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Friday, November 25, 2005

Ind. Courts - More on posting Indiana briefs online

On Nov. 19 the ILB posted this entry headed "A great Kentucky resource: why don't we have the same in Indiana?" remarking on the fact that a law school in Kentucky provides an online, up-to-date repository of appellate briefs. I asked: "Why don't we have this in Indiana? More specifically, why can't we have access to Indiana appellate briefs via the Courts' website?"

The next day, Nov. 20, the SW Virginia Law Blog posted this entry:

How West Virginia and Kentucky put Virginia to shame

State appeals court briefs are available online in West Virginia and in Kentucky but not in Virginia.

This fact ought to be a source of embarrassment to some people in Richmond and elsewhere in the Commonwealth.

Last weekend wasn't the first time the ILB has remarked on this issue. Here is the section on "Appellate Briefs" from my 4/30/05 entry titled "Blog Disappointments, Part II."
Appellate Briefs.

Recall that in a posting Friday, available here, I quoted from the Dec. 31, 2003 New Year's Eve ILB wishlist. Among the items described as those which "could readily be accomplished by our elected/appointed officials, and would make a difference" was:

#2. Copies of briefs for cases before the Indiana Supreme Court [and Court of Appeals] made available online. When? At the same time they are filed with the Clerk of the Court.
Many other states make the briefs available online to the public. Indiana does not.

On April 14th David C. Lewis, Clerk of the Supreme and Appeals Courts, issued a press release announcing "Indiana Appellate Briefs Now Available Online through Westlaw." Some quotes:

Westlaw subscribers have several options for adding this service to their current subscriptions. Individuals who are not Westlaw subscribers may access the service with a credit card, paying on a per-use basis. * * *

"West's online briefs project takes us another step closer to providing the public with greater access to court records," said Clerk David Lewis. "We applaud West's commitment to this project. Not only does it provide Indiana's attorneys with a significant new tool, but it promotes our office's goal of openness and accountability in the judicial system." [emphasis added]

I'm not out to burn any bridges here, but I just don't think so. I think promoting West's project to sell the briefs makes it unlikely that they will ever be available online to the public at no cost.

Who, other than the parties in the case (who already are on the distribution list) might be interested in reading Indiana appellate briefs, if they were freely available?

  • People (scholars, students, attorneys interested in keeping up in an area, the interested public) who watch the oral arguments online would benefit greatly from being able first to review the briefs, and the lower court's opinion.

  • People who are interested in a contentious case, such as the recent same-sex marriage case before the Court of Appeals, and the post-Blakely/Booker cases before the the Court of Appeals and Supreme Courts, who need ready access to ALL the documents -- here we are talking about dozens of briefs.

  • People who read a decision and want to read the parties' arguments, and people who want to see a cross-section of arguments made, and cases cited, about a particular issue.
In short, the same people who read the courts' opinions and listen to oral arguments on the Court's public website should be able to access the briefs there. Is is disappointing that they can't.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on November 25, 2005 12:09 PM
Posted to Indiana Courts