-legal-works/.

The only date necessary is the year of the decision. Include the day and month of the decision if they are identified.

Gibson, Angela. "Documenting Legal Works in MLA Style." MLA Style Center, 5 April 2017, style.mla.org/documenting-legal-works/.

The MLA Handbook does not provide instructions on how to cite Canadian legal works. The examples here are based on "Documenting Legal Works in MLA Style" at the MLA Style Center.

Hyperlinking the URLs is optional.

Supreme Court of Canada decision

Canada, Supreme Court. Delgamuukw v. British Columbia. 11 Dec.1997. Canadian Legal Information Institute, www.canlii.org/en/ca/scc/doc/1997/1997canlii302/1997canlii302.html.

Canada, Supreme Court. Tsilhqot’in Nation v. British Columbia. 26 June 2014. Supreme Court of Canada, decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/14246/index.do.

Supreme Court of Canada dissenting opinions

Hall, Emmett Matthew. Dissenting opinion. Calder et al. v. Attorney-General of British Columbia, Supreme Court Reports, 31 Jan. 1973, pp. 345-422. Supreme Court of Canada, scc-csc.lexum.com/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/5113/index.do.

Supreme Court of British Columbia decision

British Columbia, Supreme Court. Council of the Haida Nation v. British Columbia (Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development). 5 July 2018. Courts of British Columbia, www.bccourts.ca/jdb-txt/sc/18/11/2018BCSC1117.htm.