Legal Documents Related to Conclusion of Lay and Skilling Trial

The beSpacific blog (5/26/2006) has posted
links to documents related to the Lay and
Skilling Trial.

National Law Journal on Two-Year Law Program at Dayton

The National Law Journal (5/24/2006) has published
an interesting article about the two-year law program
at the University of Dayton School of Law.

The articles notes: "The school [Dayton] is believed to be
the first to offer a five-semester, 24-month accelerated
schedule. Other schools also provide their own versions
of accelerated programs, including University of Kansas
School of Law and Syracuse University College of Law."

New International & Foreign Legal Research Articles on GlobalLex

The following new legal research articles are available
on GlobalLex, NYU School of Law's electronic legal
publication dedicated to international and foreign law
research:

A Research Guide to Cases and Materials on Terrorism

A Basic Guide to International Environmental Legal Research

An Introduction to Venezuelan Governmental Institutions
and Primary Legal Sources

Guide to Caribbean Law Research

Philippine Legal Research

Senator Biden's SU Law Commencement Address on CSPAN

Senator Joseph R. Biden, Jr.'s Commencement Address
to the Syracuse College of Law Class of 2006 will be
aired on CSPAN this Sunday, May 28th at 6.30 pm
and 9.30 pm as part of the "Road to the White House."
The program will also be available as a CSPAN
podcast.

Thanks to College of Law Dean Hannah Arterian
for this update.

Chief Justice Roberts Commencement Address at Georgetown Law

Chief Justice Roberts' commencement address
at Georgetown University Law Center, in which
he made a plea for greater consensus on the Court,
has generated a lot of buzz in the media and on the
law blogs.

You can view or download the address at
the Georgetown Law web site or Princeton's
University Channel.

Blog commentaries of possible interest include:

University of Chicago Law School Faculty Blog

Concurring Opinions

OrinKerr.com (Law, the Legal Academy & the
Legal Profession)

Volokh Conspiracy, May 26, 2006
(post and 22 comments)

UN Committee on Torture Report of 5/19/2006

The beSpacific blog (5/19/2006) directs us to the
Advance Unedited Version (11 pages, PDF) of the
UN Committee on Torture's Conclusions and
Recommendations of the Committee against
Torture, May 19, 2006, available via the BBC.

The Relative Value of American Law Reviews: Refinement and Implementation

Professor of Law Ronen Perry (University of Haifa)
has written a follow-up paper to his earlier
work, The Relative Value of American Law Reviews:
A Critical Appraisal of Ranking Methods, Virginia
Journal of Law and Technology, Vol. 11, 2006.
The new paper, entitled The Relative Value of American
Law Reviews:Refinement and Implementation, is
available on SSRN.

From the Abstract:
"This Essay complements a recently published article
in which I discussed the theoretical and methodological
aspects of law review rankings... The purpose of this
Essay is twofold: Refinement of the theoretical framework,
and implementation. It proposes, defends, and implements
a complex ranking method for general-interest student-
edited law reviews, based on a judicious weighting of
normalized citation frequency and normalized impact
factor. It then analyzes the distribution of journals' scores,
and the diminishing marginal difference between them.
Finally, it examines the correlation between law schools'
positions in the U.S. News & World Report latest
ranking and their flagship law reviews' positions under
the proposed method, and between these schools'
overall scores and their law reviews' final scores."

CRS Report on Government Collection of Phone Call Data

The beSpacific blog (5/19/2006) brings our
attention to a new CRS report, Government
Access to Phone Calling Activity and Related
Records: Legal Authorities, May 17, 2006.

The nineteen page documents is available
here in PDF.

Classroom Instruction v. Online Discussion Forums

Scottish law professor Paul Maharg has written an
interesting post on the Zeugma blog (5/24/2006)
about the differences between the traditional modality
of face-to-face interaction with faculty in a classroom
setting and the more transactional, student initiated experience
of the online discussion forum.

Maharg posits that, in classroom interaction
(based on the "initiation-response-follow up" (IRF)
model), "faculty rarely ask what we might regard
as genuine questions that seek knowledge – what
they are trying to do is to start dialogue or test
student knowledge." He compares this with
the online discussion environment where
"almost none [of students' questions] are initiated by
[faculty] : students raise the issues. The agenda belongs
to them. The questions are genuine: they are seeking
knowledge that they cannot obtain elsewhere."

