Reporter of Decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States: Difference between revisions

Reporter of Decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States
Reporter of Decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States
	Seal of the Supreme Court
	Incumbent; Rebecca Anne Womeldorf; since January 13, 2021
	Supreme Court of the United States
Style	Reporter
Status	Editor-in-chief; Publisher
Reports to	Supreme Court of the United States; Chief Justice of the United States
Seat	Supreme Court Building, Washington, D.C.
Appointer	The Supreme Court
Term length	No fixed term
Constituting instrument	28 U.S.C. § 673
Formation	1817
First holder	Alexander J. Dallas
Website	www.supremecourt.gov

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The reporter of decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States is the official charged with editing and publishing the opinions of the Supreme Court of the United States, both when announced and when they are published in permanent bound volumes of the United States Reports. The reporter is responsible for only the contents of the United States Reports issued by the Government Publishing Office, first in preliminary prints and later in the final bound volumes.^[1] The reporter is not responsible for the editorial content of unofficial reports of the court's decisions, such as the privately published Supreme Court Reporter and Lawyers' Edition.

By federal statute, the reporter is appointed by the Supreme Court.^[2] The office is currently held by Rebecca Anne Womeldorf.^[3]

History[edit]

The first two reporters acted in an unofficial capacity. Only in 1817 did Congress create the statutory office of reporter, with a $1,000 a year salary. The early reporters profited from selling the printed volumes of the reports of decisions. In 1874, Congress for the first time appropriated funds to publish the volumes of the court's opinions; from that time the report was known as the United States Reports and numbering began as if the first volume by the first reporter, Alexander J. Dallas, was number one. The Government Printing Office took over publication of the United States Reports in 1922. The title of court's reporter was changed to "Reporter of Decisions" in 1953, to clarify the duties of the office.^[4]

List of reporters[edit]

The 16 reporters of decisions are listed here with their tenures and the volumes of the United States Reports they edited. Through volume 90, the volumes were also known by the name of the reporter and the numbers of those "nominative reports" are listed after the United States Reports numbers.

Name		Tenure	Volumes edited
1	Alexander J. Dallas	1790–1800	1–4 (1–4 Dallas)
2	William Cranch	1801–1815	5–13 (1–9 Cranch)
3	Henry Wheaton	1816–1827	14–25 (1–12 Wheat.)
4	Richard Peters	1828–1842	26–41 (1–16 Pet.)
5	Benjamin Chew Howard	1843–1860	42–65 (1–24 How.)
6	Jeremiah S. Black	1861–1862	66–67 (1–2 Black)
7	John William Wallace	1863–1874	68–90 (1–23 Wall.)
8	William Tod Otto	1875–1883	91–107
9	J. C. Bancroft Davis	1883–1902	108–186
10	Charles Henry Butler	1902–1916	187–241
11	Ernest Knaebel	1916–1944	242–321
–	Office vacant	1944–1946	322–325^[a]
12	Walter Wyatt	1946–1963	326–375
13	Henry Putzel Jr.	1964–1979	376–444
14	Henry Curtis Lind	1979–1987	445–479
15	Frank D. Wagner	1987 – September 30, 2010^[5]	480–561
16	Christine Luchok Fallon	March 3, 2011^[5] – September 25, 2020	562–591
17	Rebecca Anne Womeldorf	January 13, 2021^[6] – present	592–
Source:^[7]

^ Volumes 322–325 (1944–1946) were retroactively edited by Walter Wyatt after he became Reporter of Decisions in 1946.

References[edit]

^ See: 28 U.S.C. § 673c
^ See: 3 Stat. 376
^ Arberg, Kathleen (28 December 2020). "Rebecca Anne Womeldorf has been named the new Reporter of Decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States". Washington, D.C.: Supreme Court of the United States. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
^ "Court Officers and Staff: Reporter of Decisions". fjc.gov. Washington, D.C.: Federal Judicial Center. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
^ ^a ^b "Christine L. Fallon Named Reporter of Decisions of the Supreme Court of the U.S." (Press release). Supreme Court of the United States. March 7, 2020. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
^ "Rebecca Womeldorf Named Reporter of Decisions of the Supreme Court of the U.S." (Press release). Supreme Court of the United States. December 28, 2020. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
^ Joyce, Craig (9 August 2005). "Reporters of Decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States". Public Law and Legal Theory Series 2005-A-11. Houston, Texas: University of Houston Law Center. SSRN 800884. Retrieved February 23, 2020. (PDF)

[5] Volumes 322–325 (1944–1946) were retroactively edited by Walter Wyatt after he became Reporter of Decisions in 1946.

