- 1 US 1 (pre 1776-)

- 1 F 2d 1 (1924-)

- F Supp Cases

- US State Cases (1950-)

This is certainly not as sophisticated a tool as Lexis or Westlaw, but it is free and is a welcome addition to the legal research world.

Check out some other blog posts at Wisblawg, Goodson Blogson, and Resource Shelf.

Examples and Explanations 

Black Letter Outlines 

Understanding Series 

Exam Pro 

Gilbert Law Summaries 

Concise Hornbook 

Emanuel Law Outlines 

PMBR 

Bar/Bri 

Questions and Answers 

Legalines 

Once you've clicked any of the above links, you can limit by topic by typing in your subject in the keyword search box at the bottom of the screen.  Simply type it in after the name of the series which will already appear in the box, like this:

Study aids that the catalog says are in the "Hunter Law Library Study Guides" location are found in the Reserve Library.

Supreme Court oral argument transcripts are available on the Supreme Court's website the day they are argued.  You can read the Kucana transcript here.  Eventually the audio of the oral argument will be available on Oyez, which is a great website.

"Throughout the United States, state and federal courts discipline and sanction attorneys who make disparaging remarks about the judiciary and thereby impugn judicial integrity. In so doing, courts have almost universally rejected the constitutional standard established in New York Times v. Sullivan for punishing speech regarding government officials. While courts have imposed severe sanctions regardless of the forum where the speech has occurred, many of the cases involve speech made by attorneys in court proceedings. The existing scholarly literature generally supports the denial of First Amendment protection in such cases, indicating that attorney speech when made in court proceedings is entitled to little, if any, constitutional protection.

In A Free Speech Right to Impugn Judicial Integrity in Court Proceedings, Professor Tarkington examines why a free speech right to impugn judicial integrity must be recognized for attorneys - even, and perhaps especially, when acting as officers of the court and making statements in court proceedings. Such a right is necessary to protect the constitutional and other rights of litigants to an unbiased and competent judiciary. Further, the recognition of such a right in the attorney preserves litigants’ access to courts and due process rights. These rights belonging to litigants are all but lost where attorneys are punished for or chilled from asserting them in court proceedings. Previous scholarly arguments - which are based on analogies to other areas of limited First Amendment protection - fail to account for the protection of the underlying rights of litigants, the role of attorneys in our adversary system, and the constitutionally-required role of the judicial branch. Importantly, the judiciary does not need to punish attorney speech impugning judicial integrity in order to protect its legitimate interests in the just adjudication of cases. In fact, by curbing speech in the presentation of claims, the judiciary undermines its own role and responsibility in remedying constitutional violations and providing fair proceedings."

I enjoyed Paul Rolly's Salt Lake Tribune column about Prof. Goldsmith and wanted to pass it on.  Maverick professor an unlikely BYU hero

Today I want to remind you about CALI.  The law library subscribes to CALI because it offers over 600 web-based tutorials on a number of different legal topics.  These tutorials are great at helping you nail down some of those concepts you haven't quite grasped yet.  Also, because of their interactive nature, CALI tutorials are a great way to mix up your study time (especially when you're staring at your outline for minutes at a time without really learning anything - I've been there).  So, if you haven't been using CALI, now's the time to take a look.  Email me at neverss@law.byu.edu if you need our school's authorization code.

"KeyCite “Clear All” Now Available

 Using KeyCite Limits just got even easier! Previously, when limiting KeyCite Citing References by Document Type, you would have to individually de-select each item you wished to exclude. This became very cumbersome if there were many document types but you only wished to include a few. Now just look for the “Clear All” button at the top of the Document Type page under KeyCite Limits and quickly clear all the document type check boxes."

Some Perspectives from the United States on the Worldwide Taxation vs. Territorial Taxation Debate (with Robert J. Peroni and Stephen E. Shay)

The Deceptively Disparate Treatment of Business and Investment Interest Expense Under a Cash-Flow Consumption Tax and a Schanz-Haig-Simons Income Tax 

Here are a couple of things to keep in mind when searching HeinOnline:

1 - Boolean operators must be in all capital letters.  That means AND, OR, NOT.

2- The root expander in HeinOnline is * not !

3- Proximity searching (something I've written about before) is probably the most different of all the search commands.  In HeinOnline, you put the terms you want close to one another in quotation marks followed by a ~ and some number.  For example, "disaster legislation"~10 means you are looking for the word "disaster" within 10 words of the word "legislation."

4- Boosting a term allows you to influence the relevancy ranking of your results list.  (By the way, you can't have your results ranked by relevance when using a terms and connectors search in Westlaw or Lexis.)  So, if I have two terms, but I think one term is more important I can include a ^ followed by a number after the more important term.  For example, disaster^5 AND legislation will find results with both the terms "disaster" and "legislation" in them, but will bring documents with "disaster" found more frequently to the top of my results list.

Here is a handout David Armond and I prepared for a faculty training I presented at last week.  It only covers the search tips I think students and faculty will use the most.  More detailed search syntax instructions are available here.

Advanced Legal Research (Law 796R §8) Prof. Gary Hill, TH 9-9:50

This course will cover research topics and advanced techniques in the following areas: administrative law, legislative history, practice materials, government documents, non-legal databases, internet resources, tax research, treaties, and family law. There are assignments for each area and a bibliography that is to integrate the topics and techniques learned in the course.

Federal Tax Research (Law 796R §20) Prof. Dennis Sears, W 2-2:50

This course focuses on researching the basic documents generated by the IRS. Students are introduced to various hardcopy and online resources available to research these documents. They are assigned to research specific documents in assigned resources and to present an evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of the resources so that each resource can be compared and contrasted with other resources. The course culminates in an annotated bibliography by each student of a tax topic of the student’s choice, approved by the professor, in which the student uses the various resources introduced during the course of the semester to complete the bibliography.

Intro. to Law Librarianship (Law 796R §25) Prof. Galen Fletcher, T 10-10:50

Awareness of current trends and developments in information aspects of the legal profession. Introduces the various departments and types of specialization within law libraries, and examines different types of law libraries, their organizational structures, collections and services. Designed for students with an interest in law librarianship or legal bibliography or both.

Hat tip to the Law Librarian Blog.

Prince's Bieber Dictionary, or Bieber's as many librarians call it, focuses on abbreviations and acronyms found in American legal literature.  It is a book found behind the law library reference desk (KF 246 .B46 2009) in which you can look things up by abbreviation or by title.  I have cracked the code of many unfamiliar abbreviations with Bieber's as my tool. 

Cardiff Index to Legal Abbreviations is a web-based tool that focuses more on foreign and international legal abbreviations than does Bieber's.  Freely available on the web, this index's search functions allow you to search by both abbreviation and title.  Its foreign and international abbreviations make it an excellent companion to Bieber's.

