The National Reporter System ®

1. West’s Instructional Aid Series The National Reporter System®

2. West’s Instructional Aid Series Contents • Introduction: Case Law, the Courts, and the Doctrine of Precedent • The National Reporter System • Case Enhancements • The Topic and Key Number System • The Key Number Digests • Topic and Key Number Research • Custom Digests on Westlaw®

3. Introduction: Case Law, the Courts, and the Doctrine of Precedent Back to Contents

4. Introduction Case Law: The Courts • Trial courts are the entry to the court system. Trial courts are where • attorneys present evidence and make arguments, and • a judge or a judge and jury make determinations of law and fact. • Appellate courts hear appeals of trial court decisions to determine whether there were errors of law in the trial court decision, such as in the admission of evidence or in jury instructions. (There may be more than one level of appellate court. A higher-level appellate court, such as a supreme court, hears appeals from an intermediate appellate court decision.)

5. Introduction Case Law: The Courts • There is a federal system of trial and appellate courts. • District courts are the federal trial level courts. • Circuit courts and United States Supreme Court are the federal appellate courts. • Each state has a system of trial and appellate courts. The number of appellate levels varies from state to state but each state has a trial-level court and at least one level of appellate court.

6. Introduction Federal Court System State Court Systems District courts (trial-level) (Southern District of New York, District of Minnesota) State trial-level courts Most, but not all, states have at least one level of intermediate court(s) of appeal(s) Courts of appeals for the 13 federal circuits State supreme court United States Supreme Court

7. Introduction Case Law: The Courts • Appellate courts have control over trial courts in a specific geographic area or jurisdiction. • Federal District of Minnesota cases are heard in the jurisdiction of the Eighth Circuit and its decisions can be appealed only to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit. Decisions of the circuit courts can be appealed only to the United States Supreme Court.

8. Introduction Case Law: The Doctrine of Precedent(Stare Decisis) • Precedents are prior cases in the jurisdiction that are close in fact or legal principles to the case in consideration. • The doctrine of precedent dictates that decisions reached in previous cases in the same jurisdiction dealing with the same or similar issues should be followed unless there is a good reason to deviate.

9. Introduction The Doctrine of Precedent • The decision of a court is binding authority on that court and on the lower courts in the same jurisdiction when deciding factually similar issues. • The doctrine of precedent is founded on a sense of fairness and the belief that decisions should be consistent and not arbitrary so that the legal consequences of conduct can be predicted.

10. Introduction The Doctrine of Precedent • The doctrine of precedent explains why attorneys need access to prior cases decided by the highest court in the jurisdiction. • Cases decided in another jurisdiction,although not binding as precedent, may be a valuable source of legal reasoning for an issue not previously addressed in the jurisdiction.

11. Question The doctrine of precedent dictates that • Cases from other jurisdictions cannot influence a case in the jurisdiction • Case law in a jurisdiction can never deviate from precedents • Precedents in the jurisdiction should be followed unless there is a good reason to deviate • All of the above

12. Question The doctrine of precedent dictates that • Cases from other jurisdictions cannot influence a case in the jurisdiction • Case law in a jurisdiction can never deviate from precedents • Precedents in the jurisdiction should be followed unless there is a good reason to deviate • All of the above

13. The National Reporter System Back to Contents

14. National Reporter System Case Law • Without a coherent, uniform means of accessing cases from all state and federal jurisdictions, finding cases discussing similar points of law would be immensely difficult. • TheNational Reporter System organizes both federal and state case law into a cohesive body of law that can be researched within and across jurisdictions.

15. National Reporter System Case Law • Since 1879, West’s National Reporter System has compiled cases from state and federal courts and organized them into various reporter sets. • Volumes in a set are numbered consecutively. A new series starting with volume 1 is begun when one series becomes too unwieldy, e.g., the volume following 999 F.Supp. is 1 F.Supp.2d.

16. National Reporter System Federal Case Law • Federal district (trial) level courts are published in the Federal Supplement®. • Only aselection of district court cases is reported. • Citation format: 75 F.Supp. 225 13 F.Supp.2d 881 • These cases are on Westlaw in the DCTand DCT-OLD databases.

17. National Reporter System Federal Case Law • U.S. district court cases can be appealed to the Federal Circuit court that hears appeals from that district. There are 13 U.S. circuit courts of appeal. • The decisions of the circuit courts are published in the Federal Reporter®. • Citation format: 333 F.2d 120 37 F.3d 300

18. National Reporter System The Thirteen Federal Judicial Circuits The Federal Reporter cases are on Westlaw in the CTA and CTA-OLD databases.

