Star Mapping the Law Docs and ‘Digg’-ing Legal Opinion

Great press release from the fed-facing open-source activist site public.resource.org.

The news in the announcement is worth celebrating and well worth the wait: a huge, free, digital archive of federal case law, including all Courts of Appeals decisions from 1950 to the present and all Supreme Court decisions since 1754!

But what I really like is the last paragraph, explaining how open-source archives circa 2007 are taking the extra step to convert two-dimensional, law record formatted content into the online sphere:

Public.Resource.Org intends to perform an initial transformation on the federal case law archive obtained from Fastcase using open source “star” mapping software, which will allow the insertion of markers that will approximate page breaks based on user-furnished parameters such as page size, margins, and fonts. “Wiki” technology will be used to allow the public to move around these “star” markers, as well as add summaries, classifications, keywords, alternate numbering systems for citation purposes, and ratings or “diggs” on opinions.