WULLi

Summer Access: Westlaw, Lexis and Bloomberg Law

Hyla Bondareff — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 16:40:22 +0000

BLOOMBERG LAW:
Returning students have unrestricted access over the summer.
Graduating students will continue to have unrestricted access for 6 months after graduation.

If you have not already signed up for Bloomberg Law, go to bloomberglaw.com and “Register for a Law School Account.”

LEXIS ADVANCE:
Returning students have unrestricted access over the summer.
Graduating students will have unrestricted access through July 31st.

If you do not have a Lexis Advance account, or are not sure, contact Marantha Beatty-Brown at marantha.beatty-brown@lexisnexis.com.

WESTLAW:
Returning students: Permitted summer use is for academic work only, e.g., projects for professors, moot court, summer classes, law review/journal work, or unpaid externships/pro bono work done for course credit. Accounts will default to 40 hrs of access in June and 40 hrs in July. Any student needing more must fill out the summer extension form on lawschool.westlaw.com.
Graduating students get 5 hours of access in June and 5 hours in July to assist with studying for the bar.

If you need help using any of these databases, feel free to contact each company’s representatives (Noelle Petruzellimarino, npetruzellim@bloomberg.net; Marantha Beatty-Brown, marantha.beatty-brown@lexisnexis.com; Bryan McAffee, bryan.mcaffee@thomsonreuters.com), call their 1-800 numbers, or contact WU Law Reference (reference@wulaw.wustl.edu) for legal research help.

Summeraccess flyer

Cell Phones and Tablets and Laptops, no longer permitted in some courts. Oh my!!

Tove Klovning — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 15:32:55 +0000

“By order of court, the public is no longer be permitted to bring any electronic communication and Internet devices into any courthouse facilities of the Circuit Court of Cook County, except the Richard J. Daley Center.” http://www.cookcountycourt.org/HOME/CellPhoneElectronicDeviceBan.aspx

“Banned electronic devices include, but are not limited to, the following: Cell phones, Smartphones, Laptop computers, Tablet computers and All other electronic devices capable of connecting to the Internet or making audio or video recordings.”

Interestingly, the majority of civil litigation takes place in the Daley Center, which is exempt. The ban seems to apply to those courthouses with significant criminal case loads.

See the full text of the of the administrative order:

http://www.cookcountycourt.org/Manage/DivisionOrders/ViewDivisionOrder/tabid/298/ArticleId/2103/General-Administrative-Order-No-2013-01Cell-Phones-and-Other-Electronic-Devices.aspx

Hat tip to Carole Levitt J.D., M.L.S., President, Internet For Lawyers for sharing this information on the Law-Lib list-serve.

Mark Kloempken and Tove Klovning

Are you interested in knowing what happened today in legal history?

Tove Klovning — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 22:15:07 +0000

The Jurist is an online legal news service, but in addition to providing updates on legal news (both in the US and abroad), it also publishes a column titled This Day at Law. The purpose of this column is to focus on historical news. Yesterday, Kyle Webster in Jurist shared the following update via the column “Today in legal history“: On December 6, 1865 the 13th Amendment to the Constitution declared that “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.”

Related online historical documents can be located via this web guide from the Library of Congress.

Mark Kloempken & Tove Klovning

Library of Congress Apps?

Tove Klovning — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 17:56:11 +0000

Check out the Congressional Record App and receive the official record of the proceedings and debates of the US Congress via this app to you iphone, ipod or ipad!

Mark Kloempken and Tove Klovning

Medieval treasures

Tove Klovning — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 14:42:09 +0000

Title 12 of the United States Code outlines the role of Banks and Banking in the United States Code. Federal Regulations governing banks and banking are located in Title 12 of the CFR. Do you still treasure your piggy bank? Have you ever wondered why are piggy banks called piggy banks? What is the history of the piggy bank? See The oldest piggy banks are also the cutest.

