S. Ct.

Law & Legal abbreviation · Legal Citation

S. Ct.
Stands forSupreme Court Reporter
CategoriesLaw & Legal

S. Ct. stands for Supreme Court Reporter, a legal citation abbreviation.

Unofficial reporter of Supreme Court decisions published by West (Thomson Reuters), covering cases from the October 1882 term onward with editorial headnotes and Key Numbers. It appears long before the official U.S. Reports volumes, so recent decisions are commonly cited to it.

Example: Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Org., 142 S. Ct. 2228 (2022), overruled Roe v. Wade.

Usage notes

The Bluebook puts a space between "S." and "Ct." because "Ct." is a multi-letter abbreviation. Its first volume begins with cases reported in volume 106 of U.S. Reports, so volume numbers never match the official series. Westlaw users rely on its Key Number System to find related cases across all reporters.

More legal citation abbreviations

  • P.3d – Pacific Reporter, Third Series
  • Pub. L. – Public Law
  • reh'g – Rehearing
  • rev'd – Reversed
  • Rev. Proc. – Revenue Procedure
  • Rev. Rul. – Revenue Ruling
  • S.E.2d – South Eastern Reporter, Second Series
  • S.W.2d – South Western Reporter, Second Series
  • S.W.3d – South Western Reporter, Third Series
  • Sec'y – Secretary
  • slip op. – Slip opinion
  • So. 2d – Southern Reporter, Second Series

See all 87 legal citation abbreviations →

Edited by the AbbreviationList.com team. Spotted an error or a missing meaning? Contact us.

This entry is for general education and is not legal advice. Abbreviation use varies between institutions; always confirm in context.