19. National Reporter System Federal Case Law • Cases can be appealed from the circuit courts of appeals to the United States Supreme Court. • Decisions of the United States Supreme Court are published in the Supreme Court Reporter®. • Citation format: 99 S.Ct. 331. • These cases are on Westlaw in the SCT and SCT-OLDdatabases.

20. National Reporter System Federal Case Law There are also federal topical reporters that are part of West’s National Reporter System: • Bankruptcy Reporter® • Federal Rules Decisions® • Military Justice Reporter® • Federal Claims Reporter™

21. National Reporter System State Case Law • Only state appellate-level opinions are reported in the National Reporter System. Trial-level decisions are not reported. • Cases from all 50 states are published in one of seven regional reporters: Atlantic Reporter®, Southern Reporter®, South Eastern Reporter®, South Western Reporter®, North Eastern Reporter®, North WesternReporter®,and Pacific Reporter®. • There are approximately 30 state reporters, which are reprints of one state’s cases from a regional reporter.

22. National Reporter System The States Included in Each of the Seven Regional Reporters

23. National Reporter System State Case Law This is the first page from a volume in the Pacific Reporter. It lists the states that have cases published in the Pacific Reporter.

24. National Reporter System Federal and State Case Law on Westlaw • All cases from all the federal reporters are in the ALLFEDS database. • Each state has a Westlaw case law database. The identifiers are XX-CS, where XX is the state’s two-letter postal abbreviation. Examples: (NY-CS, FL-CS). • All cases from each regional reporter are in separate databases, (NW, SW, SO, ATL, NE, PAC and SE). • All cases from all state and regional reporters are in the ALLSTATES database. • All cases from all state, regional, and federal reporters are in the ALLCASES database.

25. National Reporter System Updating Reporters • Print slip opinions (without corrections or enhancements) of individual cases are sent by the courts to government depository libraries shortly after the cases are decided. • A slip-copy version of the case generally appears on Westlaw within two to twenty four hours of receipt of the case by West.

26. National Reporter System This is a slip-copy opinion as decided and filed with the court. It is on Westlaw but has not yet been editorially enhanced by West attorney-editors.

27. National Reporter System Updating Reporters • Attorneys have access to all but the most recent cases through the advance sheets (which update the hardbound reporters) and are issued every two weeks. • After going through a thorough editorial process, a case generally appears in the appropriate reporter advance sheet within six to eight weeks of receipt of the case.

28. Question Which of the following statements is false? • The National Reporter System was created in the mid-1950s to organize the greatly expanding number of court cases. • Most appellate court cases and some federal trial-level cases appear in at least one reporter set. • There are jurisdictional reporters and there are subject- matter reporters. • Cases from all 50 states are published in the seven regional reporters.

29. Question Which of the following statements is false? • The National Reporter System was created in the mid-1950s to organize the greatly expanding number of court cases. • Most appellate court cases and some federal trial-level cases appear in at least one reporter set. • There are jurisdictional reporters and there are subject- matter reporters. • Cases from all 50 states are published in the seven regional reporters.

30. Attorney-Editorial Case Enhancements Back to Contents

31. Case Enhancements Editorial Enhancements • This slip opinion appears just as written by the judge and processed and filed with the court. • West attorney-editors take the language of the court, correct errors, and add features that are essential tools for the careful researcher.

32. Case Enhancements Editorial Scrutiny • When West receives a slip opinion • the manuscript is scrutinized for accuracy • parallel citations are added • textual information is updated • the court is contacted if clarification or corrections are needed • More than 1.5 million case citations are checked, 500,000 parallel citations are added, and 80,000 errors in opinions are corrected each year.

33. Case Enhancements Finding Tools Both the advance sheets and the bound volumes of the reporters include • a Table of Cases arranged by state • a Table of Statutes interpreted by cases covered • a list of Words and Phrases defined by the cases covered • Tables of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and Federal Rules of Evidence that are interpreted by the cases covered in the advance sheet or reporter

34. Case Enhancements Editorial Enhancements Created by West Attorney-Editors • Synopsis: A summary of the procedural history, the facts, the main points of law, and the holding of the case. • Headnotes (digest paragraphs): Summaries of the points of law discussed in the body of the opinion. • Key Numbers: Headnotes are assigned to a topic and key number in the West Key Number System.

35. Case Enhancements Editorial Enhancements • Headnotes and synopses are prepared by West attorney-editors using • consistent and current legal terminology instead of ambiguous, regional, or outdated words • descriptive terms instead of proper names • Examples: • Tenant is used instead of Mr. Blake or plaintiff • Aspirin is used instead of Bufferin or Tylenol • Intoxicated is used instead of tipsy or inebriated These headnotes can help you retrieve many online cases that you might otherwise miss.

