Support the Rule of Law

Your tax-deductible contribution helps us scan the Official Law of the District of Columbia.

We purchased all the volumes of the Official Code of DC, the laws that are currently in effect for our Capitol City. Your tax-deductible contribution pays for scanning the Official Code of the District and posting it on the Internet Archive for all to read. We also make the bulk data available on our server so you can download the files. There are no restrictions on use since the law belongs to the people.

OMG, you might ask, do you mean to say the Official Code isn't available on the Internet? Believe it or not, the District of Columbia does not make the Official Code available on the Internet! Instead, they make an unofficial unannotated version available on their vendor's site, but the site is really bad and the terms of use prohibit you from doing anything useful with it.

What We Need & What You Get

What we do is pretty simple. We purchased the Official Code and then we scan it and post the scans for anybody to use. Your contribution is tax-deductible and we use the well-respected non-profit Internet Archive to scan our docs. If you'd like, we'll list your name on a specific volume as the sponsor. Or, if you'd prefer, you can make your tax-deductible contribution and remain anonymous.

We've already scanned and posted the 2001 Official Code in 2013. Your tax-deductible contribution helps continue the work in 2014, including scanning the current Official Code as well as all back titles going back to World War II.

If we exceed our funding goals, we will make copies of the Official Code onto USB thumb drives ("Freedom Drives!") and mail them to worthy libraries, schools, and other public institutions in our Capitol City.

We set a minimum funding goal of $3,000. We can put up to $12,000 to good use for the District of Columbia. $3k funds all the current codes, if we get more we'll be able to do all the historical codes and give them a nice home on the net. All funding goes to Public.Resource.Org, a certified 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation.

Our Other Campaigns

Most states make their official codes available for all to read because ignorance of the law is no excuse. But, there are a few that don't. We posted a Proclamation of Promulgation on March 15 and put those holdout states on notice that it is time to bring the law to the people. You can read that official notice here:

https://YesWeScan.Org/

2014 is the Official Summer of Code. We've launched 4 simultaneous Gogos to scan Official Codes.

In addition to DC, we have launched crowdfunding campaigns for these jurisdictions:

• The Laws of Mississippi
• The Laws of the District of Columbia (This Campaign!)
• The Laws of the Great State of Georgia
• The Laws of the Great State of Idaho

Who We Are (Is This Legit?)

The Summer of Code is being run by Public.Resource.Org, a well-respected nonprofit responsible for placing numerous important government databases on the Internet. You can view our due diligence information on our about page.

We made over 6,000 government videos available as part of our FedFlix program (view them on the Internet Archive or on YouTube). We're responsible for making available public safety codes—building, fire, plumbing, fire, and other legally-binding codes—available for all to freely use on our law.resource.org server.

You might want to know if this business of scanning Official Codes is legit. The answer is absolutely, positively. I testified before Congress on this subject, and you're welcome to read my testimony or watch the whole hearing and see the strong support we received from members of Congress.

The rule of law is very simple: the law belongs to the people. There is no copyright in the law. That principle was established in 1834 by the Supreme Court and has been repeatedly reaffirmed. We have the right to read and speak the laws by which we choose to govern ourselves.

As Justice Stephen Breyer said, “If a law isn't public, it isn't a law.”

Thank you for your support!

Carl Malamud