[1] See: 28 U.S.C. § 673c

[2] See: 3 Stat. 376

[3] Arberg, Kathleen (28 December 2020). "Rebecca Anne Womeldorf has been named the new Reporter of Decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States". Washington, D.C.: Supreme Court of the United States. Retrieved 24 June 2022.

[4] "Court Officers and Staff: Reporter of Decisions". fjc.gov. Washington, D.C.: Federal Judicial Center. Retrieved February 23, 2020.

[wagnerfallontransition-6] "Christine L. Fallon Named Reporter of Decisions of the Supreme Court of the U.S." (Press release). Supreme Court of the United States. March 7, 2020. Retrieved August 11, 2020.

[fallonwomeldorftransition-7] "Rebecca Womeldorf Named Reporter of Decisions of the Supreme Court of the U.S." (Press release). Supreme Court of the United States. December 28, 2020. Retrieved December 28, 2020.

[8] Joyce, Craig (9 August 2005). "Reporters of Decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States". Public Law and Legal Theory Series 2005-A-11. Houston, Texas: University of Houston Law Center. SSRN 800884. Retrieved February 23, 2020. (PDF)

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[3]

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[7]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{Short description|none}}
 {{Infobox official post
 | post                    = Reporter of Decisions
@@ Line 6: / Line 7: @@
 | insigniacaption         = Seal of the Supreme Court
 | image                   =
-| incumbent               = [[Christine Luchok Fallon]]
+| incumbent               = [[Rebecca Anne Womeldorf]]
-| incumbentsince          = March 3, 2011
+| incumbentsince          = January 13, 2021
 | department              = [[Supreme Court of the United States]]
 | style                   = Reporter
@@ Line 22: / Line 23: @@
 | website                 = {{url|https://www.supremecourt.gov|www.supremecourt.gov}}
 }}
-The '''Reporter of Decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States''' is the official charged with editing and publishing the opinions of the [[Supreme Court of the United States]], both when announced and when they are published in permanent bound volumes of the ''[[United States Reports]].'' The reporter is responsible for only the contents of the ''United States Reports'' issued by the [[United States Government Publishing Office|Government Printing Office]], first in preliminary prints and later in the final bound volumes.<ref>''See'': {{USC|28|673c}}</ref> The reporter is not responsible for the editorial content of unofficial reports of the Court's decisions, such as the privately published ''[[Supreme Court Reporter]]'' and ''[[Lawyers' Edition]]''.
+The '''reporter of decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States''' is the official charged with editing and publishing the opinions of the [[Supreme Court of the United States]], both when announced and when they are published in permanent bound volumes of the ''[[United States Reports]].'' The reporter is responsible for only the contents of the ''United States Reports'' issued by the [[United States Government Publishing Office|Government Publishing Office]], first in preliminary prints and later in the final bound volumes.<ref>''See'': {{USC|28|673c}}</ref> The reporter is not responsible for the editorial content of unofficial reports of the court's decisions, such as the privately published ''[[Supreme Court Reporter]]'' and ''[[Lawyers' Edition]]''.
