Irish Examiner view: Verdict on Wikipedia

Researchers claim judges are 'tempted to use' Wikipedia

Research suggests that judges like to dabble in Wikipedia. Picture: Larry Cummins

Judges, we like to think, immerse themselves in legal tomes, important matters of precedent, the fine print of the Constitution, the minutiae of new European legislation — all sources which might be brought to bear in reaching and justifying a judgement.

But it seems that they also like to dabble in Wikipedia. A claim originally made last summer by researchers at Maynooth University in Ireland, and at MIT and Cornell Law School in the US, has now been expanded to include “legal professionals” rather than solely judges and acknowledges the possibility that the impact of Wikipedia on judgments comes via lawyers’ submissions.