Which of the following is the correct formal citation for the United States Supreme Court case decided in 2012 and printed on page 140 of volume 562 of United States Reports?

• A. Franklin v. FCC, 562 U.S. 140 (2012)
• B. Franklin v. the Federal Communications Commission, 562 U.S. 140 (2012)
• C. Jennifer Franklin v. FCC, 562 U.S. 140 (2012)
• D. Franklin v. FCC, 560 U.S. 140 (2012)

Answer: (A)

The key idea is using the Supreme Court’s standard citation format: case caption with the usual party designators, followed by the United States Reports citation and the year in parentheses. In this format, agencies and parties are abbreviated in the caption, so the Federal Communications Commission is written as FCC. The reporter is U.S. (for United States Reports), with the volume number and the first page where the case starts, and the year placed in parentheses after the citation. Since this case is on page 140 of volume 562, decided in 2012, the correct form is Franklin v. FCC, 562 U.S. 140 (2012).

The other options fail because they either spell out the agency name instead of using the standard abbreviation, introduce an incorrect party name, or cite the wrong volume.