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West's National Reporter System: Home

A guide to using West's National Reporter System for law students, recent graduates, and members of the public

Overview

The National Reporter System, published by Thomson Reuters (West), began in 1879 and has since become the principle case reporting system in the United States. The National Reporter System includes case law from state courts and federal courts, as well as decisions by certain special federal courts. Not every case is included in a reporter. Each included case is presented in its entirety and is supplemented with West’s headnotes, Key Numbers, and Topics.

Online Access at Westlaw.

Editorial Enhancements

Editorial enhancements in each reporter include:

  • Key Numbers
  • Topics
  • Headnotes

Contents

  • South Western (S.W., S.W.2d, S.W.3d): AR, KY, MO, TN, TX
  • Pacific (P., P.2d, P.3d): AK, AZ, CA, CO, HI, ID, KS, MT, NV, NM, OK, OR, UT, WA, WY
  • North Western (N.W., N.W.2d): IA, MI, MN, NE, ND, SD, WI
  • North Eastern (N.E., N.E.2d): IL, IN, MA, NY, OH
  • Southern (So., So. 2d, So. 3d): AL, FL, LA, MS
  • South Eastern (S.E., S.E.2d): GA, NC, SC, VA, WV
  • Atlantic (A., A.2d, A.3d): CT, DE, DC, ME, MD, NH, NJ, PA, RI, VT
  • Supreme Court Reporter (S. Ct.): Supreme Court
  • Federal Reporter (F., F.2d, F.3d): select U.S. Courts of Appeal
  • Federal Appendix (F. App’x): select U.S. Courts of Appeal cases not published in Federal Reporter
  • Federal Supplement (F. Supp., F. Supp. 2d): select U.S. District Court cases
  • Federal Rules Decisions (F.R.D.): select U.S. District Court cases concerning Federal Rules of Civil Procedure or Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, not otherwise published in Federal Supplement
  • Bankruptcy Reporter (B.R.): decisions of bankruptcy-specific federal courts at all levels
  • Military Justice Reporter (M.J.): decisions of the U.S. Court of Military Appeals and  Courts of Military Review for the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard
  • Federal Claims Reporter (Fed. Cl.): decisions of the United States Court of Federal Claims
  • Veterans Appeals Reporter (Vet. App.): decisions of the United States Court of Veterans Appeals, United States Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit and Supreme Court of the United States in review

Additionally, 30 states have state-specific reporters that reprint only that state’s cases from the regional reporter.