Case Summary

The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has created a wiki for court business, providing electronic access to Seventh Circuit case information, rules, procedures and opinions. This is the first public wiki launched by the federal judiciary. The site is based on the principle that comments from lawyers across the nation are important to the judicial process because issues of federal practice, especially in the appellate courts, are common ones.

The court also allows oral arguments to be heard through the use of RSS feeds

Business Challenge

The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals sought a dynamic way to refine federal judicial procedures and practices.

Approach Taken

The circuit established a wiki site that posts rules of practice, opinions, a link to the Practitioner's Handbook and other informative materials. Judges and attorneys from across the country are invited to establish an account on the site in order to comment on practices and procedures occuring in both the court of appeals and the district courts. Anyone who wishes to edit pages needs to supply their real name and confirm their email address.

Results Achieved

The wiki site established by the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals was the first to be launched by the Federal judiciary.

Lessons Learned

There is not a great deal of information available at this time but it should be interesting to watch how this develops and whether other courts will follow the 7th Circuit's lead.