9th Cir chimes in on citing unpublished opinions

From: Conrad StanleyR. (conrads@stjohns.edu)
Date: Tue Sep 25 2001 - 06:12:24 PDT


Just in case people didn't see it ... 9th Cir. chimed in yesterday on citing
unpublished opinions:

http://www.law.com/regionals/ca/stories/edt0925a.shtml
Stanley R. Conrad, JD/MLS
Reference/ILL Librarian
St. John's University School of Law
8000 Utopia Parkway
Jamaica, NY 11439
718-990-2012
718-990-6649 (fax)
conrads@stjohns.edu

  -----Original Message-----
  From: owner-law-lib@ucdavis.edu [mailto:owner-law-lib@ucdavis.edu]On
Behalf Of Carol Avery Nicholson
  Sent: Tuesday, September 25, 2001 8:12 AM
  To: law-lib
  Subject: [Fwd: [Fwd: Federal Appendix-new West pub]]

  Anita,
  Our library has decided to purchase one copy of the Federal Appendix.
Below is a message from our Associate Director (who is not on lawlib)
regarding why we decided to subscribe. Of course, this message is not
intended to recommend that other libraries subscribe to the title.

  Carol

  Anne Klinefelter wrote:

    Carol,
    My understanding is that the 8th Circuit recently stirred things up in
the "unpublished" opinions arena with an opinion that was later vacated on
other grounds, leaving the issue unresolved. The earlier opinion,
Anastasoff v. United States, 223 F.3d 898 (8th Cir. Mo. 2000) allowed the
government to rely on an unpublished opinion that the court felt was the
only case on point. The court said that preventing the use of this case as
precedent violated Article III of the Constitution.

    Some law review articles have explored this case and suggested that
another court or the same 8th Circuit court will soon be presented with this
issue and may decide that preventing citation to unpublished opinions is
unconstitutional.

    Perhaps this case and the controversy surrounding it has led to the
publication of these "unpublished" opinions.

    Anne

    Anne Klinefelter
    Associate Director and Clinical Assistant Professor of Law
    Kathrine R. Everett Law Library
    University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
    klinefel@email.unc.edu; (919) 962-6202

    Carol Avery Nicholson wrote:

      Anita Shew wrote:

         Hello colleagues, Recently we received a volume of a new West
reporter series called Federal Appendix. There was no notice with it, nor
was there any introduction in the volume. This includes cases from the U.S.
Courts of Appeal that are not being published in Fed.3d. and are designated
"unreported". If they are not to be cited by the courts then why are they
being "published" in a book form?Can anybody shed any light on this? I have
no intention of keeping this set. And I have seen no word from West about
this.Anita Anita K. Shew, Director
        Butler County Law Library
        10 Journal Sq. Suite 200
        Hamilton, OH 45011
        (513) 887-3456
        FAX (513)887-3696
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