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.
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