-By [[Act of Congress|federal statute]], the reporter is appointed by the Supreme Court.<ref>''See'': {{USStat|3|376}}</ref> The current reporter is [[Christine Luchok Fallon]]. She began her service in 2011 and is the first woman to hold the office.<ref>{{cite web| last=Arberg| first=Kathleen| title=Christine L. Fallon Named Reporter of Decisions of the Supreme Court of the U.S.| url=https://www.supremecourt.gov/publicinfo/press/pressreleases/pr_03-07-11| date=March 7, 2011| publisher=Supreme Court of the United States| location=Washington, D.C.| accessdate=February 23, 2020}}</ref> In July 2020, the Court announced that Fallon will retire on September 25, 2020;<ref>{{cite press release| title=Reporter of Decisions Christine Luchok Fallon Retirement Announcement| url=https://www.supremecourt.gov/publicinfo/press/pressreleases/pr_07-07-20b| publisher=Supreme Court of the United States| date=July 7, 2020| accessdate=August 11, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| title=First Women To Hold Top Staff Jobs At Supreme Court Are Retiring| url=https://www.npr.org/2020/07/14/891202389/first-women-to-hold-top-staff-jobs-at-supreme-court-are-retiring| last=Totenberg| first=Nina| website=NPR| date=July 14, 2020| accessdate=August 11, 2020}}</ref> her successor has not yet been announced.
+By [[Act of Congress|federal statute]], the reporter is appointed by the Supreme Court.<ref>''See'': {{USStat|3|376}}</ref> The office is currently held by [[Rebecca Anne Womeldorf]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Arberg |first=Kathleen |date=28 December 2020 |title=Rebecca Anne Womeldorf has been named the new Reporter of Decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States |url=https://www.supremecourt.gov/publicinfo/press/pressreleases/pr_12-28-20 |access-date=24 June 2022 |publisher=Supreme Court of the United States |location=Washington, D.C.}}</ref>
 ==History==
-The first two reporters acted in an unofficial capacity. Only in 1817 did [[United States Congress|Congress]] create the statutory office of reporter, with a $1,000 a year salary. The early reporters profited from selling the printed volumes of the reports of decisions. In 1874, Congress for the first time appropriated funds to publish the volumes of the court's opinions; from that time the report was known as the ''[[United States Reports]]'' and numbering began as if the first volume by the first reporter, [[Alexander J. Dallas (statesman)|Alexander J. Dallas]], was number one. The [[United States Government Publishing Office|Government Printing Office]] took over publication of the ''United States Reports'' in 1922. The title of Court's reporter was changed to "Reporter of Decisions" in 1953, to clarify the duties of the office.<ref>{{cite web| title=Court Officers and Staff: Reporter of Decisions| url=https://www.fjc.gov/history/administration/court-officers-and-staff-reporter-decisions| website=fjc.gov| publisher=[[Federal Judicial Center]]| location=Washington, D.C.| accessdate=February 23, 2020}}</ref>
+The first two reporters acted in an unofficial capacity. Only in 1817 did [[United States Congress|Congress]] create the statutory office of reporter, with a $1,000 a year salary. The early reporters profited from selling the printed volumes of the reports of decisions. In 1874, Congress for the first time appropriated funds to publish the volumes of the court's opinions; from that time the report was known as the ''[[United States Reports]]'' and numbering began as if the first volume by the first reporter, [[Alexander J. Dallas (statesman)|Alexander J. Dallas]], was number one. The [[United States Government Publishing Office|Government Printing Office]] took over publication of the ''United States Reports'' in 1922. The title of court's reporter was changed to "Reporter of Decisions" in 1953, to clarify the duties of the office.<ref>{{cite web| title=Court Officers and Staff: Reporter of Decisions| url=https://www.fjc.gov/history/administration/court-officers-and-staff-reporter-decisions| website=fjc.gov| publisher=[[Federal Judicial Center]]| location=Washington, D.C.| access-date=February 23, 2020}}</ref>
 ==List of reporters==
-The 16 Reporters of Decisions are listed here with their tenures and the volumes of the ''United States Reports'' they edited. Through volume 90, the volumes were also known by the name of the reporter and the numbers of those "''nominative reports''" are listed after the ''United States Reports'' numbers.
