On Fri, 4 Nov 1994, Koster wrote:
> WHOA! This is an assumption that might seem reasonable to a non-lawyer, but
> anybody who's ever seen a brief studded with official cites in the form: "
> ___ Rptr ___ " knows that the courts have proven that numbering their own
> opinions (within the timeframe needed by the legal profession) is definitely
> beyond their competence. That's why West has built such a large empire.
I think that you are missing the point here. There is a pretty
large difference between numbering opinions, when they are issued, and
publishing opinions in bound volumes. West has done a good job of
publishing books with opinions in them -- better than most government
efforts, and no one wants to change this ---- really. What this debate
is about isn't the paper volumes, but rather the electronic
dissemination, and more particularlly, the ability of private publishers
to get access to the text of the "official" opinion and give an
"official" cite. If the court simply numbers the decisions when they are
issued, and numbers the paragraphs in the decisions when they are issued,
the problem is solved. Various publishers will put these in various
formats, and those who like West will buy from West and those who like
others will buy the opinions from others. These opinions are, after all,
the law, and not the intellectual property of West or anyone else.
jamie
----------------------------------------------------------------------
James Love, TAP; internet: love@tap.org
P.O. Box 19367, Washington, DC 20036; v. 202/387-8030; f. 202/234-5176
12 Church Road, Ardmore, PA 19003; v. 610/658-0880; f. 610/649-4066
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