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Legal Research Centers of West Virginia |
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Understanding Case Law |
After the legislative branch of government makes the law, the judicial branch must interpret and define the law. Case law is the law as interpreted by a judge, or how that law has been enforced or used in a legal matter. A researcher needs to find examples of how a particular law has been used or interpreted by a judge after the legislature made it a law. It is helpful to know the circumstances that led to the creation of a law and how the law is applied in a variety of situations.
The word "case" is often used in place of "opinion" or "decision." It is the written outcome of a legal dispute, written by a judge or panel of judges. It is not a jury verdict. Juries decide facts; judges decide law. Cases come from the courts. A court system generally consists of (1) magistrate courts, (2) circuit (trial) courts, (3) family courts, (4) court of appeals, often called the "Supreme Court." There are also federal courts that hear cases in special areas of law such as bankruptcy, tax, etc.
On the state level, reported or published opinions generally come from the court of highest authority, the Supreme Court, not from the trial or circuit courts. On the federal level, some trial court cases are reported. In a jury trial, there is nothing to "report" except a verdict.
The full text of published opinions is printed in a set of books known as reporters. Only those opinions that the court feels have legal authority or lasting value are published. Judges use these published cases to make decisions on later cases involving similar facts or issues. When a court first releases an opinion, it is usually published as a single case in a pamphlet known as a "slip opinion." Multiple opinions are collected and published in a soft-cover book called an "advance sheet." Later, the advance sheets are replaced by a bound volume known as a "report" or "reporter." The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia decisions are published first in the South Eastern 2d Advance Sheet and later in the South Eastern 2d Reporter and the West Virginia Reports hardbound volumes.
If you are researching a law made by the West Virginia Legislature, found in the West Virginia Code, you will need to look at West Virginia Supreme Court cases. The West Virginia Reports is the set of books you will look in to find cases supporting your legal matter.
If you are researching a federal law made by the United States Legislature, found in the United States Code, you will need to look at cases decided by the United States Supreme Court. The official reporter for the U. S. Supreme Court is the United States Reports.
If you would like to see how other states have decided law made in the United States legislature, you can look in a regional reporter such as the South Eastern 2d Reporter.