Mark Kloempken and Tove Klovning

Ubiquitous Apps?

Tove Klovning — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 20:01:31 +0000

Ubiquitous means to be present or found everywhere. These 10 apps to protect your smart phone may not be ubiquitous, but perhaps they should be.

Mark Kloempken and Tove Klovning

From the Library of Congress …

Hyla Bondareff — Thu, 20 Sep 2012 14:11:33 +0000

The Library of Congress announced a new free, fact-based Legislative Information site yesterday, http://beta.Congress.gov, which will eventually replace Thomas.

Google’s Two Step

Tove Klovning — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 13:39:26 +0000

You may already have noticed that Google redesigned it’s web page. Do you miss having access to the advanced search option template in Google? Unfortunately this search option is now hidden, somewhat modified and more limited, compared to previous search options offered in Google. What’s new? Google has now moved towards a two step search process: Search and then filter/refine. You will need to refine your search using the tools usually on the left hand side. (For many researchers these options are somewhat limited). Remember to click on ‘Show search tools,’ it is on the left hand side of the page to access this option. Fortunately you can still use search operators in the search box.

If you prefer working from a template then try entering ‘advanced search’ as a search term in order to access the recently modified ‘Google Advanced Search’ option. This template no longer offers an option to limit to specific domain names, but you can always add domain names or a file type to your search query by adding for example .gov., org, .pdf.

According to The Oxford English Dictionary Online: a two-step is: (a) a round dance characterized by sliding steps in duple rhythm; also, the music for such a dance; also attrib.; also as v. intr., to dance a two-step; (b) adj. having or consisting of two successive actions; two-stage. Now also in Google.

Mark Kloempken and Tove Klovning

Black’s Law Dictionary Now on WestlawNext

Dorie Bertram — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 15:52:33 +0000

When WestlawNext went live, it was missing a standard reference source: Black’s Law Dictionary. That omission was rectified this summer. To search Black’s, begin typing “Black’s Law Dictionary” in the Global Search Bar at the top of the screen and select the title from the autocomplete options. You will land on the template for advanced searching in Black’s.

Unknown MLK recording found in Nashville attic

Tove Klovning — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 16:23:45 +0000

“A previously unknown interview given by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in 1960 has been discovered in the attic of a Nashville home. Stephon Tull was looking through old boxes of his father’s when he came across a reel labeled “Dr. King interview, Dec. 21, 1960.” He borrowed an old reel-to-reel player from a friend and listened to the recording. It was of his father interviewing Martin Luther King, Jr., about the civil rights movement, the philosophy of non-violence, the political impact of that year’s sit-ins and his certainty that the child his wife Coretta was carrying would be a boy. (He was right; Dexter Scott King, Dr. King’s second son, was born just over a month later.)”

Hattip: The History Blog

Mark Kloempken and Tove Klovning

New E-Books!

Hyla Bondareff — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 17:28:08 +0000

See http://www.oxfordscholarship.com for access to 63 full-text Oxford University Press digital, cross-searchable and downloadable current law titles. From the main page, click on ‘Law’ and if you are off-campus, you will see 63 books listed under full-text. If you are off- campus, you will need to connect to the VPN to gain full-text access.

Everyday Mysteries: Fun Science Facts from the Library of Congress

Tove Klovning — Thu, 12 Jul 2012 14:06:25 +0000

Did you ever think you would be grateful for a cool wave where the temperature was 90 degrees? It is very hot outside these days with record highs in the triple digits.You are most likely familiar with the saying: “It’s so hot you could fry an egg on the sidewalk.” Is it possible to fry an egg on the street if it is hot enough outside? We decided to explore this question on Google and came across a posting from the Library of Congress: “Is it possible to fry an egg on the street if it’s hot enough?”