With these two tools you're unlikely to get stumped by a perplexing legal abbreviation.

Restructuring Democracy or Lawlessness? Critical Reflections on in Re Marriage Cases 

From Slavery to Same Sex Marriage: Comity Versus Public Policy and Inter-Jurisdictional Recognition of Controversial Domestic Relations

Monday, Sept. 28th

11-11:50 - rm. 306

12-12:50 - rm. 275/76

3-3:50 - rm. 275/76

Tuesday, Sept. 29th

9-9:50 - rm. 205

10-10:50 - rm. 205

3-3:50 - rm. 275/76

We also wanted to congratulate the winners of the drawing for those who completed the survey.  Thomas Weber was the winner of a $20 gift card donated by LexisNexis and Matt Hall won 1000 WestlawRewards points donated by Westlaw. 

On the other hand, LexisNexis headnotes have been a bit more of a mystery to me. LexisNexis has always made it clear that the text of their headnotes is taken straight from the text of the case.  (This is different than West's headnotes, which are written by an editor.)  But, it has taken me a bit longer to get an accurate understanding of how the topics and subtopics in a Lexis Headnote were created and assigned.  When I have asked Lexis employees about this, some have not known how the process works and at least once I was given some misinformation - that the process was done mostly by computers.  Now, finally, I have an explanation that Lexis seems ready to stand by.  Here's an excerpt from an email from Michael Morton, my regional account manager. 

"[T]he editor reads the case and manually chooses the classifications.  He or she has a tool much like an index that has all of the classifications listed there (topics and subtopics).  For each point of law in the case that the editor chooses to include as a headnote, he or she then selects the most relevant subtopic/topic.  Often they are given more than one as obviously they can not be hammered into only one subtopic.  If the language does not fit any current topics, then the editor can request a new one created and a committee of editors makes that decision, but that is very rare.  Once the editor has chosen the language and matched the topics, the secondary editors then check that to make sure it is correct. 

Who Decides and What Difference Does it Make? Defining Marriage in 'Our Democratic, Federal Republic'

The Essence of Lawyering in an Atmosphere of Faith 

On Knowing and Caring 

Eagle Feathers and Equality: Lessons on Religious Exceptions from the Native American Experience

Shirt Tales: Clerking for Byron White 

Religiously Affiliated Law Schools: An Added Dimension 

Protecting the Sacred Sites of Indigenous People in U.S. Courts: Reconciling Native American Religion and the Right to Exclude 

Discipline: An Academic Dean’s Perspective on Dealing with Plagiarism

Who Will Control the Future of Indian Gaming? 'A Few Pages of History are Worth a Volume of Logic'

Two Sides of the Same Coin: The Potential Normative Power of American Cities and Indian Tribes

The Role of Indigenous Groups in Constitutional Democracies: A Lesson from Chile and the United States

Who’s in Charge Here? Tribal, State, and Federal Authority Over Non-Indian Resource Development in Indian Country

The Right to Keep and Bear Arms in Light of Thornton: The People and Essential Attributes of Sovereignty

The Grand Experiment: Evaluating Indian Law in the 'New World'

Shedding New Light on an Old Debate: A Federal Indian Law Perspective on Congressional Authority to Limit Federal Question Jurisdiction

United States Law Week: Circuit Splits - U.S. Law Week examines important cases across the country on a weekly basis.  The Circuit Splits feature highlights the cases that have caused splits among the circuits, providing you with a list of topics and summaries of the issues involved.  A quick glance can give you several possible topics.  This resource is available through the Law Library.

Split Circuits Blog - On this blog, Professor A. Benjamin Spencer of Washington & Lee University School of Law, tracks cases that have generated a circuit split among the federal circuit courts.

If you're writing a seminar paper or some other type of research paper, here are some other resources that might help you find a topic.

BNA Resources - Available through the law library, legal publisher BNA provides daily, weekly and monthly reports on specific legal topics that might be of interest to you.  Finding a relevant BNA publication may help you find a hot topic to write about.

Law Professors Blog Network - This network of blogs is designed to "assist law professors in their scholarship and teaching."  While you may not be a law professor, here you can find a blog that provides scholarly discussion on a topic you may be writing about.

ABA Journal Blawg Directory - The ABA Journal brings together many legal blogs and arranges them by subject, making it easy for you to find a blog on your topic.  Finding such a blog may help you find current topics that would be good to write about.

This is just a start, but you're likely to find a good topic with one of these resources.

Hat tip to the WSJ Law Blog.

Join us on Thursday, Sept. 10 at 1pm in room 275/76 as we discuss resources that can help you with your research paper.  You know about Westlaw and Lexis, come find out about other resources you should know about. 

Law(Makers) of the Land: The Doctrine of Treaty Non-Self-Execution 

Medellin, the Alien Tort Statute, and the Domestic Status of International Law

Professor Moore joins us after visiting at George Washington University School of Law last year and clerking for Justice Alito on the Supreme Court before that.  Prior to his clerkship with Justice Alito, Professor Moore taught law at the University of Kentucky.

Check out Professor Moore's other papers here.

Earlier this summer I blogged about the Clerkship Notification Blog.  It and the Law Clerk Addict Blog are good places to go to find out which judges have already hired, are interviewing now, etc.  Many federal judges post notifices of available clerkships and receive applications on OSCAR.  For the judges that adhere to the OSCAR system, applications are released to them on Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2009. 

The CSO's Judicial Clerkship Handbook is a great place to find good information as well.  Here in the library we have some good clerkship resources.  Most are located in the reference collection behind the reference desk.  One of the best is the Almanac of the Federal Judiciary (KF 8775 .A945), which contains biographical information about all federal judges.  It discusses some of their noteworthy rulings and has a section where lawyers evaluate each judge.

BYU law students have already been heavy users of Audio CaseFiles.  During the first year of our subscription BYU law students downloaded nearly 7,000 opinions.  BYU law faculty and students can register here using their law school email address.

Keeping down law school debt is a difficult thing to do these days.  A low tuition and a quality education gives students the opportunity to make real choices as to what they'll do with their law degree.  It allowed me to choose law librarianship, which would have been much more difficult with an enormous debt load.

In this blog we try to provide you with research tips, law library and law school news, details about electronic and print resources, and a variety of other information.  Check back regularly or syndicate this blog by clicking on the orange RSS button in the upper right-hand corner of this page.

Thanks to law librarian Galen Fletcher for pointing this out to me. 

Here's a video about the program and a Salt Lake Tribune article.

Additional information is also available from the Utah State Bar.

The CM Law Library blog notes that Related Content is reviewed by human editors, whereas Westlaw's Results Plus is done by computers.  I find that quite interesting since Westlaw's Topics, Key Numbers and headnotes are done by human editors, while Lexis' headnotes are primarily generated by computers.

