Keith Mack
Case law reporters are publications that contain court opinions, typically in chronological order. They can be official or unofficial. Official reporters are government-approved publications that reproduce the reported cases within a given jurisdiction. Many states have their own official reporters, while others rely on regional reporters that cover several states. Unofficial reporters are published by commercial entities and may include editorial enhancements such as headnotes, which are brief summaries of the legal points discussed in a case. Case citations are structured by volume number, reporter abbreviation, and the first page of the case.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Definition | Court opinions gathered and published in chronological order in print volumes |
| Types | Official and unofficial |
| Official Reporters | Government-approved publications that reproduce the reported cases within a given jurisdiction |
| Unofficial Reporters | Published by commercial publishers such as West, Lexis, and BNA |
| Case Citation Structure | Volume number, reporter abbreviation, and first page of the case |
| Abbreviations | Use state abbreviations, e.g., "Va." for Virginia Reports, "Md. App." for Maryland Appellate Reports |
| Series | Indicated by "2d" and "3d" instead of "2nd" and "3rd" |
| Headnotes | Brief summaries of specific points of law decided in a case, provided by legal research services |
| Case Sources | State, regional, and federal reporters |
| State Reporters | Some states have their own reporters, while others rely on regional reporters covering several states |
| Federal Reporters | Include Federal Reporter ("F.") and Federal Supplement ("F. Supp.") |
| Case Retrieval | West Key Number System provides indexing and abstracts for cases by subject and jurisdiction |
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What You'll Learn
Official vs. unofficial case law reporters
Court opinions are gathered and published in chronological order in volumes called case law reporters or simply reporters. Case law reporters can be official or unofficial. Official reporters are governmentally approved publications that reproduce the reported cases within a given jurisdiction. Many states still publish their own reporters. The official reporter is the reporter that should be cited when submitting documents to the court in that jurisdiction.
Unofficial reporters, on the other hand, are published by commercial publishers such as West, Lexis, and BNA. They reproduce the reported cases within a given jurisdiction but are not governmentally approved. Unofficial reporters may include editorial enhancements, such as headnotes, in addition to the text of the opinion. Headnotes are brief summaries of specific points of law decided in a case and are written by the publisher's editors. They are not considered legal authority and should not be cited.
For example, the United States Reports (U.S.) is the official reporter of the United States Supreme Court, while the Supreme Court Reporter (S. Ct.) published by West and the United States Supreme Court Reports, Lawyer's Edition (L. Ed., L. Ed. 2d) published by Lexis are unofficial reporters. Similarly, the Federal Reporter (F., F.2d, etc.) is the official reporter of the Circuit Courts of Appeals, while the Federal Supplement (F. Supp., F. Supp. 2d, etc.) and Federal Appendix (F. App'x) are considered official reporters of the District Courts, despite being published by commercial publishers.
At the state level, state supreme court opinions are published in official reporters, while less than half of intermediate appellate opinions tend to be published. State trial court opinions are never published, and only a small fraction of federal trial court opinions are published. For instance, West's California Reporter (Cal. Rptr., Cal. Rptr. 2d, etc.), published by West, is the official reporter for California Superior Courts.
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State and regional reporters
State and regional case law reporters are an important part of the legal research process. Court opinions are gathered and published in chronological order in volumes known as case reporters or simply reporters. While most cases are now available online, the print reporter system is still used to organize and cite cases.
State reporters are official publications that reproduce the reported cases within a given state's jurisdiction. Many states still publish their own reporters, and lawyers practising in a state with its own reporter are often required to cite the state's official reporter rather than a regional reporter. State reporter abbreviations typically include the state's abbreviation, such as "Va." for Virginia Reports or "Md. App." for Maryland Appellate Reports. However, not all states have their own reporters, in which case regional reporters are used.
Regional reporters cover the appellate courts of multiple states. West's National Reporter System, established in 1876, divides the country into seven regions: Atlantic, North Eastern, North Western, Pacific, Southern, South Eastern, and South Western. Each regional reporter volume includes a map showing the states included in that region. West also publishes specialized reporters for states with high case law output, such as the New York Supplement and California Reporter.
Unofficial reporters, published by commercial entities, also reproduce cases within a given jurisdiction. They may include editorial enhancements such as headnotes, which are brief summaries of the legal points decided in a case. While headnotes are useful for research, they are not considered legal authority and should not be cited.
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Headnotes and their use
Headnotes are brief summaries of a specific point of law decided in a case. They are written by a publisher's editors, such as those at Westlaw and Lexis, and appear at the beginning of a case before the judicial opinion. They are not part of the decision but act as an editorial enhancement. They are usually one to two sentences long and identify the rules of law in the decision. They are a great research tool, acting as a "Table of Contents" to the case, and helping legal professionals find other cases that address similar legal issues.
Headnotes are particularly useful for legal research as they can be used to find other cases that cite the same headnote, i.e., other cases that cite the original case for the same point of law. This can be done by clicking on a "Cases that cite this headnote" link, which is usually located below the one-sentence summary of the point of law. This is a useful way to pinpoint the most relevant cases for a particular legal issue, as cases usually address multiple issues.
Headnotes are also used in the West Key Number System, which provides an indexing function for all published cases, enabling researchers to locate cases by subject from any court in any jurisdiction. This system further subdivides the law into over 450 broad legal topics, which are then further subdivided into key numbers, which are assigned to specific legal issues within the broader topics.
It is important to note that while headnotes are a useful research tool, they are not considered legal authority and should never be cited. When citing a case, one should only cite the actual text of the opinion written by the judge or justice.
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Case citations
The structure of case citations may vary depending on the jurisdiction and the specific style guide being followed, such as The Bluebook in the United States. For instance, Australian courts have adopted a neutral citation standard, and Indian courts have a variety of reporters, each with its own citation style. Additionally, some courts use square brackets to indicate the publication year, which may differ from the year the decision was made.
It is important to distinguish between official and unofficial reporters when citing cases. Official reporters are governmentally approved publications that reproduce the reported cases within a given jurisdiction. Unofficial reporters are published by commercial entities and may include editorial enhancements, such as headnotes, which provide summaries of the case but are not considered legal authority. When submitting documents to a specific court, it is essential to refer to the official reporter for that jurisdiction.
In some instances, cases may not be published in a reporter, and more identifying information is required for citation. In such cases, the citation typically includes the name of the court, the date of the decision, and the case number assigned by the court. Certain jurisdictions, such as Denmark, are working towards creating public databases that will provide uniform, neutral citations for all judgments.
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Court opinions and their publication
Court opinions are gathered and published in chronological order in volumes called Case Reporters, or simply Reporters. These can be official or unofficial publications. Official Reporters are government-approved publications that reproduce the reported cases within a given jurisdiction. Many states publish their own official reporters, and these should be cited when submitting documents to the court in that jurisdiction.
While most cases are now available online, they are still organized and cited according to the print reporter system. The text of the cases within the reporters is considered primary sources, apart from any editorial additions in unofficial reporters, such as headnotes. Headnotes are brief summaries of specific points of law decided in a case, written by the publisher's editors. They are a great research tool but are not considered legal authority and should not be cited.
At the state level, most reported cases come from appellate courts (at an intermediate or supreme court level). Many, but not all, appellate decisions are reported. At the federal level, reported cases may come from either trial or appellate-level courts. Trial-level cases are binding only on the parties involved and are used for persuasive purposes. Only a small percentage of federal trial (district) court opinions are published.
In California, all opinions of the California Supreme Court are published in bound volumes called the Official Reports. Some opinions issued by the California Courts of Appeal are certified for publication by the Court of Appeal or ordered published by the Supreme Court because they meet certain criteria. These opinions are known as "published" or "citable" opinions. The majority of Court of Appeal opinions are not certified for publication and are thus not published in the Official Reports.
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Frequently asked questions
Case law reporters are volumes that gather and publish court opinions in chronological order.
Case law reporters can be official or unofficial. Official reporters are published by government entities, while unofficial reporters are published by commercial publishers.
Official reporters are governmentally approved publications that reproduce the reported cases within a given jurisdiction. The official reporter is the reporter that should be cited when submitting documents to the court in that jurisdiction. Unofficial reporters are published by commercial publishers and may include editorial enhancements, such as headnotes, in addition to the text of the opinion.
Case citations are structured by volume number, reporter abbreviation, and the first page of the case. Cases can also be found using case citations, which are the easiest way to retrieve a case. Additionally, West's Key Number System provides an indexing function for all published cases, enabling researchers to locate cases by subject from any court in any jurisdiction.