Summer greetings from Mark Kloempken and Tove Klovning

Summer Access to Westlaw, Lexis and Bloomberg Law

Hyla Bondareff — Tue, 15 May 2012 14:43:41 +0000

Be sure to extend your Law School LexisNexis and Westlaw passwords if you require access over the summer.

Bloomberg Law is also now available to all law students and your password may be used over the summer without an educational purpose restriction. Bloomberg Law access and help is available at https://www.bloomberglaw.com/. To obtain an account, just click the request a trial link on the bottom left of the screen and fill out the form. Please note: you must use your wulaw.wustl.edu email address. Bloomberg will email you a password you can use while you are a law student and for six months after graduation.

More on Bloomberg Law …. Bloomberg Law includes primary sources of law, a citator, full access to secondary sources, including BNA content, and federal and state court dockets. There’s no need to pay for PACER access now when you can find the dockets free on BLaw. Bloomberg also has no restrictions on the use of BLaw, meaning that your use is not limited to academic purposes. They provide 24/7 customer support at 1-888-560-BLAW (2529).

Lexis

Students will have full access to Lexis Advance all summer for educational purposes. Students simply need to have a registered Lexis Advance ID as there is no longer a summer access registration requirement.

Educational use includes:

Summer course preparation and assignments
Research associated with Moot Court, Law Review, or Law Journal
Research associated with pursuing a grant or scholarship
Services as a research assistant to a professor
An internship, externship, or clinic position for school credit or graduation requirement
Study for the bar exam
Research skill improvement for educational purposes

Note: Student Lexis.com IDs will be restricted to a limited menu of Career resources from June 1st to August 1st. However, if you need access to specific content available only on Lexis.com (i.e. international materials), contact our Lexis Account Executive, Marantha Beatty-Brown, at marantha.beatty-brown@lexisnexis.com to obtain access.

Westlaw

Summer access to Westlaw for educational use can be requested at http://lawschool.westlaw.com/registration/SummerExtension.aspx

Educational use includes:

Summer law school classes
Law Review and Journal work
Project for a professor
Moot Court
Unpaid non-profit public interest internship/externship or pro bono work required for graduation

Any questions can be directed to our West Academic Account Manager, Bryan McAffee, at Bryan.McAffee@thomsonreuters.com

Law Review Write-On Survival Tips

Tove Klovning — Tue, 08 May 2012 20:20:30 +0000

It is spring time and a law student’s thoughts turns to the upcoming write-on competition. Here are some resources that may be of help to you:

Books:

Wes Henricksen, Making Law Review: The Expert’s Guide to Mastering the Write-On Competition (2008). Law Reserve KF250 .H46 2008

Eugene Volokh, Academic Legal Writing : Law Review Articles, Student Notes, Seminar Papers, and Getting on Law Review (2010) Law Reserve KF250 .V65 2010

Articles:

Editors of the Houston Law Review, Surviving the Write-On Competition and other Sound Advice based on Selected Tips from: Eugene Volokh, Getting Started Academic Legal Writing (2007) (May 2, 2012, 3:35 PM) http://www.houstonlawreview.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/woc_handbook.pdf

Jeffery Lawrence Weeden, Write on to Law Review. If you don’t have top grades but still want this valuable experience, follow the game plan of a 3L who earned a spot in his school’s write-on competition, 33 Student Lawyer 16 (2004-2005)

Mark Klompken and Tove Klovning

Tweet, Tweet

Mark Kloempken — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 16:32:01 +0000

A student recently asked how to cite to a tweet. While the 19^th edition of the Bluebook does not explicitly cover citing a tweet, it does offer some guidance in Rule 18.2.2, The Internet, Electronic Media, and Other Nonprint Resources. Here is what we did:

We deviated from the rule in two respects. We put the entire tweet in the title field and we added the word tweet after the URL.

Paul D. Anderson, “The Locks Law Firm just filed an 80+ player complaint v. #NFL. Now brings the total to more than 1,300 plaintiffs and 63 lawsuits.” (April 12, 2012, 9:47 AM), http://twitter.com/#!/PaulD_Anderson/status/194799715563487232, Tweet.