36. The synopsis is the first paragraph of every National Reporter System case. Headnotes follow the synopsis in every National Reporter System case. Headnotes appear in the order the points of law are discussed in the case. Case Enhancements Synopsis and Headnotes Synopsis Headnote

37. Case Enhancements Editorial Enhancements and Fields • Each online National Reporter System case is divided into segments called fields. • A digest (headnote) field search and/or synopsis field search is an efficient way to search the online case law databases. di(wrongful! /3 terminat! discharg!) • A digest field search allows you to retrieve a great number of cases that you would otherwise miss but at the same time will limit retrieved cases to ones in which the point of law you are researching is central to the holding of the case.

38. Case Enhancements Digest Field Includes and Key Numbers and Headnotes • Synopsis Field • Procedural History • Central Points of Law • Holding of Case • Digest Field • Key Numbers • Headnotes Topic/ Key Number Field Headnote Field

39. Case Enhancements Field Searches on Westlaw • Synopsis field search in Westlaw case law database: sy(malpractice /p “foreign object”) • Digest field (headnote) search in a Westlaw case law database: di( bystander /p “emotional distress”) • A combined synopsis and digest field search in a Westlaw case law database: sy,di(landlord /p “common area”)

40. Other fields: Citation (volume number, the reporter, and the first page number of the case) Title or Caption (names of parties) Docket Number (the number assigned to the case when it is filed with the court; this number follows the case through its litigation history) Attorneys of Record Judge(s) Opinion Case Enhancements Citation Title Docket Number Attorneys Judge(s) Opinion

41. Case Enhancements You can access a list of Fields from the Search page. Fields This is a partial list of the fields in a case law database.

42. Question Which of the following statements is false? • Attorney-editors spot and summarize up to five points of law discussed in the case. • Attorney-editors prepare a synopsis and headnotes, using universally recognized legal terminology. • Attorney-editors contact the court before making corrections to the decision. • Searching in the synopsis and digest fields on Westlaw allows you to retrieve more on-point documents and ensures that you retrieve only cases in which your issue is a central point of law in the decision.

43. Question Which of the following statements is false? • Attorney-editors spot and summarize up to five points of law discussed in the case. • Attorney-editors prepare a synopsis and headnotes, using universally recognized legal terminology. • Attorney-editors contact the court before making corrections to the decision. • Field searching in the synopsis and digest fields on Westlaw allows you to retrieve more on-point documents and ensures that you retrieve only cases in which your issue is a central point of law in the decision.

44. The Topic and Key Number System Back to Contents

45. The Topic and Key Number System Headnotes are Assigned to a Topic and Key Number • When West receives a slip opinion, a West attorney-editor reads it and identifies the points of law discussed in the case. • Each point of law is summarized in a headnote. • After a careful analysis of the point of law the headnote discusses, the headnote is assigned to at least one key number in the West Topic and Key Number System.

46. The Topic and Key Number System Headnotes and the Topic and Key Number System Key Numbers Headnote This headnote summarizes a point of law discussed in this case. The headnote is assigned to key number 90.1(1.2) under Topic 92 (Constitutional Law). The same headnote is also assigned to a key number under Topic 361 (Statutes).

47. The Topic and Key Number System The Topic and Key Number System is • the index to the entire National Reporter System • a comprehensive and detailed outlineof the entire body of case law in this country • a classification system with a at least one topic and key number attached to each point of law (headnote) The Topic and Key Number System allows you to locate cases with the same or similar legal issues in any jurisdiction in the United States.

48. The Topic and Key Number System • The approximately 400 topics are arranged alphabetically and numbered between 1 and 450. • Each topic addresses a broad legal issue. • Some topics have been added after the original 414 topics were assigned numbers • See 48A Automobiles and 48B Aviation • Other topics have been eliminated, renamed, or reorganized. (There is no longer a topic 3.)

49. The Topic and Key Number System 92 Constitutional Law (Topic) 92V Personal, Civil and Political Rights (Sub-Heading) 92k90 Freedom of Speech and of the Press 92k90.1 Particular Expressions and Limitations 92k90.1(1.2) k. Election Regulations (Specific Key Number) • Each topic is broken down into subheadings. • There can be up to eight levels in the topic and key number hierarchy. • This process continues until further breakdown of a point of law is unproductive and a specific key number is assigned. See, 92k90.1(1.2) above. • There are approximately 100,000 specific key numbers.

50. The Topic and Key Number System Topic number 92 Subheading 92k90 Specific Key Number The intermediate levels of the key number hierarchy are not present in the print version of this case, but they permit useful key number searches on Westlaw when the specific key number needed cannot be identified. For example, you can search for cases assigned to any specific key numbers under subheading 92k90.