Author: Mark Pruner at ~Internet Date: 2/25/97 10:58 AM Priority: Normal BCC: CITATION at AO-OCPPO TO: citation@ao.uscourts.gov at ~Internet Subject: Support revised citation system We strongly support revising the federal citation system to a vendor neutral system. Web Counsel has tried to put up text of federal cases on various law firm websites. We requested access to the text of opinions from West who said they would only let us have such cases for posting, if we pay a licensing fee and West wants to keep the cases on their servers so we or our clients can be charged for every access to a federal case. West claims that they are doing us a service by providing the headnotes and other editorial enhancements, that we don't want. They further claim that if we were to simply put up the text of the opinion that we would be violating their copyright if we put in their page numbers. (Previously, another West representative encouraged me to use the West citation system in the footnote of a book I wrote.) A vendor neutral citation system would greatly limit West's ability to deny access to opinions that are the most readily accessible. Opinions that should be readily accessible to anyone regardless as to whether someone has stored them and tried to copyright them by adding de minimis enhancements through page numbering. In addition a paragraph specific citation improves citation by pointing the reader directly to a specific paragraph rather than an entire page. A case/paragraph system once adopted by all parties will also lead to elimination of having to give multiple cites for the same case as for example is now done 3 citations for each individual US Supreme Court case. We urge you to adopt the proposal. Mark Pruner President Mark Pruner Web Counsel, LLC Website and Internet Consulting and Design Home of the Webbernauts Awards for the Best Legal Websites mark@webcounsel.com 17 Wilmot Lane Greenwich, Connecticut 06878 (203) 637-4352 (voice) (203) 698-1052 (fax)