Legal Definitions - South Western Reporter

The South Western Reporter is a specialized collection of legal books and digital databases that publishes the written decisions of appellate courts from five specific U.S. states: Arkansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee, and Texas. It is a key component of the National Reporter System, a comprehensive system for publishing court opinions.

This resource compiles every published appellate court ruling from these states, starting from 1886 up to the present day. The decisions are organized chronologically into different "series" to manage the vast volume of cases. The first series (abbreviated as S.W.) covered cases from 1886 to 1928, followed by the second series (S.W.2d) until 1999, and the third series (S.W.3d) which continues today. Legal professionals use the South Western Reporter to research legal precedents, understand how laws have been interpreted by courts in these states, and cite specific court rulings in their arguments.

Here are some examples of how the South Western Reporter is used:

• Researching Historical Precedent: Imagine a legal historian in Texas is researching how property rights were interpreted by state courts in the 1950s. They would consult the South Western Reporter, Second Series (S.W.2d) to find the full text of appellate court decisions from Texas during that era. This allows them to analyze the court's reasoning and understand the legal landscape of the time regarding property disputes.

• Preparing for Current Litigation: A lawyer in Missouri is preparing for a civil trial involving a complex contract dispute. To build a strong case, they need to find recent appellate court decisions from Missouri that have addressed similar types of contract breaches. The lawyer would use the South Western Reporter, Third Series (S.W.3d) to locate relevant precedents, helping them understand how Missouri's appellate courts have ruled on comparable issues and anticipate potential arguments from the opposing side.

• Verifying Legal Citations: A paralegal working for a judge in Kentucky receives a legal brief that cites a specific ruling from the Kentucky Court of Appeals from the early 2000s. To ensure accuracy and confirm the details of the case, the paralegal would use the South Western Reporter, Third Series (S.W.3d) to quickly locate the cited case. This allows them to verify its existence, the exact wording of the court's decision, and its precedential value for the current case before the judge.