Legal Definitions - National Reporter System

The National Reporter System (NRS) is a collection of books published by West Publishing that contain the opinions and decisions of courts. These books are organized by the level and location of the courts. The NRS includes both state and federal decisions.

The federal reporters are divided into different series based on the level of the court. For example:

• The Supreme Court Reporter contains decisions from the United States Supreme Court.
• The Federal Reporter contains decisions from the United States Courts of Appeals.
• The Federal Supplement contains decisions from the United States District Courts.

There are also special reporters for certain types of cases, such as bankruptcy cases.

The state reporters are organized into seven regions, each containing multiple states. For example:

• The Atlantic Reporter contains decisions from Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont.
• The Southern Reporter contains decisions from Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi.
• The Pacific Reporter contains decisions from Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.

Each reporter contains the decisions of the courts within its purview. For example, the Federal Reporter contains decisions from the United States Courts of Appeals, while the Southern Reporter contains decisions from the state courts of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi.