Q. How do you cite federal court cases in the text and on the reference page in APA style?

Examples of Federal court cases can be found on p. 217 of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th edition.

A7.03 Court Decisions (Bluebook Rule 10)
In text, cite the name of the case (italicized) and the year of the decision. If two or more years are given, cite those years as well. Court cases often have e several years, each of which reflects a specific stage in the case' history. Giving only one date could give the impression that only a single point in the case's history is being cited or might mislead a reader as to the timing of the case.

    Reference form for cases:
          Name v. Name, Volume Source Page (Court Date).

Abbreviate the published source (if any), court, and the date as specified in the Bluebook.

1.  Sample reference list entry to a case

      Lessard v. Schmidt, 349 F. Supp. 1078 (E.D. Wis. 1972).

   Text citation:

         Lessard v. Schmidt (1972)
         (Lessard v. Schmidt, 1972)

APA bases its citations for legal cases and law on The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation (18th ed., 2005). Please consult Appendix 7.1 Reference to Legal Materials in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th edition, for a full discussion of citing legal materials.