A list of references follows the posting.

University of Toronto Law School Faculty Blog

Seven professors at the University of Toronto
Law School have started a blog to discuss -
among other things - topics in constitutional
law, antitrust, family law, intellectual property,
taxation and current events. The discussions
address Canadian, U.S. and global issues.

Global Justice Bibliography

Brian Leiter (Leiter Reports, 5/22/2006) has posted
an interesting interdisciplinary bibliography on global
justice by Patrick O'Donnell (Philosophy, Santa Barbara
City College.) The document, entitled The Ethics,
Economics & Politics of Global Justice: An Introductory
Bibliography, can be downloaded from the blog and
is supplemented by suggestions from Leiter's readers.

ABA Judicial Ratings Updated

The Law Librarian Blog (5/18/2006) directs
us to the ABA Standing Committee on Federal Judiciary's
recently updated Judicial Ratings for the 109th Congress.

New on LLRX

There are a number of new research guides and articles
on LLRX. See the LLRX web site for the complete list.
Of particular note are:

Let the People Know the Facts: Can Government
Information Removed from the Internet Be Reclaimed?

Beyond Google and Yahoo: Advanced Search

CongressLine, by GalleryWatch.com -
Congressional Scandals, Corruption and Misbehavior

The Government Domain: Homeland Security Collections

FOIA Facts: Department of Justice Issues Guidance for
FOIA Executive Order

Barclay Law Library Legal Research Program for Summer Associates

In June, the Barclay Law Library will host its annual
legal research program for summer associates. In
addition to sessions on New York State legal research,
we are adding a federal legal research component this
year.

The New York State legal research program will
be offered three times:

June 2 9:00 am –noon
June 7 9:00 am – noon
June 9 1:00 – 4:00pm

The new federal legal research program
will be offered twice:

June 6 9:00 – 11:00am
June 8 1:00 – 3:00 pm

All sessions will be taught by experienced
law librarians in room 201, MacNaughton Hall,
Syracuse University College of Law.

All are welcome! For more information
or to register, contact me at wescott@law.syr.edu.
There is no charge.

Coast-to Coast Legal Podcast on Immigration Reform

On this week's Coast-to-Coast legal podcast,
Robert Ambrogi and Craig Williams discuss
proposed immigration reform with immigration
lawyers Gregory Siskind, founding partner of
Siskind Susser in Memphis, Tenn., and
Monica Guizar, employment policy attorney at
the National Immigration Law Center in Los Angeles.

Directory of Law Reviews on the Internet

Wendy Nobunaga, Head of Cataloging at the USC
Law Library, has developed an alphabetical list of
law reviews that provides information about
availability on the (free) Internet. The list
indicates if the title is available with full-text,
abstracts, or tables of contents.

Lawrence Tribe on the NSA Wiretapping

From the Law Librarian Blog (5/18/2006):

"Harvard Law School has republished
an op-ed by Law Prof Laurence Tribe entitled,
Bush stomps on Fourth Amendment (Boston Globe,
May 16, 2006)."

Google Notebook

Google has announced the launch of Google Notebook,
a tool that you can use online to capture text or images
from a webpage, add your own annotations, and organize
them.

For more information, see the Google Notebook
Overview page.

Web Resources Reviewed in Cornell's InSite of 5/15

The May 15 issue of Cornell Law Library's
InSite law web site current awareness service
highlights the following sources:

APRI: American Prosecutors Research Institute

Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed
Forces (DCAF)

Inclusion International (disability)

Indigenous Peoples and the Law

MSRB: Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board

Would You Like to "Wiki the Presidency?"

People for the American Way has launched
WikiThePresidency.org, a wiki that "establish[es]
a single place for the public to both acquire
and share information about Executive Branch
wrongdoings."

The site, which employs the same technology as the
popular Wikipedia, allows the public to "post
material about Bush administration wrongdoing, edit
any material already posted, and create new topic
areas at will." Materials posted should consist of factual
claims that can be substantiated by credible
sources (defined on the site as those "either authored
by a recognized authority or published by a reputable
news source.")

