ABSTRACT
Some people obey laws intentionally. William Landes and Richard Posner claim that uncertainty breeds litigation and thereby maintains an optimal flow of information about law. The difficulty of accounting for mutual optimism is increased if one keeps in mind that disagreements over facts rarely prompt appeals, the kind of lawsuits from which most important opinions of law emerge. If trials occur because of uncertainty about law, then a presumption would seem to exist in favor of publishing opinions whenever trials take place. The fact that information about law is a public good affects the conditions for its optimal supply. The idea that private parties will produce an optimal supply of information about law runs counter to the presumption that economically rational persons lack incentives to supply public goods at optimal rates. Lawsuits often provide information about legal norms for use by the public at large. They therefore help explain how people learn about law.
