Petition to Decision: the Supreme Court and 42 U.S.C. § 1983

If you are looking for a comprehensive digital archive of all the available papers of the Supreme Court justices relating to selected civil rights cases, you're in luck. David Achtenberg of the University of Missouri—Kansas City School of Law, just launched the Petition to Decision website.

Focusing "on decisions in which the Supreme Court interpreted 42 U.S.C. § 1983, the principal statutory vehicle used to sue state and local officials for violations of constitutional rights, the site presents an interactive timeline of the various cases, identifying every step in the justices’ decision-making process and linking each step to digital copies the relevant internal papers."

"The long range plan is for Petition to Decision to include a wide range of § 1983 cases dealing with issues such as municipal liability, official immunity, color of law, etc. The current, pilot version of the website is limited to cases dealing with municipal liability issues. Additional case files and features will be added on a regular basis."
Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Columbus Day

Columbus Day did not become a Federal holiday until 1937 although some localities have honored the day since the 18th Century. Observance of the day is meant to honor Columbus' achievements, but in recent years the day has become controversial.

Columbus did know that the world is round, but it was thought that only the Atlantic lay between Europe, Africa and Asia (old world). It was only after further exploration that cartographers realized that Columbus had reached new continents (new world) not connected to the old world.
Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

New Library Website Tour

Do you need some guidance on where to find articles, how to use the online catalog, or how to locate past exams? Could you use a quick refresher on finding resources for term papers or how to use Journal Finder or WorldCat? That's easy--just take the guided webcast tour of the Library's website. In the new Fall 2010 website tour, a reference librarian walks you through the resources and features of the redesigned Law Library main page and how to use some of the most popular databases for law school research. You can go directly to the website tour from the "Online Library Website Tour" link in the Instruction section of the main page. Before beginning the webcast, be sure to increase the volume so that you can hear the tour clearly. If you have more questions or want to dig deeper into any of the resources, just ask for help at the Reference Desk.
Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Research web tutorials

Many of you are in the middle of researching for your papers. If you need a research refresher, check out our Research Instruction Webcasts off of the Library's homepage. You will find a link to a Paper Writing web cast - which will show you useful databases and techniques for your research. Other topic specific web casts are also available.

You will also find a Lexis and Westlaw web tutorial for a refresher on Lexis and Westlaw basics. As always, let us know what you think and if you have suggestions for web tutorials you would like to see.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Supreme Court Pinch-Hitters?

What do you think about the idea of having substitute Supreme Court justices during instances of recusals? Cornell Law School professor Michael C. Dorf discusses the issue here.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Blawgs: Still Around, Still Useful

Perennial legal technology commentator Robert Ambrogi had a recent article in Law Technology News declaring that, although the universe of legal commentary and analysis is full of abandoned or useless legal blogs (or "blawgs"), there are also a number of excellent legal blogs out there, and, like it or not, legal blogs have become a very important source for legal news and analysis.

See our older post on how to use blawgs for research. One link we neglected to add there was the academic legal blawg search from Cornell Law Library's Legal Research Engine.

To keep track of blogs, use an RSS reader.


Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

InnocenceRecord.org

The Innocence Project and Winston & Strawn LLP launched InnocenceRecord.org, an online-line searchable database of the court records and other data of the cases of those who have been wrongfully convicted and later exonerated through DNA evidence.

Because of the sensitive nature of the material in the database, users are required to register before gaining access to much of the material in the database, and an application process is required to view some of the material.
Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Email & litigation

While most of you probably text rather than use email, in business and law email is still used for communication. This article "5 Tips to Keep Loose E-mails from Sinking Litigation" is a good reminder to take care with the content of your emails especially work email. Just slow down and don't be the one to make a goof with your communication.
Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Now, For Some Real World Advice...

"What Would You Tell a Law Student Before They Enter the 'Real World'?" That was the question posed by this week's Elephant Post on Three Geeks and a Law Blog. Answers were solicited from practitioner experts, all speaking from their various law practice perspectives: client service; human resources; small firm and solo; information technology; business and career development; and (of course) library. As you think about your next job, your skills, your strategies and your future success, take a few minutes to read this practical advice from the trenches.
Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Past Facebook And MySpace Postings Are Discoverable?

When it comes to the courts, your privacy settings on your social networking sites may not matter. Find out why here.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat