Law report

A law report or reporter is a compilation of judicial opinions from a selection of case law decided by courts. These reports serve as published records of judicial decisions that are cited by lawyers and judges for their use as precedent in subsequent cases.

Historically, the term "reporter" was used to refer to the individuals responsible for compiling, editing, and publishing these opinions. For example, the Reporter of Decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States is the person authorized to publish the Court's cases in the bound volumes of the United States Reports. Today, in American English, "reporter" also refers to the books themselves. In Commonwealth English, these are described by the plural term "law reports", the title that usually appears on the covers of the periodical parts and the individual volumes.

In common law jurisdictions, such as the United States, the doctrine of stare decisis ("to stand by things decided") requires courts to follow precedent by applying legal principles established in prior decisions by higher courts within the same jurisdiction. The system of precedent relies heavily on written opinions issued by appellate and supreme courts, and occasionally by trial courts, as these opinions enable judges and lawyers to reference and compare reasoning in cases involving similar factual circumstances.

Official and unofficial case law reporting

Official law reports or reporters are those authorized for publication by statute or other governmental ruling. Governments designate law reports as official to provide an authoritative, consistent, and authentic statement of a jurisdiction's primary law.