Free case law in California

Law Is Free.

The Metropolitan News-Enterprise: "All appellate opinions published in California since it became a state in 1850 are now available online without charge at the state courts' website, the state Supreme Court announced yesterday."

[via Bag and Baggage]

California court officials were apparently savvy enough to include a requirement that Lexis-Nexis, as a condition to obtaining the contract for the official California reports (April 2003 press release), also provide that: "The public will have free access to the official text of the opinions at a Web site hosted by LexisNexis linked to the court's Web site." As others have noted, there's a lengthy disclaimer, but California's effort is also great progress toward making the law freely available to those who cannot afford subscriptions to legal research services. Other states in the process of re-negotiating contracts with vendors providing official reports should take note.

  4:40:18 PM