Thanks to Professor Donna Arzt for the tip.

Law Library of Congress Report on Immigration Law Sanctions

The Law Library of Congress has released
Immigration Law Sanctions and Enforcement in
Selected Foreign Countries (April, 2006; PDF).

The report to Congress surveys the immigration
laws and practices of Brazil, Egypt, Japan, Mexico,
Sweden, and Switzerland.

Reliability and Integrity of Digital Evidence

The beSpacific blog (5/15/2006) points us to
an article in today's National Law Journal on
the reliability and integrity of digital evidence.

Judicial Independence Principles Released by the Constitution Project

On May 9, the Constitution Project released
Ten Principles for Preserving Courts’ Role in
American Democracy (link to PDF), an initiative
drafted by "an ideologically diverse committee of
experts" led by former FBI Director and federal
judge William S. Sessions and former Congressman
Mickey Edwards (R-OK).

The principles "recommend that legislative and
executive branch officials work to preserve courts’
ability to decide cases impartially and to ensure
meaningful access to the courts for all individuals."

The Constitution Project is based at Georgetown
University's Public Policy Institute. It is a bipartisan
non-profit organization that "seeks consensus on
controversial constitutional and legal issues through
a unique combination of scholarship and activism."

Deadly Maps

The Librarians' Internet Index (5/11/2006)
points us to Deadly Maps, a collection of maps from
the Carnegie Endowment for International
Peace's publication, Deadly Arsenals: Nuclear, Biological,
and Chemical Threats.

The first five maps "reflect the worldwide proliferation
of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons and their
missile delivery systems. The country maps show the
major nuclear installations, both civilian and military,
in each country."

This site also offers links to publications, reports,
White House statements, and web sites on topics of
related interest.

Enron Trial Transcripts

The Law Librarian Blog (5/1//2006) tells
us that the Houston Chronicle is publishing
the Enron trial transcripts.

New Search Products from Google

Google has announced four new products intended
to enhance and improve your Google searching
experience.

Google Co-op "lets people and organizations label
web pages and create specialized links related to their
unique expertise."

Google Desktop 4 expands desktop personalization.
A component of this product, Google Gadgets,
delivers "an array of information--ranging from
games and media players to weather updates and
news--straight to your desktop."

Google Trends allows you to "sort through several years
of Google search queries from around the world."

WikiLaw

Robert Ambrogi at LawSites (5/10/2006) tells us
that there is a new legal wikipedia in the works.
WikiLaw describes its purpose as being "to create a free,
complete, up-to-date and reliable world-wide legal guide
and resource." The wiki apparently allows unvetted
contributions.

WikiLaw is in the beginning stages (53 articles
written so far), but law students will be sure to mine
this new treasure-trove of legal wikidom.

Recent CRS Reports on Criminal Justice

The Law Librarian Blog (5/10/2006) has
posted an annotated list of recent CRS titles
on topics in criminal justice, including:

*Federal Habeaus Corpus: A Brief Legal Overview
*The Death Penalty: Capital Punishment Legislation in the
109th Congress
*Federal Habeas Corpus: An Abridged Sketch
*The Death Penalty: An Abridged Look at Capital
Punishment Legislation in the 109th Congress
*Federal Statutes (Child Pornography)
*Renditions: Constraints Imposed by Laws on Torture
*Gang Prevention & Supression Legislation in the 109th Congress
*Side-by-Side Comparison of S.155, H.R. 1279, and H.R. 4472
*Federal Prison Industries
*Federal Crime Control: Background, Legislation & Issues
*Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program:
Legislative and Funding History

On "Internalizing" Copyrighted Material

Jessica Silbey at the LawCulture blog (5/9/2006)
looks at the case of Harvard co-ed Kaavya Viswanathan,
accused of plagiarising passages from the works of Megan
McCafferty in her much-hyped debut novel, "How Opal
Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild, and Got a Life.” Viswanathan
claimed that she had unconsciously "internalized" beloved
passages from her favorite works and was unaware that the
words were not, in fact, her own.

Silbey asks, "At what point do the narratives we live
(for Viswanathan, the “chick lit” of her youth) become
part of our identity such that we are entitled to express it,
even publish it?"

World eBook Fair

Peter Scott's Library Blog (5/4/2006) brings
our attention to the World eBook Fair, a "month
long celebration of the 35th anniversary of the first
step taken towards today's eBooks," scheduled for
July 4 - August 4, 2006. During the month of July,
the World eBook Fair web site will offer free
access to over 1/3 million eBooks.

Check this blog in July to learn more about the
e-materials available for free on the site and how
to access them.

Geoffrey Stone Speaks on Presidential Power at the University of Chicago

The University of Chicago Law School Faculty Blog
has posted a speech on presidential power by former
Dean and Chicago faculty member, Geoffrey Stone.

You can listen to his talk, "Commander in Chief," and
the follow-up Q & A from this link.

National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza

The White House has released its report on
strategies for handling future influenza
pandemics.

Immigration Resources at LII

The Librarians' Internet Index (LII) has compiled
a list of immigration resources on the web. The site
includes materials on all aspects of immigration, including
historical and archival materials, government information,
immigration law, and research centers/institutes.

Important Change in Lexis Holdings

Did you know that popular legal newspapers
published by ALM such as the New York Law
Journal, National Law Journal, Legal Times
and American Lawyer are no longer available
on Lexis? Beginning on May 1, Westlaw became
the exclusive third-party provider of ALM
publications.

In addition to the national and state legal newspapers,
ALM publishes magazines, newsletters, jury verdicts,
expert witness databases, books and case collections,
directories, and settlement data and publications.
A complete list may be found on the ALM web site.

Free State Legislative Bill Tracking Online

The beSpacific blog (4/28/2006) points us to
a free bill tracking service available on the
web. The service currently encompasses
21 states, including: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas,
California, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas,
Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey,
New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas,
Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and
Wisconsin. State web sites' content and features
vary. Registration (free) is required.

Department of State Country Reports on Terrorism

"U.S. law requires the Secretary of State to provide
Congress, by April 30 of each year, a full and complete
report on terrorism with regard to those countries and
groups meeting criteria set forth in the legislation."
(U.S. Department of State).

The 2005 report is now available in PDF format
on the U.S. Department of State web site.

Legislative Histories of Selected U.S. Laws

The Law Librarians' Society of Washington, D.C., Inc. (LLSDC)
announces a new site on its Legislative Source Book entitled
Legislative Histories of Selected U.S. Laws in Electronic Format.

"The selected laws are organized in alphabetical and public
law number order and primarily come from (and are linked
to) the Department of Commerce (DoC) Law Library
online catalog (pin is any characters you chose). The site also
contains many explanatory notes while each law contains
links to related bill information on the Library of Congress
(LoC) THOMAS site, to a current related U.S. Code site,
and to a current related C.F.R. site." [Rick McKinney,
Assistant Law Librarian, Federal Reserve Board Law
Library and Sourcebook contact]

Supreme Court Zeitgeist

The Supreme Court Zeitgeist is a useful
resource that collects the latest news stories, blog posts,
web page links, and book announcements about
the United States Supreme Court.

For you techies, the site, created by Todd Levy,
is notable because it is a Web 2.0 mashup of Google
news, del.icio.us bookmarks, Technorati blog posts,
and Amazon.com suggested books. According to the
Webopedia, a mashup "offers the capability to mix
and match data and applications from multiple
sources into one dynamic entity..that seamlessly
combines content from more than one source into
an integrated experience."

Two New Legal Podcasts

Robert Ambrogi (LawSites, 5/1/2006) points
us to two new legal podcasts.

Lewis & Clark Law School Podcasts features recorded
lectures, symposia speakers and events from the law school.

FWPodcasts comes from the Florida law firm of
Fowler White Boggs Banker; so far, they have posted
on employment and immigration topics.

Barclay Law Library to Host Regional Law Library Conference

The Barclay Law Library will host the Annual
Spring Institute of the Association of Law
Libraries of Upstate New York (ALLUNY)
on Friday, May 5, 2006, from 10am - 4pm at the
Syracuse University College of Law.

This year's program, Cyberspace: Be Careful Out
There, will address computer security, online
privacy, and identity theft.

For more information, see the ALLUNY web
site; College of Law faculty members may
contact their library liaisons for details.