Cameron Miranda
Case law reporters are an important aspect of legal research, providing a compilation of court opinions and decisions. These opinions are published in chronological order in volumes known as Case Reporters or simply Reporters. The term reporter historically referred to the individuals responsible for compiling, editing, and publishing court opinions. Today, it also extends to the books themselves. Official reporters are government-approved publications, while unofficial reporters are published by commercial entities and may include editorial enhancements. Court opinions are published at various levels, from federal and state supreme courts to intermediate appellate courts and trial courts. These reporters are essential for legal researchers to understand how courts have ruled on similar factual situations in the past and to determine precedents. With the advent of the internet, case law is now more accessible to the public, but questions remain about the accuracy and reliability of online sources compared to traditional print reports.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Definition | Court opinions gathered and published in chronological order in print volumes called Case Reporters, or simply Reporters. |
| Types | Official and unofficial. |
| Official Reporters | Governmentally approved publications that reproduce the reported cases within a given jurisdiction. |
| Unofficial Reporters | Published by commercial publishers and are not officially sanctioned. |
| Examples of Official Reporters | United States Supreme Court Reports, Lawyers' Edition (L. Ed., L. Ed. 2d), Federal Reporter (F., F.2d, etc.), Federal Supplement (F. Supp., F. Supp. 2d, etc.) |
| Examples of Unofficial Reporters | North Eastern Reporter Second Series (N.E.2d), North Eastern Reporter Third Series (N.E.3d), West American Digest System |
| Publication Method | Print and online. |
| Advantages of Online Publication | Low cost, easily accessible to the public, quick availability of court decisions. |
| Disadvantages of Online Publication | Concerns about the ease of modification and uncertainty about the validity of internet opinions. |
| Abbreviations | Each reporter has a designated abbreviation, e.g., "Va." for Virginia Reports, "Md. App." for Maryland Appellate Reports. |
| Indexing | The West Key Number System provides an indexing function for all published cases, enabling researchers to locate cases by subject and jurisdiction. |
| Summarization | Headnotes are brief summaries of specific points of law decided in a case, written by publishers' editors or Westlaw editors. |
| Citation | A citator indicates if a case is still considered valid and provides citations to other relevant cases and sources. |
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What You'll Learn
Official and unofficial case law reporters
Court opinions are gathered and published in chronological order in volumes called case reporters or simply reporters. Case reporters can be official or unofficial. Official reporters are governmentally approved publications that reproduce the reported cases within a given jurisdiction. They are considered authoritative, consistent, and authentic statements of a jurisdiction's primary law. Many states still publish their own reporters, and the official reporter is the one that should be cited when submitting documents to a court in that jurisdiction.
Unofficial reporters, on the other hand, are published by commercial publishers such as West, Lexis, and BNA. They are not officially sanctioned and are considered unofficial despite reproducing the reported cases within a given jurisdiction. Unofficial reporters may include editorial enhancements such as headnotes, which are brief summaries of specific points of law decided in a case. While headnotes are useful research tools, they are not considered legal authority and should not be cited.
In the United States, Supreme Court opinions are the only federal opinions published in official case reporters. West is the major publisher of unofficial case reporters. At the state level, decisions are typically from an appellate court, while at the federal level, both trial and appellate-level cases can be read in reporters.
In other countries, such as Bangladesh, there are both official and unofficial law reports. The Supreme Court of Bangladesh's online law report is the Supreme Court Online Bulletin, and other widely used law reports include Bangladesh Legal Decisions and Bangladesh Law Chronicles. Cases of Hong Kong are published in the authorised Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal Reports (HKCFAR) and the unauthorised Hong Kong Cases (HKC).
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The role of a 'reporter'
The role of a reporter is to compile, edit and publish court opinions in a bound volume or periodical, either in print or online. In the past, the term "reporter" referred to the person responsible for this process. Today, it can also refer to the books themselves.
Reporters are typically published in chronological order, based on the date the cases were decided, rather than by subject. However, indexes and digests are available to help researchers locate cases by subject. For example, the West Key Number System provides an indexing function for all published cases, enabling researchers to locate cases by subject from any court in any jurisdiction. Headnotes, or short summaries of the points of law discussed in the indexed opinions, are also used to help bridge the gap between the indexing system and the cases.
Reporters can be official or unofficial. Official reporters are governmentally approved publications that reproduce the reported cases within a given jurisdiction. They are considered authoritative, consistent, and authentic statements of a jurisdiction's primary law. Many states still publish their own official reporters, and these are the reporters that should be cited when submitting documents to the court in that jurisdiction. In the United States, official reporters include the United States Supreme Court Reports, Lawyers' Edition (L. Ed., L. Ed. 2d), published by Lexis, and the Federal Reporter (F., F.2d, etc.), which publishes opinions from the intermediate federal appellate courts, also known as circuit courts.
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 officially sanctioned. Unofficial reporters may include editorial enhancements, such as headnotes and summaries, in addition to the text of the opinion. While these enhancements are useful research tools, they are not considered legal authority and should not be cited.
