Chronophilia weekend

This is a weekend for the time lovers among us.  

As a black cat, not only do I not suffer from triskaidekaphobia (fear of Friday the 13th), I celebrate it. Today is the second one in as many months I have enjoyed.  Fear not,  I get one more in November.

And tomorrow, of course, is one of my favorites . . .  Pi Day.  This is no ordinary Pi Day, however.  This is a once-in-a-century Pi Day, since we are in 2015, we celebrate tomorrow as 3.14 15.  And for those true devotees, make sure to set your alarm for 9:26:53 tomorrow morning and evening, so you can celebrate  Pi out to its 9th decimal - 3.141592653.

Have a great time ;) this weekend.  I will.

Hat tip to Lingua Franca.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

This Day In The Law: First Female U.S. Attorney General

On this day in 1993, Janet Reno was sworn in as the first woman to serve as U.S. Attorney General. Read more here, courtesy of the Wayback Machine.

Acknowledgment to Jurist.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

New CRS Report: Freedom of Information Act Legislation in the 114 th Congress: Issue Summary and Side-by- Side Analysis

 “Both the House and Senate are currently considering legislation that would make substantive changes to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). FOIA was originally enacted in 1966 and has been amended numerous times since—most recently in 2009. FOIA provides the public with a presumptive right to access agency records, limited by nine exemptions that allow agencies to withhold certain types or categories of records."

“ While these bills address a number of similar topics, often in similar ways, there are substantive differences between them.”

Daniel Richardson and Wendy Ginsberg discuss current FOIA legislation in their new CRS Report: Freedom of Information Act Legislation in the 114 th Congress: Issue Summary and Side-by- Side Analysis.  

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

World Death Penalty Resources

Are you interested in where and how the death penalty is applied throughout the world and researching the death penalty as a foreign or comparative law topic?  A goldmine of country-by-country information--statistical data, background, and legal analysis--is available at the Death Penalty Worldwide website and in its Death Penalty Database.  Created by Professor Sandra Babcock, Director of the International Human Rights Clinic at Cornell University Law School, in partnership with the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, the database is searchable by keyword and country. Searches can be further filtered by items such as crimes punishable by the death penalty, methods of execution, and treaties to which the country is a party.  Another good source of recent statistical information is Amnesty International's report, "Death Sentences and Executions, 2013," which includes a comparative international map. To find additional information and suggested sources for the criminal law and death penalty of particular countries, search for "death penalty" at the Foreign Law Research page of New York University's GlobaLex site. 

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Library Hours change

For the next several months, there will not be any Reference librarian available on Sundays.

If you are a member of the Hofstra community, attorney or judge, please use our email reference service - hofstralawlib@gmail.com.  A Reference librarian will respond to your question during Reference Desk hours.   Details are posted at the Reference desk.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

WestlawNext - Profiler

Want some background information on a lawyer or judge?  A place to start is  WestlawNext's Profiler.  This can be found under Tools, Directories or just start typing Profiler in the search box.

Westlaw Profiler provides biographical information about attorneys, judges, experts, arbitrators and intellectual property professionals, as well as links to documents that reflect their work history. 

Appearing in court?  Learn about the judge.
Have an interview?   Investigate not only the firm but the person(s) you will meet during the interview.

 You can also use Profiler to look for attorneys who practice in an area of law in a defined geographical location.

Caveat, profile information is not always up-to-date so this is not a one-stop tool. 

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Lexis Advance Tips: How to locate today’s edition of the New York Times or the Wall Street Journal

This is a great tip especially since many faculty and students often want an article published the same day.   If you are trying to locate today's edition in Lexis Advance, try the following tip: 

Type: New York Times in the search box and choose the blue Get Documents link.  Results will automatically be displayed with today’s date first.  Click the Clock icon to Create an Alert.

Want to limit your terms to just the Headline?  Type headline, remember to choose More Categories then select News and Sort By Date.

(Hat tip: Antoinette Stafilas, Esq., Lexis Law school Executive).  To access Lexis Advance, click here. 

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat