Vendor-neutral citation system is gaining popularity.

A new system for citing legal authority that takes into account lawyers' growing use of the Internet for research is gaining support in the legal community. The new cite form, often called vendor-neutral, could eventually replace the current citation system, which identifies cases by the bound volumes in which they appear

In March, a special committee of the American Bar Association issued a preliminary report recommending that all states adopt a citation system "that is equally effective for printed case reports and for case reports electronically published on computer discs or network services." (ABA Special Comm. on Citation Issues, Preliminary Report (1996).

And this summer, a consortium of editors of several law review journals expects to publish the 16th edition of the Bluebook--the nearly universally adopted style manual for legal citations--that will include rules for vendor-neutral cites.

The concept of a vendor-neutral citation system is not new. An increasing number of courts have begun to publish electronic versions of opinions soon after their release. The printed version--which is the only one many courts will allow to be cited as precedent--often appears several wecks later.

Consequently, lawyers, librarians, and others have been pushing courts to adopt a citation form that would allow lawyers to cite cases that have been published electronically but have not yet hit the books.

Courts in some states, including California, Louisiana, and Wisconsin, and one federal appellate court have either adopted or are considering vendor-neutral systems. But the citation formats have been inconsistent. And that's what prompted the ABA's action.

"A number of states were considering adopting new citation systems, and they were not identical. This was not helpful but, rather, more difficult for people citing cases," said Atlanta attorney J.D. Fleming, chair of the ABA committee.

The format proposed by the ABA and the Bluebook's editors would include the year of the decision, a court abbreviation, the sequential number of the opinion for that year, and the paragraph where the cited material could be found. For example, a cite to an opinion from the California Supreme Court would be Smith v. Jones, 1996 CA 1, 15.

The ABA report also recommends that courts 'strongly encourage" the use of parallel cites to commonly used printed case reports--when they become available--"until electronic publications of case reports become generally available to and commonly relied upon by courts and lawyers in the jurisdiction."

Brady Williamson, an attorney for West Publishing in Minneapolis, said his client was pleased with this recommendation. "We think it's essential that parallel citations be required. If all you have is a generic citation for a case, you don't know, where to find it," Williamson said. "We need to have a system that does not make computer literacy a bar to legal information."

Bluebook Editor Gary Murphy said a similar recommendation will be included in the new edition of the Bluebook.

Fleming said his committee expected to deliver a final report to the ABA Board of Governors in late May. The board would then issue its recommendations to the association's house of delegates, which would vote on the issue in August.

Any final recommendations will not be binding on the courts. "They are practical suggestions that courts can take into account," Fleming said. "The courts make the ultimate decision."