Update: Michael Morton, our LexisNexis Regional account manager recently contacted me about this blog post, saying Lexis had taken issue with my last statement about Lexis headnotes being primarily generated by computers.  My comment was mainly focused on the generation of the topics and subtopics, not the generation of the headnote text which I know is taken straight from the case.  Michael told me that the generation of the topics and subtopics is not done by computers, but by human editors.  This is not what I had been told previously by LexisNexis.  I was told that the creation and assignment of the topics and subtopics was done by computers and then checked briefly by editors.  Michael apologized that I had been misinformed, but said that the topics and subtopics are and have always been created and assigned by real people, not computers.

We appreciate the good work of our Webmaster, Laurie Urquiaga, on this project.

For all of Professor Gedicks' papers on SSRN click here.

New York Times

Sports Illustrated

Today 

Video Courtesy of KSL.com

This Independence Day is a special one for the Law School as Professor Michael Goldsmith's call for Major League Baseball to celebrate Lou Gehrig's farewell speech and raise funds and awareness to fight ALS will be realized.  Professor Goldsmith will be recognized by the New York Yankees before their Saturday game and has been asked to throw out the ceremonial first pitch.  Prof. Goldsmith will also be featured in stories on the NBC Today Show and the NBC Weekend Nightly News.

It's a good idea to find out which service your future state bar provides and become familiar with it.  It can be a great cost-saving tool.

If you're looking for research help this summer so you can make a good impression, don't forget to use our Ask a Law Librarian service (available to current BYU law students) or call the reference desk at 801-422-6658.

One of the best secondary sources are legal treatises.  Legal treatises are all different, but most provide a fairly in-depth look at a particular subject.  You should become familiar with some of the major treatises in your practice area.  Recently ZiefBrief, the blog of the University of San Francisco's Law Library, provided some links to web pages listing treatises by subject.  Here are some you may find useful:

Treatises and Services by Subject - Kent Olson

Legal Treatises by Subject - Harvard Law Library

Georgetown Law Library Treatise Finder

Many firms still have relevant treatises in print and some have access to treatises through Westlaw or LexisNexis (although you should always check if they are under the firm's subscription).  Local law libraries will also have access to many treatises as well.  Wherever you find them, in most cases it's a good idea to head to a treatise to get your research started.

"The goal of the CNB is to provide a forum for law clerk applicants, current law clerks, and judicial staff to share information regarding their clerkship applications and vacancies. By using the "comments" function, applicants can easily find and share information as to which judges have started calling applicants, which judges have started making offers, and which judges have completed their hiring."

Looks like a useful resource for clerkship seekers!

Users can also access indexes and tables of contents for statutes, etc. with one click.  This is a welcome addition as finding some of these tools in the past was quite a chore. 

Westlaw has also provided a relatively easy to use editing function that includes drag and drop content blocks.  Users can easily manipulate the content they find on their main research page, allowing for easy access to often-used sources.  On the flip side, this can cause a certain amount of frustration in training situations as the main research page may look different for each user. 

Westlaw has also added a "Sticky Notes" feature where users can jot down notes to themselves.  This would be even nicer if you could write yourself a note on any Westlaw screen and they would be compiled in one place.  "Sticky Notes" currently appears to be available only on the main research screen.

I would also recommend Diane Murley's article In Defense of Wikipedia.  It is written from the perspective of a law librarian and talks about the use of Wikipedia in legal research.  While written to an audience of law librarians and legal research instructors, I think it provides some good information for all legal researchers.

1. The ability to quickly and easily track down nominees based on a number of faceted criteria including congress, nominating president, and nomination result.
2. The ability to track nominees and nominations via RSS feeds.
3. Up to date contact information for sitting judges nominated and confirmed since the 103rd congress, and nominees from the 111th congress forward.

While it would be next to impossible not to hear about a U.S. Supreme Court nominee, this looks like a good way to stay up to date on other federal judicial nominees.

Forty years ago, at a time when the media was experiencing enormous professional change and a surge of subpoena activity, First Amendment scholar Vincent Blasi investigated the perceptions of members of the press and the impact of subpoenas within American newsrooms in a study that quickly came to be regarded as a watershed in media law. That empirical data is now a full generation old, and American journalism faces a new critical moment. The traditional press once again finds itself facing a surge of subpoenas and once again finds itself at a time of intense change — albeit on a different trajectory — as readership and public reputation plummet. As the dialogue on this complicated topic once again reaches full volume, intensified by a series of hotly contested federal reporter’s privilege bills, the question of the appropriate legal rule again is inextricably intertwined with the question of the real-world impact of subpoenas on the operations of the media. This 'law-in-action' article aims to offer the legislators and policymakers of today what Blasi offered them four decades ago. It reports the results of a large-scale empirical study, presenting both quantitative and qualitative assessments of the effects that subpoenas have on daily newspapers and local television news operations, and re-explores the questions of changing legal climate and media awareness of legal protection. The article concludes that media subpoenas have a substantial impact on newsgathering, warranting federal legislative attention. But it also concludes that the traditional press is ill-informed of the contours of its own legal protection, which may compound the difficulties the media experiences in this area. 

To download Professor Andersen Jones's other article on media subpoenas, Avalanche or Undue Alarm? An Empirical Study of Subpoenas Received by the News Media, click here.

• Deferred fall associates pursuing public interest work during their deferral periods,
• 2009 graduates who elect to pursue public interest work while searching for law firm employment, and
• Those 2009 graduates who pursue public interest work as a continuing profession.

More information and registration information can be found here.

*Photo from the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs website. 

Hat tip to WisBlawg.

You'll find the "Ask a Law Librarian" link in the top left-hand corner of our webpage.

Hopefully, you were able to attend some of the cost-effective or prepare to practice trainings that the two companies put on.  They are usually very helpful.  In case you couldn't attend or want more information, here are some handouts - How to Research Cost-Effectively with LexisNexis and Westlaw's Cost-Effective Research Tips.  I would suggest becoming very familiar with these tips.

When you arrive at your job this summer, make sure you find out how the firm is charged for their Westlaw/Lexis subscription and in turn how the firm charges its clients.  Many firms have flat-fee contracts with Westlaw/Lexis, but this doesn't mean you can use your ID the same way you do in Law School.  Flat-fee contracts are usually limited in what they can access and most firms pass on their legal resarch costs to their clients.  So, while your firm may have a flat-fee contract it may bill its clients based on a transactional basis, which means you'll want to be as cost-effective as possible. 

Also, be aware of what your law firm has in print, especially if they have treatises.  Consulting a treatise or other secondary source can really help you understand the area of law you have to research.  Having a good understanding of the issue before you jump on Westlaw or Lexis will help you save time and money.

I believe that the ability to be a successful and cost-effective legal researcher is a great asset in this economy.  If you have any questions, let me know or stop by the reference desk.

Examining the various iterations of a bill as it goes through the legislative process is an important step in researching legislative history.  The ability to access these bills online is a boon to Utah legislative history researchers, who previously had to trek to the State Archives to find them. 

Thank you to the Utah State Archives for their work on this project!

Read the official White House Press Release here.

BYU News 

BYU Law Press Release 

Westlaw

Current Students: Summer law school classes, Law review or journal work, Project for a professor, Moot court, Unpaid, non-profit public interest internship/externship pro bono work required for graduation

Graduating Students: Prepare for the July bar exam

Passwords may NOT be used for research for law firms, government agencies, corporations or other purposes unrelated to law school coursework.  Students graduating this academic year are not eligible.

Even if you don't qualify to extend your Westlaw password, your password can still be used 2 hours a month in June and July.

LexisNexis

Students and faculty may use their LexisNexis Law School Educational ID only for academic purposes. "Academic purposes" include, but are not limited to: class preparation and assignments, research associated with moot court or law review/law journal, research associated with pursuing a grant or scholarship, service as a research assistant to a professor (either paid or unpaid), an unpaid internship, externship or clinic position for school credit, clerkship for credit, bar review

 "Academic purposes" do not include research conducted for a law firm, corporation or other entity (other than a professor or law school) that is paying the student to conduct said research, or that is passing along the costs of said research to a third party. These are deemed "commercial purposes".

As such, students’ access will be restricted to a limited menu of employment research related materials beginning June 1. These menu limitations will be lifted on August 1.

CDs

Study Aids 

CALI 

Sample Exams

4th Floor Reading Room

Group Study Rooms with new flat screens 

Extended Hours

Good luck!

Check out the award announcement here and a BYU Law news release here.

CasemakerX is a social networking tool meant to connect law students and legal professionals.  (Read more about it here.)  In addition, students who register for CasemakerX get access to Casemaker 2.1.  Casemaker 2.1 is a low-cost legal research system that members of the Utah State Bar get access to with their bar membership.  I would highly encourage law students to become familiar with Casemaker 2.1.  Using it can be a great preliminary research tool before hopping on to Westlaw or Lexis.  (see this post for more details)  Casemaker is a benefit offered through many state bar associations, so you'll probably want to be familiar with it even if you're not staying in Utah.

More of Professor Gedicks' papers on SSRN are available here.

On Saturday, March 14, 2009, many will honor his memory by running in the annual Rex Lee Run.  Donations generated from the run help fund cancer research. 

The Utah Supreme Court and the Utah Court of Appeals also have audio files of oral arguments.  You can listen to archived arguments or you can listen live when the court is hearing arguments.

An oral argument coming up this Thur., March 5, 2009 that may be of interest to you is that of the Proposition 8 cases before the California Supreme Court.  Information for viewing the oral argument is available here.

"As many of you are aware, University Print Services recently removed the photocopy machine on the third floor because it was too expensive to maintain.   Two other photocopy machines remain available for student use.  One is located in the copy room near the Circulation Desk and the other in the Reserve Reading Room on the second floor.

To accommodate those desiring to scan pages to PDF, I am pleased to announce that the law library has recently acquired a new high-speed scanner.   Unlike the library’s other public scanners, this model is equipped with a document feeder that allows the scanning of multiple pages.  It also has the capability of scanning both sides of a page simultaneously. 

With this new scanner, students can convert unbound pages to PDF very quickly.   A workstation attached to the scanner allows the material to be sent to a personal email account for printing.  Books and other bound material will need to be scanned on the flat screen scanners in the reference area.

The new high-speed scanner is located in room 380A.  Operating instructions have been placed on the bulletin board above the scanner, and additional assistance is available at the Reference Desk."

Loislaw, Versuslaw, and FastCase are all low-cost alternatives.  As a law student you can get free access to Loislaw (contact me for our access code) and Versuslaw.  Fastcase has a free 24 hour trial for anyone.

In Utah, a resource you will want to be familiar with is Casemaker.  The Utah Bar provides its members with free access to Casemaker.  Law students can get a free affiliate membership with the Utah Bar and get access to Casemaker. 

Other free legal research sites include Find Law, LexisOne (expanded coverage and options for a fee), Utah State Courts website (other court websites are useful as well), PreCYdent, AltLaw, Justia, the Public Library of Law, Legal Information Institute (Cornell), Thomas, GPO Access (being migrated to FDsys).  I'm sure there are some I've left out, but that should get you started.

The Law Library has recently acquired access to Human Rights Documents Online, a database containing documents from 483 non-governmental human rights organizations.  These documents detail a range of human rights issues and span all regions of the world.  The documents are available in PDF format and are fully searchable. Researchers can also browse the documents by region of the world, focusing on particular NGOs.  If you are researching any aspect of human rights, make sure you check out this database.

From the email:

A Class Apart tells the story of a landmark civil rights case, Hernandez v. Texas. In 1951 in the town of Edna, Texas, a field hand named Pedro Hernandez murdered his employer after exchanging words at a gritty cantina. From this seemingly unremarkable small-town murder emerged this watershed civil rights case that would forever change the lives and legal standing of tens of millions of Latinos. A team of unknown Mexican American lawyers took the case all the way to the Supreme Court, where they successfully challenged Jim Crow-style discrimination against Mexican Americans.

A Class Apart is based upon BYU Professor Ignacio Garcia's recently released book White But Not Equal: Mexican Americans, Jury Discrimination and the Supreme Court (University of Arizona Press, 2009). The Redd Center and Garcia, the Lemuel Hardison Redd Jr. Chair in Western American History, arranged for the screening as a gift to the BYU community because of the university's generous support for the research that made the book and documentary possible. This is one of a handful of exclusive advance screenings across the nation. Professor Garcia will discuss the film and answer questions following the screening.

Other events and interesting information can be found on the Lincoln Bicentennial homepage.

The Library of Congress has recently released a collection of photographs of Lincoln on Flickr that are quite interesting.

For links to other information and intersting websites on Lincoln check out my blog post from last year on Lincoln.

I'm also happy to announce that my picture of Lincoln is now hung on my wall.

Hat tip to Law Librarian Blog.

(Self-promotion warning) For more articles on the importance of legal research, as well as other aspects of legal research check out my recent article "Legal Research Readings to Inspire and Inform Students." 

In order to have an Awards Banquet, we need to hand out awards.  This is where you, the students, come in.  Awards are based on student nominations.  Nominations opened this week and will close on Friday, February 13th.  Examples of the awards given include the J. Reuben Clark Award, Awards for Meritorious Achievement and Distinguished Service, Awards for Professors of the Year, etc.  So, click here to nominate fellow-students and faculty members for these awards and help us honor those who deserve it. 

Major Leauge Baseball has now announced that it will begin a "4♦ALS Awareness" campaign and will commemorate Gehrig's farewell speech.  From MLB:

"On July 4, 2009, each home team will host an on-field reading of Gehrig's Farewell speech during the 7th Inning Stretch. All players will wear a "4♦ALS" patch on their chest and MLB will promote the effort in a variety of ways, including in-stadium promotions. In addition, MLB.com will conduct an online auction to raise funds for the cause, and Major League Baseball will continue to work with the four organizations to identify additional opportunities to raise funds and awareness."

See the MLB articles here and here and an ABA Journal article here.

In classes I took from him in law school, Professor Goldsmith always taught us to be "can do lawyers."  I admire him for practicing what he preaches.  This is a great accomplishment that will bless the lives of many.

Update:  Here's the link to the NY Times article that discusses more of what happened to bring this about after Prof. Goldsmith's article was published.

This year I will offer the class twice:

Wed., Feb. 4 at noon - Room 275/76

Thur., Feb. 5 at 2pm - Room 275/76

Hope to see you there.

Mr. Stirba mentioned that his research uncovered the "consent once removed" doctrine that he relied on heavily.  It turned out to be an important doctrine for his clients and emphasizes the importance of developing good legal research skills.

The Law Library has recently acquired electronic access to this well-respected international law resource.  The electronic version allows users to search by keyword, subject, and author.  Leading experts from around the world contribute articles to this encyclopedia on topics ranging from the "African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights" to "Land-Locked States" to "World Population."  Researchers involved in international law will definitely want to check out the Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law.

Example of the beginning of an article:

Congressional Hearings can provide an important source of background information on a variety of legal topics and are an important source to consult when researching legislative history.  Click here for more about Hearings and the LexisNexis Congressional Hearings Digital Collection.

With this purchase, the library has acquired access to approximately 120,000 Congressional Hearings spanning 1823-2003.  (More recent hearings are available for free on the web from the Government Printing Office.)  The documents are searchable and available in PDF format through the Lexis Nexis Congressional interface.

The best way to research the Hearings is to go straight to the LexisNexis Congressional database.  If we are searching for Hearings (as well as other legislative documents) surrounding the admission of Utah as a state, we can use the Basic Search and type in something like Utah statehood. 

The first two results that come back are from the Hearings Digital Collection that I've been talking about.

If we select the second document we will be able to pull up an on-point Senate hearing from 1888 in PDF format..

Please feel free to contact me or ask at the reference desk with any questions regarding this wonderful resource.

Within the Oxford Reports on International Law the Law Library subscribes to 4 different modules:

International Courts of General Jurisdiction - containing decisions from the International Court of Justice and the Permanent Court of International Justice.

International Criminal Law - containing decisions from the International Criminal Court, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, the International Military Tribunal-Nuremberg, and the Special Court for Sierra Leone.

International Human Rights Law - containing decisions from the African Commission on Human Rights and Peoples Rights, the European Court of Human Rights, the UN Committee against Torture, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, and the UN Human Rights Committee.

International Law in Domestic Courts - containing decisions from several different countries.

Decisions are fully keyword searchable and are also organized by subject.

See Professor Lee's SSRN author page for more of his works.

Prepared for a symposium on Kent Greenawalt, 2 Religion and the Constitution: Establishment and Fairness (Princeton, 2008), this essay responds to Professor Greenawalt's criticism of my argument in The Rhetoric of Church and State (Duke, 1995), that Establishment Clause doctrine is the incoherent residue of conflicting rhetorical discourses of religious communitarianism and secular individualism. Not only are the Supreme Court's Establishment Clause decisions inconsistent at the margins, but there is no identifiable core meaning that can account for these decisions. The essay concludes that, contra Greenawalt, the thesis of conflicting rhetorical discourses remains the most powerful explanation of the Court's doctrine in this area. 

View more of Professor Gedicks' articles here.

Hat tip to Wisblawg.

Check out these posts from the HeinOnline Weblog for further explanation:

How to Use Proximity Searching 

For other ways in which the library can help your finals study, check out the following posts: sample exams, study aids, CALI, and CDs.

Today is the anniversary of the birth of President Howard W. Hunter, for whom this library is named.  President Hunter was born in 1907 and died in 1995.  Last year we celebrated the 100th anniversary of his birth with a Birthday celebration here at the Library.  To read more about the naming and rededication of the library in 1997, check out the Clark Memorandum from the Spring of 1997.

Law School Exams: Preparing and Writing to Win - KF 283 .C35 2007

Law School Success: A Guide to Studying Law and Taking Law School Exams - KF 283 .B87 2008

Writing Essay Exams to Succeed (Not Just to Survive) - KF 283 .D47 2007

We also have a number of different books on specific subjects.  Many provide outlines, explanations, sample essay and multiple choice questions, and more that can help you prepare for finals.  The following are some examples of different series you may want to take a look at.  Clicking on the title will give you a list of what we have.

Examples and Explanations 

Black Letter Outlines 

Understanding Series 

Exam Pro 

Gilbert Law Summaries 

Concise Hornbook 

Emanuel Law Outlines 

PMBR 

Bar/Bri 

Questions and Answers 

Legalines 

Once you've clicked any of the above links, you can limit by topic by typing in the topic in the keyword search box at the bottom of the screen.  Simply type it in after the name of the series which will already appear in the box, like this:

In addition, in CALI's Legal Concepts and Skills section there are several podcasts on preparing for and taking final exams.

So, if you're looking for something to supplement your course study, CALI may be the answer.  To register, please contact me at neverss@lawgate.byu.edu to get the law school's authorization code.

UPDATE: After I posted this, KSL released a news interview with Professor Goldsmith.  Click here to see the video and/or read the transcript.

Article from the Deseret News here.

Advanced Legal Research (Law 796R§ 7), Gary L. Hill (275/276 JRCB), Wednesday afternoons, 3 to 4 pm, 1 credit, pass/fail, no final exam, paper/bibliography required

This course will cover research topics and advanced techniques in the following areas: administrative law, legislative history, practice materials, government documents, non-legal databases, internet resources, tax research, treaties, and family law. There are assignments for each area and a bibliography that is to integrate the topics and techniques learned in the course.

This is an extremely useful class and will prepare you well for your summer and/or full-time job.

International Legal Research (Law 796R §19), Dennis S. Sears (275/276 JRCB), Tuesday afternoons, 1 to 2 pm, 1 credit, pass/fail, no final exam, Prerequisite: Prior or concurrent enrollment in Advanced Legal Research

This course focuses on international organizations and issues. Students will learn about basic international organizations such as the United Nations, the European Union, the International Court of Justice, the World Court, UNCITRAL, and others. Students will become acquainted with documents generated by these organizations and will be introduced to various hardcopy and online resources available to research them. In addition, the course will address issues such as international trade, human rights, etc.

