Non-publication of opinions, or Unpublished opinions, are those decisions of courts that are not available for citation as precedent because the judges making the opinion deem the case as "less important". In the system of common law, each judicial decision becomes part of the body of law used in future decisions. However, some courts reserve certain decisions, leaving them "unpublished", and thus not available for citation in future cases. Typically a court leaves "less important" cases unpublished.
As of the year 2004, some 80% of United States Courts of Appeals decisions are unpublished.[1] There is active debate on the fairness issues raised by non-publication, and the utility of non-publication in the light of computerization of court records.
On September 20, 2005 the Judicial Conference of the United States voted to approve rule 32.1[2] of the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure, allowing citation of some unpublished decisions issued after January 1, 2007. Judge Samuel Anthony Alito, Jr. (since appointed to the Supreme Court of the United States) was then the chair of this committee.
Selective publication is the legal process which a judge or justices of a court decide whether a decision is to be or not published in a reporter.[3]
References
- ^ Leonidas Ralph Mecham, Admin. Office of the U.S. Courts, Judicial Business of United States Courts, Supplemental Table S-3, 2004 Annual Report of the Director, p. 39.
- ^ Rule 32.1 Citing Judicial Dispositions, Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure
- ^ On Google books: [1], [2], and [3]
External links
- NonPublication.com - Issue group seeking rule changes, Committee for the Rule of Law
- aallnet.org/products/2004-28.pdf - Article, A Librarian’s Guide to Unpublished Judicial Opinions
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