Newsgroups: alt.etext From: dell@wiretap.spies.com (Thomas Dell) Subject: [GOVDOC-L] TAP-CROWN JEWELS - DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE JURIS SYSTEM Message-ID: Organization: The Internet Wiretap Date: Wed, 9 Jun 1993 21:13:17 GMT Newsgroups: bit.listserv.govdoc-l From: LOVE%TEMPLEVM.bitnet@vmd.cso.uiuc.edu Sender: Discussion of Government Document Issues Subject: TAP-CROWN JEWELS - DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE JURIS SYSTEM Message-ID: Approved-By: RAED@VMD.CSO.UIUC.EDU Date: Wed, 9 Jun 1993 11:16:17 CDT Lines: 317 Crown Jewels Campaign Taxpayer Assets Project/ Essential Information June 8, 1993 (please circulate freely) U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE JURIS SYSTEM The Taxpayer Assets Project is gathering signatures for a letter to Attorney General Janet Reno, asking that the Department of Justice provide public access to JURIS, the federal government's online database of legal information. If you are willing to support this effort, please send your permission to the Taxpayer Assets Project at one of the following addresses: internet: juris@essential.org postal: P.O. Box 19367, Washington, DC 20036 fax: 202/234-5176 Name: _______________________ Title: _______________________ Affiliation: _______________________ (for purposes of identification only) Mailing Address: _______________________ City, St, Zip: _______________________ Email Address: _______________________ Telephone number: _______________________ The letter to Attorney General Janet Reno is given below, following a brief description of the JURIS system. THE PRODUCTS JURIS contains vast amounts of federal legal information, including such items as: published and unpublished federal court decisions, including decisions from bankruptcy, military, tax and claims courts; the U.S. Code, public laws, indian law, immigration and naturalization law, tax law, the code of federal regulations, federal acquisition regulations, federal executive orders, foreign treaties, and legislative histories; extensive administrative law on topics such as EPA enforcement, equal employment opportunity, government ethics, contracts, and published and unpublished Comptroller General decisions; and Department of Justice monographs, briefs and manuals. ONLY GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES NOW HAVE ACCESS The JURIS system is run by the Justice Department on government- owned software and computers under Executive Order 12146 (July 18, 1979). JURIS currently provides online access to about 15,000 government officials, but the service is not available to private citizens. INCREMENTAL COST OF PUBLIC ACCESS IS LOW The Justice Department charges JURIS users a flat rate of $73 per hour, which is far less than the cost of WESTLAW or LEXIS, the two commercial vendors who dominate the market for online legal information. But the JURIS fee structure is designed to cover the average unit costs of the system, including the costs of development, support, and administration. The incremental cost of adding new users is quite low, perhaps a few dollars per hour, since most of the budget covers the system's fixed costs. BARRIERS TO ACCESS The major problem with access to JURIS concern the opposition from West Publishing, the owner of WESTLAW, and Mead Data Central, the owner of LEXIS. Currently WESTLAW provides digital copies of legal information in a controversial contract which allows WESTLAW to insert copyrighted information into the text of government decisions and laws, and exercise copyright type restrictions on the database. Because the WESTLAW material is included in the database, the JURIS database is not available through the freedom of information act, and not available to private citizens. The Department of Justice is now rebidding the WESTLAW contract. We are urging the Department of Justice to require the winning contractor to provide the data in a way that does not bar public access to this important database. --------------------------------------------------------------- THE PROPOSED LETTER Janet Reno Attorney General U.S. Department of Justice Washington, DC 20530 Dear Ms Reno: We are writing to urge you to take steps to provide public access to the Department of Justice JURIS system, which is an important online database of federal legal information. Under a controversial contract with West Publishing, a private data vendor now inserts copyrighted information into this database, which consists primarily of non-copyrighted government information. The West contract, which is currently being rebid by the Justice Department, prevents the public from obtaining access to a very valuable online database which is funded by the taxpayers. The contents of the JURIS database include a vast amount of legal information which are of interest of millions of Americans, who will benefit from broader public access. We urge you to direct the Department of Justice to take steps to provide public access to the JURIS database. Citizens should be available to search JURIS online, or on CD-ROM, at a cost which does not exceed the incremental cost of providing public access. The Department of Justice should also contact the Government Printing Office (GPO) to make arrangements to provide access to JURIS through the new GPO Access system, which will provide public online access to a wide range of federal databases, including free access to the 1,400 member federal Depository Library program. Please tell us the specific steps that you will take to address this issue. Sincerely, (Affiliations are for identification purposes only.) ------------------------------------------------------------- SELECTED PORTIONS OF JURIS DATABASE (FALL 1992) CASELAW U.S. Supreme Court 1900 - present Federal Reporter, 2nd Series 1934 - present Court of Appeals Unpublished Decisions 1982 - present Federal Supplement 1966 - present Federal Rules Decisions 1976 - present Atlantic 2nd Reporter (DC only) 1977 - present Bankruptcy Reporter 1979 - present Courts of Military Review 1951 - 1975 Military Justice Reporter 1974 - present Court of Claims 1956 - 9/82 Claims Court 1982 - present STATUTORY LAW Public Laws 93rd Congress - 102nd Congress United States Code Executive Orders 12/31/47 - present Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988 Section-by-section analysis of anti-drug abuse act of 1988 Criminal Division