C-SPAN Video Library

While looking forward to Spring Break, you may have missed the recent news that all of C-SPAN's programming from 1987 forward--on all three C-SPAN networks--is now available free online in the just launched C-SPAN Video Library. This site is well organized, with a great browse page, and searchable to provide easy access to material such live and unedited Congressional debates and speeches actually made on the House and Senate floor and videos of Congressional committee hearings. In addition, hundreds of C-SPAN public affairs programs from the "America and the Courts" and "Newsmakers" series provide valuable background material on issues, legislation, and people for law school research papers. You'll find more about this constantly growing resource and how to use it to best advantage in this helpful article from Information Today.


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Recent U.S. Supreme Court Bankruptcy Law Decisions

Signs of the times? An article on Jurist not only discusses a recent Supreme Court decision upholding the validity of a discharge of student loans in bankruptcy, but mentions several other bankruptcy-related cases that the court has heard this term, as well.

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Case Law for the United Kingdom

Looking for British or Irish cases? Bailii is the place to go. Bailii has databases for the United Kingdom as well as European case law. It is a very handy site.



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United States Census

As you should be aware the Census Bureau is conducting a census of the population as required by the U.S. constitution Article 1 Section 2. The primary purpose is for the apportionment of congressional house seats but it does serve other important needs. The U.S. Census Bureau actually tracks many aspects of U.S. society on an on-going basis. It is a measurement of our states and communities.

Health care has been in the news and the Census Bureau pulls together the primary data on insurance and coverage.

If you receive a census survey take the time to fill it out. It won't take long.



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LLAGNY's 2010 Bridge the Gap Program

It isn't too late to register for the Law Library Association of Greater New York's (LLAGNY) 2010 Bridge the Gap Program! Just contact Yasmine Alexander at lawyea@hofstra.edu.

Several practice area research sessions will be offered, including: Bankruptcy, Business/Company Research, Criminal Law, Employment/Labor Law, International Arbitration, International Law, Patents, and Securities & Corporate Law.

LLAGNY'S annual Bridge the Gap Legal Research Program helps new summer associates and judicial clerks refresh their research skills in preparation for summer employment, and offers tips from practitioners about how to make the summer a success. This year, additional programs will focus on legal career development. The registration fee is $30, which includes breakfast, lunch and course materials. The program will be held at the NYC Bar Assn, 42 W. 44th St. from 8:30 AM -4:00 PM on Friday, March 26, 2010.


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Yale Exhibits Supreme Court Bobbleheads

Yes, there is a collection of Supreme Court justice bobbleheads, and they were recently given to the Yale Law Library for permanent safekeeping. They will be archived in the Library's Rare Book Collection, where an exhibit featuring some of them recently went on public display.

The bobbleheads are a project of The Green Bag, "An Entertaining Journal of Law," which has been making the dolls since 2003. The journal has created about one bobblehead per year, beginning with Chief Justice Rhenquist, mostly in order of seniority. Not simply dolls, the bobbleheads portray the work and character of each justice through clothing and accessories representing their most famous and representative cases.

For an entertaining read, check out the article on Yale's new acquisitions by New York Times reporter Adam Liptak. The Yale Law Library Rare Books Blog provides a wonderful sample of an "annotated bobblehead" here.



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Research Skills Employers Expect

If you missed some of the Research Skills workshops last week, we will have repeats this coming week. The schedule is:

1. “Civics 101: What Every Lawyer Should Know, But Doesn’t"
• Monday, March 22, 12:10-1pm in Room 242

2. "Location, Location, Location: Where to find Statutes and Regulations”
• Monday, March 22, 1:10-2pm in Room 242

3. “Putting it all Together”
• Wednesday, March 24, 12:10pm-1 in Room 242

Pizza will be served at all of these.

If you missed our feature workshop with advice from law firm and corporate librarians, you can still benefit from their advice by viewing the web cast. It will be available next week on the Library's web casts page. The other workshops will be available on the web casts page after we complete the series.




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Analysis of Recent Miranda Warning Decision

Recently, the U.S. Supreme Court decided the case of Florida v. Powell. This case raised the question whether an unusually-worded set of Miranda warnings comports with the Constitution. A brief but informative discussion and analysis of this case appears here.

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Research Guides

Writing a paper? Need help finding a source? A topic? The library has many research guides to help you find what you need. You might want to take a look at finding articles to help you get started.



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LLAGNY's Bridge the Gap, 2010

LLAGNY (Law Library Association of Greater New York) presents 2010 Bridge the Gap. This is a day long program addressing the most pressing needs of novice researchers. The day consists of a general overview session of the research process followed by a choice of break out sessions for specific practice areas, including: Bankruptcy | Business/Company Research | Criminal Law | Employment/Labor Law | International Arbitration | International Law | New York Internet Legal Research | Patents | Securities & Corporate Law.

Along side the research offerings will be programs on Social Media: Ethics and the Practice of Law | Legal Research on a Tight Budget | Research for Career Development. Lunch will include a presentation on How to Make Yourself a Top Candidate. The day concludes with a panel of attorneys from different legal venues who will describe the typical expectations for summer employees, and offer their advice on how to be successful in a summer job.

Date: March 26, 2010
Time: 8:30 AM - 4:00 PM
Location: New York City Bar
Cost: $30.00 (includes lunch)

Registration and payment must be received by March 19th. Please bring photo ID.

Please see linked announcement/registration for more information.



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