Note The library cannot tell you what the law means for your situation.
Note Information in this guide was derived from the resources listed on the Historical Resources page and The Greenbook: Texas Rules of Form, 14th edition.
Texas has never had an easy time with court reporting.
Its history has been plagued with numerous legislative missteps and fierce competition from private publishers. The short-lived Texas Republic dissolved before the government could print an official case reporter. Adding to the governmental tumult of the Civil War was a severe paper shortage that caused reporting anomalies. Reconstruction saw four separate versions of the state's highest court in a twelve year period.
Throughout the years, private publishers such as J.W. Dallam, G. Paschal, and S.A. Posey helped fill the void of official case reporters. In 1846, the state began publishing Texas Reports as the official case reporter for the Texas Supreme Court. As other appeals courts were created, other case reporters sprung up to capture cases heard in those courts. These were either compiled by private publishers or by the state.
In 1962, the state legislature ceased funding for Texas Reports and Texas Criminal Reports, halting the publication of those sets. Since then, South Western Reporter, a Thomson Reuters (formerly West) publication, has been the sole source of published Texas cases. See the Historical Resources page for in-depth coverage of the history of Texas case reporters.
Below is a chronological listing of digests and compilations available at the library. Some are available online.
Years: 1840 – 1844.
Editor: J. Wilmer Dallam.
Full title: A digest of the laws of Texas: containing a full and complete compilation of the land laws; together with the opinions of the Supreme court
Notes:
Years: 1840 – 1935.
Full title: Texas digest, 1840 to date, covering Texas reports and South western reporter, as well as Texas cases decided in the Federal circuit and district courts, Circuit Court of Appeals and Supreme Court of the United States
Publisher: West Publishing Company.
Years: 1846 – 1847.
Full title: Reports of cases argued and decided in the supreme court of the state of Texas, during December term, 1846, and a part of December term, 1847
Editor: James Webb.
Years: 1854.
Editor: William Alexander.
Years: 1874 – 1875.
Full title: A digest of decisions : comprising decisions of the Supreme Courts in Texas and of the United States upon Texas law, of force and repealed, with references to all the Civil, Spanish and common law decisions and authorities cited by the judges
Editor: George W. Paschal.
Years: 1881.
Full title: A digest of the Texas reports : embracing the opinions in Dallam; volumes 1 to 51 inclusive of the Texas reports; and the first seven volumes of the Court of Appeals reports
Editor: William G. Myer.
Years: 1886.
Full title: Texas criminal digest including all cases to end of volume 20 appeals : volumes 1 to 7 inclusive, and all the criminal cases reported in the first forty-five volumes of the Supreme Court, are taken from Myer's digest, to which is added Posey's digest of volumes 8 to 20 of appeal reports : each topic is supplemented by the matter from B.R. Webb's valuable index digest of volumes 1 to 8 appeal, and the criminal cases in the Supreme Court reports
Editor: Sidney A. Posey.
Years: 1887.
Full title: Texas civil digest : including Supreme Court Reports, volumes 52-56; Appeal Civil Cases, volumes 1 and 2, and the first 188 pages of volume 3 (all issued before January 1, 1887); also Posey's unreported consent cases; supplemented by an index to Supreme Court Reports, volumes 40-51, so that this volume will answer the purpose of those who use Paschal's digest
Editor: Sidney A. Posey.
Years: 1890 – 1911.
Full title: Conflicting civil cases in the Texas reports : from Dallam to volume 75 inclusive, and also in the three volumes of appeal civil cases and one volume of unreported cases
Years: 1891, 1892, 1899.
Editor: A.B. Peticolas.
Years: 1894.
Full title: A civil digest of the Texas reports : embracing the opinions in Dallam, volumes 1 to 85, inclusive, of the Supreme Court reports (including 25 Texas supplement), and the first two volumes of the reports of the court of civil appeals; also the four volumes of the condensed reports by White and Wilson, and two volumes of unreported cases
Editor: Clarence N. Buckler.
Years: 1895.
Full title: A digest of Texas civil cases : including the Supreme Court reports, volumes 52 to 86 and the first two hundred pages of volume 87, also civil appeals reports, volumes 1 to 6, unreported cases, two volumes, appeal civil cases, four volumes, and the cases from S.W. rep., volumes 1 to 27, not found in the official reports: the whole giving as many cases as are usually contained in over sixty volumes of reports
Editor: John Sayles.
Years: 1900.
Full title: A civil digest of the Texas reports; embracing the opinions in Dallam, volumes 1 to 85 inclusive of the Supreme Court reports (including the 25th Texas supplement), and first two volumes of the reports of the Courts of Civil Appeals, the four volumes of the Condensed reports by White and Willson, and two volumes of Unreported cases
Editor: Clarence N. Buckler.
Years: 1910 – 1923.
Full title: The encyclopedic digest of Texas Reports (Civil cases) : being a complete encyclopedia and digest of all the Texas Case Law (Civil) up to and including volume 102 Texas Reports, volume 49 Civil Appeals, Posey's Unreported Cases, White & Willson's Texas Appeals Civil and cases in the Southwestern Reporter not officially reported
Editor: Thomas J. Michie.
Years: 1935 to present.
Publisher: Thomson-Reuters (formerly West Publishing Company).
Note The library cannot tell you what the law means for your situation.