U.S. Constitution: Subject Guide: Constitutional Law Websites

The Supreme Court’s opinion goes through several printed drafts before the final opinion is published in the U.S. Reports.  In order of printing: 

(1) “Bench” Opinion – Directly from the court, it is printed immediately following the decision. It contains information on the opinion (i.e. who concurred or dissented); and a summary of the opinion (a.k.a. syllabus).

(2) Slip Opinion – printed late on the day of the bench opinion, includes all the information of the bench opinion plus initial corrections (i.e. grammar). Citation does not yet include the United States Reports page number.  

(3) Preliminary Prints - Published in paperback (2 volumes of the preliminary prints will make up one bound volume of the final U.S. Reports) the Slip Opinions are pulled together and final information is inserted (i.e. lawyers for the case).   

(4) U.S. Reports is the official record of the Supreme Court. Three or four volumes are produced each term of the Court, which is October to October.  In addition to final drafts of a decision the U.S. Reports volume may include: announcements of Justices’ investitures and retirements; memorials proceedings for deceased Justices; a table of cases; a topical index; Rules; a table summarizing case activity for three court terms, etc.

How to read a legal citation:

1. Case name. Cases are named according to the parties involved. When there are two parties, the first name is the petitioner, or the party filing the lawsuit against the second party, the respondent.
2. Volume of the report series in which the full decision is officially documented.
3. Name of the report series in which the decision is documented: “U.S.” stands for the U.S. Report, which is printed by the Supreme Court. Sometimes a case name refers to an independently published series, such as “S. Ct.,”which refers to the Supreme Court Reporter published by West Publishing.
4. Page number in the referenced volume on which the decision begins
5. Year the opinion was released.

The decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court are collected in United States Reports (abbreviated as: U.S. in legal citations).

Additional information can be found on the following websites:

The United States Supreme Court is governed by sets of rules that specify how procedures in the court are processed and handled.

"The Supreme Court issues one or more written opinions in every case it decides, to explain the legal grounds and reasoning of the ruling. An opinion joined by at least a majority of the justices is called the 'opinion of the Court' and its holding and reasoning are regarded as precedent ["a decided case used by a court as a basis for ruling on an identical or similar case" (Kenneth Jost. The Supreme Court A to Z. (Thousand Oaks: CQ Press, 2012), 372). Justices who disagree with the majority ruling or reasoning may issue separate opinions to explain their views of how the case should have been decided. If no opinion commands a majority of the justices, the judgment of the Court is announced in the opinion joined by the largest number of justices, known as a plurality opinion" (Kenneth Jost. The Supreme Court A to Z. (Thousand Oaks: CQ Press, 2012), 345-346).

Note: Official Supreme Court case law is found only in the print version of the United States Reports. Information on the following websites is provided for general informational purposes only.

"A brief is the document in which an attorney sets out the facts and legal arguments in support of the position of the attorney's client or clients in the case. Briefs in Supreme Court cases must be filed with the Court weeks before the case is formally argued. The form and organization of the brief are covered by the rules of the Supreme Court" (Kenneth Jost, The Supreme Court A to Z. (Thousand Oaks: CQ Press, 2012), 60). For more information, check out the following Guide on Briefs from the Cornell University Law Library.