Legal Definitions - law reporter

A law reporter is a published volume of judicial decisions made by a particular court or group of courts. These decisions are first printed in temporary paperback volumes and then printed in hardbound reporter volumes. Law reports may be either official, published by a government entity, or unofficial, published by a private publisher. Court citations frequently include the names of both the official and unofficial reports.

• The U.S. Reports is an example of a law reporter that contains published decisions made by the United States Supreme Court.
• When a court makes a decision, it is recorded and published in a law reporter for future reference and use by lawyers and judges.

These examples illustrate how law reporters are used to document and publish judicial decisions made by courts. They serve as a reference for lawyers and judges to use in future cases and provide a historical record of legal decisions.