FEDERAL REPORTER
A legal reference source primarily covering pub-
lished decisions of federal appellate courts.
The decisions are published in paperback
Federal Reporter pamphlets (ADVANCE SHEETS)
shortly after they are handed down and then are
issued in a hardbound volume when enough
cases have accumulated to fill a book. The hard-
bound volumes are consecutively numbered as
they are published. After 300 volumes had been
issued, a second series was started in 1924. Fol-
lowing the release of 999 volumes in the second
series, the third series started in 1993.
A case may be found in the Federal Reporter
in the volume whose number is that given first
in the citation for the case. If the case was
decided after 1924, the citation will refer to the
second series of the Federal Reporter. For exam-
ple, the case of O’Connor v. Lee-Hy Paving Co.,
decided by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sec-
ond Circuit in 1978, is cited as 579 F.2d 194. It
can be located on page 194 of volume 579 in the
Federal Reporter, second series.
The Federal Reporter covers decisions by (1)
the circuit court of appeals, the district courts,
the former U.S. Court of Customs and Patent
Appeals, the former U.S. Court of Claims, and
352 FEDERAL REGULATION
WEST’S ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 2nd Editionthe Court of Appeals of the District of Colum-
bia for the years from 1880 to 1932; (2) the U.S.
COURTS OF APPEALS and the former U.S. Court
of Customs and Patent Appeals for the years
beginning with 1932; (3) the U.S. Emergency