Tove Klovning and Mark Kloempken

A picture is worth a thousand words.

Tove Klovning — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 16:25:04 +0000

The “Sergeant Schultz defense,” “I know nothing,” aka the Ostrich defense is when a appellant/defendant claims to be ignorant of the activities of an associate. They hide their heads in the sand feigning ignorance and hoping it will all just go away. Recently, Judge Poser of the 7^th CA, ruled on ostrich like behavior by appellants in Gonzalez-Servin v. Ford Motor Company, 662 F.3d 931, (2011). Interestingly, it contains two graphic images, one of an ostrich with its head in the sand and one of an individual with his head stuck in the sand. This case was decided on Decided Nov. 23, 2011.

Hattip: Our colleague, Access Services/Government Documents Librarian & Lecturer in Law and librarian extraordinaire Judy Stark tipped us about this case. Do you think that the pictures in the opinion may say more than a thousand words can tell?

Mark Kloempken and Tove Klovning

Remember what your Mom said: “Try it, you might like it…..

Tove Klovning — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 14:15:25 +0000

Did you know that you can download documents on WestlawNext to your Kindle? Documents, Cases, KeyCite results, and result lists can now be delivered from WestlawNext directly to your Amazon Kindle.

Click on the arrow next to the delivery icon in WestlawNext and choose the ‘Send to Amazon Kindle’ option. Type your Kindle e-mail address in the Kindle Email Address text box, then click ‘Send’.

Mark Kloempken and Tove Klovning

Updating your federal regulations has never been easier!

Tove Klovning — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 19:31:40 +0000

As of March 16th, 2012 the migration from GPO Access to FDsys GPO’s Federal Digital system is finally complete. From now on all official and authenticated US federal government information will be centrally located at this web site.

Updating a federal regulation has never been easier thanks to FDsys. For example, you can consult the digital List of Parts Effected to learn whether a change has been made to a federal regulation since annual edition of the Code of Federal Regulations was last published. You can also update the regulation by searching the .pdf List of Sections publication by using the Advance Search feature in FDsys. In addition, you can also search the digital Federal Register in FDsys, or consult the FederalRegister.gov website for potential updates. The Federal Register.gov website is jointly administered by The Office of the Federal Register (FR) of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), and the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO).

All CFR volumes are issued each year in sets on a staggered, quarterly basis: Titles 1– 6 are current through January 1, Titles 17 – 27 are current through April 1, Titles 29 – 41 are current through July 1, Titles 42 – 50 are current through October 1.

We prefer consulting the List of Parts Affected option in FDsys. Just ‘Choose Date Range’ in the pull down menu. Enter the date when your title was last updated in the Annual Code of Federal Regulations and today’s date. This search will link to the Federal Register page whenever a change has been made to your Title and Part since the Annual Code of Regulations was last updated.

To update your regulation using the ‘Browse CFR Parts Affected from the ‘advanced feature’ of FDsys you will need to:

Go the FDsys webpage.
Click on ‘Browse Collection.’
Click on ‘List of CFR Sections Affected.’
Click on ‘Browse CFR Parts Affected from the Federal Register.’
Use the pull down menu adjacent to ‘Browse by Date.’ Chose Date Range and click ‘Go.’
You will have to fill in the date ranges you wish to search. Enter the date when your title was last updated in the Annual Code of Federal Regulations and today’s date. Click ‘Go.’
At this point you will see a screen listing all the titles of the CFR with a + sign next to each title. Click on the plus sign until you see the part you are attempting to update. If it has been updated, you will see a link to the Federal Register.

