Gavin Howe
Case law, also known as precedent or common law, is the body of prior judicial decisions that guide judges deciding issues before them. Case law indexes, also known as digests, are a means of accessing case law by topic. They are both a subject index and a topical outline of case law, which lists cases dealing with specific subjects and briefly summarizes the opinions reported in those cases. The American Digest System, for example, is considered the master index to all of the case law in the United States, indexing the decisions published in all of West's reporters. West's Digests provide an indexing function for the cases in the National Reporter System, allowing researchers to locate cases by subject from any jurisdiction.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Purpose | To access case law by topic |
| Types | Subject index, topical outline, master index, descriptive word index |
| Arrangement | Alphabetically by topic |
| Content | Lists cases dealing with a specific subject, summaries of opinions reported in those cases, abstract paragraphs of cases, citations |
| Sources | Legal Encyclopedias, law review articles, treatises, ALR annotations, West reporters, Annotated Codes, United States Code Annotated, United States Code Service |
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What You'll Learn
Digests
The American Digest System is the "master index" of all case law in the country, indexing the decisions published in all of West's reporters. Each digest is a complete index of all state and federal cases reported during the time period covered. Digest volumes are arranged alphabetically by topic, like an encyclopedia, and the spine of each volume indicates the topics it contains. Under each key number, you will find abstract paragraphs of cases that illustrate the point of law, followed by two citations—one to the regional reporter and one to the state reporter.
The Key Number System categorises the law into approximately 400 topics, with each topic further subdivided into Key Numbers (approximately 100,000 distinct Key Numbers). A topic's classification and relevant Key Numbers may be determined by consulting the digest's Descriptive-Word Index, which is usually located in the first or last volumes of the digest set. Once the appropriate topic and Key Number are identified, cases on that subject may be located using that Key Number in the federal digest or any regional or state digest.
The library has ceased updating most digests in print, but there are online services that can be used to update print digest research. The General Digest and Decennial Digests contain summaries of state and federal cases from all jurisdictions across the United States. State digests are published for all states except Delaware, Nevada, and Utah, and all regional reporters except for the North Eastern, Southern, and South Western have their own digests.
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Case law indexing systems
Digests are particularly useful when researchers do not have a case citation at the beginning of their research. Without an index, finding all cases related to a single subject would be a challenging task, as court reports are typically issued in chronological order.
The American Digest System, for example, indexes decisions published in all of West's reporters, acting as a "master index" to all of the case law in the country. West's Digests provide an indexing function for cases in the National Reporter System, allowing researchers to locate cases by subject from any jurisdiction. The digest system further subdivides the law into numerous topics, which are then categorised into key numbers representing specific legal issues within the broader issue. Topics and key numbers are consistent across West's System, enabling researchers to find cases from other jurisdictions that discuss the same issue.
Another example of a case law indexing system is the Incorporated Council of Law Reporting (ICLR), established by lawyers and the government to bring legal publishing under control. The ICLR began publishing the Law Reports in 1865, aiming to provide authoritative, inexpensive, and rapidly available information.
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Finding case law without a citation
A case law index is a means of accessing case law by topic. A digest is a type of case law index that serves as both a subject index and a topical outline of case law. Court reports are usually issued in chronological order, and without an index, finding cases on a single subject would be difficult.
Digests are considered the primary means of accessing case law by topic. They list cases dealing with a specific subject and provide a brief summary of the opinions reported in those cases. The American Digest System is the "master index" to all case law in the country, indexing the decisions published in all of West's reporters.
To find case law without a citation, you can use a digest or a legal database. Here are some methods to consider:
- Use a digest: Find a “good case” in a secondary source, such as legal encyclopedias, law review articles, treatises, or ALR annotations. Once you have a case on your topic, you can use a digest to find similar cases. Locate the digest volume that covers your jurisdiction and turn to your topic or key number. Digests provide abstract paragraphs of cases that illustrate the point of law, along with citations to the regional and state reporters.
- Search legal databases: Databases such as LexisNexis, Westlaw, or Bloomberg Law allow you to search for cases by party names or citation. If you know the parties involved in the case, you can search for their names in the database to retrieve a list of possible results. Alternatively, if you have the citation, you can enter it into the search function to find the case.
- Utilize online resources: Websites like FindLaw offer free access to state and federal court opinions, case summaries, and legal concepts addressed by these cases. You can explore their collection and learn about the law to find relevant cases without having a specific citation.
- Consult reporters: Reporters are publications that contain court opinions and cases. You can find reporters specific to your jurisdiction, such as the South Eastern Reporter for Virginia state court opinions. These reporters are often available in law libraries or online databases. By accessing these reporters, you can browse or search for cases relevant to your topic without relying solely on citations.
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The American Digest System
A digest is a means of accessing case law by topic and is both a subject index and a topical outline of case law. It is an indexing system that lists cases dealing with specific subjects and also summarises or "digests" the opinions reported in those cases.
The West American Digest System indexes the decisions published in all of West's reporters and is the "master index" to all of the case law in the country. It includes digests for individual states, the U.S. Supreme Court, the Court of Federal Claims, bankruptcy courts, and military courts. Each case published in a West reporter is evaluated by a West "attorney-editor" who identifies and summarises the points of law cited or explained in the case. The attorney-editor places the summaries, usually in the form of a paragraph, at the beginning of the case. These summaries are called headnotes and each headnote is then assigned a topic and key number. The headnotes are then arranged according to their topic and key number in multi-volume sets of books called Digests.
Other digest systems include Butterworth's Digest for the United Kingdom, the Canadian Abridgment, and digests associated with official state reports, such as in California and Wisconsin.
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The West Topic and Key Number System
The West Key Number System is a classification system of U.S. law that indexes cases into over 400 topics and more than 98,000 legal issues. It was created by West Publishing more than 100 years ago and is now integrated with KeyCite on Westlaw and Westlaw Edge.
Westlaw assigns a topic and key number to each legal issue within a case. This allows users to efficiently find other cases addressing their legal issue in any jurisdiction. This is because all federal and state cases included in the system are organized using the same topics and by the same points of law.
For example, the key number 349k28 refers to the topic of Searches and Seizures (349) and the issue of abandoned, surrendered, or disclaimed items (k28). The West Key Number System works in conjunction with headnotes. West editors identify the legal issues in cases and discuss each issue in a headnote. Headnotes are numbered, so you can use them as you would a table of contents.
The first step in using the West Key Number System is to find an applicable key number. You can do this by browsing by topic on the Westlaw homepage. This will take you to a list of headnotes, which are summaries of specific points of law addressed in a particular case. After reviewing cases and locating a helpful headnote, you can click into the West Key Number System through the classification hierarchy next to the headnote.
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Frequently asked questions
A case law index is a system of arranging court reports by topic and sub-topic, making it easier to find cases relevant to a specific issue.
Without an index, court reports are arranged in chronological order, making it difficult to find cases related to a specific subject. A case law index allows researchers to locate cases by subject from any jurisdiction.
First, find a "good case" in a secondary source, such as a legal encyclopedia or law review article. Then, use the digest function of the case law index to find similar cases in your jurisdiction.
