Federal Supplement: Difference between revisions
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{{short description|American case law reporter that compiles opinions of the U.S. District Courts}} |
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{{italic title}} |
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{{Multiple issues| |
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| ⚫ | The '''''Federal Supplement''''' is a [[case law]] [[reporter (law)|reporter]] published by [[West Publishing]] in the [[United States]] that includes select [[court decision|opinions]] of the [[United States district courts]], and is part of the [[National Reporter System]]. |
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{{more footnotes|date=November 2018}} |
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{{one source|date=November 2018}} |
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{{original research|date=November 2018}} |
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}} |
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{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2024}} {{Use American English|date=January 2024}} |
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[[File:Federal Supplement.jpg|thumb|right|The Federal Supplement]] |
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| ⚫ | The '''''Federal Supplement''''' ({{ISSN|1047-7306}}) is a [[case law]] [[reporter (law)|reporter]] published by [[West Publishing]] in the [[United States]] that includes select [[court decision|opinions]] of the [[United States district courts]] since 1932, and is part of the [[National Reporter System]]. Although the ''Federal Supplement'' is an unofficial reporter and West is a private company that does not have a legal monopoly over the court opinions it publishes, it has so dominated the industry in the U.S. that legal professionals uniformly [[case citation|cite]] the ''Federal Supplement'' for included decisions.<ref name="OlsonPage185">{{cite book |last1=Olson |first1=Kent C. |title=Legal Information How to Find It, How to Use it |date=1999 |publisher=Oryx Press |location=Phoenix, Arizona |isbn=9780897749633 |page=185 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BP5C6os40ToC&pg=PA185}}</ref> Approximately 40 new volumes are published per year.<ref name="OlsonPage185" /> |
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==Distinctions== |
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Before 1932, federal district court cases were published in the ''[[Federal Reporter]]'', which now publishes only case law from the [[United States Courts of Appeals]] and the [[United States Court of Federal Claims]]; prior series had varying scopes that covered opinions of other federal courts as well. The ''[[United States Reports]]'' are the official law reports of the rulings, orders, case tables, and other proceedings of the [[Supreme Court of the United States]]. |
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==Features and print format== |
==Features and print format== |
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The ''Federal Supplement'' organizes court opinions within each volume by the date of the decision, and includes the full official text of the court's opinion. West editors add headnotes that summarize key principles of law in the cases, and Key Numbers that classify the decisions by topic within the [[West American Digest System]]. |
The ''Federal Supplement'' organizes court opinions within each volume by the date of the decision, and includes the full official text of the court's opinion. West editors add headnotes that summarize key principles of law in the cases, and Key Numbers that classify the decisions by topic within the [[West American Digest System]]. |
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Although opinions designated by the courts as "for publication" or "publish" are included in the ''Federal Supplement'', West editors also select certain opinions without such a designation for publication, as part of West's editorial process. Opinions explicitly designated "not for publication" will not be selected. |
Although opinions designated by the courts as "for publication" or "publish" are included in the ''Federal Supplement'', West editors also select certain opinions without such a designation for publication, as part of West's editorial process. Opinions explicitly designated "not for publication" will not be selected. |
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==Stare Decisis and Precedent== |
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Unlike the "published" opinions of the [[United States Courts of Appeals]]—which are included in the ''[[Federal Reporter]]'' series and have full [[precedent]]ial value, binding the lower courts in the relevant judicial circuit and, to a lesser degree, the issuing Court of Appeals—published district court opinions do not constitute binding precedent. They may, however, be viewed as more persuasive than unpublished opinions. |
Unlike the "published" opinions of the [[United States Courts of Appeals]]—which are included in the ''[[Federal Reporter]]'' series and have full [[precedent]]ial value, binding the lower courts in the relevant judicial circuit (vertical stare decisis) and, to a lesser degree, the issuing Court of Appeals (horizontal stare decisis)—published district court opinions do not constitute binding precedent. They may, however, be viewed as more persuasive than unpublished opinions. |
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==Series== |
==Series== |
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|Citation: '''F. Supp. 2d''' |
|Citation: '''F. Supp. 2d''' |
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|Published: |
|Published: 1998–2014 |
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|Volumes: |
|Volumes: 999 |
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|Courts covered: |
|Courts covered: |
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|Citation: '''F. Supp. 3d''' |
|Citation: '''F. Supp. 3d''' |
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|Published: 2014–present |
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|Volumes: 633 (As of August 2023) |
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|Courts covered: |
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* [[United States district courts]] |
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* [[United States Court of Federal Claims]] |
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* [[United States Court of International Trade]] |
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* [[Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation]] |
