For decisions since 1875, citations to the United States Reports (volumes 91-date) follow the now-standard citation: [vol] U.S. [pg] (year).
For decisions before 1875, citations include the U.S. Reports editor's last name and the volume number relative to that editor. The citation is [vol] U.S. (# ed.) [pg] (year)
For example:
Johnson v. M'Intosh, 21 U.S. (8 Wheat.) 543 (1823)
21st volume of U.S. Reports.
Henry Wheaton was the editor of this volume.
This was the 8th volume of which Henry Wheaton was the editor.
Case starts on page 543.
U.S. Reports years and volumes, aligned with its first seven editors, are as follows:
Years
U.S. Reports volumes
Name of Editor
Volume Citations
1790-1800
1-4
Alexander J. Dallas
(1-4 Dallas)
1801-1815
5-13
William Cranch
(1-9 Cranch)
1816-1827
14-25
Henry Wheaton
(1-12 Wheat.)
1828-1842
26-41
Richard Peters
(1-16 Pet.)
1843-1860
42-65
Benjamin Chew Howard
(1-24 How.)
1861-1862
66-67
Jeremiah Sullivan Black
(1-2 Black)
1863-1874
68-90
John William Wallace
(1-23 Wall.)
In the Twenty-first Edition of the Bluebook, Table T1.1 lists preferred citations to Supreme Court reporters.
Did Wallace report the date of filing in lieu of the date of decision?
by vanvonu on Dec 23, 2023
@vanvonu I'm not sure, but the SCOTUS site has an informative page regarding dates of early SCOTUS decisions and arguments. https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/datesofdecisions.pdf
