Subject: citations for court opinions belong in the public domain Date: Fri, 14 Mar 97 13:00:02 EST From: "Alan G. Isaac" Organization: The American University To: citation@teo.uscourts.gov I urge the United States Judicial Conference to adopt a public domain citation for judicial opinions. Currently, there is a de facto requirement that federal court citations use the West Publishing Company citations, which West is attempting to copyright and (significantly) charge for. This means the federal case law provided free by some law schools on the internet is rendered almost useless, as it cannot be cited. While West may fail in federal court to back its claim to own the citations under copyright law, it is pursuing other ways to enforce this claim of ownership. Only a public domain citation system can protect the interests of the public. Sincerely, Alan G. Isaac Associate Professor of Economics American University