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Case law research methods
Understanding Case Law Reporters and Publications
Case law reporters, also known as law reports, are publications that compile, edit, and publish court opinions and decisions. These can be official or unofficial. Official reporters are government-approved publications that reproduce reported cases within a given jurisdiction. Many states and countries have their own official reporters, such as the United States Reports for the Supreme Court of the United States, or the Supreme Court Online Bulletin for the Supreme Court of Bangladesh. Unofficial reporters are published by commercial publishers and may include editorial enhancements such as headnotes and summaries. Examples include the West American Digest System and the North Eastern Reporter.
Utilizing Databases and Search Techniques
Commercial legal research databases such as Lexis, Westlaw, Bloomberg, and Justis offer powerful tools for case law research. These databases allow users to search for cases using keywords, jurisdiction, publication status, and other factors. They also provide features like headnotes, which help locate subsequent cases that cite a specific case, and visualization tools that illustrate the citing relationships between cases. Effective search techniques are crucial, as keyword searches may yield a large number of irrelevant results. Researchers should use synonyms, narrow their searches to relevant jurisdictions, and employ advanced search builder techniques.
Navigating Topics and Digests
Case law research often involves navigating through topics and digests. A digest organizes case law by topic, with each topic containing numerous subtopics. Researchers can use the West Topic and Key Number System, a detailed outline with over 400 major topics and over 100,000 individual key numbers representing specific legal concepts. Digests, originally published in print, are now mostly used online and can be found in databases such as Westlaw and Bloomberg.
Citing Cases and Precedents
Court opinions typically cite other cases to support their legal conclusions. Researchers can use these citing relationships to connect cases based on their subject matter. Commercial databases provide tools to locate cases that cite specific statutes or sections. It is important to note that only published cases can be cited in court documents, and each court has its own rules regarding citation practices. Additionally, headnotes, while useful for research, are not considered legal authority and should not be cited.
Considering Online Availability and Accuracy
With the advent of the internet, case law is increasingly available online, making court decisions more accessible to the public. Websites like WorldLII and its member organizations provide access to court decisions from around the world. However, this has raised concerns about the potential for modification of online opinions, creating uncertainty about their validity. The accuracy, authority, and reliability of online case law are ongoing discussions, with government information policies and commercial database providers influencing the landscape.
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Court opinions and publication
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 organise and cite cases. Case reporters can be official or unofficial. Official reporters are government-approved publications that reproduce the reported cases within a given jurisdiction. Many states still publish their own official reporters, which should be cited when submitting documents to the court in that jurisdiction. Official case law publishing may be carried out by a government agency or a commercial entity.
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 and may include editorial enhancements such as headnotes. A headnote is a brief summary of a specific point of law decided in a case, written by the publisher's editors. While headnotes are useful research tools, they are not considered legal authority and should not be cited.
In the United States, the West Topic and Key Number System is a method of organising the scope of United States law by subject. It consists of over 400 major Topics, which are broad categories under which West arranges cases decided throughout the U.S. Within the main Topics, sub-topics are divided into Key Numbers, which represent specific legal concepts. The Key Number System acts as an abstracting service, providing researchers with short summaries of the points of law discussed in the indexed opinions.
While only a small percentage of court opinions are published, most, if not all, of the opinions of federal and state supreme courts are published. Less than half of intermediate appellate opinions tend to be published, while state trial court opinions are never published. Only a tiny fraction of federal trial (district) court opinions are published.
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The West Key Number System
Within the main Topics, sub-topics are divided into Key Numbers, representing specific legal concepts. There are over 100,000 individual Key Numbers. For example, if one is looking for cases regarding who is responsible for injuries caused by a dog bite, they would go to the Descriptive Word Index in the digest and look up "DOGS". They would then scan down the entries under the main topic of "DOGS" until they see "Persons liable, Generally". Following this entry, in bold, they will see: "Anim <= 66.5(7)". This indicates that the Topic is Animals ("Anim" being the abbreviation West uses for the topic "animals").
The second method involves browsing the West Key Number System. In the Browse box, the user clicks on the Tools tab and selects the West Key Number System. They can then either search the system from the search bar at the top or browse the list of 450 topics.
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Frequently asked questions
Case law reporters, or simply reporters, are books that contain court opinions gathered together and published in chronological order. They can be official or unofficial. Official reporters are governmentally approved publications that reproduce the reported cases within a given jurisdiction. Unofficial reporters are published by commercial publishers and may include editorial enhancements such as headnotes.
Official case law reporters are designated as official by governments to provide an authoritative, consistent, and authentic statement of a jurisdiction's primary law. They are usually published by a government agency. Unofficial case law reporters, on the other hand, are not officially sanctioned and are published as a commercial enterprise. They are published by commercial publishers such as West, Lexis, or BNA.
Case law reporters are important because they provide a record of court decisions, which is particularly important in common law countries where court decisions are major sources of law. Additionally, case law reporters help researchers determine how a court will rule if given a similar factual situation, due to the doctrine of stare decisis or precedent.
Finding a specific case in a case law reporter can be done through an index or digest, which allows you to locate cases by subject, jurisdiction, or specific legal issues. The West Key Number System, for example, provides an indexing function for all published cases and acts as an abstracting service, providing short summaries of the points of law discussed. Additionally, headnotes within case law reporters can be used to find similar cases on the same topic.
