One issue to be resolved is the mechanics of assigning serial numbers for jurisdictions where there is more than one court issuing judgments in the same jurisdiction. Part of the unique citation system is a court designator code. An informative cite can be helpful, especially internationally, but simplicity and brevity have its distinct advantages. By linking the original with the revised version, the number can assist researchers. Since it seems impracticable to designate courts with identifiers that are unique in the world, perhaps a country code can be added to each national system.
Readers tend to like punctuation in citations to visually separate elements for quick parsing.
On the other hand, computer users find punctuation superfluous, even problematic. The system of citation needs to balance these needs so that users can actually read and understand the citation, but also enjoy the benefits of computerized retrieval. Adopting a standard across the country has obvious advantages, and other jurisdictions are moving in the same direction. The time for reform is here.