Legal Research

Unpublished Opinions in Federal Courts: An Interview with David Cleveland

Posted on October 29, 2008
David Cleveland is an Assistant Professor of Law at Nova Southeastern University, Shepard Broad Law Center. Professor Cleveland has recently written two articles on the history, value, and future of unpublished opinions in the federal courts: Overturning the Last Stone:...

Cornell Law Library's InSITE Website Reviews

Posted on October 29, 2008
Reviews published in the October 20th, 2008 issue of InSITE: Civil Rights Digital Library Internet Law Treatise (beta) NationMaster.com Project Vote Smart: the Voter's Self-Defense System

How Should We Measure Judicial Ideology?

Posted on October 29, 2008
In What is Judicial Ideology, and How Should We Measure It? [SSRN] Joshua B. Fischman (Virginia) and David S. Law (St. Louis) assess the possible influences of judicial ideology on decisions. From the abstract: "Scholars have for decades sought to...

Recent CRS Reports on the Economic Crisis

Posted on October 29, 2008
The Congressional Research Service (via OpenCRS) has recently issued several reports pertaining to the current economic mess. They include: The U.S. Trade Deficit, The Dollar, and The Price of Oil Economic Slowdown: Issues and Policies Financial Market Intervention The U...

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DMCA at 10

Posted on October 28, 2008
Yesterday was the 10th anniversary of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Over the course of this week and into the next Public Knowledge will post a series of video interviews with scholars, educators, and innovators affected by the DMCA....

Is America Ready to Vote?

Posted on October 28, 2008
The Brennan Center for Justice, Common Cause and Verified Voting issued a 50-state report card that grades each state on its preparedness for election system breakdowns and offers concrete steps election officials can take before the election to make sure...

Video of Vote Flipping in West Virginia

Posted on October 28, 2008
We reported on ES & S voting machines flipping recorded votes in West Virginia and Tennessee here. Now there's a YouTube video of vote flipping in West Virginia. [JH]

Crowdsource RCFP's Open Government Guide

Posted on October 28, 2008
The Open Government Guide, produced by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, offers open meetings and open records laws in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The Guide is open for comments. RCFP is looking for...

The Canons of Construction and Legal Reasoning

Posted on October 28, 2008
The canons of construction are a set of background norms and conventions that are widely used by courts when interpreting statutes. The canons advertise to interpreters as rules of thumb or presumptions that help extract substantive meaning from the language,...

GlobLex Research Guides and Articles for October 2008

Posted on October 28, 2008
New articles published on GlobaLex in October 2008: A Research Guide to the Legal System of the Peoples? Republic of Bangladesh by Omar Sial A Guide to India?s Legal Research and Legal System by Dr. Rakesh Kumar Srivastava A Guide...

Request for Materials from the ALL-SIS Student Services Committee

Posted on October 28, 2008
The ALL-SIS Student Services Committee is collecting materials to add to the Bank of Sample Academic Student Services Documents web site. This site includes documents and links that provide information directed specifically at law students in academic law libraries...

Opening: Reference Librarian, Georgetown Law Library

Posted on October 28, 2008
Georgetown Law Library seeks an energetic librarian to provide extensive reference service to the Law Center's faculty and students by participating in the reference desk rotation including evenings and weekends, individual research consultations, writing research guides, and participating in other...

Bush Signing Statements (Again)

Posted on October 27, 2008
In signing statements for the Inspector General Reform Act of 2008 [Pub. L. No. 110-409 | Signing Statement] and the Duncan Hunter National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2009 [Pub. L. No. 110-417 | Signing Statement], President Bush claimed...

Are You Thinking of Videoing Your Vote?

Posted on October 27, 2008
"So you are thinking of videoing your vote..." Ah, no I wasn't but if you are check out the Berkman Center for Internet & Society's legal tips for those heading to their polling place with camera in hand. [JH]

Boyle, Lessig and Doctorow on the Public Domain

Posted on October 27, 2008
I think most people expected the PRO-IP Act to pass and be signed into law before the end of the current Congress (LLB Post) so it comes at no surprise that three icons of the Open Content Movement has published...

