Legal Definitions - North Eastern Reporter

The North Eastern Reporter is a specialized collection of published appellate court decisions from five specific U.S. states: Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, New York, and Ohio. It is a key component of the National Reporter System, a comprehensive series of law books and databases compiled by West Group (now part of Thomson Reuters) that makes court opinions widely accessible to legal professionals. This reporter system gathers and publishes the written opinions issued by the appellate courts in these states, serving as an essential resource for legal research. It covers cases from 1885 to the present day, with the first series often abbreviated as "N.E." (North Eastern Reporter) and the ongoing second series as "N.E.2d" (North Eastern Reporter, Second Series).

Here are some examples illustrating how the North Eastern Reporter is used:

• Law Student Research: A law student at a university in Massachusetts is writing a paper on the evolution of contract law in the state. To understand how courts have interpreted specific contract clauses over time, they would consult the North Eastern Reporter to find relevant appellate decisions from Massachusetts, tracing the legal precedents from the late 19th century through modern cases.

  Explanation: This illustrates how the North Eastern Reporter provides historical and current case law for specific states, allowing researchers to track legal developments and find authoritative rulings that have shaped legal principles over decades.

• Attorney Preparing for a Case: An attorney in Chicago, Illinois, is preparing a legal brief for a client involved in a property dispute. To strengthen their argument, the attorney needs to find previous rulings from the Illinois Court of Appeals that dealt with similar property boundary issues. They would search the North Eastern Reporter for Illinois appellate decisions, specifically looking for cases that establish favorable precedents or clarify legal principles relevant to their client's situation.

  Explanation: This shows the practical application of the North Eastern Reporter for legal practitioners seeking binding or persuasive authority from appellate courts within the covered states to support their legal arguments in ongoing litigation.

• Legal Scholar Comparing Jurisdictions: A legal scholar is conducting comparative research on how different states handle environmental regulations. They want to analyze appellate court decisions from Ohio and Indiana concerning industrial pollution. By examining cases published in the North Eastern Reporter for both states, the scholar can identify similarities and differences in judicial interpretations and legal standards, contributing to a broader understanding of environmental law across these jurisdictions.

  Explanation: This demonstrates the utility of the North Eastern Reporter for academic research, allowing scholars to compare and contrast legal approaches taken by the appellate courts of the included states on specific legal issues, highlighting variations in legal reasoning and outcomes.