Dallas, Alexander James (b. Kingston, Jamaica, 21 June 1759; d. Philadelphia, Pa., 16 Jan. 1817), first Supreme Court reporter, 1791–1800. Dallas's reportership was purely an entrepreneurial venture. Even before the Court's 1791 arrival in Philadelphia, he had published reports of state cases in periodicals and in a single bound volume. Hence 1
Dallas, now 1
United States Reports, contains no Supreme Court matter. Three more volumes followed, chronicling the Court's first decisions, from August term 1791 through its final activities in Philadelphia in August term 1800.
We owe much to Dallas for recognizing the need for Supreme Court reports, thereby in theory making the decisions of the new nation's highest court available to judges, lawyers, and citizens. Apart from his
Reports, the Court's rulings could be known only through correspondence, word of mouth, and occasional newspaper accounts.
The execution of Dallas's self‐appointed task was marked, however, by delay, expense, omission, and questionable accuracy. In fairness, he faced formidable obstacles. Lack of government funding forced selective reporting, reflecting purchasers' unwillingness to finance fuller reports. Likewise, because the Court had no requirement of written decisions and Dallas's practice precluded constant attendance at its proceedings, he often relied on others' notes.
The results were uneven. Five years elapsed between
Chisholm v. Georgia (1793), the last Supreme Court decision recorded in 2
Dallas, and publication of that volume; between Dallas's retirement as reporter and publication of 4
Dallas, seven years passed. Buyers complained of the volumes' price. Barely half of the Court's dispositions during its first decade were reported, and accounts of many cases, including
Ware v. Hylton (1796), contain matter clearly not the justices' own.
Dallas left things better than he found them, but both he and the Court were disappointed in comparing aspiration with accomplishment. “I have found such miserable encouragement for my Reports,” he wrote upon relinquishing the reportership, “that I have determined to call them all in, and devote them to the rats in the State‐House.”
See also
Reporters, Supreme Court.
Bibliography
Morris L. Cohen and and Sharon Hamby O'Connor , A Guide to the Early Reports of the Supreme Court of the United States (1995), pp. 11–22.
Craig Joyce , The Rise of the Supreme Court Reporter: An Institutional Perspective on Marshall Court Ascendancy, Michigan Law Review 83 (1985): 1291–1391.
Sandra Day O'Connor , The Supreme Court Reports, in The Majesty of the Law, edited by Craig Joyce (2003), pp. 24–30.
Craig Joyce
