The New York Times is reporting that since early 2004 more than 100 judicial rulings have relied on Wikipedia, including 13 circuit courts of appeal (one step below the Supreme Court). According to Judge Richard A. Posner of the United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, in Chicago, “Wikipedia is a terrific resource.” He goes on to say that Wikipedia is updated recently and “very accurate.”

Let pause for a second and recap: US judges use Wikipedia as a reference in their judicial rulings. As someone who has been told repeatedly by college professors that using Wikipedia as a source is not valid and may even be considered plagiarism, I am baffled. How is it that our instructors are disallowing Wikipedia as a reference, yet one of the highest authorities in the United States is incorporating it into its resources? Judges have access to any document in history that may aid in helping them to deliver a judgment, however on scores of occasions they have chosen to use Wikipedia; to me that speaks to the validity of the service. I’m not saying that it is time to ditch hard covers and rename Wikipedia to the Library of Congress, but I think people, particularly college professors, should certainly look into accepting it as a valid research tool.