If you have any interest in international law this is a great course for you.  Professor Sears is currently the chair of the Foreign, Comparitive and International Law Special Interest Section of the American Association of Law Libraries and is well-versed in international legal research. 

Introduction to Law Librarianship (Law 796R §21), Galen L. Fletcher (296 JRCB), Tuesday mornings, 10 to 11 am, 1 credit hour, pass/fail, no final exam, course journal required

This course provides an awareness of current trends and developments in information aspects of the legal profession, introduces the various departments and types of specialization within law libraries, and examines different types of law libraries, their organizational structures, collections and services. This class is designed for law students with an interest in law librarianship or legal bibliography or both.

If you've ever wondered what law librarians do this is a great class for you.  I took this class as a student and thoroughly enjoyed it.  (By the way - taking this class doesn't not mean you will be or even want to be a law librarian - although it is a great job!)

You will notice that the first several results you get are "on order."  The Library is in the process of updating its Sum and Substance CD collection to better assist you in your finals prep.  When these CDs arrive the catalog will reflect that.  For now we still have many CDs and tapes that will be useful to you.  These materials are available for checkout at the circulation desk for a 24 hour time period. 

"On the difficult moral issues confronting the judiciary today, a long overlooked bit of guidance is provided in the Declaration of Independence, natural law. This paper discusses the moral foundations of the Constitution and their relation to positive law, primarily addressing "same-sex marriage" in the context of Proposition 8 in California, but broadly applicable to other moral/legal conflicts such as abortion and the display of religious texts on public grounds, such as the Ten Commandments. It also challenges the judicial activism evident in many such cases as a judicial violation of the requirements of substantive due process. "

The Legal Cases in the Book of Mormon - this book was written by our own Professor John W. Welch (see the Law School news release here)

Bonds of Affection: A Civic Charity and the Making of America--Winthrop, Jefferson, and Lincoln - this book was written by BYU political science professor Matthew Holland and was the basis for his remarks that were included in the Fall 2008 Clark Memorandum.

Balancing Act: A True Story of Becoming an Attorney and Pursuing Success in the Face of Mental Illness

Correction: An earlier version of this post read that the 3d place prize would be a $25 gift card.  That has been changed to reflect the correct value of $20.

In Lexis, look for "Find a Source" on the main Lexis research page.  The function is similar to that of the Westlaw Directory, allowing you to search through Lexis's vast resource list.  Lexis recently improved "Find a Source" (as I blogged about here), which was welcome news.

In this piece I explore the need for instruction and experience with the "heart" of law practice within the first year of law school. According to the report on legal education prepared by the Carnegie Foundation, the two major limitations in American legal education are 1) a lack of attention to practical education, including a marked lack of understanding client problems, and 2) failure to support development of ethical and social skills. With the release of this report it is likely that law school faculties throughout the United States will be looking at their curricula to see how to better fill these gaps and better prepare the students to be practicing lawyers rather than legal scholars. This presents an important opportunity for law faculty, many of whom already recognize that legal education means more than teaching students the complexities of legal analysis, often referred to as how to "think like a lawyer," but also how to communicate, work with people, and advocate for their clients like lawyers do. But, what they may not recognize is that they are also perfectly suited to teach the "heart" of lawyering. Whether it is helping students to see their clients as real people with real problems or helping students to realize that empathy and compassion are critical for successful law practice, the first year of law school is the ideal place to begin to fill this gap in legal education. 

One of the honorable mention winners was one of our own law students, Brandon Howick.  Congratulations Brandon!

The Attack on Marriage as the Union of a Man and a Woman 

In Praise of Loving: Reflections on the 'Loving Analogy' for Same-Sex Marriage (written with Lincoln C. Oliphant)

The Fall of Marital Family Stability and the Rise of Juvenile Delinquency 

A Response to the 'Conservative Case' for Same-Sex Marriage and 'The Tragedy of the Commons' 

The Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption and American Implementing Law: Implications for International Adoptions by Gay and Lesbian Couples or Partners 

Parental Infidelity and the 'No-Harm' Rule in Custody Litigation 

Counting the Costs of Civil Unions: Some Potential Detrimental Effects on Family Law 

One Supreme Court case making noise this term has a local flavor to it.  Pleasant Grove City, UT v. Summum is set to be heard on Wed., Nov. 12, 2008.  Background and relevant documents can be found on SCOTUSWiki.

Hat tip to Law Librarian Blog.

"From Watergate and the Pentagon Papers to Iran-Contra and Abu Ghraib, journalists have used information from confidential sources to reveal illegal conduct by government.  It is vital to our democracy that we protect the people who are the sources for the exposés that are reported in newspapers, magazines and books and broadcast in news programs on television and radio.  Join Attorneys Jeffrey J. Hunt,  M. Dayle Jeffs, and Law Professor  RonNell Anderson Jones in a panel discussion on the reporter’s privilege and shield laws, and Utah Rule 509.  Professor Ed Carter will moderate."

This event is sponsored by the BYU Department of Communications and the MLRC Institute.

Download Professor Jones' recent article Avalanche or Undue Alarm? An Empirical Study of Subpoenas Received by the News Media.

Constitution of the United States – National Archives

Creating the United States Constitution – Library of Congress

Constitution Day Resources – Library of Congress

Interactive Constitution – National Constitution Center

The Constitutional Sources Project  (I’ve blogged about this before)

Our Divine Constitution – President Ezra Taft Benson

The Divinely Inspired Constitution – Elder Dallin H. Oaks

Hat tips to Law Librarian Blog and the Library of Congress Blog 

UPDATE: I forgot to mention that Professors Fred Gedicks and John Fee will be participating in a special Constitution Day debate tonight at 7pm in 1102 Jesse Knight Building. (more details here)

When posting about the new book list I like to highlight a thing or two that look interesting to me.  This month a DVD caught my eye (hence the addition of DVDs to this post's title).  My wife and I are big documentary fans, so I may be checking this one out soon.

"Hitler's courts: betrayal of the rule of law in Nazi Germany" (catalog record here, more info here)

Subject Compilations of State Laws identifies "thousands of articles, books, government documents, loose-leaf services, court opinions and Internet sites that compare state laws on hundreds of subjects."  Users can browse Subject Compilations of State Laws by subject or can search the full text.  So, if you need to identify state laws on a specific topic, don't forget to use this great resource.

Dean Hansen is the recipient of the Abraham O. Smoot Citizenship Award which is presented "to university faculty members who through careers of distinguished service demonstrate those qualities of service and personal sacrifice to the university that were exhibited by Abraham O. Smoot."

Professor Gerdy, Director of the Rex E. Lee Advocacy Program, is the recipient of the R. Wayne Hansen Teaching and Learning Fellowship. 

