ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

United States Reports

The United States Reports is a collection of books that has information about important cases that have been decided by the United States Supreme Court.

Now, what is a case? Imagine you and your friend are playing with a toy, but suddenly your friend hits you and takes the toy away. You both might argue and your parents might need to step in to decide who gets to keep the toy. This is called a dispute or a conflict.

Similarly, in the United States, people or organizations sometimes have disputes or conflicts that they cannot resolve on their own. When this happens, they may ask a court to help them resolve the issue. The highest court in the United States is called the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court judges listen to each side of the disagreement and then use the law to make a decision to resolve the conflict. This decision is called a "ruling" or a "judgment."

These judgments are really important because they help us understand how the law should be applied in similar cases in the future. That's why these judgments are collected in the United States Reports, so that people can look up and learn from past rulings when they encounter similar issues in the future.

So, in summary, the United States Reports is a collection of books that has information about important judicial decisions made by the highest court in the United States, the Supreme Court. These decisions can help us understand how the law applies to specific disputes or conflicts, and can guide future legal cases.