REPORTS, in law are printed collections of decisions rendered by courts of high jurisdiction accompanied by the main points in the arguments of the opposing counsel, the reasons which have governed the judges in coming to the decisions set forth, and where, as in many cases, there is a dissenting or minority opinion, this may also be given. The English common law differs from other systems in that it is impossible to arrange its principles in codified form. Precedents are necessarily of great value, not as positively and irrevocably establishing the law, but as expounding the application of its principles to the points in decision. Decisions recorded in the reports may be, and often are, overruled; but they are generally considered binding on inferior courts, and are never overthrown without strong reason. It must not be supposed that all reports are of the same value or authority. They differ not only as to the grade or character of the court whose decisions they record, but also as to the ability and discrimination of the writer and his position as being or not being an official representative of the court. The early English reports, in particular, vary greatly as to their value and authority; many of the decisions previous to the revolution, and thus forming part of our own common law, are so reported as to render them absolutely worthless. It would be impossible to attempt here any comparison of the different reports, which number hundreds. The matter is ably discussed in a work by John W.
Wallace, for many years reporter of the U. S. supreme court, entitled The Reporters, Chronologically Arranged, with Occasional Remarks on their Respective Merits. In Bouvier's Law Dictionary will be found a list of nearly 1000 reports, with many valua• ble historical and critical notes prepared by Theodore W. Dwight, LL.D. In the United States the highest reports are those of the supreme court, yet they are not binding upon state courts except in matters of constitutional law. Al,' the states have reports of the of the supreme court, or court of lust resort. These have no binding authority in other states, but are regarded with respect varying somewhat with time repu tation of the judges of the court whose decisions are reported and the skill of the reporter. It has for many years been the practice of judges to write their opinions and give them to the reporters in that•form. To the report of each case is prefixed a short summary of the facts and of the opinions held in the matter by the court. Reporters are now usually appointed by the court itself. So great is the number of reports that the use of digests is a necessity. There are several collections of leading cases, both Amer- can and English, such as Smith's Leading Cases; Wallace's The Leading _American Cases; and White and Tudor's Leading Cases in Equity.