Congratulations to Dean Hansen and Professor Gerdy!

The Law Library released its "Ask a Law Librarian" service and its new Law Library Search Toolbar to help you with your research.

The Law Library blog featured several useful resources(see here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here)

The Law Library and the Law School redesigned their websites.

Dean Kevin Worthen became Advancement Vice President at BYU.  Dean Jim Gordon became Interim Dean, with Prof. Tom Lee taking his place as Associate Dean for Faculty and Curriculum.

Several BYU Law Professors posted articles to SSRN. (see here, here, here, and here)

Professor Thomas spoke at a University Devotional

The University announced the 2008 Brimhall Essay Contest will have Rex E. Lee as its subject.

We're glad you're back and hope you have a great year!

Welcome to the law school.  We hope you have a great year!

Kory D. Staheli

Law Library Director

Ramy, Herbert N. Succeeding in Law School. Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press, 2006.
-KF 283. R36 2006

Iijima, Ann. The Law Student’s Pocket Mentor: From Surviving to Thriving. New York, NY: Wolters Kluwer Press, 2007.
-KF 283.I35 2007

Miller, Robert H. Law School Confidential. New York: St. Martin’s Griffin, 2004.
-KF 283.M55 2004

Shapo, H. and M. Shapo. Law School Without Fear: Strategies for Success. New York, NY: Foundation Press, 2002.
-KF 283.S43 2002

Munneke, Gary A. How to Succeed in Law School. Hauppauge, NY: Barron’s Educational Series, 2001.
-KF 283.M86 2001

Noyes, Henry S. and S. Noyes. Acing Your First Year of Law School: The Ten Steps to Success You Won’t Learn in Class. Littleton, CO: Fred B. Rothman Publications, 1999.
-KF 283.N69 1999

Lewis, Marion. The Law School Rules. New York: Harmony Press, 2001.
-KF 283.L49 1999

Gordon, James D. Law School: A Survivor’s Guide. New York: HarperCollins, 1994
-KF 184.G67 1994 

In the Law Library blog, Hunter's Query, we try to provide you with research tips, law library and law school news, recommendations of articles, books, websites, and other electronic resources, and anything else we think you might need and/or enjoy.  Check back regularly or syndicate this blog by clicking on the RSS button in the right-hand column of this page.

Tips for Successfully Regulating Sexually Oriented Businesses 

Finding More Pieces for the Takings Puzzle: How Correcting History Can Clarify Doctrine 

Is the Right to Private Property a Fundamental or an Economic Right? 

Plundering Property is a Very Bad Idea 

Anglo-American Land Law: Diverging Developments from a Shared History - Part I: The Shared History 

Anglo-American Land Law: Diverging Developments from a Shared History - Part II: How Anglo-American Land Law Diverged after American Colonization and Independence 

Anglo-American Land Law: Diverging Developments from a Shared History - Part III: British and American Real Property Law and Practice - A Contemporary Comparison 

The Law School Rankings are Harmful Deceptions: A Response to Those Who Praise the Rankings and Suggestions for a Better Approach to Evaluating Law Schools 

How Far Does the Covenant Run? Covenants that Run with the Land in Oil and Gas Transactions 

Predicting Law School Academic Performance from LSAT Scores and Undergraduate Grade Point Averages: A Comprehensive Study 

Why the Public Plundering of Private Property Rights is Still a Very Bad Idea 

How Educators Can More Effectively Understand and Combat the Plagiarism Epidemic 

Restatements Relating to Property: Why Lawyers Don't Really Care 

Our Faculty Services Librarian, Galen Fletcher, has recently documented the Federal Government documents now available in HeinOnline in an article published in Jurisdocs, the American Association of Law Libraries Government Documents Special Interest Section newsletter.  The article, "Federal Government Documents in HeinOnline," is available from SSRN here or within the Spring 2008 issue of Jurisdocs.

Here's the abstract:

This article/handout highlights the increasing federal government document content in the HeinOnline database.

HeinOnline includes GPO-originated content useful to law librarians in the areas of 1) federal statutes, 2) federal regulations, 3) the Congressional Record and its predecessors, 4) U.S. Reports, 5) Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States (1931-2004) and similar titles, 6) U.S. treaties, 7) Manual of Patent Examining Procedure (all eight editions), 8) many major federal agency decisions (commerce, communication, copyright, labor, patents, securities, tax, and trade), 9) Foreign Relations of the United States, and 10) almost 70 compiled federal legislative histories. All of the above (plus various journals and books relating to law published by the U.S. Government Printing Office) are available in PDF format and indexed on this legal research database.

ConSource also has J. Reuben Clark Law School ties.  Lorianne Updike, Co-Founder, President & Executive Director of the Constitutional Sources Project, creator of ConSource.org, is a 2005 graduate of the J. Reuben Clark Law School (and a former classmate of mine).

- The first searches legal research guides available from various law libraries.  This can be extremely helpful when you need to learn how to do research on a particular legal topic. 

- The second searches the legal internet.  This can be useful when you want to search the web, but want to avoid many of the non-legal results you may get doing a typical Google search.  Cornell has created this Google Custom Search Engine with websites its law librarians have idenitified as part of its InSite service.  This assures you that your results will be from valuable, law-related websites.

- The third search engine searches academic blawgs.

- The fourth combines all three searches described above.

Each of these search engines can be added to your Google homepage.

Obscenity and the World Wide Web 

The Pornographic Secondary Effects Doctrine

Eminent Domain and the Sanctity of Home 

Speech Discrimination

The Formal State Action Doctrine and Free Speech Analysis 

The Takings Clause as a Comparative Right 

While at the conference I heard that LexisNexis's long-awaited revision of its "Find A Source" tool was finally up and running.  "Find A Source" is a great tool that allows users to search for sources in LexisNexis.  A lot of useful sources are not prominantly displayed on the main Lexis search page, making them difficult to find without "Find A Source."  However, up until now searching in "Find A Source" was frustrating as results were duplicated unnecessarily.  Now, I'm happy to say, the results page looks much cleaner and users can scroll through results instead of having to page through them.  As a frequent user of "Find A Source" I'm pleased with the progress.

"Find A Source" is one of the tabs on the main Search by Source page.

Here's what the results page looks like when I search for "Moore's Federal Practice."

Well, we're happy to say that these indexes' full-text problem has been solved.  Now, when you find an article in LegalTrac or Wilson's Index to Legal Periodicals you will see a link that says "Locate Full Text."  Clicking on this link will take you to one of the library's electronic resources that contains the full-text of the article you're looking for.

LegalTrac example

Wilson's Index to Legal Periodicals example

With this new addition we hope you take advantage of these great resources.

