United States Reports

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Volumes of the United States Reports on the shelf at a law library

The United States Reports are the official record of the rulings, orders, case tables, and other proceeding of the Supreme Court of the United States. Opinions of the court in each case, prepended with a headnote prepared by the office of the clerk of the court, and any concurring or dissenting opinions are published sequentially. The Court's Publication Office oversees the binding and publication of the volumes of United States Reports, although the actual printing, binding, and publication is perfomed by private firms under contract with the United States Government Printing Office.

The U.S. Reports are the formal standard for citing Supreme Court cases; for example, one would cite Brown, et al, v. Board of Education of Topeka as:

Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954)

I.e., the decision of the court in the case entitled Brown v. Board of Education, and decided in 1954, can be found beginning at page 483 of volume 347 of the United States Reports.