ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON RULES OF PRACTICE AND INTERNAL OPERATING PROCEDURE OF THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT March 14, 1997 SENT VIA FACSIMILE AND U.S. MAIL Appellate Court and Circuit Administration Division Attn: ABA Citation Resolution Administrative Office of the United States Courts Washington, D.C. 20544 Dear Committee Members: The Ninth Circuit Advisory Committee on Rules of Practice and Internal Operating Procedures requests consideration of the following comment on the American Bar Association's Resolution on Citations. Although the concept of an alternate uniform system for citation of opinions is desirable, we have concerns about some aspects of the ABA's proposal. Specifically, requiring courts to assign a unique sequential number for each decision, and then assign numbers to the paragraphs within each decision, places too heavy a burden on courts for too little benefit. We believe that the existing document numbers assigned to cases and the existing page numbers, together with the date of the decision, is sufficient reference. We therefore believe that the system proposed in the "Blue Book," paragraph 10.8.1, is superior to that proposed by the ABA Resolution. Very truly yours, Peter W. Davis Chair Advisory Committee on Rules of Practice and Internal Operating Procedure of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit