cases
A case is a published court opinion. West is the major reporter of case law, although there are a few exceptions. The Reporter Series is the means by which West Publishing Company publishes cases from different regions of the country, in addition to the federal cases found in the Federal Reporter (1st, 2d, and 3d series), the Federal Supplement (1st and 2d series), and the Supreme Court Reporter.
Lawyer's Cooperative Publishing Company also publishes cases, but only the U.S. Supreme Court Reports, Lawyer's Edition (1st and 2d series).
All of the above mentioned publications are unofficial publications, because they are published by private publishers instead of the government. Many states also publish their own publications containing opinions from the courts within those states. For example, the Nevada Reports are published by the state of Nevada, and are therefore an official publication. Some states have a separate publication for the appellate court opinions within their state. For instance, Michigan has the Michigan Reports for cases from it’s highest court, and the Michigan Appellate Reports from the Michigan Court of Appeals. Cases are law, and are therefore primary authority.
