Legal Definitions - side reports

Side reports refer to collections of court decisions that are published independently of the government's official series of case reports. These unofficial volumes might include cases that were not selected for publication in the official reports, or they might be published by private legal publishers as a supplementary resource for legal professionals.

Here are some examples to illustrate the concept:

• Imagine a private legal publishing company that, in the early 20th century, compiled a multi-volume set titled "Significant Trial Court Rulings of the Midwest." This collection included important decisions from various county courts across several Midwestern states that were never selected for inclusion in the official state reports, which primarily focused on appellate decisions. This private compilation would be considered side reports because it's an unofficial publication containing cases omitted from the government's designated series of official reports.

• Consider a specialized legal research service that publishes weekly "Environmental Law Digests." This service compiles recent rulings from federal district courts and administrative tribunals related to environmental regulations and disputes. Many of these decisions are either not yet, or may never be, published in the official Federal Reporter or Federal Supplement due to their specific nature or the sheer volume of cases. This "Environmental Law Digests" series functions as side reports because it's an unofficial, privately published collection of cases, many of which are either omitted from or precede their inclusion in the official government-sanctioned case reports.

• A non-profit organization dedicated to advocating for consumer protection compiles and publishes an annual "Consumer Rights Litigation Review." This review features full texts of significant, often unpublished, trial court orders and settlement agreements from across the country that illustrate key developments in consumer law. These documents are not typically found in official state or federal case reporters. This annual review serves as side reports because it's an unofficial compilation of legal decisions and documents that are generally omitted from the standard, officially published volumes of court cases.