WILLIAM A. DOBROVIR, P.C. 65 Culpeper Street Warrenton, VA 20186 March 13, 1997 BY TELECOPY (202) 273-1555 Appellate Court and Circuit Administrative Division Attn: ABA Citation Resolution Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts Suite 4-512 Washington, DC 20544 COMMENTS IN SUPPORT OF AN OFFICIAL FORM OF CITATION I write to support adoption by the Conference of the form of official citation for court decisions recommended by the ABA resolution. The reasons supporting adoption are plain and practical. 1. The format of the official form -- name, year, court, chronological sequential number, and paragraph number for pinpoint citations (See the 16th edition of The Bluebook, Rule 10.3.1, pp. 61- 62) -- is shorter, neater and more informative, while using fewer characters, than the "proprietary" citation form currently required. To give an example, compare Smith v. Jones, 1996 CA 2 14, paragraph 24, with Smith v. Jones, 88 F.3d 926, 934 (2nd Cir. 1996). The same information contained in 24 characters in the ABA form requires 36 characters in the "proprietary" format (counting periods and commas in both). The striking of 12 fewer keys per citation, multiplied by the tens or hundreds of millions of times that case citations are typed or keyed in court opinions and lawyers' briefs and memoranda, will, over time, save a significant quantity of lawyers and secretaries' time (and hence money), paper (and hence money and trees) and electric power for word processing (money, fossil fuel and pollution); not to mention copier and fax toner and wear-and-tear. 2. I am a sole practitioner in a small community. The Fauquier County Bar boasts only 70 or so attorneys; most practice solo, or in firms of two or three. Lawyers like us, and the thousands of lawyers in similar small communities around the United States cannot afford to buy West Publishing's reporters in book form. The cost of subscribing to Westlaw or Lexis or purchasing their CD-ROM libraries, where West's "proprietary" citations can be found, also is prohibitive. More and more I use the federal courts' PACER system to obtain copies of cases, as more courts go on-line on PACER. When citing to such a case, I often have no way of getting the West citation, especially the internal page citations. The ability to use the proposed official citation form is a necessity for lawyers like me. 3. I understand that West Publishing Company is opposed to adoption of a form of official citation. It is understandable that West would seek to protect a valuable commercial investment in what it regards as a property interest in the F.3d, F.Supp., etc. citation forms. However, the value of West's citation forms derives largely from the court's requirement that they, and they alone, be used. This is, in effect, a free, valuable gift or subsidy from taxpayers (via the courts) to a private company. Except for West's commercial interest, I can think of no good reason why it is not greatly in the public interest for the courts to adopt an official citation form, owned by no one, so that more publishers can compete in publishing federal court decisions. Such competition could bring down the price of, say, CD-ROM products to a point where lawyers like me could afford them easily. 4. Change is often difficult, and perhaps some of the more prosperous, big firm lawyers, and even some federal judges, might complain about having to learn and use a new citation system. But do not the long-term benefits to the public, the courts and the bar from use of a short, clear, publicly and not privately owned citation system greatly outweigh such temporary inconveniences? Thank you for the opportunity to submit these comments. I, and many other lawyers, look forward to freedom from the thrall to one publisher's products. Sincerely yours, William A. Dobrovir