For additional practice with case law research, check out the following CALI Lessons:
Case law, the foundation of common law systems, is comprised of judicial decisions that interpret and apply existing laws to specific scenarios. These rulings serve as precedents for future disputes involving similar legal questions. Unlike statutes, which are created by legislative bodies, case law evolves organically through the court system, reflecting societal changes and nuances that statutes may not address. To fully understand case law, we must spend time addressing important concepts like West's National Reporter System and editorial enhancements.
Unpublished Cases
Not all cases are selected for publication. You are probably already well aware of how overburdened our judicial system is. From these many cases, individual federal and state courts decide the criteria for publishing a case. This criteria includes but is not limited to:
Unpublished decisions are non-precedential (non-binding). Unpublished cases may be used instead as non-binding (persuasive) authority. It's important to check local court rules to determine whether the court allows you to cite these cases.
West's National Reporter System
Since 1879 (yes—that long ago!), West's National Reporter System has served as a comprehensive collection of case law published by West Publishing. This system organizes court decisions from federal and state courts into reporters, making it easier to locate relevant cases. The image above identifies the regions in which state cases are reported. Reporter abbreviations can get tricky, so here is a helpful chart to break it down:
Beau Steenken & Tina M. Brooks, Sources of American Law 84 (7th ed. 2023).
West's Key Number System
But wait—there's more! In addition to the National Reporter System, West also developed what's known as West's Key Number System. This revolutionary classification system is used to organize and locate specific legal issues within case law. The Key Number System assigns a unique number to every point of law, allowing researchers to efficiently find cases on specific issues. By categorizing cases based on these key numbers, the system transforms the vast ocean of case law into a navigable body of water. Here is a quick look at how key numbers serve as both an informational and organizational tool:
You can see that the "big umbrella" topic is Torts, which is subsequently narrowed down to proximate cause. The Topic Number is 379 (Torts), while the specific Key Number is 119 (proximate cause). We can then use the Key Number to locate other relevant cases that deal with the same legal issue! For more information about the West Key Number System, read this article by Thomson Reuters.
Understanding the anatomy of a reported case is crucial for effective legal research and analysis. A typical case begins with a citation, which is necessary for future retrieval. The case caption identifies the parties involved, the docket number, and the deciding court. Following this, an editorial summary offers a concise overview of the case. Key numbers, assigned by West, categorize legal points of law. These Key Numbers correspond to specific Headnotes, which are written by editors and encapsulate specific legal issues and holdings within the case.
After the Headnotes, you will locate the procedural posture followed by a list of attorneys representing the parties in the case. Then, the judge authoring the opinion is identified before you finally get to the actual text of the opinion. If there are any concurring or dissenting opinions, those will be indicated after the majority opinion (along with the names of the judges authoring those opinions). Additionally, although the abbreviation for the reporter has been previously identified in the case citation, you can see the full reporter name at the top of the page. Remember to use the reporter chart above as a cheat sheet as you get the hang of all these abbreviations!
Challenge Yourself: Check out the case online to see how the print version compares.
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