HISTORY OF LAW REPORTING
Above:
Albany from across the Hudson River circa early 1800s.
New York State Museum & Archives
CONTINUING ADAPTATION TO CHANGE
Throughout its first 200 years, official law reporting in New York has stood the test of time, consistently demonstrating its adaptability to changes in the court system and publishing technology. In the infancy of official reporting, William Johnson, upon noting that New Yorkers must look to our own courts for the precedents that have the binding force of authority and law, wondered "how are their decisions to be known?" Two centuries later, the answer resounds from library shelves and computer drives throughout the land: their decisions shall be known through the Official Reports of the courts of the State of New York.
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