Respectfully submitted,
Technology Resource Committee
John Lederer, Chair
Gregory Banchy
Charles Blumenfield
James Bolt
Bruce Craig
Alan Deutch
Sharon Drew
Rex Ewald
Hon. Mark Frankel
Perry Friesler
Robert Goepel
Robert Hagness
Roger Hall
James Jaeger
William Kirkpatrick
Ross Kodner
Marcia Koslov
James Morrison
Michael Morse
Bruce Munson
Jay Nixon
Mark Pennow
Maurice Rice
William Richards
Jon Wilcox
Clyde Wynia
This report responds to the Resolution passed by the Board of Governors last January.
The report reflects several years of discussion by the Technology Resource Committee, ideas from a variety of private, commercial, and governmental sources and organizations, and considerable deliberation by the Law on Disk Sub-committee.
New computer technologies make it practical to provide case law to the courts, the Bar, and the public more effectively and less expensively than from books alone. The present system is tied to the use of paper as the medium and to dissemination by a small number of print publishers. The present system impedes the use of new technologies.
Our goal is to establish a foundation that will allow the adoption of new technologies, but still support present technologies such as books. To do so, two main steps are necessary:
This proposal does not require anyone to use a CD-Rom, a modem, a computer, or any other particular technology. Nor does this proposal favor any particular publisher. It will facilitate the use of new technology and the entrance into the market of new publishers. It will also simplify the present citation system for the practitioner, principally by abolition of parallel cites as no longer necessary.
A "vendor neutral" and "medium neutral" citation system makes the cite depend on characteristics that are inherent in the opinions of the courts. The courts, not private publishers, determine the citation. In our proposal, citation will be to a case number and a paragraph of the opinion. The same citation will allow finding the law in printed editions, CD-Rom, via the Internet, and through new and as yet undefined technologies.
A state archive of Wisconsin case law will make opinions directly available to all publishers and to the public. The state, and not private publishers, will "own" the final text of the case law. It will encourage publishers to compete by the value that they add to opinions such as headnotes or search tools, rather than by preferred access to the text of case law.
The recommendations are consistent with the thoughts and study of a variety of organizations. They are in the Wisconsin tradition of leadership in effective and open government.