As Law.com reported last week, the Supreme Court has approved proposed Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 32.1, which, if Congress allows it to go into effect, will permit citation of unpublished federal opinions in federal courts. This development could impact the ongoing debate about whether California Rule of Court 977 should be similarly revised. If the California rule is ever changed, it could definitely affect UCL practice, because a great many UCL decisions are unpublished. As I previously reported, the Advisory Committee on Rules for Publication of Court of Appeal Opinions is considering certain revisions to Rule of Court 976, which guides the Court of Appeal in deciding whether an opinion should be published, but it is not considering whether to change the rules about citing unpublished opinions.
This development has been widely reported in the blogosphere, but my hat tip goes to Patently-O, whose feed reached my desktop first.
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