The National Reporter System®

Contents

• Introduction: Case Law, the Courts, and the Doctrine of Precedent

• The National Reporter System

• The Topic and Key Number System

• The Key Number Digests

• Topic and Key Number Research

• Custom Digests on Westlaw®

West’s Instructional Aid Series

Introduction: Case Law, the Courts, and

the Doctrine of Precedent

Back to Contents

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.)

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.

Introduction

Federal CourtSystem

State Court Systems

District courts (trial-level)(Southern District of New York, District of Minnesota)

State trial-level courts

Courts of appeals for the 13 federal circuits

Most, but not all, states have at least one level of

intermediate court(s) of appeal(s)

State supreme court

United States Supreme Court

Introduction

Case Law: The Courts

• Appellate courts have control over trial courts in a specific geographic area or jurisdiction.

• Federal District of Louisiana cases are heard in the jurisdiction of the Fifth Circuit and its decisions can be appealed only to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit. Decisions of the circuit courts can be appealed only to the United States Supreme Court.

Introduction

Case Law: The Doctrine of Precedent(Stare Decisis…compare to concept of jurisprudence constante in Louisiana)

• 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. Not theoretically true in Louisiana.

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.

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.

Introduction

Question

The doctrine of precedent dictates that

1. Cases from other jurisdictions cannot influence a case in the jurisdiction

2. Case law in a jurisdiction can never deviate from precedents

3. Precedents in the jurisdiction should be followed unless there is a good reason to deviate

4. All of the above

Question

The doctrine of precedent dictates that

1. Cases from other jurisdictions cannot influence a case in the jurisdiction

2. Case law in a jurisdiction can never deviate from precedents

3. Precedents in the jurisdiction should be followed unless there is a good reason to deviate

4. All of the above

The National Reporter System

Back to Contents

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.

• The National Reporter System organizes both federal and state case law into a cohesive body of law that can be researched within and across jurisdictions.

National Reporter System

Federal Case Law

• Federal district (trial) level courts are published in the Federal Supplement®.

• Only a selection of district court cases is reported.

• Citation format: 75 F.Supp. 225 13 F.Supp.2d 881

• These cases are on Westlaw in the DCT and DCT-OLD databases.

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

National Reporter System

The Thirteen Federal Judicial Circuits

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.

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 Western Reporter®, and Pacific Reporter®.

• There are approximately 30 state reporters, which are reprints of one state’s cases from a regional reporter. California has its own reporter.

National Reporter System

The States Included in Each of the Seven Regional Reporters

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.

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.

National Reporter System

Synopsis and Headnotes

• 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

Headnote

Digest Field Includes and Key Numbers and Headnotes

Synopsis Field• Procedural History• Central Points of Law• Holding of Case

Topic/ Key Number FieldHeadnote Field

Digest Field

• Key Numbers• Headnotes

Case Enhancements

The Topic and Key Number System

Back to Contents

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.

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 outline of 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.

The Topic and Key Number System

Key Number Digests

Back to Contents

Key Numbers and Key Number Digests• West’s Key Number Digests are the research link between

key numbers and the National Reporter System cases.

• The digests contain the headnotes (digest paragraphs) and their corresponding topic and key numbers from every case in the National Reporter System.

• The headnotes (digest paragraphs) are organized alphabetically by topic and then numerically by key number.

Digests

• This is a page from the Minnesota Digest.

• Listed are all the headnotes (digest paragraphs) from Minnesota cases that discuss the points of law assigned to specific key numbers 8(2), 9, and 12 under the topic of Abatement and Revival.

Digests

Digest sets include

• State digests• Regional digests• Federal Practice Digest

Digests

Each digest set spans many volumes and is organized first alphabetically by the more than 400 topics in the Key

Number System, then numerically by key number.

Digests

Topic and Key Numbers Research

Back to Contents

Using the Print Digests to Find Relevant Cases

• You have found a case with a relevant headnote and assigned key number

• Go to a print digest set covering the appropriate jurisdiction and find the volume covering that topic, then find the specific key number

• All headnotes (digest paragraphs) from all cases discussing the point of law assigned to that key number are listed along with citations to the cases

Using a key number found in a case

Research in Print Products

Using the Print Digests to Find Relevant Cases

Descriptive Word Index

Each digest set includes a Descriptive Word Index. Specific words and phrases lead to relevant key numbers.

Research in Print Products

Using the Print Digests to Find Relevant Cases

DescriptiveWord Index

Most descriptive words fall into one of five categories of elements common to every case:

• Parties or facts

• Places and things

• Issues or basis of action

• Defenses

• Relief sought

Research in Print Products

• Example: John Landlord failed to replace a light bulb in the hallway of one of his apartment buildings. Jane Tenant failed to see a step and fell down a flight of stairs. She is suing John for damages.

• You might start by checking in the Descriptive Word Index under landlord, tenant, negligence, apartment, common area, or premise liability. At least one of these entries will probably lead you to key numbers in cases that discuss the same or similar issues.

Descriptive Word Index

Research in Print Products

The National Reporter System, the West editorial enhancements, the West Key Number System, and West’s Key Number Digests are an integrated research system that guides you to prior cases in any state or federal jurisdiction

that discussed similar facts or points of law.

Conclusion