To update your regulation using the digital List of CFR Sections Affected from the “ Advance Search feature’ of FDsys you will need to:

Go to the FDsys webpage.
Click on ‘Advance Search’
From ‘Available Collections,’ select List of CFR Sections Affected and click on ‘Add.’
From ‘Search in’, use the pull down menu to select ‘Title Number.’
Enter the CFR title you are attempting to update.
Click on ‘Add more search criteria.’ This opens a second search box with a default search in ‘Full-Text of Publications and Metadata, enter the part number you are attempting to update and click ‘Search.’
The default for search results is ‘Relevance.’ You may wish to change the sort criteria to ‘Date (New to Old).

These options are free of charge! The choice is yours.

Mark Kloempken and Tove Klovning

Heading out to buy the new IPad?

Hyla Bondareff — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 22:11:45 +0000

If so, you might consider the following free apps:

With HeinOnline’s iPad/iPhone app, you can read an account of Susan B Anthony’s trial on the charge of illegal voting in the Presidential election of November 1872 (from the World Trials Library); check the Decisions and Orders of the National Labor Relations Board (in the Federal Agency Documents Library); examine the Model Penal Code (in the ALI Library) or check out Prof. Keating’s new article in the Utah Law Review.

Note: after you download the app, you have to click on IP authentication. You also must identify yourself as a Washington University patron by using WUFI-S or connecting to the VPN:

WestlawNext’s IPad app is also very functional. Ever wonder how many times Facebook is mentioned in WLN? (783 cases, 63 statutes, 545 admin decisions, 5387 secondary sources and 4282 trial court docs.) Or maybe you want to know what Judge Posner thinks about the Cat’s Paw theory and other such metaphoric doctrines.

Of course, you can do the same using Lexis Advance’s app.

Do you need help creating an RSS-Feed?

Tove Klovning — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 21:32:13 +0000

The numbers of internet sites that offer RSS- feeds are growing rapidly. An RSS- feed will notify you anytime there is an update on your favorite web site. It is a true time saver.

Did you know that the Unites States Department of Labor also offers this option? It is like subscribing to a email group, but instead of emails your ‘RSS Reader’ of choice will be notified every time your favorite website updates. To learn more check out the RSS video snippet on YouTube.

The video snippet is only 3:45 minutes long, but will change the way you approach the web in the future.

Mark Kloempken and Tove Klovning

New Database — Legislative Insight!

Hyla Bondareff — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 16:57:40 +0000

We’ve purchased a new database: Legislative Insight. This database picks up where ProQuest Congressional leaves off … Also by ProQuest, Legislative Insight contains over 18,000 federal legislative histories with digital full text publications covering laws from 1929 to present. For federal laws between 1969 and current, coverage will be similar. However, Legislative Insight provides legislative histories for 10,000 laws passed between 1929 and 1968. Give it a try and let me know what you think! To access this database from campus, just connect to WUFI-S. To access from off campus, connect to the VPN. For help searching, see http://proquest.libguides.com/quick_start_legislative_insight and/or ask a reference librarian.

When Time is of Essence

Tove Klovning — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 15:06:35 +0000

When dealing with regulatory topics, and when your time is of essence, you may want to consult both the Federal Register and the agency’s website to learn more about recent regulatory developments.

Here is why:

The agency’s web site may list an upcoming final rule on its website before the final rule gets published in the Federal Register. For example, “Giant constrictors have a huge impact on the complex food web of the Everglades,” see Cutis Morgan, Pytons Feasting in Everglades, STL Post Dispatch on 01/31/2012 at A4.

Is the government responding to this problem at all? A quick search in FDSys’s Federal Register’s leads you to 77 FR 3330 This final rule was published on 1/23/2012. However, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service mentioned this forth coming final rule on its website as early as 1/19/2012, five days before the rule was published in the Federal Register.

The research itself does not take long time. Only two steps.

Check the Agency web site
Check the Federal Register

Mark Kloempken and Tove Klovning

Need a Book to Read?

Hyla Bondareff — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 17:09:53 +0000

Need a book to read? Something with or about the law but not quite rising to the scholarly level?

Consider, The Confession by John Grisham, winner of the Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction. “When Travis Boyette is paroled because of inoperable brain tumor, for the first time in his life, he decides to do the right thing and tell police about a crime he committed and another man is about to be executed for.”
Michael Connelly, one of the runners up for the Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction, has a new book out, The Fifth Witness: “Mickey Haller has fallen on tough times. He expands his business into foreclosure defense, only to see one of his clients accused of killing the banker she blames for trying to take away her home. Mickey puts his team into high gear to exonerate Lisa Trammel, even though the evidence and his own suspicions tell him his client is guilty. Soon after he learns that the victim had black market dealings of his own, Haller is assaulted, too, and he’s certain he’s on the right trail.”

Alex Aldridge mentions, Tim Kevan’s, BabyBarista series in Best Legal Reads of 2011, (http://www.guardian.co.uk/law/2011/dec/22/legal-reads-2011/print). This one you’ll have to get elsewhere. Amazon’s description: It is BabyBarista’s first day as a pupil barrister. He has just one year to win, by foul means or fair, the sought-after prize of a tenancy in chambers. Competition is fierce: there’s TopFirst, who has a prize-winning CV and an ego to match; BusyBody, a human whirlwind on a husband hunt; and wide-eyed Worrier, buckling under the weight of the world. Armed with a copy of Sun Tzu’s “The Art of War”, BabyBarista launches a no-holds barred fight to the death of double-dealing, dirty tricks and a healthy dose of back-stabbing. Part Rumpole, part Flashman, BabyBarista opens a window onto the Machiavellian and frequently absurd ways of working life. Follow BabyBarista’s adventures on The BabyBarista Blog.”

Owen Bowcott, (in Best Legal Reads of 2011, http://www.guardian.co.uk/law/2011/dec/22/legal-reads-2011/print) suggests Blackwater Rising by Attica Locke as a “legal romp through he American South and the 1980s oil business … packs in courtroom suspense, bodies near the bayou and a history of Black Panther politics. It’s Texas, where layers carry pistols and aren’t afraid to use them. Another small town lawyer taking on corporate corruption — but with atmosphere and verve.”

For something more serious serious, consider Connie Rice’s memoir, Power Concedes Nothing. Vernon Ford’s review from Booklistonline, Dec.1, 2011: “Civil rights attorney Rice makes a comparison between L.A. street gangs and insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan, raising the question, How do you provide security amid despair? How do you provide safety for people with no hope? She recalls that in her career spent fighting the LAPD and sheriff department on behalf of the poor and minorities, Rice formed alliances with street gangs to address those questions. Drawing on her experience working with gangs, she served on the L.A. city council commission on gangs and helped change the city’s law enforcement and outreach to gangs. Rice parallels the threat of gang violence and the threat of bad schools that lead to diminished opportunities and vulnerability to gang recruitment. She intersperses her career as a civil rights litigator with personal recollections of growing up a military brat and black American princess, the daughter of an air force general bent on breaking down racial barriers and providing broader opportunities for his children. This powerful memoir offers vivid accounts of the fight for social justice from the streets to the courtroom. An excellent read. This one is not yet available on campus or via Mobius but will be at http://searchmobius.org/record=b25974230~S0.

Legal Language Explorer

Hyla Bondareff — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 19:48:44 +0000

Have you see Google’s Ngram Viewer (http://books.google.com/ngrams/), which charts word usage over time for a pair of words? Well, there is a new (and free) database called Legal Language Explorer (beta), http://legallanguageexplorer.com/, which does something similar for words and phrases used in U.S. Supreme Court decisions. At Legal Language Explorer, you can run a search of one or more phrases (each phrase can have up to four words) and it will generate a time-series frequency chart of each phrases’ appearance in Supreme Court opinions between 1791 and 2005. There are also advanced features including normalization and alternative graphing tools.