+The 16 reporters of decisions are listed here with their tenures and the volumes of the ''United States Reports'' they edited. Through volume 90, the volumes were also known by the name of the reporter and the numbers of those "''nominative reports''" are listed after the ''United States Reports'' numbers.
 {| class="wikitable sortable"
 |-
-! colspan=2 | Name !! Tenure !! Volumes edited
+! colspan=3 | Name !! Tenure !! Volumes edited
 |-
-| data-sort-value="Dallas, Alexander J."|1 || [[Alexander J. Dallas (statesman)|Alexander J. Dallas]] || 1790 – 1800 || 1–4 (1–4 Dallas)
+| data-sort-value="Dallas, Alexander J."|1 ||[[File:Alexander James Dallas (1759–1817) 1873 26 lightened.jpeg|60px]] || [[Alexander J. Dallas (statesman)|Alexander J. Dallas]] || 1790–1800 || 1–4 (1–4 Dallas)
 |-
-| data-sort-value="Cranch, William"|2 || [[William Cranch]] || 1801 – 1815 || 5–13 (1–9 Cranch)
+| data-sort-value="Cranch, William"|2 ||[[File:William Cranch portrait.jpg|60px]] || [[William Cranch]] || 1801–1815 || 5–13 (1–9 Cranch)
 |-
-| data-sort-value="Wheaton, Henry"|3 || [[Henry Wheaton]] || 1816 – 1827 || 14–25 (1–12 Wheat.)
+| data-sort-value="Wheaton, Henry"|3 ||[[File:Henry Wheaton by George Peter Alexander Healy.png|60px]] || [[Henry Wheaton]] || 1816–1827 || 14–25 (1–12 Wheat.)
 |-
-| data-sort-value="Peters, Richard"|4 || [[Richard Peters (reporter)|Richard Peters]] || 1828 – 1842 || 26–41 (1–16 Pet.)
+| data-sort-value="Peters, Richard"|4 ||[[File:Eastman Johnson, Richard Peters, c. 1842, NGA 180965 (cropped).jpg|60px]] || [[Richard Peters (reporter)|Richard Peters]] || 1828–1842 || 26–41 (1–16 Pet.)
 |-
-| data-sort-value="Howard, Benjamin Chew"|5 || [[Benjamin Chew Howard]] || 1843 – 1860 || 42–65 (1–24 How.)
+| data-sort-value="Howard, Benjamin Chew"|5 ||[[File:Benjamin Chew Howard 1791-1872.jpg|60px]] || [[Benjamin Chew Howard]] || 1843–1860 || 42–65 (1–24 How.)
 |-
-| data-sort-value="Black, Jeremiah S."|6 || [[Jeremiah S. Black]] || 1861 – 1862 || 66–67 (1–2 Black)
+| data-sort-value="Black, Jeremiah S."|6 ||[[File:Judge Jeremiah Black.jpg|60px]] || [[Jeremiah S. Black]] || 1861–1862 || 66–67 (1–2 Black)
 |-
-| data-sort-value="Wallace, John William"|7 || [[John William Wallace]] || 1863 – 1874 || 68–90 (1–23 Wall.)
+| data-sort-value="Wallace, John William"|7 ||[[File:John William Wallace - John Neagle (page 25 crop).jpg|60px]] || [[John William Wallace]] || 1863–1874 || 68–90 (1–23 Wall.)
 |-
-| data-sort-value="Otto, William Tod"|8 || [[William Tod Otto]] || 1875 – 1883 || 91–107
+| data-sort-value="Otto, William Tod"|8 ||[[File:WilliamTodOtto.jpg|60px]] || [[William Tod Otto]] || 1875–1883 || 91–107
 |-
-| data-sort-value="Davis, J. C. Bancroft"|9 || [[Bancroft Davis|J. C. Bancroft Davis]] || 1883 – 1902 || 108–186
+| data-sort-value="Davis, J. C. Bancroft"|9 ||[[File:J. C. Bancroft Davis.jpg|60px]] || [[Bancroft Davis|J. C. Bancroft Davis]] || 1883–1902 || 108–186
 |-
-| data-sort-value="Butler, Charles Henry"|10 || [[Charles Henry Butler]] || 1902 – 1916 || 187–241
+| data-sort-value="Butler, Charles Henry"|10 ||[[File:BUTLER, CHARLES HENRY LCCN2016860312.jpg|60px]] || [[Charles Henry Butler]] || 1902–1916 || 187–241
 |-
-| data-sort-value="Knaebel, Ernest"|11 || [[Ernest Knaebel]] || 1916 – 1944 || 242–321
+| data-sort-value="Knaebel, Ernest"|11 || || [[Ernest Knaebel]] || 1916–1944 || 242–321
 |-bgcolor=#eeebe6
-| data-sort-value="Z, vacant"|{{center|–}} || ''Office vacant'' || 1944 – 1946 || 322–325{{efn|Volumes 322–325 (1944-1946) were retroactively edited by Walter Wyatt after he became Reporter of Decisions in 1946.}}
+| data-sort-value="Z, vacant"|{{center|–}} || || ''Office vacant'' || 1944–1946 || 322–325{{efn|Volumes 322–325 (1944–1946) were retroactively edited by Walter Wyatt after he became Reporter of Decisions in 1946.}}
 |-
-| data-sort-value="Wyatt, Walter"|12 || [[Walter Wyatt]] || 1946 – 1963 || 326–375
+| data-sort-value="Wyatt, Walter"|12 || || [[Walter Wyatt]] || 1946–1963 || 326–375
 |-
-| data-sort-value="Putzel Jr., Henry"|13 || [[Henry Putzel Jr.]] || 1964 – 1979 || 376–444
