To find a case in a print reporter series or in a print citator, you must have a citation. The citation tells you where to find the case in the series.
A citation will also help you find the exact document quickly when searching a legal database like Westlaw or a free online legal research site.
South Western Reporter currently consists of 3 different series: South Western Reporter, South Western Reporter 2d, and South Western Reporter 3d. These are not series or editions in the sense of replacements but rather they keep building over time. Reporters are published in chronological order with the newest cases published in the latest volumes. When South Western reaches volume number 999, they simply start over at 1 with a new edition. The entire South Western Reporter is available full-text online in Westlaw.
Print Edition Location:
Legal Reference Collection
KFT 1257 .W478 (2D)
KFT 1257 .W4782 (3D)
PLEASE NOTE: The print series available in the Library is no longer being updated and is for Teaching Purposes Only. For the latest information, see Westlaw.
Opinions of the United States Supreme Court are published in three different reporter series: the government issued, official reporter, United States Reports, and two unofficial, commercial reporters: Supreme Court Reporter (owned by Thomson Reuters West) and United States Supreme Court Reports: Lawyer's Edition (owned by Lexis). When the same report appears in different reporter series, the citations for the case are called "parallel citations."
Opinions of the United States Courts of Appeals are published in West's Federal Reporter series, and opinions of the United States District Courts are published in West's Federal Supplement.
Specialized courts often have their own reporter series.
Examples of specialized reporters include West's Bankruptcy Reporter for bankruptcy courts and West's Military Justice Reporter for cases from U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces and military courts of criminal appeals.
The official reporter of the United States Tax Courts, published by the U.S. government, is the Reports of the U.S. Tax Court (T.C). Another source for federal tax cases is U.S. Tax Cases, published by CCH, which includes federal tax cases from the district and appellate courts.
Full, annotated versions of state and federal cases can be found on Westlaw.
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Negative Treatment = Lists all cases that have had a negative impact on the ruling of the case that you are viewing. Negative Treatment is also indicated by Flags in front of the case name.
Red flag = The case is no longer good for at least one point of law. It was reversed or overruled
Yellow flag = The case has some negative treatment but it has not been reversed or overruled
History = Displays the case's history as it moved through the courts
Citing References = Provides a list of all cases or other documents that have cited your case since it was published
Most court opinions go unpublished, with only about 20% of U.S. Court of Appeals case opinions and a minute percentage of U.S. district court opinions published. Unpublished opinions are those not accepted for publication in the reporter series, because they are either too recent or the publishers felt they were not of enough significance.
While not in reporters, these opinions may still appear in legal databases like Lexis and Westlaw or be accessible on courts' websites or through docket services.
For more information, see Spencer L. Simons, Texas Legal Research 61-64 (Revised ed. 2012).