Legal Commentary

Students have sometimes cited Wikipedia to me in class or by e-mail as their legal reference guide.  Along the lines of "As Wikipedia says, Erie means...."  Sometimes they've even quoted paragraphs of it to me in e-mail.  Unfortunately, this brings out the curmudgeon in me.  Law school could be a place to start learning some of the good habits (e.g., not citing Wikipedia to partners or judges, not writing e-mails you could live to regret) that will serve them well. 

Am I just behind the times?  Maybe citing Wikipedia is simply equivalent to citing a study guide/"Civil Procedure in a Nutshell" in class, which I would also discourage.  Or maybe there is something special about the way Wikipedia is compiled that makes me want to have students be critical users.