Reporters and Digests   Tags: cases, colorado, federal  

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Anatomy Of A Case.

How to Find Case Law Using the Digests.

• Cornell University Law School. Wex Glossary of Legalese.
• The 'Lectric Law Library's Legal Lexicon.
• United States Courts: Glossary of Legal Terms.

Researchers will find more than one court level in the judicial system. For detailed information on federal and state courts with regard to types of cases handled, why there are two court systems in the United States, differences in the structure of federal and state court systems, special courts, jurisdiction, selection of judges, and more, see:

• United States Courts: Understanding Federal and State Courts.  
• United States Courts: Comparing Federal and State Courts.

Court cases (also known as opinions, or decisions, or judgments) are found in reporters (published cases from the judicial branch of government for a certain jurisdiction arranged in chronological order). Thomson Reuters/West, formerly West Publishing Company, is the largest commercial publisher of cases. This company publishes reporters called the National Reporter System with cases from almost every United States jurisdiction.  Federal cases come from the federal courts and state cases are generated in state courts.

See U.S Supreme Court Reporters and Digests, U.S. Courts of Appeals Reporters and Digests, and U.S. District Reporters and Digests subpages for a list of West federal reporters.

West has divided the country into seven regions for state cases. The reporter for each region collects cases from states within a region and calls them regional reporters. See State Regional Reporters and Digests and Colorado Reporters and Digests subpages for more information.

Official reporters are cases which have been published by directed statute. Reporters published commercially without government sanction are called unofficial reporters. A case published in more than one reporter is called a parallel citation. See Rule 10 in The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation, 19th edition, for guidance.

Each case published by West has five main parts:

Heading:  Find official reporter citation and parallel citations, parties to the case, court jurisdiction, and date of decision.

Synopsis of Decision:  A history of the case written by West editors.

Headnotes: Key point summaries in a case written by West editiors with corresponding topic(s) and key number(s).

Legal Participants:  Counsel for parties and judge(s) who decided the case. 

Court Opinion:  Published in full text and followed by concurring or dissenting opinions. Also features bracketed numbers in text which refer to case headnotes.

West's digests are indexes to reporters organized by 400+ topics and subdivided into thousands of narrower key numbers.

• Example: Contracts B 355. 

In order for researchers to use the digest properly, it is essential that he/she begin with a topic and key number.

Each case found in a West reporter lists headnotes in numerical order. These headnotes represent issues in the case, but are  not part of the court decision. Note that each headnote has a corresponding topic and key number. Follow these steps when beginning research in a West digest:

Determine Court Jurisdiction:  Locate the proper federal or state digest.

Find Topics and Key Numbers:  If you do not have a topic and key number, start with descriptive-word indexes. If you know name(s) of parties in a case, start with table of cases volumes.

Read Case Summaries:  Become familiar with the history and issues in the case by scrutinzing the summaries.

Update Cases:  Use the topic and key number system to find the most recent cases in digest pocket parts or cumulative paper pamphlets.

Use the following parts in West's digests:

Descriptive Word Indexes:  Start here if you do not have a topic and key number. Check alphabetical indexes under keywords or terms and note that each entry is assigned a certain topic and key number. Next, read digest spines to find the appropriate volume covering your topic and key number. Look in volume for topic and key number, read corresponding headnotes, and look up case citation(s) in reporter(s).

Table of Cases:  Start here if you do not have a topic and key number, but know the name(s) of parties in a case. Read alphabetical digest spines to find the appropriate volume listing your case name. Find the case name which will provide a case citation and a list of topics and key numbers in the case. Look in digest volume for topic and key number, read headnotes, and look up case citation(s) in reporter(s).

Words and Phrases:  Check the alphabetical terms in volumes and locate case citations which define term(s) and provide a list of topics and key numbers in case(s). Look up case citation(s) in reporter(s).

Pocket Parts or Cumulative Paper Pamphlet Updates:  Update with the pocket part in the back of digest volume(s) by checking under the topic(s) and key number(s). Remember whenever updates are too voluminous for pocket parts, West will issue cumulative paper pamphlets.

Quarterly Interim Cumulative Paper Pamphlets: Check the shelf at the end of the digest set for these pamphlets which update either the pocket parts or cumulative paper pamphlets.

American Digest System (Decennial Digests) (1658 to 2006).  (2006: Westminster Law Library subscription cancelled.) Use this comprehensive digest by West to research older cases in federal and state jurisdictions. These Decennial Digests feature the following parts:

Descriptive Word Indexes: Start here if you do not have a topic and key number. Check alphabetical indexes under keywords or terms and note that each entry is assigned a certain topic and key number. Next, read digest spines to find the appropriate volume covering your topic and key number. Look in volume for topic and key number, read headnotes, and look up case citation(s) in reporter(s). 

