Unpublished Opinions to Be Citable in 2007

According to Tony Mauro writing for the Legal Times on April 12, 2006, the Supreme Court has adopted a historic change to the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure that will allow lawyers to cite so-called "unpublished opinions" issued on or after January 1, 2007. The new rule reportedly takes effect unless Congress countermands it before Dec. 1.

"The U.S. Courts of Appeals for the 2nd, 7th, 9th, and Federal circuits currently ban the citation of unpublished opinions outright, while six other circuits discourage it," writes Mauro. "Under the new rule, circuits will still be able to give varying precedential weight to unpublished opinions, but they can no longer keep lawyers from citing them."