4.3 Case Law

• Library: A Guide to Legal Research in Virginia (Virginia CLE) (2017 Ed.)

4.3 CASE LAW

4.301 In General. The Virginia judicial system has three levels of courts that produce written opinions: the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals, and the circuit courts. A judicial opinion is a statement prepared by the court setting out a reasoned explanation for the court's decision in a particular case. In a common law system, each decision becomes part of the body of law

[Page 52]

upon which future decisions are based. This is known as the doctrine of stare decisis. ⁹ Under this system, the decisions of higher appellate courts must be followed by lower courts when the same point of law is addressed. The decisions of trial courts have little precedential value.

A judicial opinion is released in several stages of completeness. A "slip" opinion may be issued soon after the decision is handed down. Slip opinions are often not typeset or fully formatted and are subject to revision. Not all opinions are published beyond slip opinion form. The court has discretion in determining whether an opinion will be published or unpublished. Opinions that the court deems to have general precedential value are next compiled into paperback "advance sheets." Advance sheets are the first phase of publication for law reports or reporters.

A reporter is a series of books containing compilations of case law. Reporters may be official or unofficial. A reporter published under government authority is known as an official reporter. The text of the law is identical in both types of reports. Reporters published by commercial publishers often include research aids and other editorial enhancements.

In Virginia, decisions of the Supreme Court of Virginia are officially published in...