The text of court cases are published in books refered to as "reporters." Federal Reporters publish federal cases (district, circuit, and Supreme Court), while regional and state reporters publish state appellate cases. There are official and unofficial versions of some reporters. The official versions are published by the U.S. Government, while the unofficial versions are published by the private legal publishers West and Lawyer's Edition. The text of the cases will be the same in all versions, however the unofficial versions will contain editorial comments and interpretations of the decisions written by editors.
The West National Reporter System which covers both state and federal court cases is the primary source used for locating cases in print reporters.
Listed below is a detailed listing of the reporters from both federal, regional and state courts.
| Courts | Reporters | Abbreviations |
| Supreme Court |
United States Reports |
U.S. |
| Federal District Courts |
West's Federal Supplement 2d. (1998-) Federal Supplement (1931-1998) |
F. Supp.2d
|
| U.S. Circuit Courts (Courts of Appeal) |
West Federal Reporter 3d, (1988- ) |
F.3d |
| Courts | Reporters | Abbreviations |
|
Bankruptcy Court of Claims |
West's Bankruptcy Reporter |
B.R Vet.App M.J Fed. cl. Ct. Int'l trade T.C. |
NOTE: Please keep in mind that most print state court reporters are no longer up-to-date, it is best to use Lexis Nexis Academic or Westlaw Campus Research to locate state case decisions.
| States | Reporters | Abbreviations |
| Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont | Atlantic Reporter |
A., A.2d. |
| California | California Reporter |
Cal.Rptr., Cal. Rptr. 2d, Cal. Rptr.3d
|
| New York Supplement | New York Supplement |
N.Y.S, N.Y.S.2d
|
|
Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, New York, Ohio
|
North Eastern Reporter |
N.E., N.E.2d |
|
Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia
|
South Eastern Reporter | S.E., S.E.2d |
|
Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Missisippi,
|
Southern Reporter | So.,So.2d |
|
Arkansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee, Texas
|
South Western Reporter | S.W., S.W. 2d, S.W.3d |
|
Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin
|
North Western Reporter | N.W., N. W. 2d |
| Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming | Pacific Reporter | P., P.2d, P.3d |
Digests are tools that help researchers locate cases on specific legal topics or issues. If you are using a print reporter to search for a case by topic you will need to use a digest. West Publishers provides the most comprehensive digest system. For a detailed explanation of how to use the West Digests in Print go to the following online tutorial.
