U.S. Supreme Court Allows Attorneys to Cite "Unpublished Opinions" in Federal Courts

The United States Supreme Court has adopted a rule
change that will allow attorneys to cite "unpublished
opinions" in federal courts. Under the new rule, circuits
will still be able to give varying precedential weight to
unpublished opinions, but they can no longer prevent
attorneys from citing them. The new rule will go into
effect next year unless Congress countermands it before
December 1, 2006.

The text of the new rule and links to related
articles may be found on the Law Librarian Blog
(4/13/2006).