Legal Research

Top 10 Research Skills: Smart Searching

Posted on March 02, 2008
You are looking for something--one or more cases, articles, or documents that you know exist, or that you hope exist. Why can't you find what you are looking for? Why is it taking so long?Learn how to save yourself a little time by using a couple of basic tricks, and by using the internet and databases like Westlaw and Lexis to complement each other...

Elections Everywhere

Posted on March 01, 2008
With the U.S. media--and voters--so focused on our own Presidential race, it's easy to forget the elections going on all over the world. Whether for research, personal interest in another country, or background for travel, check out ElectionGuide.org...

Happy Leap Day !

Posted on February 29, 2008
O.K. so what's with the extra day this year. Was it some astronomer royal hundreds of years ago who decided we needed an extra day in such a beastly month as February? Actually, according to Wired Magazine, it goes back to the times of Julius Caesar...

State And Local Government Web Sites

Posted on February 28, 2008
Do you need information from, or regarding, state or local governments and agencies? The State and Local Government Internet directory provides convenient access to the Web sites of thousands of state agencies and city and county governments.Users may employ the drop-down menus on the left to view directory pages to find state government offices (all the Web sites in a given state, ranging from a state's home page or a governor's site to the smallest counties or townships)...

To access this complete feed in the blog feed reader login or register for free.

Sir Thomas More

Posted on February 27, 2008
If you are interested in legal ethics in history, read about the life of Sir Thomas More, lawyer and author of Utopia. In the service of Henry VIII, More held the powerful position of Lord Chancellor. However, More's opinions and personal morals eventually led to his execution...

Top 10 Research Skills: Strategic Searching

Posted on February 26, 2008
The basics have been reviewed and getting background information has been surveyed. How is all this put together? The workshop on Strategic Searching will focus on the process of legal research. Using the incident ?Don?t Taser Me Bro!? as the basic fact scenario ? instructor reserves privilege to alter as needed ? we will make a step-by-step strategic search analysis and evaluate the incident as a possible sec...

Deal or No Deal?

Posted on February 24, 2008
The Georgia Supreme Court is set to hear arguments Tuesday to decide whether people who were charged 99 cents to use their cell phones to participate in a sort of lottery NBC created to promote the show "Deal or No Deal" are entitled to recoup their losses under a Georgia gambling law...

Top 10 Research Skills: Getting Background on Your Topic

Posted on February 23, 2008
Imagine you are in your first "real world" summer or full-time job and you are asked to write a memo for the partner, supervising attorney, or judge. The problem is, you don't know anything about the topic or legal issue, and you don't know where to begin...

Sweatshops in America

Posted on February 20, 2008
New York Fashion Week is over and I am still purring over the latest looks. However, as I reflect on the fantastic fabrics and designs, I have to wonder where all of our clothes come from. Sadly, I know that sweatshops in America have a long history.To raise awareness of sweatshop labor, the National Museum of American History has created an online exhibit entitled Between a Rock and a Hard Place: A History of American Sweatshops 1820-Present...

Top Ten Research Workshops Schedule

Posted on February 19, 2008
Check your email and read about the latest workshops in the Library's 21st Century Library workshop series. The full schedule is listed below.Top 10 Research Skills: What Employers Really Want New Attorneys to KnowWeek 1 1. ?Know the Basics. Civics 101" ? Monday, February 25, 5:10-6pm in Room 242 and repeated on ? Wednesday, February 27, 1:10-2pm in Room 243...

Blog: Free Government Information

Posted on February 19, 2008
From the site: The future of government information is in peril from many economic and political forces. Free Government Information was initiated in order to raise public awareness of the importance of government information and create a community with various stakeholders to facilitate an open and critical dialogue...

Summer Associate Response Time

Posted on February 17, 2008
As reported by the National Law Journal, the National Association for Law Placement has mandated that next fall, students with summer employment offers will need to reply within 45 days. Under the old guidelines it was possible for students to hold offers for up to four months before replying...

Positively Presidential

Posted on February 16, 2008
Presidents' Day weekend is a great time to look at some of the digital treasures from the inaugurations of Washington, Lincoln and other American presidents in "I Do Solemnly Swear...Presidential Inaugurations." This wonderful collection, part of the Library of Congress American Memory project, features inaugural invitations, handwritten drafts and final texts of inaugural addresses, eyewitness accounts, photos and other images, videos, and other special facts and documents associated with taking the Oath of Office...

Presidents' Day

Posted on February 15, 2008
The Library is open and I will be prowling with an occasional pounce from 10am - 6pm on Presidents' Day, Monday, February 18th. Enjoy the three-day weekend.Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

CQ Voting and Elections Collection (Online Resource)

Posted on February 14, 2008
The CQ Voting and Elections Collection, available via the Axinn Library online databases, is a timely addition to our blog. CQ Voting and Elections integrates data, analyses, explanations, and historical material. The database offers research and reference tools that deal with the American voter, major and minor political parties, campaigns and elections, historical and modern Congressional races, the presidency, and governorships...

