New York Official Reports: Selection of Opinions for Publication in the Miscellaneous Reports
Trial Court Opinions
The State Reporter is authorized by statute to selectively publish trial court opinions in the print Miscellaneous Reports (see Judiciary Law § 431).
We rely on trial court judges to submit their decisions to us in the first instance for print publication consideration. We also consider decisions submitted to us by attorneys and other third parties.
Because of the constraints of print publication, we can only publish a limited number of opinions in full text in the Miscellaneous Reports each year. However, if a decision is not selected for print publication, it will be published "online only." Online only decisions are classified by subject matter using the Official Reports Digest and assigned a unique slip opinion citation.
An abstract of the decision—providing the case name, authoring judge or justice name, jurisdiction, decision date, slip opinion citation and classification—is published in the Advance Sheets and the Miscellaneous Reports. In addition, like decisions selected for print publication, online only decisions appear in full in the New York Slip Opinion Service and the New York Official Reports content category on Thomson Reuters Westlaw (path: Home > Cases > New York State & Federal Cases > New York State Cases > New York Official Reports).
We take the selection process for print publication seriously, recognizing the unique importance of the Miscellaneous Reports to our jurisprudence. When submitting a decision for publication consideration, please include in the submission email an explanation as to why the opinion should be selected for print publication. This explanation helps us to focus on the critical issue(s) and to avoid overlooking significant points.
Our selection criteria include:
Precedential significance. We select "landmark" opinions that make a significant contribution to the law, such as opinions which hold a statute unconstitutional or invalidate administrative regulations. We measure precedential significance by the holdings and matters necessarily decided—discussions constituting dicta do not usually meet our criteria.
Novelty. We select opinions that deal with issues of first impression that are likely to be recurrent; that discuss developing areas of the law on which little has been written; that create exceptions to broad rules established at the appellate level; or that extend or clarify appellate case law.
Public importance. We select opinions of broad interest to the bar or to the public at large. These may include cases deciding issues specific to the attorney-client relationship, as well as general interest cases such as decisions involving the powers of state and local governments.
Practical significance. We select opinions that address issues unique to trial court practice—discovery, evidence, procedure, etc. We might select a high percentage of cases on an emerging issue to build a more significant body of published case law for the guidance of trial courts and to assist potential appellate review on that important issue.
Subject matter diversity. We select opinions on a broad spectrum of legal issues.
Geographical diversity. We select opinions by courts from all regions of the state.
Author diversity. We select opinions by as many different judges as possible. To further author diversity, we may limit the number of otherwise worthy opinions selected from frequently-published judges.
Literary quality. We select concisely written opinions that focus on the issue or issues worthy of publication without recitation of nonessential facts or collateral issues or lengthy dissertations on well-known legal principles. While the length of the opinion is not dispositive, we prefer opinions that are no more than 10 double-spaced pages.
The Law Reporting Bureau's Opinion Formatting & Privacy Guidelines provide additional information on the trial court submission and selection processes.
Appellate Term Opinions
All decisions of the Appellate Terms of the First and Second Departments are published in the Miscellaneous Reports. Appellate Term decisions go through the same print selection process as trial court decisions. Appellate Term decisions that are not selected for print publication are published "online only." Online only Appellate Term decisions are classified by subject matter using the Official Reports Digest and assigned a unique slip opinion citation.
An abstract of the decision—providing the case name, court information, decision date, slip opinion citation and classification—is published in the Advance Sheets and the Miscellaneous Reports. Online only decisions appear in full in the New York Slip Opinion Service and the New York Official Reports content category on Thomson Reuters Westlaw (path: Home > Cases > New York State & Federal Cases > New York State Cases > New York Official Reports).