Courts Begin To Turn To Wikipedia For Reference

A search of court decisions by the New York Times has discovered more than 100 rulings that have cited the online encyclopedia since 2004, including thirteen from the circuit court of appeals, one rung beneath the supreme court. The NY Times says:

Many citations by judges, often in footnotes, are like Judge Posner’s, beside the main judicial point, appear intended to show how hip and contemporary the judge is, reflecting Professor Sunstein’s suspicion, “that law clerks are using Wikipedia a great deal.”

The Supreme Court of Iowa cites Wikipedia to explain that “jungle juice” is “the name given to a mix of liquor that is usually served for the sole purpose of becoming intoxicated.” In the Florida case, the court noted that booty music has “a slightly higher dance tempo and occasional sexually explicit lyrical content.”

NY Times