Wikipedia:Wikipedia as a court source

This is a sortable table of documents used in legal proceedings that have cited Wikipedia as a source. This may also include important regulatory or administrative government decisions, as well as landmark decisions in other languages than English.

Discussions in the Wikipedia community

Wikipedia Signpost, August 20, 2012: Utah appellate court opinion relies on Wikipedia to establish that the meaning of a term in a contract may be ambiguous
Wikipedia Signpost, July 16, 2007: British agency cites Wikipedia in denying F1 trademark
Wikipedia Signpost, January 29, 2007: Court decisions citing Wikipedia proliferate
Wikipedia Signpost, July 3, 2006: Wikipedia cited by the High Court of England and Wales
Bourgeois v. Peters (being one of the earliest court opinions to cite and quote Wikipedia)

Academic papers and blogs

When Is It Appropriate to Cite to Wikipedia? (Daniel J. Solove, Concurring Opinions Blog, February 5, 2007; archived from the original March 3, 2016)
Courting Wikipedia, citing Wikipedia (Jon Garfunkel, Civilities Blog, May 30, 2006)
Wikipedia's Future in the Courts (Patrick Ferguson, May 9, 2006)
Wikipedia cited in court opinions (Eugene Volokh, The Volokh Conspiracy Blog, October 18, 2004)
F-words (Joe Gratz, July 31, 2003)
Jason C. Miller and Hannah B. Murray, Wikipedia in Court: When and How Citing Wikipedia and Other Consensus Websites is Appropriate. St. John's Law Review, Vol. 84, No. 2, 2010. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1502759 .
Joseph Reagle: Reference works and judicial notice (reagle.org, 15 February 2008) "The import of the use of reference works in court cases is frequently misunderstood, and in this case Wikipedia is no different. ..."
Lee F. Peoples. "THE CITATION OF WIKIPEDIA IN JUDICIAL OPINIONS". 12 YALE J.L. & TECH. 1 (2009). Retrieved 2017-03-24.
Wilson, Jodi L. "Proceed With Extreme Caution: Citation to Wikipedia in Light of Contributor Demographics and Content Policies" (PDF). Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law, 2014, Vol. 16:4:857. Retrieved 5 Dec 2018.
Beck, Reed Smith LLP-James M. (23 January 2017). "Pitfalls Of Judges, Lawyers, And Experts Citing Wikipedia | Lexology". Retrieved 25 January 2017.
Lee, Keith (2017-03-10). "Is Wikipedia A Reliable Legal Authority? (2017 Update)". Associate's Mind.
Volokh, Eugene (16 August 2012). "Citing Wikipedia in Court Opinions". The Volokh Conspiracy. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
Siesholtz, Colette. "People v. Givenni (case comment)" (PDF). NYLS Law Review vol 56, 2011/12. Retrieved 15 March 2018.

General media

Courts Turn to Wikipedia, but Selectively (Noam Cohen, New York Times, January 29, 2007)
The Patent Office: Getting Wiki With It (Alan Cohen, January 16, 2007)
"Juror's research could imperil $7.5M award". news-leader.com. Associated Press. 22 May 2014. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
Wikipedia article, found in juror notebook, could impact teen's murder conviction.
CA defends use of Wikipedia in decision vs mining firm
Republican congressman quotes Wikipedia during IRS hearing
Volokh, Eugene (2017-03-17). "When should courts rely on Wikipedia?". Washington Post.
Tangalakis-Lippert, Katherine; Getahun, Hannah (8 April 2023). "Texas judge's ruling to ban mifepristone nationwide cites Wikipedia, contains pro-life talking points, and gets basic facts about abortion wrong: Experts say it's 'completely flawed'". Business Insider. Retrieved 8 April 2023.

Court cases

References