Supreme Court Appellate Jurisdiction Over Military Court Cases

Posted on October 27, 2008
The CRS recently released Supreme Court Appellate Jurisdiction Over Military Court Cases (October 06, 2008)(OpenCRS). From the summary: Military courts, authorized by Article I of the U.S. Constitution, have jurisdiction over cases involving military servicemembers, including, in some cases, retired...

November Issue of Spectrum Posted Online

Posted on October 27, 2008
The November 2008 issue of AALL Spectrum is now available on AALLNET. This month?s articles feature: implementing a federated search product how to conduct a communications audit teaching legal research abroad a review of J Journal how customer service ensures...

Opening: Director of Info Resources & Technology, Phoenix School of Law

Posted on October 27, 2008
The Phoenix School of Law is seeking applications for the Director of Information Resources & Technology (or Assistant or Associate Dean depending on qualifications) with the possibility of faculty appointment. The Phoenix School of Law is part of the Infilaw...

WebMD on Obama's and McCain's Health Care Positions

Posted on October 26, 2008
Barack Obama: Health Care Platform and WebMD Interview John McCain: Health Care Platform and WebMD Interview See also WebMD's Compare the Candidates: Health Insurance Coverage for the Uninsured, Medical Costs & Health Savings Accounts, Drug Costs & Importation, Medicare &...

The Guinness Book of World Records, 2009 Edition

Posted on October 26, 2008
The Guinness Book of World Records got its start as a volume designed to help settle bar bets. The beer company delivered it to pubs as a promotion for its beer. Today the book is the world's best-selling copyrighted book....

Vote Flipping Reported in West Virginia and Tennessee

Posted on October 25, 2008
The New York Times is reporting that ES & S voting machines flipped recorded votes for Democratis as votes for Republicans in West Virginia while ES & S voting machines registered Republican votes as Democratic votes in Tennessee. See also...

College Hiring Flat for Class of 2009

Posted on October 25, 2008
Not so good news from National Association of Colleges and Employers. According to their special report Job Outlook 2009, "current projected hiring for the Class of 2009 shows very little growth over the hiring levels for the Class of 2008,...

The Virtual Abbey Library of St. Gall

Posted on October 24, 2008
With a million dollar grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the CESG Pilot Project intends to digitize the Abbey Library of St. Gall, one of the oldest and most significant manuscript libraries in the world. "The collection includes material...

Legal Changes under a Obama presidency?

Posted on October 24, 2008
Forbes has an article out today discussing some possible legal changes that might occur if Barack Obama is elected as our 44th president. Included in the list are changes to the Bankruptcy Code, tax changes, alteration of some statutes of...

Barkley School of Law To Close

Posted on October 24, 2008
The ABA Journal is reporting that the Barkley School of Law, formerly called the American Justice School of Law (Paducah, KY) will file for bankruptcy and close its doors at the end of the year. Earlier LLB posts here and...

Are Men Too Hormonal to Run Wall Street?

Posted on October 24, 2008
Yes according to Tim Harford, a columnist for the Financial Times and author of The Logic of Life: The Rational Economics of an Irrational World. Check out his NPR interview. Hat tip to Andrea Schneider (Marquette), Why Women Should Control...

Friday Fun: Saturday Night Live on the Financial Bailout

Posted on October 24, 2008

Auction Basics: Background for Assessing Proposed Treasury Purchases of Mortgage-Backed Securities

Posted on October 24, 2008
The CRS recently released Auction Basics: Background for Assessing Proposed Treasury Purchases of Mortgage-Backed Securities (October 14, 2008)(OpenCRS). From the summary: To address the turmoil in financial markets, the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act (EESA; H...

Finding Time and Reasons to Learn About Emerging Technologies

Posted on October 24, 2008
For those of us who work closely with electronic resources, I highly recommend Kathryn Greenhill (Librarians Matter) presentation on the importance of emerging technologies in libraries. The presentation covers: Emerging technologies Five reasons to learn about them Compass points to...

New Pew Reports on Networked Workers and Families

Posted on October 24, 2008
Most working Americans use the Internet or email at work according the Pew Internet report Networked Workers. Just over half of American adults (53%) say that they are currently employed with full or part-time work. Among those who are employed,...

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