Subject: Public Domaine Citation System 
Date   : Fri, 14 Mar 1997 21:59:50 -0500 (EST) 
From   : SR2445@aol.com 
To     : citation@teo.uscourts.gov 
CC     : Steve Ramey@grafix.net.com 
 
     I strongly support the idea of a public domain citation system. 
This is so for many reasons. 
 
     We are a legal clinic and assist indigents with legal matters. 
Our clients are poor but sophisticated. They use court opinions which 
are published on the internet; such as at the Cornell web site. 
Obtaining these opinions is free; however to cite these cases or 
otherwise provide a copy we must go to a law library and copy from a 
book which has a citation which is recognized by the courts. Not only 
is this costly but the lack of access to law libraries is an 
obstruction. With the citation system suggested by the Judicial 
Conference two problems are solved; cost and access. Access would 
also be an issue for seniors and the handicapped. The strength of the 
internet is that it allows people to band together and leverage their 
efforts. Consider all the locations too remote for a law library 
which has been reached by the world wide web. 
 
     With the publication of law on the world wide web -- the debate 
of finding a media-independent and public domain system is moot. If 
America doesn't come up with a system -- the world will. For example, 
consider an emerging democracy tying to model their legal system 
after America's, or all those people who do not have access to 
commercial books but nevertheless have them on the world wide web. If 
a means of citing these cases is not developed for the world to 
follow then the world will do it and we will eventually follow their 
leadership. 
 
     Everyone has been stunned over the remarkable uses ordinary 
people have created with the world wide web. No one can predict the 
unanticipated benefits a public domain citation system would yield.