English nominative reports / hosted by HeinOnline.

Getzville, NY: William S. Hein & Co., Inc., 2024.

202212

Law reports, digests, etc. -- England -- Early works to 1800.

Law -- England -- Sources -- Early works to 1800.

Jurisprudence -- Recueils, répertoires, etc. -- Angleterre -- 18e siècle.

Jurisprudence -- Recueils, répertoires, etc. -- Angleterre -- 19e siècle.

About the English Nominatives: Before 1865, court reporting in England was decentralized and haphazard. Prior to 1865, court reporters could be any interested lawyer, judge, or layperson who took the time to observe the case, compile their notes, and privately publish them. These volumes would bear the reporter’s name, and therefore are known as nominate (or nominative) reports. The nominative reports cover the years 1535-1865, a substantial portion of English legal history. The first nominative reports were published in the 1500s. Edmund Plowden, an English legal scholar, was one of the first to formally publish a book of his reports in 1571. Plowden’s reports were unusual because they included all the details of the case, including the pleadings, reasonings, arguments, and decision. After 1650, printing restrictions were lifted, and law reports were more easily produced. They also started to be written in English rather than Law French. Combined with a lack of other legal literature at the time, nominative reports became very popular. More than one individual may have chosen to report a case, which resulted in different volumes covering the same case. Because court reporters were not appointed, the accuracy and reliability of their reports varied widely, and today one nominative reporter may be more sought after than another. Some reporters covered a particular court while others only reported on a particular judge’s tenure. Because of this patchwork coverage, many cases were under-reported or simply lost to history. Their publication was also not necessarily timely. Reports may have been published years after the cases were heard or after the reporter had died. Because multiple reporters could cover and publish reports on a case, and because reporters often released multiple editions of their reports, locating the correct nominative volume for a case can be a challenge. Most, but not all, of the nominative reports were later reprinted in the English Reports between 1900–1932. In 1865 the Incorporated Council of Law Reporting began publishing the Law Reports, where one reporter covered the major courts. With this standardization, the nominatives rapidly fell out of favor and were not produced after 1865. The Incorporated Council of Law Reporting continues to publish the Law Reports for England to this day. About the HeinOnline Collection: This collection aims to be the most comprehensive collection of English nominative reports in digital form, bringing together every edition published for each nominative. Within this collection is a chart that allows users to view reports by reporter, grouping all editions of a work for easy discoverability. Users can also view all editions by title. The chart also displays the title’s abbreviation, series, and time period for further context. This collection also includes more than 250 other nominative and law reports not included in the English Reports; other related works, including handbooks, yearbooks, and digests; and a curated list of relevant scholarly articles. - Database website.

HeinOnline English nominative reports

HeinOnline's English nominative reports

Nominative reports, English

1 online resource