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Archiver > GENMTD > 2002-11 > 1036906137


From: "joan best" <>
Subject: [GM] Re: Searching for court cases by surname
Date: Sat, 9 Nov 2002 21:29:06 -0800
References: <200211081820.gA8IKAD00965@askin-17.linkpendium.com>


From: "Donna Hrynkiw" >

> On Wed. 06 Nov, 2002 3:51 PM, "joan best" wrote:
>
> >[...] I have just discovered a way to do a google search to find
> >cases with a specific surname in the case without getting a lot of
> >other stuff. [...]
> >
> >For instance, Washington state uses Wn and Washington's cases can
> >also be found in "P 2d" which is West's collection of western state
> >cases. [...]
>
> Joan, how would one (especially a non-lawyer) go about discovering
> the abbreviations for other states or regions?


RESPONSE: All appeallate state court cases are also found in the
regional reporters published by West Publishing. For a long time
West and the individual states were the only ones publishing the
reports. Because of this history, all cases have two references,
one a state reference, one a regional reference. A case can be
found with either reference. The regional cases are on line but
cost something to access. Some states have their reports on line
free. However, the state site will have the regional reference
also, so using the regional reference should fine the case. The
regions are:

[A] Atlantic Reporter 2d, from 1945 to date in the courts of
Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland, New
Hampshire, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

[SE] South Eastern Reporter includes state cases from Georgia, North
Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia

[NW] North Western Reporter includes opinions issued by state
appellate courts in Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, North
Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin

[P] Pacific Reporter 2d includes opinions issued by state appellate
courts in Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Montana,
Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming
from 1931 to present.

[SO] Southern Reporter 2d includes Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, and
Mississippi case law research with this West reporter

[SW] South Western Reporter 2d include Arkansas, Kentucky, Missouri,
Tennessee, and Texas

[NW] North Eastern Reporter 2d containing opinions issued by
Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, New York, and Ohio state courts
California use to be in Pacific but now has its own.

You would need to search for "NW 2d" + the surname you want to find,
for example. The earliest cases are just NW or P, however, it would
be harder to isolate legal cases form other uses of NW without the
"2d" Hope this helps.

Joan Best

"joan best" <>

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