SCOTUSwiki goes (a little more) public

Starting this evening, we’re introducing a new feature on SCOTUSwiki.  For the first time, the “pages” for five cases are now open to various degrees for editing.  For each case before the Court,  SCOTUSwiki hosts a wiki page with links to its briefs, analysis by SCOTUSblog, and media coverage.  Until now, editing of these pages was restricted to our blog team.

These first five pages are an experiment; we hope to open another five as the Term progresses.

The unlocked pages already feature links to the docket,  questions presented, and briefs from the cert. stage, and we will add new documents as they become available.  Users will have complete control over all other content.  Normally we post summary articles about each case’s factual background, merits briefs, oral argument, and decision, as well as links to media coverage; users are free to use this sample wiki page as a template.

Three of the five pages will be completely open to the public, so long as the individual registers for a free SCOTUSwiki account under his or her real name.

Two of the pages will be opened only to “experts.”  We have unlocked access to each of these pages to a select group of legal scholars with knowledge about the specialized area of law involved.  If you believe you’re an appropriate expert in the field, we’d love to consider including you; email scotusblog.feedback@gmail.com.

To start editing, click on the links below:

Pages open to everyone:

• Health Care Service v. Pollitt (09-38) — preemption of state court lawsuits over loss of benefits to federal government employee
• Astrue v. Ratliff (08-1322) — attorneys’ fees award from a case against the government used to cover a separate debt owed to the government
• Jerman v. Carlisle (08-1200) — application of “bona fide error” defense of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act to mistakes of law

Pages open to “experts”:

• Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha v. Regal-Beloit Corporation (08-1553) — application of federal law to terms of shipment agreements between cargo carriers and their customers.  This page is managed by the ContractsProf Blog.
• Hamilton, Chapter 13 Trustee v. Lanning (08-998) — the formula for how much a debtor has available to pay creditors who hold no security.  This page is managed by the BankruptcyProf Blog.

As for all wikis, editing SCOTUSwiki does require some basic knowledge of wiki markup language.  But many of us at SCOTUSblog are far from experts in it and we’ve managed just fine.  If you need help, a basic tutorial is available from Wikipedia, which uses the same wiki format.  Firefox users can also download the add-on Grease Monkey to edit without the specialized language.

As always, we welcome your feedback to scotusblog.feedback@gmail.com.