Subject: ABA's Proposed Standard Citation System -- State and Federal 
         Courts    
   Date: Tue, 11 Mar 1997 12:23:25 PST 
   From: weiner.esq@juno.com (JAMES T WEINER) 
     To: citation@teo.uscourts.gov CC: johnl@ibm.net 

Dear Sir(s) 

     Recently, I was informed that the Judicial Conference is seeking 
comment on the pote* * *

     I have not yet reviewed the ABA's proposal but I have been 
informed that the proposal * * * courts, which is published for free 
on the internet, usable by lawyers throughout their practice. Absent 
the adoption of such a citation system, the case law West claims a 
copyright in its page numbering, effectively prohibiting on-line 
publishers from providing citeable case law; and 2) current citation 
systems are based upon West's page numbering. 

     I support the ABA's proposal because I believe that the courts 
should adopt a standard citation system that allows citation to all 
free access forms of federal and state case law and that such a 
system should be expanded to include all other laws such as statutes, 
rules and regulations. This citation system should allow easy access 
to, and citation of, all case law available through the internet. 
Further, such a citation system should not be dependent upon any 
privately owned, or copyrighted, * * *

     My reasons for this are several: I am a sole practitioner and I 
believe that development of a law library is one of the most daunting 
tasks for any solo or small firm practice today. I practice in both 
state and federal courts with complex litigation (mostly 
environmental). Therefore, if I chose to develop a law library I must 
spend approximately $2500 per year for each state and the same or 
more for federal case law * * * more. Alternatively, I may use paid 
electronic access through West or Lexis at the cost of $100-300 per 
month regardless of whether I use the service or not. 

     The problem is that the internet allows me access to relevant 
state and federal case law for free (or $20.00 per month internet 
access). But without a mean information -- I must instead either buy 
a library or pay the $300 per month (for both state and federal 
access) or use the local law libraries -- at a treme* * * 

     I have also been informed that some judges have suggested that 
attorneys would not un * * * dequate. While I believe that the change 
may be difficult to accept, some attorneys will switch immediately to 
on-line materials and many will switch to on-line materials as they 
become more widely accepted by the courts. This change will 
accelerate when the "hold outs" discover that they will not 
thereafter need a complete law library which is one of the most 
expensive parts of practicing law today. 

     I believe that West may fight this proposal because it gets much 
of its profit from law related books where it is the sole source for 
the official citations * * * five years). However, I have been 
dismayed when states quit publishing their own "official" state case 
books in favor of West's regional reporters. (The state of Michigan 
has not stopped publishing its own reporters but the "official" 
citations are now to West's regional reporters.) I also believe that 
most state court took this action without recognizing the 
concentration of power that this puts in West -- and the extra cost 
that this may cause the attorneys practicing in those states. 
Further, I have never heard where any state made a "deal" with West 
to allow the information to be freely available at no cost. 

     I am a businessman and a staunch capitalist. However, I believe 
that no state or local government should simply "give" any private 
company a monopoly on acc* * * recent actions of these states gives 
West a further "stranglehold" on this information and strengthens its 
monopoly on providing law books at an ever increasing cost which 
directly affects the cost of practicing law and the cost of providing 
law services to our clients. Therefore, I wholeheartedly support the 
ABA's proposed standard citation system that would allow direct 
citation to on-line materials. 

     I hope my comments assist you in your deliberations. If you 
desire any additional comments please feel free to contact me. 

                                   Sincerely; 
 
                                   James T. Weiner, Esq. 

                                   James T. Weiner, P.C. 
                                   30600 Telegraph, Suite 3350 
                                   Bingham Farms, Michigan 48025 
                                   Telephone; (810) 901-0750 
                                   Fax: (810) 901-0500 
                                   E-mail: weiner.esq@juno.com