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As of late summer and early fall of 2014, district court opinions to be published in the ''Federal Supplement'' have received a "F. Supp. 3d" designation on Westlaw, signaling that the shift to the Third Series is imminent. |
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==Electronic sources== |
==Electronic sources== |
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The ''Federal Supplement'', including its supplementary material, is also available on [[CD-ROM]] compilations, and on West's online legal database, [[Westlaw]]. Because individual court cases are identified by |
The ''Federal Supplement'', including its supplementary material, is also available on [[CD-ROM]] compilations, and on West's online legal database, [[Westlaw]]. Because individual court cases are identified by case citations that consist of printed page and volume numbers, the electronic text of the opinions incorporates the page numbers of the printed volumes with "star pagination" formatting—the numbers are boldfaced within brackets and with asterisks prepended (i.e., '''[*4]''') to stand out from the rest of the text. |
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Though West has [[copyright]] over its original headnotes and |
Though West has [[copyright]] over its original [[headnotes]] and [[keynote]]s, the opinions themselves are [[public domain]] and accordingly may be found in other sources, chiefly [[LexisNexis#Lexis.com|Lexis]], Westlaw's competitor. Lexis also copies the star paginated ''Federal Supplement'' numbering in their text of the opinions to allow for proper citation, a practice that was the subject of an unsuccessful copyright lawsuit by West against the parent company of Lexis.<ref>See ''Matthew Bender & Co. v. West Publ. Co.'', 158 F.3d 693 ([[United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit|2d Cir.]] 1999).</ref> |
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==Notes== |
==Notes== |
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==External links== |
==External links== |
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*{{wikisource-inline}} |
*{{wikisource-inline}} |
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*[http://west.thomson.com/store/product.aspx?product_id=16008763 Official West Publishing site for the ''Federal Supplement, 2d''] |
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070312234740/http://west.thomson.com/store/product.aspx?product_id=16008763 Official West Publishing site for the ''Federal Supplement, 2d''] |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:National Reporter System]] |
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Latest revision as of 21:26, 10 January 2024
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The Federal Supplement (ISSN 1047-7306) is a case law reporter published by West Publishing in the United States that includes select opinions of the United States district courts since 1932, and is part of the National Reporter System. Although the Federal Supplement is an unofficial reporter and West is a private company that does not have a legal monopoly over the court opinions it publishes, it has so dominated the industry in the U.S. that legal professionals uniformly cite the Federal Supplement for included decisions.[1] Approximately 40 new volumes are published per year.[1]
Distinctions
[edit]Before 1932, federal district court cases were published in the Federal Reporter, which now publishes only case law from the United States Courts of Appeals and the United States Court of Federal Claims; prior series had varying scopes that covered opinions of other federal courts as well. The United States Reports are the official law reports of the rulings, orders, case tables, and other proceedings of the Supreme Court of the United States.
Features and print format
[edit]The Federal Supplement organizes court opinions within each volume by the date of the decision, and includes the full official text of the court's opinion. West editors add headnotes that summarize key principles of law in the cases, and Key Numbers that classify the decisions by topic within the West American Digest System.
Although opinions designated by the courts as "for publication" or "publish" are included in the Federal Supplement, West editors also select certain opinions without such a designation for publication, as part of West's editorial process. Opinions explicitly designated "not for publication" will not be selected.
Stare Decisis and Precedent
[edit]Unlike the "published" opinions of the United States Courts of Appeals—which are included in the Federal Reporter series and have full precedential value, binding the lower courts in the relevant judicial circuit (vertical stare decisis) and, to a lesser degree, the issuing Court of Appeals (horizontal stare decisis)—published district court opinions do not constitute binding precedent. They may, however, be viewed as more persuasive than unpublished opinions.
Series
[edit]Federal Supplement
[edit]| Citation: F. Supp. |
| Published: 1933–1998 |
| Volumes: 999 |
Courts covered:
|
Federal Supplement, Second Series
[edit]| Citation: F. Supp. 2d |
| Published: 1998–2014 |
| Volumes: 999 |
| Courts covered: |
Federal Supplement, Third Series
[edit]| Citation: F. Supp. 3d |
| Published: 2014–present |
| Volumes: 633 (As of August 2023) |
| Courts covered: |
Electronic sources
[edit]The Federal Supplement, including its supplementary material, is also available on CD-ROM compilations, and on West's online legal database, Westlaw. Because individual court cases are identified by case citations that consist of printed page and volume numbers, the electronic text of the opinions incorporates the page numbers of the printed volumes with "star pagination" formatting—the numbers are boldfaced within brackets and with asterisks prepended (i.e., [*4]) to stand out from the rest of the text.
Though West has copyright over its original headnotes and keynotes, the opinions themselves are public domain and accordingly may be found in other sources, chiefly Lexis, Westlaw's competitor. Lexis also copies the star paginated Federal Supplement numbering in their text of the opinions to allow for proper citation, a practice that was the subject of an unsuccessful copyright lawsuit by West against the parent company of Lexis.[2]
Notes
[edit]- ^ a b Olson, Kent C. (1999). Legal Information How to Find It, How to Use it. Phoenix, Arizona: Oryx Press. p. 185. ISBN 9780897749633.
- ^ See Matthew Bender & Co. v. West Publ. Co., 158 F.3d 693 (2d Cir. 1999).
External links
[edit]
Works related to Federal Supplement at Wikisource- Official West Publishing site for the Federal Supplement, 2d
