Lex Ferenda

John Markoff’s article on access to legal materials in yesterday’s New York Times has triggered a round of interesting blog posts Slaw, Citizen Media Law Center, Susan Crawford and Tim O’Reilly all chip in.

Carl Malamud, the subject of the story, is a hero. Confirmation comes from this wonderful letter (PDF) that he has just sent to West Publishing.

Some of the posts mention Tim Wu’s baby, Alt.law, a great site, or note that some cases are already available through various sources. The more the merrier, I say. There are few things more resonant (as examples of unfulfilled democratic promise) than locked-down, tolled, proprietary, restricted access to the fruit of the people’s courts.