Gavin Howe
The West American Digest System is a system of identifying points of law from reported cases and organizing them by topic and key number. The system was developed by West Publishing to organize the entire body of American law. Digests are arranged alphabetically by topic and are used to locate cases by topic. The West Key Number System categorizes the law into approximately 400 topics, with each topic further subdivided into approximately 100,000 distinct key numbers. The West American Digest System is used in West's California Digest and West's Analysis of American Law, which is a complete guide to the topic and key number system.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Name | West American Digest System |
| Developer | West Publishing |
| Purpose | To organize the entire body of American law |
| Method | Identifying points of law from reported cases and organizing them by topic and key number |
| Number of Topics | Approximately 400 |
| Examples of Topics | Banks and Banking, Franchises, Insurance, Libe and Slander, Partnership, Fraud, Criminal Law, etc. |
| Number of Key Numbers | Approximately 100,000 |
| Other Features | Headnotes, Descriptive Word Index |
| Related Systems | Westlaw, LexisNexis |
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What You'll Learn
The West American Digest System
In West's digest system, any given headnote is classified according to West's Key Number System. The Key Number System categorizes the law into approximately 400 topics, with each topic further subdivided into Key Numbers (there are approximately 100,000 distinct Key Numbers). For example, the topics range from "Abandoned and Lost Property" to "Zoning and Planning". To save space in printing, these were given a number called a key number. The key number is identified in the books with a key number and a key symbol graphic.
West also publishes West's Analysis of American Law, a complete guide to the topic and key number system, which is revised periodically. In print, a digest works like an encyclopedia, with topics listed in alphabetical order and printed on the spines. West's California Digest, for example, is used to locate California Supreme Court and California Appellate Court cases. These cases are arranged alphabetically by topic, with examples including Banks and Banking, Franchises, Insurance, and Criminal Law.
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West's Key Number System
The West American Digest System, as it is officially known, was not created by John West. Instead, it predates the creation of the National Reporter System. The system involves dividing the law into major categories, or "topics," such as "Contracts," and then creating hundreds of subcategories, or "key numbers." These key numbers are identified in the books with a key number and a key symbol graphic.
To use West's Key Number System, one can locate a topic and key number of interest by scanning the list of topic headings and key numbers or by using the Descriptive Word Index at the end of each set of digests. West also publishes West's Analysis of American Law, a complete guide to the topic and key number system, which is revised periodically.
The Key Number System is particularly useful for legal professionals as it helps ensure that the legal citations they use to reinforce their arguments are accurate and still "good law." This is because KeyCite, a Westlaw technology, leverages West's Key Number System to determine and immediately alert legal professionals if the case law they are reviewing has been overturned or may have a history that deems the precedential value of the opinion invalid.
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The American Digest System
John B. West, the founder of West Publishing, described this problem in his article "A Multiplicity of Reports". To solve the problem, he developed a system with two major parts. First, his company began to regularly publish cases from many American jurisdictions in bound volumes called reporters (the West National Reporter System now covers all state and federal appellate courts, as well as certain trial courts). Second, he put together a classification system in which he divided the law into major categories, which he called topics (such as "Contracts"). He then created hundreds of subcategories. To save space in printing, these were given a number called a key number. He then applied this "topic and key number" system to the cases he published.
The key number is identified in the books with a key number and a key symbol graphic. The digest system includes digests for the individual states (except for Delaware, Nevada, and Utah). The U.S. Supreme Court, the Court of Federal Claims, bankruptcy courts, and military courts each have an individual digest, and all their decisions are also included in the Federal Practice Digest together with the notes of decisions from the federal District Courts and Courts of Appeals. Digests are also published for West's National Reporter System. Specialty subject digests exist, such as the Education Law Digest and the Social Security Digest.
West also publishes West's Analysis of American Law, which is a complete guide to the topic and key number system, and it is revised periodically. In print, a digest works like an encyclopedia, with topics listed in alphabetical order and printed on the spines. The Descriptive Word Index provides guidance on the proper topics and key numbers.
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West reporters
West's National Reporter System (NRS) is a set of case law reporters for federal courts and appellate state courts in the United States. It was started in 1879 with the North Western Reporter, which originated in The Syllabi (1876). The NRS publishes all state and federal reports generally available through several units.
The NRS reflects the vast volume of reported American case law: over 100,000 court decisions are published by the NRS each year. It is the primary publication route for opinions from federal courts of appeals, federal district courts, and state appellate courts in many states that do not have an official reporter.
However, the NRS is not entirely comprehensive. West never retroactively brought all pre-1880 published cases of the U.S. Supreme Court or all published state cases that predate the NRS into the NRS framework. The NRS also does not include opinions from state trial courts, territorial courts, Indian courts, or administrative agencies at the federal or state level.
West also publishes West's Analysis of American Law, a complete guide to the topic and key number system, which is revised periodically. The West American Digest System is a system of identifying points of law from reported cases and organizing them by topic and key number. This system was developed by West Publishing to organize the entire body of American law.
The American Digest System is an outline of the law, broken up into over 400 topics, from "Abandoned and Lost Property" to "Zoning and Planning". Digests organize cases topically by subject, making it easier to find relevant cases. Each case is read by West editors, who identify and summarize the points of law cited or explained in the case, adding headnotes to the beginning of each case.
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Digests as an Index to Case Law
Digests are a major means of accessing case law by topic. They are a type of index to case law, taking the headnotes that summarise the points of law discussed in each case and organising them by subject. Digests are arranged alphabetically by topic, like an encyclopedia, and the spine of each volume indicates the topics it contains.
The West American Digest System is a system of identifying points of law from reported cases and organising them by topic and key number. The system was developed by West Publishing to organise the entire body of American law. This extensive taxonomy makes the process of doing case law legal research more efficient. The system was not created by John West, but it bears his name.
West publishes West's Analysis of American Law, a complete guide to the topic and key number system, which is revised periodically. The West reporter system begins with one or more headnotes, which contain either a fact situation from the opinion and the rule of law applied, or an assertion of a legal principle. Each headnote begins with a boldface topic, followed by a small key symbol and then a number. This is the topic and key number assigned to the specific legal issue discussed in the headnote.
The American Digest System is an outline of the law, broken up into over 400 topics. It indexes the decisions published in all of West's reporters and is the "master index" to all of the case law in the country. Digests are the only means of accessing cases topically, as court reports are issued in chronological order.
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Frequently asked questions
The West American Digest System is a system of identifying points of law from reported cases and organizing them by topic and key number.
The West Digests organize cases topically by subject, making it easier to find relevant cases. Each case is read by the editors at West, and headnotes summarizing the issues in the case are added to the beginning of each case.
The West Key Number System categorizes the law into approximately 400 topics, with each topic further subdivided into Key Numbers (approximately 100,000 distinct Key Numbers).
The West American Digest System was developed by West Publishing to organize the entire body of American law. This extensive taxonomy makes the process of doing case law legal research more efficient.
While the West American Digest System bears his name, John West was not its original creator. The system predates the creation of the National Reporter System.
