About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

83 Law. Libr. J. 21 (1991)
Survey of State Court Opinion Writing and Publication Practices

handle is hein.journals/llj83 and id is 33 raw text is: Survey of State Court Opinion Writing and Publication Practices* Jane Williams** The author collects and summarizes the constitutional and statutory provisions and rules of the fifty states and the District of Columbia relating to court opinion writing and publication practices. The purpose of this article is to identify the opinion publication rules of the state courts of last resort and, if applicable, those of their intermediate appellate courts. Since the latest previously published surveys on publication rules,' several states have created intermediate appellate courts2 and others have added or revised existing rules and statutes. Several reasons have been cited for selectively publishing cases. The main reason is the increase in the appellate case load.3 Nationally, there were 4.2 percent more appellate filings in 1988 than in 1987.4 Another reason is that some opinions have no precedential value. Writing detailed opinions for cases that create no new law wastes judicial time and creates a mass of materials that is difficult to deal with.5 The history and the arguments for and against selective publication have been discussed by numerous commentators.6 * © Jane Williams, 1991. * Reference Librarian, University of Illinois Law Library, Champaign, Illinois. 1. See Chanin, A Survey of the Writing and Publication of Opinions in Federal and State Courts, 67 LAW Ling. J. 362 (1974); C. BOLDEN, APPELLATE OPINION PREPARATON: A SELECTVE BILiOGRAPHY AND SuRvEY (1978); Slinger, The Art and Science of Appellate Opinion Drafting: An Annotated Bibliography, 1977-1987, 80 LAW LiBR. J. 115 (1988). 2. States that have created intermediate appellate courts since 1975 are Alaska (1980), Arkansas (1979), Connecticut (1983), Hawaii (1980), Idaho (1982), Iowa (1977), Kentucky (1976), Minnesota (1983), South Carolina (1983), Utah (1987), Virginia (1985), and Wisconsin (1978). North Dakota established a temporary court of appeals effective July 1, 1987, through January 1, 1994. N.D. CNr. CODE § 27-01-01 note (Supp. 1989). 3. See, e.g., Anstead, Selective Publication: An Alternative to the PCA?, 34 U. FLA. L. REv. 189, 189-90 (1982); Weaver, The Precedential Value of Unpublished Opinions, 39 MERCER L. REv. 477, 477-79 (1988). 4. 1988 CoNF. Sr. CT. ADxN. & NAT'L CENTER FOR ST. CTS., ST. CT. CASELOAD STATSTICS: Am. REP. 17 (1990). 5. See Anstead, supra note 3; Weaver, supra note 3. 6. See, e.g., Prince, Law Books, Unlimited, 48 A.B.A. J. 134 (1962); Jacobstein, Some Reflections on the Control of the Publication of Appellate Court Opinions, 27 STAN,. L. REv. 791 (1975). See also Questions & Answers, 83 LAw LEBR. J. 195, 204-09 (1991).

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most