United States Reports

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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 Reporter of Decisions, 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.

For lawyers, citations to U.S. Reports are the standard reference for Supreme Court decisions. Under the commonly accepted citation protocol, the case Brown, et al, v. Board of Education of Topeka is cited thus:

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

This citation indicates that the decision of the Court in the case entitled Brown v. Board of Education, decided in 1954, can be found beginning at page 483 of volume 347 of the United States Reports.