+| data-sort-value="Putzel Jr., Henry"|13 ||[[File:Henry Putzel Jr., Reporter of the Decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court, half-length portrait, facing front, seated at a desk in his office, surrounded by law books, Washington, D.C.tif|60px]] || [[Henry Putzel Jr.]] || 1964–1979 || 376–444
 |-
-| data-sort-value="Lind, Henry Curtis"|14 || [[Henry Curtis Lind]] || 1979 – 1987 || 445–479
+| data-sort-value="Lind, Henry Curtis"|14 || || [[Henry Curtis Lind]] || 1979–1987 || 445–479
 |-
-| data-sort-value="Wagner, Frank D."|15 || [[Frank D. Wagner]] || 1987 – September 30, 2010<ref name="wagnerfallontransition">{{cite press release| title= 	Christine L. Fallon Named Reporter of Decisions of the Supreme Court of the U.S.| url=https://www.supremecourt.gov/publicinfo/press/pressreleases/pr_03-07-11| publisher=Supreme Court of the United States| date=March 7, 2020| accessdate=August 11, 2020}}</ref> || 480–561
+| data-sort-value="Wagner, Frank D."|15 || || [[Frank D. Wagner (lawyer)|Frank D. Wagner]] || 1987 –<br/> September 30, 2010<ref name="wagnerfallontransition">{{cite press release| title= 	Christine L. Fallon Named Reporter of Decisions of the Supreme Court of the U.S.| url=https://www.supremecourt.gov/publicinfo/press/pressreleases/pr_03-07-11| publisher=Supreme Court of the United States| date=March 7, 2020| access-date=August 11, 2020}}</ref> || 480–561
 |-
-| data-sort-value="Fallon, Christine Luchok"|16 || [[Christine Luchok Fallon]] || March 3, 2011<ref name="wagnerfallontransition"/> – September 25, 2020 || 562–
+| data-sort-value="Fallon, Christine Luchok"|16 ||[[File:Christine Luchok Fallon.jpg|60px]] || [[Christine Luchok Fallon]] || March 3, 2011<ref name="wagnerfallontransition"/> –<br/> September 25, 2020 || 562–591
 |-
+| data-sort-value="Womeldorf, Rebecca Anne"|17 || || [[Rebecca Anne Womeldorf]] || January 13, 2021<ref name="fallonwomeldorftransition">{{cite press release| title= Rebecca Womeldorf Named Reporter of Decisions of the Supreme Court of the U.S.| url=https://www.supremecourt.gov/publicinfo/press/pressreleases/pr_12-28-20| publisher=Supreme Court of the United States| date=December 28, 2020| access-date=December 28, 2020}}</ref> –<br/> present || 592–
-! colspan=4 | Source:<ref>{{cite journal| last=Joyce| first=Craig| title=Reporters of Decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States| publisher=University of Houston Law Center| location=Houston, Texas| series=Public Law and Legal Theory Series 2005-A-11| url=https://poseidon01.ssrn.com/delivery.php?ID=476013072022120123103078098091099095028032023043029030023008005088117108065127016070033000021120038125121110099020092003082027054048045092024010089070085020079046034046087074102101003104065065088103069006072072093027006104025087099007126102107094&EXT=pdfssrn=800884| accessdate=February 23, 2020| ssrn=800884}}</ref>
+|-
+! colspan=5 | Source:<ref>{{cite web| last=Joyce| first=Craig| title=Reporters of Decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States| publisher=University of Houston Law Center| location=Houston, Texas| series=Public Law and Legal Theory Series 2005-A-11| date=9 August 2005| url=https://poseidon01.ssrn.com/delivery.php?ID=476013072022120123103078098091099095028032023043029030023008005088117108065127016070033000021120038125121110099020092003082027054048045092024010089070085020079046034046087074102101003104065065088103069006072072093027006104025087099007126102107094&EXT=pdfssrn=800884| access-date=February 23, 2020| ssrn=800884}} ([https://deliverypdf.ssrn.com/delivery.php?ID=670117070070071017066121029120080120031047031042055074081064125024121075069000088124049107118055103025009105119066110124081029032047054020092084088100066084066051058021092089002100096088084087101031121027105000084002098098022089073016107085117113&EXT=pdf&INDEX=TRUE PDF])</ref>
 |}
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Latest revision as of 14:19, 8 May 2024

History[edit]

List of reporters[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]