Federal Appendix
Encyclopedia
The Federal Appendix is a case law
reporter published by West Publishing. It publishes judicial opinions of the United States courts of appeals
that have been not been selected for publication. Such "unpublished
" cases are ostensibly without value as precedent
. However, the Supreme Court made a change to the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure
in 2006. Now, Rule 32.1 says that federal circuit courts are not allowed to prohibit the citation of unpublished opinions issued on or after January 1, 2007.
Opinions of the Fifth
and Eleventh Circuits
are not included in the Federal Appendix, because those courts do not provide their "unpublished" opinions to any publisher. "Published" opinions of the U.S. courts of appeals are published in the Federal Reporter
.
The Federal Appendix organizes court opinions within each volume by the date of the decision, and includes the full 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
.
Over 350 hardbound volumes of the Federal Appendix have been issued since it began publication in 2001. It is cited to as Fed. Appx.
There is debate within the legal community about the desirability of designating certain judicial opinions as without precedential value.
Case law
In law, case law is the set of reported judicial decisions of selected appellate courts and other courts of first instance which make new interpretations of the law and, therefore, can be cited as precedents in a process known as stare decisis...
reporter published by West Publishing. It publishes judicial opinions of the United States courts of appeals
United States courts of appeals
The United States courts of appeals are the intermediate appellate courts of the United States federal court system...
that have been not been selected for publication. Such "unpublished
Non-publication
Non-publication of opinions, or Unpublished opinions, are those decisions of courts that are not available for citation as precedent because the judges making the opinion deem the case as having less precedential value....
" cases are ostensibly without value as precedent
Precedent
In common law legal systems, a precedent or authority is a principle or rule established in a legal case that a court or other judicial body may apply when deciding subsequent cases with similar issues or facts...
. However, the Supreme Court made a change to the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure
Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure
The Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure are a set of rules, promulgated by the Supreme Court of the United States on recommendation of an advisory committee, to govern procedures in cases in the United States Courts of Appeals....
in 2006. Now, Rule 32.1 says that federal circuit courts are not allowed to prohibit the citation of unpublished opinions issued on or after January 1, 2007.
Opinions of the Fifth
United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* Eastern District of Louisiana* Middle District of Louisiana...
and Eleventh Circuits
United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* Middle District of Alabama...
are not included in the Federal Appendix, because those courts do not provide their "unpublished" opinions to any publisher. "Published" opinions of the U.S. courts of appeals are published in the Federal Reporter
Federal Reporter
The Federal Reporter is a case law reporter in the United States that is published by West Publishing. It begins with cases decided in 1880. It was preceded by Federal Cases...
.
The Federal Appendix organizes court opinions within each volume by the date of the decision, and includes the full 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
West American Digest System
The West American Digest System is a system of identifying points of law from reported cases and organizing them by topic and key number. The system was developed by West Publishing to organize the entire body of American law...
.
Over 350 hardbound volumes of the Federal Appendix have been issued since it began publication in 2001. It is cited to as Fed. Appx.
There is debate within the legal community about the desirability of designating certain judicial opinions as without precedential value.