Short answer. Rule 55, Section 2 provides that for each reported judgment or final resolution, the reporter adds a concise synopsis of the essential facts, the names of counsel, the material and controverted points involved, the authorities cited, and a syllabus confined strictly to points of law.
What the law says
The reporter shall prepare and publish with each reported judgment and final resolution a concise synopsis of the facts necessary for a clear understanding of the case, the names of counsel, the material and controverted points involved, the authorities cited therein, and a syllabus which shall be confined to points of law.
Rule 55, Section 2 — Preparation of opinions for publication. Read the full provision →
More than just the opinion itself
Rule 55, Section 2 describes the reporter's role in preparing a decision for publication, which goes beyond simply reprinting the justices' opinion. The reporter adds a concise synopsis of the facts necessary for a clear understanding of the case, giving readers context without requiring them to work through the full record, much of which may run to hundreds of pages in a contested appeal.
Identifying the parties and the legal dispute
The reporter also records the names of counsel who appeared in the case and identifies the material and controverted points involved — essentially the actual legal issues that were contested and decided. Authorities cited in the decision are likewise compiled, making the published version a more complete reference tool than the bare opinion alone, useful to a researcher tracing how a particular doctrine has been applied over time.
The syllabus is limited to law, not facts
The section specifically confines the syllabus to points of law. This distinguishes it from the factual synopsis: the syllabus is meant to distill the legal doctrine or rule the case establishes, rather than restate the narrative facts, which are already covered separately in the synopsis. A reader scanning only the syllabus should come away knowing the legal principle the case stands for, without needing the underlying facts to make sense of it.
Why this editorial layer matters for research
None of this editorial material — synopsis, counsel names, syllabus — is part of the court's own decision, but together it turns a raw opinion into something practitioners can actually use efficiently, letting a lawyer scan the synopsis and syllabus to judge a case's relevance before reading the full opinion in detail. Compiling the authorities cited in one place also saves a researcher from having to comb through the opinion's footnotes and body text just to build a citation trail. None of this editorial material carries independent legal weight of its own; if a conflict were ever found between the reporter's synopsis or syllabus and the actual text of the decision, the court's own written opinion would control, since the reporter's additions are a research aid rather than part of the judgment itself.
Related provisions
- Rule 55, Section 2 — Preparation of opinions for publication
- Rule 55, Section 1 — Publication
- Rule 55, Section 3 — General make