You can search any phrase you want. A few ideas are:

Clear and Present Danger
Habeas Corpus
Custodial Interrogation
Due Process
Unconstitutional
Property
Privacy

The project is a joint venture between Michigan State College of Law and Emory Law and the website has links to their research paper on SSRN.

Free Digital Access to Historical American Newspapers

Tove Klovning — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 21:09:22 +0000

Seeking to access American newspapers published between 1836 and 1922? Try exploring the Chronicling America database which is permanently maintained by the Library of Congress. The National Digital Newspaper Program offers free access to millions of digitized historic American newspaper pages.

Yet another database that you may consider exploring is the U.S. Newspaper Directory. The objective of this directory is to facilitate access to select American newspapers published between 1690-present that have not yet been digitized. This database is also permanently maintained by the Library of Congress.

May the haunting season begin!

Mark Kloempken and Tove Klovning

Law Library Extended Hours and Restricted Access

Dorie Bertram — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 15:43:53 +0000

The Law Library will extend weekend hours and open at 7:00 a.m. on Saturday, December 3 & 10 and Sunday, December 4 & 11. During the period of law exams, Dec. 3 through Dec. 16, access to the Law Library is restricted to Washington University School of Law students, faculty, and staff. Other Washington University students, faculty, staff, and Law Library Association members with legitimate research needs may obtain an access card from a law librarian Monday through Friday during business hours. Law school staff may request that patrons present identification authorizing access. Those without proper identification will be asked to leave.

Copying in the Library

Dorie Bertram — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 20:15:11 +0000

The public photocopiers at all Washington University Danforth Campus libraries have been replaced with scanners. There are two scanners in the Law Library that are located on the fourth floor. The stations have been configured for easy use and instructions are available.

Scanning is free of charge. Visitors may scan material and email it to themselves or download it to a flash drive. Law students may scan material and email it to themselves, download it to a flash drive or send their print jobs to the W-Release print queue, providing they have logged in using their WustlKey username and password. The Law Library does not have flash drives available so remember to bring one with you.

As of November 5th, 2011 GPO Access will no longer be maintained or updated

Tove Klovning — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 15:58:18 +0000

The Office of the Superintendent of Documents U.S. Government Printing Office draws one step closer to shutting down GPO Access. As of November 5^th,2011 GPO will no longer be updated or maintained. Note: GPO Access will remain publicly accessible as a reference archive tool until all archival materials have been loaded to FDsys. For newer and official federal government materials you will now have to consult FDsys

Mark Kloempken and Tove Klovning

American Indian Law Collection … new on HeinOnline

Hyla Bondareff — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 22:40:03 +0000

American Indian Law Collection

With more than 700 unique titles and 350,000 pages dedicated to American Indian Law, this collection includes an expansive archive of treaties, federal statutes and regulations, federal case law, tribal codes, constitutions, and jurisprudence. This library also features rare compilations edited by Felix S. Cohen that have never before been accessible online.

An underfunded court system weakens access to justice

Tove Klovning — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 19:43:33 +0000

According to an article in the Economist on October 1, 2011, the recession is also affecting the judiciary In California. Backlogs have increased, trials take longer to finalize, and access to courts is increasingly limited at a time when there is greater need for access to justice. See “An underfunded court system weakens the economy as well as access to justice.”

If you are interested in law reviews on the topic you may search in the Index To Legal Periodicals. Select ‘Legal Periodicals Full Text’ as your database and use the following subject search query ‘courts/finance.’ You can also limit your findings by year.

The two recent legal articles on the topics are:

Moyer, Bruce, Budget Cuts Could Hurt Federal Courts, 58 FED. LAW, May at 8 (2011) and Podgers, James,The Crisis Grows: Concerns Over funding for State Courts Dominate the ABA Annual Meeting, 97 A.B.A.J. 56 (2011)

Mark Kloempken and Tove Klovning