Should Courts Cite Wikipedia?
The Volokh Conspiracy has noted that at least two judges have cited Wikipedia in their judicial opinions. The Volokh Conspiracy discusses whether this is good for the legal system. But another important question is whether Wikipedia would be harmed if judges made frequent use of it.
Trial lawyers would most certainly manipulate Wikipedia entries if it would help their clients. Lawyers, furthermore, have the kind of training that would help them surreptitiously insert misleading information into Wikipedia.
In big cases lawyers would be willing to rewrite a Wikipedia entry if there was even a slight chance it would help their clients. So if judges come to even slightly rely on Wikipedia then lawyers will engage in massive manipulation of the online encyclopedia. I suspect, therefore, that Wikipedia would be far better off if it was ignored by the legal system
