Legal Definitions - National Reporter System

The National Reporter System (NRS) is a comprehensive and widely used collection of legal publications that compiles and publishes the written opinions and decisions issued by state and federal courts across the United States. Published by West Publishing (now part of Thomson Reuters Westlaw), the NRS serves as a primary resource for legal professionals, scholars, and the public to access the official text of court rulings.

These publications, known as "reporters," organize court decisions systematically. Federal court opinions are typically grouped by the level of the court, such as the Supreme Court Reporter for decisions from the U.S. Supreme Court, the Federal Reporter for U.S. Courts of Appeals decisions, and the Federal Supplement for U.S. District Court opinions. For state courts, the NRS organizes appellate court decisions into seven regional reporters, each covering multiple states. This structured approach makes it possible to locate specific cases based on their jurisdiction and the court that issued the ruling.

Here are some examples illustrating the application of the National Reporter System:

• Example 1: A Law Student's Research Project
  A law student is assigned to research how courts in California and Arizona have interpreted a specific contract law principle. To find relevant precedents, the student would consult the Pacific Reporter, which is part of the NRS and publishes appellate court decisions from both California and Arizona, among other western states. This allows the student to efficiently locate and compare rulings from different state jurisdictions within a single, organized system.

• Example 2: A Federal Prosecutor Preparing for an Appeal
  A federal prosecutor is preparing an appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. To support their arguments, they need to cite recent decisions from other federal appellate courts that have addressed similar legal issues. The prosecutor would use the Federal Reporter, a key component of the NRS, to find these appellate court opinions, ensuring they are referencing authoritative and properly published judicial pronouncements.

• Example 3: A Journalist Covering a Landmark Supreme Court Case
  A journalist is writing an article about a historic U.S. Supreme Court decision that significantly impacted civil rights. To ensure accuracy and quote directly from the Court's official opinion, the journalist would refer to the Supreme Court Reporter. This NRS publication provides the complete, authoritative text of all U.S. Supreme Court decisions, allowing the journalist to access the exact language and reasoning used by the justices.