Table of Cases: Start here if you do not have a topic and key number, but know the name(s) of parties in a case. Read alphabetical digest spines to find the appropriate volume listing the case name. Find the case name which will provide a case citation and a list of topics and key numbers in the case. Look in the digest volume for topic and key number, read headnotes, and look up case citation(s) in reporter(s). Update Cases:  Use LexisNexis Academic or Westlaw public terminals on Level 3.

See also, Words and Phrases: All Judicial Constructions and Definitions of Words and Phrases by The State and Federal Courts from the Earliest Times, Alphabetically Arranged and Indexed. St. Paul, MN: West, 1964-2009. (2009: Westminster Law Library subscription cancelled.) 

United States Supreme Court Digest (West) (2010: Westminster Law Library subscription cancelled.)

• The American Bench: Judges of the Nation, 21st edition. Editorial Director Finn, Marie T. Dallas, TX: Forster-Long, LLC, 2011. Level 3 Reference KF 8700 .A19 A47 2011. See Chapter V: Court Systems and Judge Biographies.
• Basic Legal Research: Tools and Strategies, 4th edition. By Amy E. Sloan. New York: Aspen Publishers, 2009. Level 3 Reference Desk KF 240 .S66 2009. See Chapter 4: Case Research. 
• BNA's Directory of State and Federal Courts, Judges, and Clerks: A State-by-State and Federal Listing, 2011 Edition. Compiled by Catherine A. Kitchell, et al. Washington, D.C.: Bureau of National Affairs, 2011. Level 3 Reference KF 8700 .A19 K56 2011.
• Colorado Legal Research. By Robert Michael Linz. Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press, 2010. Level 3 Reference KFC 1875 .L56 2010, Level 2 FACULTY RESERVE: Green, Sheila (two copies).  See Chapter 7: Case Law.
• Directory of State Court Clerks & County Courthouses: State Court Clerks - County Courthouses - State Court Web Sites, 2010 Edition. Washington, D.C.: CQ Press, 2011. Level 3 Reference KF 8700 .A19 D574 2010.
• Finding the Law, 12th edition. By Robert C. Berring and Elizabeth A. Edinger. St. Paul, MN: Thomson/West, 2005. Level 3 & Level 3 Reference Desk KF 240 .B45 2005. See Chapter 2: Court Reports, Chapter 4: Finding Cases, & Appendix A: the Flambeau Case.
• Fundamentals of Legal Research, 9th edition. By Steven M. Barkan, et al. New York: Thomson Reuters/Foundation Press, 2009. Level 3 Reference KF 240 .J3 2009. See Chapter 4: Court Reports, Chapter 5: Federal Court Reports, Chapter 6: State Court Reports and the National Reporter System, & Chapter 7: Digests for Court Reports. 
• Legal Research Guide: Patterns and Practice, 5th edition. By Bonita K. Roberts and Linda L. Schlueter. New York: Lexis Publishing, 2006. Level 3 Reference Desk KF 240 .R63 2006.  See Chapter 1: Case Law Research.
• Legal Research in a Nutshell, 10th edition. by Morris L. Cohen and Kent C. Olson. St. Paul, MN: West, 2010. Level 3 Reference KF 240.C54 2010. See Chapter 3: Case Law.
• Navigating Legal Research & Technology: Quick Reference Guide to the 1,500 Most Common Questions about Traditional and Onine Legal Research. Compiled by Joel Fishman and Dittakavi Rao. Getzville, NY: Bridge Publishing Group LLC, 2010. Level 3 Reference Desk KF 240 .F595 2009. See Chapter 3: Case Law - Reporters & Chapter 4: Case Law - Digests.
• Principles of Legal Research: Successor to How to Find the Law, 9th Edition. By Kent C. Olson. St. Paul, MN: West, 2009. Level 3 Reference KF 240 .O57 2009. See Chapter 6: The Judiciary, Part 1 - Introduction, Chapter 7: The Judiciary, Part 2 - Case Law Sources, Chapter 8: The Judiciary, Part 3 - Case Research, & Chapter 9: The Judiciary, Part 4 - Other Court Information.
• The Process of Legal Research, 7th edition. By Christina L. Kunz, et al. Austin, TX: Wolters Kluwer, 2008. Level 3 Reference Desk KF 240 .P76 2008.  See Chapter 9: Case Reporters, Digests, and Their Alternatives.
• Want's Federal-State Court Directory: State Court Clerks - County Courthouses - State Court Web Sites, 2010 Edition. Washington, D.C.: CQ Press, 2011. Level 3 Reference KF 8700 .A19 F423 2011.

This research guide has been adapted from content in the above references.