Thursday, September 22, 2005

Unpublished Opinions

The Law.com blog was alive with news yesterday about the Federal Judicial Center’s endorsement of the use of “unpublished opinions” in federal courts nationwide beginning in 2007. (See Law.com article )

The proposed rule ( Appellate Procedure Rule 32.1 ) was first published back in August 2003, and the present practice governing the citation of “unpublished opinions” varies across the nation. The 6th. Circuit’s position is “to disfavor, except for the purpose of establishing res judicata, estoppel, or law of case [ 6 Cir.R. 28(g) ].

The proposed rule would apply only to discussions issued on or after the January 1, 2007 effective date.

On the state court level, the Ohio Supreme Court, back in May 2002, amended Ohio court rules, abolishing the distinction between “controlling” and “persuasive” based on the form of publication. [Rule 4 ( c ) ]

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