FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE JMD FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 1994 (202) 616-2765 TDD (202) 514-1888 JUSTICE DEPARTMENT SEEKS IMPROVED PUBLIC ACCESS TO COURT RULINGS WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Justice Department today said it would explore ways to improve public access to federal court opinions, especially by computer, to make legal research more affordable for scholars, public interest groups and users of electronic information. Currently, most electronic research is done by leasing access to privately owned systems, such as WESTLAW and LEXIS, that electronically search through data bases of federal cases and other materials. Attorney General Janet Reno said that the Department had received considerable correspondence from members of the legal community concerned about the high cost of electronic access to judicial opinions and the present proprietary system most often used to cite federal cases. Reno said the Department is evaluating various existing non- proprietary methods of citing cases to develop a unified, comprehensive approach acceptable to federal and state courts, attorneys and legal researchers. The Department is also exploring the possibility of a public-domain data base of federal and state judicial opinions. Comment and suggestions from the public are invited, and should be directed to Kent Walker, Counsel to the Deputy Attorney General, U.S. Justice Department, Washington, D.C. 20530. At the same time, the Department said it would shortly solicit bids for a computerized legal research system for its own lawyers. The prospective contract would last one year, with four annual options to renew the contract. Because of the relatively short contract periods, the Department expects that the prospective contract would not delay a decision on a new public citation system. ##### 94-501