Legal Definitions - N.W.

N.W. stands for the North Western Reporter.

The North Western Reporter is a specialized collection of books, now also available digitally, that publishes the official written opinions of appellate courts from several states in the Midwestern United States. These states typically include Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. When a court issues a significant ruling, its written opinion is published in a reporter series like the North Western Reporter, making it accessible to lawyers, judges, and the public. These published opinions are crucial because they establish legal precedents that future courts in those states must consider.

• Example 1: A lawyer in Minnesota is drafting a legal brief for a client involved in a property dispute. To support their arguments, the lawyer needs to cite a previous ruling from the Minnesota Supreme Court that established a key principle regarding property boundaries. The citation for that case would include "N.W." (e.g., "Smith v. Jones, 123 N.W.2d 456"), directing anyone reading the brief to the exact volume and page number in the North Western Reporter where the full court opinion can be found.

  This example illustrates how "N.W." is used in legal citations to pinpoint specific court decisions published in this reporter series, allowing legal professionals to locate and reference authoritative legal precedent.

• Example 2: A law student at a university in Nebraska is researching for a class assignment on tort law. The professor has assigned several cases from the Nebraska Supreme Court that discuss the concept of negligence. The student uses the provided citations, which all contain "N.W." along with volume and page numbers, to access these cases through an online legal research database that includes the North Western Reporter. This allows the student to read the full judicial opinions and understand the court's reasoning.

  Here, "N.W." serves as a key identifier for students and researchers to find primary legal sources from the specified regional courts, essential for legal education and academic study.

• Example 3: During a trial in a Wisconsin circuit court, a judge is presented with a novel legal argument by one of the parties. To ensure a fair and consistent application of the law, the judge asks their law clerk to research whether the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has previously addressed a similar issue. The clerk finds a relevant appellate decision and provides its citation, which includes "N.W." The judge then reviews the full opinion in the North Western Reporter to understand the established precedent before making a ruling in the current case.

  This demonstrates how "N.W." helps judges and their staff quickly locate and consult binding or persuasive legal authority from appellate courts within the North Western Reporter's jurisdiction, guiding judicial decision-making.