Legal Definitions - S.E.

S.E. is an abbreviation for the South Eastern Reporter.

The South Eastern Reporter is a specialized series of law books that publishes the written opinions of appellate courts in several states across the southeastern United States. These opinions, often called "cases" or "decisions," establish legal precedents that lawyers and judges use to argue and decide future cases. When you see "S.E." followed by numbers, it's typically part of a legal citation, indicating where a specific court opinion can be found within this reporter series.

Here are some examples of how this term applies:

• Example 1: Legal Research for a Property Dispute
  Imagine a lawyer in North Carolina is researching a property boundary dispute. They might search for previous court decisions from North Carolina's appellate courts that dealt with similar issues. If they find a relevant case, its citation might look something like Smith v. Jones, 123 S.E.2d 456 (N.C. 1960). Here, "123 S.E.2d 456" tells the lawyer that the full text of the Smith v. Jones opinion can be found on page 456 of volume 123 of the second series of the South Eastern Reporter, which published North Carolina appellate decisions from that era.

• Example 2: Citing Precedent in a Court Brief
  A lawyer preparing a legal brief for a client in Georgia might want to support their argument by referencing a prior ruling from the Georgia Court of Appeals. To do this, they would include a citation like Doe v. Roe, 789 S.E.2d 123 (Ga. Ct. App. 2016). This citation uses "S.E.2d" to direct the court and opposing counsel to the exact location of that specific opinion within the South Eastern Reporter, demonstrating that the lawyer is relying on established legal precedent published in that series.

• Example 3: A Judge Reviewing Case Law
  A judge in South Carolina is presiding over a contract dispute and needs to understand how similar cases have been decided in the past. Their law clerk might provide them with a memorandum that summarizes relevant case law, including a reference such as "The court in Johnson v. Williams, 500 S.E. 800 (S.C. 1999) held that..." The "500 S.E. 800" part of the citation immediately tells the judge where to locate the full text of that South Carolina Supreme Court decision within the South Eastern Reporter to review its reasoning and applicability to the current case.