Co-directors of Cornell's Legal Information Institute, Peter Martin, above, the Jane M.G. Foster Professor of Law, and Thomas Bruce, a research associate in legal informatics, examine some of the institute's information on the World Wide Web. University Photography
Through a dense jungle of cables and a labyrinth of computer terminals in an office perched at the top of Cornell's ivy-covered Myron Taylor Hall, the Legal Information Institute (LII) uses the World Wide Web to spread legal knowledge to county planners in rural Montana, high school teachers in Michigan, budding writers in North Carolina, attorneys at the American Indian Law Alliance in New York City and countless others around the globe.
But the institute, which has been praised by the American Bar Association Journal and is featured in The Lawyer's Guide to the Internet, isn't merely a repository for legal information. It also develops software and teaching materials and provides research and educational opportunities for faculty and students.
Historically, the legal community suffered from anxiety attacks when it came to technology. The common photo opportunity featuring an attorney or judge before a well-stocked legal library stack was an accurate depiction of where and how most legal research was conducted. But legal information today has jumped from leather-bound texts to disks and the electronic superhighway.
Cornell's Legal Information Institute (LII) is one of those superhighway destinations that is developing a new platform for legal research and information dissemination. The LII was established in the spring of 1992 with funding from the Law School and the National Center for Automated Information Research (NCAIR), as an experiment in electronic publishing and research. A year later, the institute's Web page -- www.law.cornell.edu -- became the first site to offer legal information via the Web. In the five years since its creation, the institute has developed numerous Web sites and two electronic bulletins that transmit key information on significant court cases directly to attorneys around the world.
LII's most popular attraction is its U.S. Supreme Court Web site. Even the White House Web page links visitors to the Cornell site. More than 80,000 users visit the site daily. Here one can find the most up-to-date information on Supreme Court decisions.
Cornell is one of only two universities in the country (the other being Case Western Reserve) that is able to post an official unedited electronic version of the court's decision within seconds after it's been handed down from the bench. Before the Internet, such immediate access to the court's rulings was available only to the news media and commercial on-line information systems, but Cornell's recent subscription to the U.S. Supreme Court's electronic transmission service, offered by STN Inc. of Reston, Va., assures that such information is accessible to the general public for free.
In addition to the instant access to U.S. Supreme Court rulings, the institute offers a free e-mail service -- the "liibulletin" -- that distributes the syllabi of U.S. Supreme Court decisions in bulletin format within hours of their release. The syllabi are summaries of the decisions written by the court's Reporter of Decisions.
The LII's U.S. Supreme Court Web site offers a court calendar with days highlighted as argument days, conference days, non-argument sessions and court holidays. Users can click on the argument schedule and find out when particular cases will be heard. There also is a glossary of common U.S. Supreme Court terms (Certiorari, Per Curiam), and biographies of U.S. Supreme Court justices with links to their important opinions.
The institute's directors also have selected 325 of the most significant rulings from the full two-century history of the Court. They are referenced by party name, subject and opinion author. These landmark decisions are not only available on-line but also on CD-ROM, which includes features that cannot be supported on the Web site.
"The disk has been a huge hit with teachers and librarians who are discussing the Supreme Court in their classes or helping students with research," said Peter Martin, co-director of the institute and the Jane M.G. Foster Professor of Law. "It enables them to easily print and copy decisions and create their own menus of decisions in whatever depth and focus is appropriate to a particular class."
Rob Wroblewski, a government and politics teacher at Dearborn High School in Michigan, said the institute, especially its U.S. Supreme Court Web site, enables him to present students with current information and knowledge of the American legal system. "Case law changes so frequently that even very good textbooks can be out of date as soon as they are published," he said. "Using the institute's services enables me to teach students about the most current changes in U.S. law."
The Web site is a time-saver, too, he said. "In order for me to get more information about Supreme Court decisions than what appears in the press, I need to go to a Detroit library, which is about 30 minutes away, and find the appropriate law guide and then make copies; it takes the better part of an afternoon," he said. "The Web site allows me to do my research without leaving my office or home."
In a talk to a state association of social studies teachers, Wroblewski used Cornell's LII Web site for a presentation on search-and-seizure laws. "This site is tremendously valuable and an excellent resource for teachers in any law-related subjects," he said.
Another unique resource offered by LII is up-to-date information on New York State Court of Appeals rulings with synopses and analyses by Cornell law students. Entries for key decisions contain a summary, which includes information on the case being appealed; the issue to be decided by the court; and its ultimate disposition. Also included are a list of cases and other sources cited by the court. The electronic case notes written by a team of Cornell law students come complete with a listing of some key questions left unanswered by the court's ruling.
The information is available on the Web site or via an e-mail bulletin -- liibulletin-ny -- which is currently sent to more than 1,375 subscribers, among them educational institutions, law firms, judges, corporations and media outlets.
The online bulletin provides the legal community with the fastest analysis for Court of Appeals' rulings currently available. The student-authored notes are usually available to subscribers within five days of the court's decision. Most print journals and newsletters do not offer reviews of cases until three and sometimes six months after these have been handed down.
The LII also has made using the voluminous U.S. Code much easier. This compilation of all laws passed by Congress is in need of frequent updates, which often don't get to library shelves until months after a new law is written. And the Code is complicated enough that simply attaching a search engine to it fails to provide effective access.
Lizabeth Gonzalez, director of Legal Services of the American Indian Law Alliance in New York City, said the institute and its presentation of the U.S. Code is a definite money saver for the often financially strapped legal agency. "The Web site is invaluable to us," said Gonzalez, who is often on-line searching for information on treaties made between the United States and American Indian nations. "We don't have access to the resources law firms have, so access to the information provided by the institute allows us to do more."
Steven R. Bartman of North Carolina is not an attorney but a budding novelist. He accessed the institute's U.S. Code offering for help in writing a techno-thriller à la Tom Clancy. "The two issues I needed data on were: what is the law concerning arrest on the high seas [Can the U.S. Coast Guard do it? Can any other U.S. official?], and, second, what are the laws concerning the disposition of commercial prize vessels taken by the U.S. Navy?" Bartman said. "The second issue hasn't been very relevant since the 19th century, but I was gratified to find the U.S. Code still contains detailed procedures for prize commissioners, etc., should the need arise, which it does in my book.
The institute has heard from others as well. A staff attorney for the Mississippi Department of Human Services said the institute enables a rural county to have a complete law library; similar sentiments were offered by planners in a rural Montana county. A retired colonel and officer of the National Guard Association no longer has to contend with trying to explain provisions of a federal law to colleagues; he simply refers them to the U.S. Code site offered by Cornell.
"I don't think we're surprised by the feedback or the amount of use the institute's services receive," said Thomas Bruce, co-director of the Legal Information Institute and a research associate in legal informatics. "But we are certainly gratified that we can be of help to so many people."
In a week's time more people connect to Cornell Law School electronically for one of the services of the LII than have been students of the institution in its 110-year history.