Sentencing Law and Policy Blog

Posted on February 13, 2008
If you are interested in criminal law, take a look at the Sentencing Law and Policy blog. The blog has been discussed in the Wall Street Journal and Lawyer's Weekly, and according to this, is the first blog to be cited by the U.S. Supreme Court.Speaking of sentencing, I discovered that a movie called Punishment Park (1971) will be screening at the Museum of Modern Art in February and March...

International Law in Domestic Courts

Posted on February 12, 2008
For those engaged in transnational/international legal research ILDC brings you a regularly updated repository of domestic cases in international law from over 60 jurisdictions. The cases are selected by local reporters in conjunction with our editorial board and feature expert commentary, full texts of judgments in their original language and translations of key passages of non-English judgments into English...

Authenticated Documents

Posted on February 10, 2008
The Government Printing Office has begun offering digital certificates of authentication with some documents. This basically means that a document includes a certificate that will check the document's authenticity when you open it (i.e. whether there is any chance that parts of the document are incorrect because it has been tampered with) and then display an icon showing whether the document has been validated...

Intute--The Academic Search Engine

Posted on February 09, 2008
When your studies include transnational law or commerce, human rights, migration, intellectual property--or any topic that involves a British or European focus--Intute is not to be missed. This free academic search engine cuts through the mountains of material on the web to bring users directly to the best web sites and guides for education and research...

Library's Exam Hours Extended

Posted on February 08, 2008
As per your requests, I will be prowling an additional week of extended exam hours. The Library will start exam hours two weeks prior to the last day of classes for this semester. The new schedule is below.EXAM PERIOD SCHEDULE - Wednesday, April 16 - Wednesday, May 14Monday - Friday 7:00 A...

Budget of the United States Government

Posted on February 07, 2008
As all who read the newspapers know, it is that time of year, again.... Anyone who seeks in-depth information about the U.S. Government budget should be aware of the Office of Management and Budget?s (?OMB?) Web site. The OMB page for the budget contains downloadable PDF files that include the budget, itself, as well as supporting documents...

Child Labor Photographs

Posted on February 06, 2008
As a photographer for the National Child Labor Committee, Lewis Hine (1874-140) documented child labor across America. His images exposed the harshness of the practice and the poor conditions under which the children worked.The George Eastman House has an online exhibit of Lewis Hine's work titled "Let Children Be Children: Lewis Wickes Hine's Crusade Against Child Labor"...

Super Tuesday

Posted on February 05, 2008
Today is Super Tuesday, the day that 24 states - including New York - go to a caucus or primary to select presidential candidates. A brief overview of Super Tuesday (2008) can be found here on Wikipedia.A guide and update on how the process is proceeding can be found here at CNN...

International Labour Organization?s NATLEX

Posted on February 04, 2008
Find information concerning national labor, social security, and relevant human rights legislation worldwide by using NATLEX. NATLEX is maintained by the International Labour Organization?s (ILO) International Labour Standards Department, a specialized agency of the United NationsErnster, the Virtual Library Cat

The Super Bowl

Posted on February 03, 2008
Some legal commentators have had football on the brain recently. This blog post notes that the NFL is upset that some churches violate copyright law with their Super Bowl parties, and Nixon Peadody's Employment Law Alert cites the hundreds of millions of dollars in productivity America loses every year due to the big game...

CQPolitcs: News, Background, Connections

Posted on February 02, 2008
Super Tuesday, with Presidential primaries in 24 states including New York, is almost here. Whether you plan to vote, are trying to decide on a candidate, or just want reliable facts and background to understand how primaries and Presidential elections work, CQPolitics has it all...

Happy Ground Hog's Day

Posted on February 01, 2008
Did you know that here in Nassau County, we have our very own Winter's end predictor named Malverne Mel? Mel will be making his appearance tomorrow just down the road a bit to let us know whether to start shedding soon or not for another 6 weeks. Tomorrow I'll be checking our hometown paper's website - Newsday for Mel's prediction...

Religious Liberty Archive

Posted on January 31, 2008
According to its Web site, the Religious Liberty Archive is ?an extensive repository of valuable information and a useful resource for anyone seeking information about state and federal laws pertaining to religious freedom in the United States?. Here, one may view cases on the subject of religious liberty, as well as commentaries, federal statutes, state constitutions, and other important historical materials that are relevant to religious freedom in the United States...

Studies in Scarlet

Posted on January 30, 2008
Last Tuesday's post directed you to "bloody murder" from the Harvard Law Library. This week, we are following it up with adultery, abduction, and seduction. Also from the Harvard Law Library, Studies in Scarlet presents trial narratives involving marriage and sexuality from 1815-1914...

Loose-leaf Binders

Posted on January 29, 2008
Need a loose-leaf binder? There are some used blue loose-leaf binders available in Government Documents. Some of the exteriors are a little battered, but all of the binders are sturdy and usable. We prefer not to discard usable binders so are offering them to law students...

Bloggers, promote your law blog by nominating your blog for inclusion in USLaw.com's Law Blog Directory and RSS Reader. Benefits described.