Death Penalty Information Center

It has been more than three years since my last post about the Death Penalty Information Center, so it's time for an update. This nonprofit site remains a valuable resource for law students and faculty, with statistics, reports, state-by-state information, and the latest news on death penalty legislation, sentencing, and other issues. This is a great place to begin a research paper or just to keep up to date on developments related to the death penalty in the U.S. legal system.

The latest news from the Center is their free mobile app for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch. As described here on the Sentencing Law and Policy blog, this application provides mobile access to the key resources available on the web site.



Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Tracking Congress

Wonder what Congress is doing (or not doing) about Food Safety, on the health reform law or two of my interests, cybersecurity and claiming pets as dependents for tax deductions? Govtrack.us is your answer.

On Govtrack.us, you can set up email alerts or RSS feeds to track particular bills in congress, subject areas, members of Congress or general trackers for the activity of the whole Congress. Use the Trackers link to set these up.

By the way, the bill to deduct pet care expenses died in Congress last year, but I have set up my tracker for Animal protection and human-animal relationships . Know any good lobbyists?

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

New Litigation Skill: Facebook Stalking

Recent articles detail how attorneys now routinely search for information about potential jurors on the internet. These articles are summarized well by a Forbes blog post. The gist is that, if you have lax privacy settings on Facebook and you are called for jury duty, expect jury consultants or paralegals to analyze your Facebook page (at least if there are enough resources devoted to the litigation to pay for someone to do that sort of work).

This should not be too surprising. Law firms have hired jury consultants to do similar work for years, and everyone in the legal industry should already be aware of their Facebook privacy settings. But one wonders if this news will cause people to remove their Facebook privacy settings and post outrageous statements online, in hopes of getting out of jury duty.


Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Research Resources: Kluwer Arbitration

Are you looking for an online resource for international arbitration research? Try Kluwer Arbitration. Kluwer Arbitration contains a commentary from expert authors and an extensive collection of primary source materials. With Kluwer Arbitration, you can:

• Browse for specific documents.
• Use the search function to quickly find the documents you need.
• Print and/or email selected documents.

To access Kluwer Arbitration:

* Go to the Library's home page, click "Online Resources"
* Click the "Alternative Dispute Resolution/Mediation" link
* Click on "Kluwer Arbitration"
Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

New Changes to the New York State Cell Phone Laws

On February 16, 2011, a new law became effective that imposes two points and a fine of $100 on drivers that use their cell phones or other hand held devices while driving. The relevant changes can be found under the New York Vehicle and Traffic Law §§ 1225-c and 1225-d. Read more about the new law here.
Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat