Subject: Comments on Uniform Citation System Date: Fri, 14 Mar 1997 15:34:42 -0500 From: "William E. Grande" To: I am a sole practitioner in the Buffalo, New York area. My major area of practice is labor and employment law. I am sending this message to urge approval of the ABA's proposed uniform citation system. The request for written public comment asks that we address the following points: (1) Whether the Federal Courts should adopt the form of official citation for court decisions recommended by the ABA resolution; and, (2) The costs and benefits such a decision would have on the Courts, the bar, and the public. My answer to both these questions is yes. Technology has and continues to change our legal system for the better. The Courts, in particular the Federal Courts, have recognized this fact. This is evident from the Federal Courts ongoing effort to use technology to make optimal use of its resources. (Reference is made to the "Report to Congress on the Optimal Utilization of Judicial Resources" which is available on the U.S. Court's home page). The way in which we cite legal precedent and other authority in Court documents must also change to reflect these technological advances and initiatives. I think the following quotation from the ABA's proposal says it well: In recent years, growing numbers of court decisions have become available soon after their release, through electronic publication on computer bulletin boards, disks, and the Internet. The traditional method of citing to volume and page numbers in printed reports cannot be used effectively for these decisions because the printed reports typically are not published until considerably later. In an effort to develop citation methods that work effectively both with books and with computer databases, a number of jurisdictions are considering or have recently adopted new citation systems. While there are similarities, these new systems differ significantly among themselves. Thus, there is truly a need for a uniform citation system. While I have heard much discussion regarding West Publishing and its understandable desire to maintain the current system that is not, in my judgment, the primary issue here. The primary issue is whether the Court's are prepared to seize this opportunity to use technology to make case law generally available and useful, not only to law firms big and small, but also to the general public. This will increase the efficiency and reduce the cost of conducting legal research and preparing legal memoranda. This increase in efficiency and reduction in cost will benefit everyone including the Courts, the attorneys and, most of all, the clients who have to pay the bill. I believe it is also important to emphasize that the system for citation to legal precedent and other authority in the Federal Courts is a system that must be established and maintained by the Courts in this electronic age. The Federal Courts issue detailed rules pertaining to every other aspect of practice. Given this fact, it is truly an anolomy that the Courts have for so long entrusted such an important function to outside concerns such as West Publishing. A court adopted and approved system is a must because it will facilitate a citation system that is consistent with the many other technical initiatives currently underway in the Federal Courts. It will also ultimately reduce the cost for everyone by eliminating the need for parallel cites to cases. This uniform system will not deprive legal publishers of their ability to offer valuable services in the new electronic age. It will simply mean that access to the documents and the ability to cite those documents for use in court will be placed back where it belongs, under the control of the Courts for the benefit of the bar and the general public. Anyone who wants to will still be able to collect those public documents and enhance their usefulness by means of summaries and specialized databases as well as links to related sources of information. For these reasons, I believe it is absolutely essential that the Courts adopt the uniform citation system proposed by the ABA and, implement that system in conjunction with the other technical initiatives currently underway in the Federal Courts. Thank you for your consideration of these comments. William E. Grande Law Office of William E. Grande 18 Charleston Avenue Kenmore, NY 14217 (716) 447-1047 FAX (716) 873-7854 Email: bgrande@mn1.com