Presidential Recess Appointments

Last January, when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued an opinion holding that the Senate had not in fact "recessed" in January 2012 when President Obama appointed three new members of the National Relations Board, the validity of these and other similarly made appointments during a Congressional session were cast into serious doubt.  Recess appointments and the limits on a president's power to make them quickly became a legal "hot topic."  The NLRB has announced its intention to seek Supreme Court review.

This week, a Congressional Research Service report discussing recess appointments and what impact the Court of Appeals decision, if upheld, will have on recent and future presidential appointments, became available here.  Like all CRS reports, this is an excellent resource for reliable, objective analysis of a debated issue, written by nonpartisan staff in the Congressional Research Service within the Library of Congress.  To find CRS reports on a wide variety of policy-related topics for research papers or legislative histories, try the links listed in this helpful guide from the University of Washington's Gallagher Law Library.

Acknowledgment to The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times.  

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Taxing matters

Yes, for those procrastinators in the audience, it is that time of year - time to file your taxes.

If you still need forms, they are easily found online - at IRS.gov for federal taxes and NY Dept of Taxation for New York.   You can get other states' tax forms online as well.

 If you meet certain criteria, you can file online at IRS.gov for free.  You may even be eligible to use free tax filing software if your income is below $57,000 .

And, believe it or not, there are some who see taxes as a good thing.  Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes famously said  "Taxes are what we pay for civilized society" (275 U.S. 87,100) (an alternate phrasing can be found above the IRS building entrance).  For a brief history of the perception of paying taxes, see the N.Y. Times Op Ed "When We  Loved Form 1040" by a Duke law professor.


Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

LLRX: Statistics Resources and Big Data on the Internet 2013

Marcus P. Zillman's Statistics Resources and Big Data on the Internet 2013 is an  updated "best practices bibliography of sites and reliable sources focused on the hot topic of statistics and big data. These sources are representative of multiple publishers, national and global - government, academia, NGOs, and industry, many of which leverage open source and collaborative applications."

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

17 Ways to Be Happier at Work

17 Ways to Be Happier at Work - Sales Source column written by Geoffrery James at Inc.com - is based on "rules for a happier life" that he applies to the workplace.  These "rules" apply just as well to law school life since being a law student is a full time job.

Really like Rule #1:  Don't Compare Yourself to Others
This can be hard in such a competitive and rank conscious environment.   As is pointed out we all have different life paths and it is a waste of time to draw comparisons.

It is likely that you have encountered these "Rules" or similar tips; however, a reminder every now and then is not amiss.

Hat Tip to 3 Geeks and a Law Blog.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat