Author: Charlie & Rachel <cr_kirk@ix.netcom.com> at -Internet
    Date: 3/11/97 3:51 AM
Priority: Normal
     BCC: CITATION at AO-OCPPO
      TO: citation@ao.uscourts.gov at ~Internet
 Subject: comment on why everyone should have free access to court 
          opinions

To whom it may concern:

     I am a first year law student at Hamline University School of 
Law in St. Paul, Minnesota. As a student of law, I have free access 
to both lexis-nexus and westlaw. Both companies provide the service 
to students free of charge in order for student to become acquainted 
with their systems so that upon graduation, we will start using their 
services for money.

     Many attorneys who I have worked for cannot afford computer 
assisted legal research and must rely on librarys and hours and hours 
of manual research that can be accomplished in a matter of minutes 
through on-line computer searches. What happens, is that the hours 
the lawyer uses to research (or their staff) is then transferred to 
the client. These hours tack on so much at times that the average 
court case will bill, from my own experience, between 5-15K in just 
legal research fees.

     It is my opinion that access to the laws of our country should 
be free and provided by companies at on a cost basis. $4 per minute 
is not at cost and far from it. I truly feel that if everyone had 
access to the laws of our country via computers and online searches, 
our country would be greatly benefited. For one, there would be a 
lot less reliance on lawyers - which is a good thing. Another, is 
for people to become their own lawyers and know what they can and 
cannot do.

     This is just my opinion, but the system needs to be radically 
changed. Thank you for providing me this avenue to express my 
opinion.

                                   Sincerely,

                                   Charles E. Kirk