In law, a reporter is a series of books which contain court opinions. The term was originally used to refer to the individual persons who actually compile, edit, and publish such opinions. It still carries that alternative meaning, which can be confusing. Law (a loanword from Danish- Norwegian lov), in politics and jurisprudence, is a set of rules or norms of conduct which mandate, proscribe or permit specified relationships among people and organizations, provide methods for ensuring the impartial treatment of such people, and provide punishments for those who do not follow...

In common law countries, court opinions are legally binding under the rule of stare decisis. Thus, the regular publication of such opinions is important so that everyone—lawyers, judges, and laymen—can all find out what the law is, as declared by judges. This article concerns the common-law legal system, as contrasted with the civil law legal system; for other meanings of the term, within the field of law, see common law (disambiguation). ... Stare decisis is a Latin term (to stand by things decided) used in common law to express the notion that prior court decisions must be recognized as precedents, according to case law. ... A lawyer or attorney at law is a person licensed by the state to advise clients in legal matters and represent them in courts of law (and in other forms of dispute resolution). ... A judge or justice is an appointed or elected official who presides over a court. ...

History (by country)

United Kingdom

In England, reporters were initially compiled in a rather haphazard fashion by private entrepreneurs. The situation was not helped by the tradition among English judges of delivering opinions orally, and of not distributing written copies, so the quality of reporters usually depended on the shorthand skills of whomever was taking notes. Royal motto: Dieu et mon droit (French: God and my right) Englands location within the UK Official language English de facto Capital London de facto Largest city London Area  - Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population  - Total (2001)  - Density Ranked 1st UK 49,138,831 377/km² Religion... An entrepreneur is, in its most general sense, a person who creates or starts a new project, opportunity, or venture. ... Shorthand is a writing method that can be done at speed because an abbreviated or symbolic form of language is used. ...

In 1865, the nonprofit Incorporated Council of Law Reporting for England & Wales was founded, and it has gradually become the dominant publisher of reporters in the U.K. It has compiled most of the best available copies of pre-1866 cases into the English Reports. Post-1866 cases are contained in the ICLR's own Law Reports. Even today, the U.K. government does not publish an official reporter, but its courts have promulgated rules stating that the ICLR reporters should be cited whenever possible. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a country in western Europe, and a member of the European Union. ...

United States

In the United States, a similarly chaotic situation prevailed up to the mid-19th century, when the U.S. Supreme Court and many U.S. states began to publish official reporters. In the 1880s, the West Publishing Company started its National Reporter System, which is a family of regional reporters, each of which covers all federal and state opinions in a specific group of states. The NRS is now the dominant unofficial reporter system in the U.S., and some smaller states have discontinued their own official reporters and certified the appropriate West reporter as their official reporter. West and its rival, LexisNexis, both publish unofficial reporters of U.S. Supreme Court opinions. The Supreme Court Building, Washington, D.C. The Supreme Court Building, Washington, D.C., (large image) The Supreme Court of the United States, located in Washington, D.C., is the highest court (see supreme court) in the United States; that is, it has ultimate judicial authority within the United States... A U.S. state is any one of the 50 states (four of them use the term commonwealth) which have membership in the federation known as the United States of America (USA or U.S.). The separate state governments and the U.S. federal government share sovereignty, in that an... Westlaw is the fee-based online legal research offering from Thomson West, a major part of the Thomson Legal & Regulatory division of The Thomson Corporation. ... LexisNexis is a popular searchable archive of content from newspapers, magazines, legal documents and other printed sources. ... The Supreme Court Building, Washington, D.C. The Supreme Court Building, Washington, D.C., (large image) The Supreme Court of the United States, located in Washington, D.C., is the highest court (see supreme court) in the United States; that is, it has ultimate judicial authority within the United States...

Oddly, the U.S. Government does not publish an official reporter for the federal courts at the circuit and district levels. However, just as the U.K. government uses the ICLR reporters by default, the U.S. courts use the unofficial West federal reporters, which are the Federal Reporter (for circuits) and the Federal Supplement (for districts). West also publishes several unofficial state-specific reporters for large states like California. State nickname: The Golden State Other U.S. States Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger Official languages English Area 410,000 km² (3rd)  - Land 404,298 km²  - Water 20,047 km² (4. ...

Design and cultural references

Reporters usually come in the form of sturdy hardcover books with most of the design elements on the spine (the part that a lawyer would be most interested in when searching for a case). The volume number is usually printed in large type to make it easy to spot. Gold leaf is traditionally used on the spine for the name of the reporter and for some decorative lines and bars. Spine is a word with several meanings. ... Gold leaf is a sheet of real, nearly pure gold, worked into extremely thin sheets only a few micrometres thick. ...

In lawyer portraits and advertisements, the rows of books visible behind the lawyer are usually reporters. Self-portrait by Vincent Van Gogh A portrait is a painting, photograph, or other artistic representation of a person. ... Generally speaking, advertising is the paid promotion of goods, services, companies and ideas by an identified sponsor. ...