diff --git a/spacy/gold.pyx b/spacy/gold.pyx
index 489b8b124..9a2e51d84 100644
--- a/spacy/gold.pyx
+++ b/spacy/gold.pyx
@@ -148,6 +148,9 @@ def read_json_file(loc, docs_filter=None):
                         tags.append(token['tag'])
                         heads.append(token['head'] + i)
                         labels.append(token['dep'])
+                        # Ensure ROOT label is case-insensitive
+                        if labels[-1].lower() == 'root':
+                            labels[-1] = 'ROOT'
                         ner.append(token.get('ner', '-'))
                     sents.append((
                         (ids, words, tags, heads, labels, ner),
diff --git a/spacy/syntax/arc_eager.pyx b/spacy/syntax/arc_eager.pyx
index 4d89ad386..663ffd2cb 100644
--- a/spacy/syntax/arc_eager.pyx
+++ b/spacy/syntax/arc_eager.pyx
@@ -284,12 +284,14 @@ cdef int _get_root(int word, const GoldParseC* gold) nogil:
 cdef class ArcEager(TransitionSystem):
     @classmethod
     def get_labels(cls, gold_parses):
-        move_labels = {SHIFT: {'': True}, REDUCE: {'': True}, RIGHT: {'root': True},
-                       LEFT: {'root': True}, BREAK: {'root': True}}
+        move_labels = {SHIFT: {'': True}, REDUCE: {'': True}, RIGHT: {'ROOT': True},
+                       LEFT: {'ROOT': True}, BREAK: {'ROOT': True}}
         for raw_text, sents in gold_parses:
             for (ids, words, tags, heads, labels, iob), ctnts in sents:
                 for child, head, label in zip(ids, heads, labels):
-                    if label != 'root':
+                    if label.upper() == 'ROOT':
+                        label = 'ROOT'
+                    if label != 'ROOT':
                         if head < child:
                             move_labels[RIGHT][label] = True
                         elif head > child:
@@ -302,8 +304,11 @@ cdef class ArcEager(TransitionSystem):
                 gold.c.heads[i] = i
                 gold.c.labels[i] = -1
             else:
+                label = gold.labels[i]
+                if label.upper() == 'ROOT':
+                    label = 'ROOT'
                 gold.c.heads[i] = gold.heads[i]
-                gold.c.labels[i] = self.strings[gold.labels[i]]
+                gold.c.labels[i] = self.strings[label]
         for end, brackets in gold.brackets.items():
             for start, label_strs in brackets.items():
                 gold.c.brackets[start][end] = 1