Handbook on CCCA The Organic Laws of the United States DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE BRIEFS Office of the Solicitor General Briefs Civil Division Briefs Civil Division Trail Briefs Environmental and Natural Resources Division Briefs Environmental and Natural Resources Trial Briefs Environmental and Natural Resources Division Briefs Index Tax Division Criminal Appellate Briefs U.S. Attorney's Offices Briefs U.S. Trustees' Offices Briefs U.S. Trustees' Offices Briefs U.S. Trustees' Offices Trial Briefs U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE MANUALS United States Attorney's Manual United States Trustees' Manual FEDERAL MANUALS Federal Personnel Manual God grading standards Federal Acquisition Regulations Federal Acquisition Circulars Federal Travel Regulation Federal Information Resources Management Regulation Federal Property Management Regulations Principles of Federal Appropriations Law Justice Department Acquisition Regulation Justice Property Management Regulations LEGISLATIVE HISTORIES OF FEDERAL LAWS Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA) Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 Sentencing Reform Sections of the Senate Report of the CCCA of 1984 ADMINISTRATIVE LAW Published Comptroller General Decisions Unpublished Comptroller General Decisions Opinions of the Attorney General Office of Legal Counsel (U.S. Dept. of Justice Board of Contract Appeals ADP Protest Report (Summary of ADP Procurement Protests before the GSBCA) Federal Labor Relations Authority Case Decisions FLRA Admin. Law Judge Decisions Federal Service Impasses Decisions Decisions and Reports on Rulings of the Assistant Sec. of Labor for Labor Management Relations Federal Labor Relations Council Rulings on Requests of the Asst. Sec. of Labor for Labor Management Relations HUD Administrative Law Decisions Merit System Protection Board Decisions Decisions under Immigration and Nationality Laws Environmental Protection Agency General Counsel Opinions Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Decisions Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Policy Statements U.S. Office of Government Ethics Decisions HHS Department Appeals Board Decisions FEDERAL REGULATIONS Code of Federal Regulations Unified Agenda of Federal Regulations Defense Acquisition Regulations TREATIES AND OTHER INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS United States Treaties and Other International Agreements Department of Defense Unpublished International Agreements FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT FOIA Update Newsletter DOJ Guide to the FOIA Case List Publications IMMIGRATION AND NATURALIZATION LAW Decisions Under Immigration and Nationality Law Title 8 - Code of Federal Regulations Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1988, Legislative History Equal Access to Justice Act, Legislative History TAX MATERIALS US Tax Court Decisions US Board of Tax Appeals Decisions Tax Division's Summons Enforcement Decisions Tax Division's Tax Protester Case List Tax Division's Criminal Tax Manual Tax Division's Criminal Tax Indictment/Information Forms Tax Division's Standardized Criminal Tax Jury Instructions Tax Division's Criminal Section Newsletter Tax Court Memorandum Decisions IRS Cumulative Bulletin Tax International Acts IRS News Releases IRS General Counsel Memoranda IRS Actions on Decisions IRS Technical Memoranda INDIAN LAW Opinions of the Solicitor (Dept. of Int) Ratified Treaties Unratified Treaties Presidential Proclamations Executive Orders and Other Orders Pertaining to Indians DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE WORKPRODUCTS Civil Division Monographs Civil Division Torts Branch Handbook on damages under FTCA Criminal Division Monographs Criminal Division Forms Criminal Division Guidelines for Drafting Indictments Criminal Division Narcotics, Forfeiture, Prosecution Manual Criminal Division Directory of Services Asset Forfeiture Manuals Obscenity Enforcement Reporter Environmental and Natural Resources Division Monographs US Sentencing Commission's Guidelines Manual Sentencing Guidelines Updates ---------------------------------------------------------------------- GROUPS INTERESTED IN THIS ISSUE INCLUDE: American Library Association 202/547-4440; American Association of Law Librarians 202/662-9160; Taxpayer Assets Project 202/387-8030. THE CROWN JEWELS CAMPAIGN The Crown Jewels Campaign is a grass roots effort to open up access to several of the federal government's most important information systems. Future editions will provide updates on JURIS, as well as information abut the SEC'S EDGAR system, the House of Representatives LEGIS system, the CIA Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS), the Patent and Trademark Automated Patent System (APS), and others. Suggestions for Crown Jewels targets are welcome. The Crown Jewels Campaign is a joint effort between Essential Information and Ralph Nader's The Taxpayer Assets Project (TAP). TAP information policy notes, including all Crown Jewels Campaign memorandums, are disseminated through tap-info, a *low volume* list (not a discussion group). Send subscription requests to: tap-info-request@essential.org ------------------------------------------------------------------ Taxpayer Assets Project, P.O. Box 19367, Washington, DC 20036; v. 202/387-8030; f. 202/234-5176; internet: tap@essential.org ------------------------------------------------------------------ tap-info postings are archived at cspr.org. ftp: ftp.cpsr.org; gopher: gopher.cpsr.org; wais: wais.cspr.org To receive tap-info, send a note to tap-info-request@essential.org ------------------------------------------------------------------ Taxpayer Assets Project, P.O. Box 19367, Washington, DC 20036; v. 202/387-8030; f. 202/234-5176; internet: tap@essential.org ------------------------------------------------------------------ tap-info postings are archived at cspr.org. ftp: ftp.cpsr.org; gopher: gopher.cpsr.org; wais: wais.cspr.org To receive tap-info, send a note to tap-info-request@essential.org ------------------------------------------------------------------ Taxpayer Assets Project, P.O. Box 19367, Washington, DC 20036; v. 202/387-8030; f. 202/234-5176; internet: tap@essential.org tap-info postings are archived at cspr.org. ftp: ftp.cpsr.org; gopher: gopher.cpsr.org; wais: wais.cspr.org