Online Court Decisions Press Release

MRSC, March 19, 2002

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT

March 19, 2002 Judith Berrett, Director of Communications 206-727-8212 or judithb@wsba.org

New Online Resource for Court Decisions and Other Related Information
Available to the Public

Seattle, Washington, March 19, 2002 - The Municipal Research & Services Center, Washington State Bar Association and Washington State Office of the Code Reviser jointly announce the availability of a new Web site, www.legalWA.org.

This exciting new site contains Washington State Supreme Court opinions from 1939 to the present and published Court of Appeals opinions from 1969 to the present. The site also includes links to the full text of the Revised Code of Washington (RCW), Washington Administrative Code (WAC) and 70 Washington city and county municipal codes. The site was created cooperatively by the three groups to provide free public access to case law.

The site has been designed for ease of use. The full text of court decisions is searchable by keyword, and navigation around the site is simple and straightforward. The site also contains useful links to other legal resources. It will be updated weekly.

"The Web site is a very significant advancement in making this public information easily accessible to all at no cost," said Dale Carlisle, president of the Washington State Bar Association. "While those in the legal profession will certainly benefit, we are also extremely pleased that anyone with access to the Internet will be able to obtain this information quickly and easily."

The Municipal Research & Services Center (MRSC) is a nonprofit, independent organization created in 1969 to continue programs established in 1934 under the Bureau of Governmental Research at the University of Washington. Programs and services are available to Washington's 280 cites and 39

counties. MRSC's resources include a professional staff who are local government experts, a comprehensive local government reference library, publications, and an information-rich Web site (www.mrsc.org).

The Washington State Bar Association is a private, nonprofit organization authorized by the Washington Supreme Court to license the state's 26,500 lawyers. The WSBA both regulates lawyers under the authority of the Court and serves its members as a professional association - all without public funding. As a regulatory agency, it administers the bar exam, provides record-keeping and licensing functions, and administers the lawyer discipline program. As a professional association, the WSBA provides continuing legal education for attorneys, in addition to numerous other educational and member service activities. The WSBA's Web site is www.wsba.org.

The Office of the Code Reviser is responsible for codifying, indexing and publishing the RCW, and revising, correcting and harmonizing the statutes by means of administrative or suggested legislative action as may be appropriate. The Code Reviser's Office is also the official bill drafting arm of the Legislature, and provides a central bill-drafting service for legislators, legislators-elect, legislative committees, joint committees, the governor, elected officials, and agencies. The Office of the Code Reviser's Web site is http://slc.leg.wa.gov/.