Research Gets Organized, 1880s–1930s

Abstract

This chapter examines the creation of a better-organized world of legal research through the development and refinement of several legal research tools. The federal government made its first attempt at codification in 1873. At roughly the same time, West Publishing Company began producing a comprehensive collection of state and federal case reporters, which came to be known as the National Reporter System. West also applied the concept of case law digests to the National Reporter System, thus offering legal researchers a comprehensive collection of cases and tools that provided a consistent topical arrangement of case law. By listing every reported case that cited a given case and indicating how the subsequent treated the earlier, citators became a valuable research tool for attorneys. The era reached its climax of successful federal law codification with the publication in 1925 of the United States Code, using the organization developed for the federal government by West.