For some other – more academic – things to do, here are some links from the National Archives website about the Declaration of Independence:

Image of the original Declaration of Independence 

Transcript of the Declaration of Independence 

“The Declaration of Independence: A History” 

Sign the Declaration – (My kids’ favorite)

And if the day gets you in the mood to start a book about the time period, here are a few I have read and enjoyed:

1776 by David McCullough

American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson by Joseph J. Ellis

Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation by Joseph J. Ellis

His Excellency: George Washington by Joseph J. Ellis

John Adams by David McCullough

Patriots: The Men Who Started the American Revolution by A.J. Langguth

The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin by H.W. Brands

- The writings or contributions of the founder, Rex E. Lee

- The 2008 Homecoming theme “Go the Distance”

- Personal Reflections

The contest is open to full-time BYU undergraduate and graduate students and there is a monetary prize (which isn't too shabby) for the winners.  Essays must be submitted by 5pm on Wednesday, September 24, 2008 (more details here).

Because of the great connection between the Law School and Rex E. Lee – Judge Benson called the Law School “the house that Rex Lee built” (see here pp.22-28)– I think our students have much to contribute to this contest. Students here, whether they know it or not, have been influenced by Rex Lee, as so many others have.

If you need some background to get started you may want to read Tribute to the Honorable Rex E. Lee, 3 J. App. Prac. & Proc. 557 (2001).  In addition to Judge Benson's article in the Clark Memorandum linked above, Bruce C. Hafen's Clark Memorandum article, "A Walk by Faith," (pp.20-25) may be helpful (see here).  Talks given by Rex E. Lee as President of BYU can be found using the Lee Library's subscription to GospelLink.

ICANN Can: Contracts and Porn Sites - Choosing 'to Play Internet Ball in American Cyberspace' 

Zoning the Internet: A New Approach to Protecting Children Online 

The Internet and Pornography: What if Congress and the Supreme Court Had Been Comprised of Techies in 1995-1997? 

Making Family-Friendly Internet a Reality: The Internet Community Ports Act 

Wifi in Utah: Legal and Social Issues 

Offshore Porn is a Flimsy Excuse 

The Law Library wishes you well on the Bar Exam!

"For more than 30 years, proponents and opponents of a federal reporter's shield law have debated the necessity of a privilege for members of the news media and have disagreed sharply about the frequency with which subpoenas are issued to the press. Most recently, in the wake of several high-profile contempt cases, proponents have pointed to a perceived "avalanche" of subpoenas, while opponents have contended that the receipt of subpoenas by reporters remains very rare. This article summarizes the results of an empirical study on the question. The study gathered data on subpoenas received by daily newspapers and network-affiliated television newsrooms in a single calendar year, and then compared that data to numbers from an industry survey of the same population five years earlier. The article concludes that subpoenas are issued to the media with some regularity and that they are not limited to the media organizations or the substantive issues that have been involved in the highest-profile recent cases. In at least some categories - most notably subpoenas arising out of federal proceedings and subpoenas seeking confidential material - subpoenas to the press appear to be on the increase."

Download the article here.

In case you're not familiar with SSRN, here's an interesting New York Times article about it.

Prof. Jones will be here this fall and we're excited to have her.

In an unrelated note I got a phone call yesterday from one of my former legal research students about Utah legislative history.  While I was showing him what is available online at the Utah legislature page I noticed something I hadn't seen before - a link to Utah House Working Bills (1896-1989).  This is good news for Utah legislative history researchers. Up until now Utah legislative history prior to the early 1990s wasn't available online.  Now it looks like that is beginning to change as the Utah State Archives digitizes these bills.  The website says that they are only 30% completed with this project at this point, but this is a big step in the right direction.

Those of you that need to do Utah legislative history research will also be interested in this guide created by the Utah State Archives.

So ... welcome to the new page!  We hope you like what you see.  Feel free to poke around and explore a bit.  If you'd like to comment about the changes, just click on the "contact us" link at either the top or the bottom of the page.

The Law Library will also be rolling out a new look shortly.  Stay tuned.

"There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated—

And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated."

One of the specific ways in which he indicated blessings could be received was through not being "weary in well-doing" (see Doctrine and Covenants 64:33).  This is especially relevant to us at the Law School because there is much well-doing that can be done by those who have obtained and those who are pursuing law degrees.  It certainly takes time and effort, but I think we'll all be better for it - individually and as a community. 

FYI: Professor Thomas was the Director of the Law Library from 1974-1990.

UPDATE: Here is a link to Prof. Thomas's talk courtesy of the Law School.

Most importantly (for this blog) he talked about a favorite topic, legal research.  Berry indicated that good summer associates take the time to search the web to get background information instead of jumping right on to Lexis and Westlaw.  Lexis and Westlaw are wonderful tools, but often I see students heading there without any background or context and they are often frustrated with their results.  The web and other secondary sources like treatises, legal encyclopedias, etc. are great places to start to get a lay of the land.  Doing so will help you generate search terms and understand what you're really looking for before you use Lexis, Westlaw or any other search tool.  Often, using secondary sources will quickly give you answers that would have taken you a long time to find on your own.  Even if they don't give you the answer you need, they will set you on a clearer path to find it.

Source: CM Law Library Blog 

The Law Library's Reference collection (directly behind the 2d floor Reference Desk) contains several helpful print resources. One of the more helpful resources is Almanac of the Federal Judiciary (KF 8775 .A945), which contains contact info., biographical info., and evaluations of federal judges.

Also, don't forget about the CSO's Judicial Clerkship resources.

With this new tool you can search for cases, law review articles, books, etc. straight from your internet browser.  You also have easy access to law library and law school resources from your browser.  Let's take a look.

Suppose you need Bush v. Gore, 531 U.S. 98 from Westlaw.  Just type the citation in the toolbar, select "Westlaw (ciation)" under the magnifying glass, and you're taken straight to the case. You can do the same for Lexis and HeinOnline.

If you need to find articles on LegalTrac dealing with "complete preemption" just type in "complete preemption" in the toolbar and click on LegalTrac.  Your search will be run in LegalTrac and you'll be taken straight to the results page.  Similar searches can be run in Wilson's Index to Legal Periodicals, Lexis, Westlaw, HeinOnline, the Library Catalog, and Google.

In addition to all the searches available, the toolbar also offers links to other law library resources, as well as to important law library and law school links.

As mentioned above, Google is searchable from the Law Library toolbar.  However, you may decide to keep your Google toolbar and install this one as well.  I have both on my browser.

We're very excited about this latest development and hope it will provide you with easy access to the many resources the law library provides for you.

Source: Harold B. Lee Library Blog 

You can find the link to "Ask a Law Librarian" in the top left-hand portion of our website.

Source: Legal Profession Blog 

On Being Ethical Lawyers (Sandra Day O'Connor's speech from the J. Reuben Clark Law Society annual fireside in Feb. 2008)

On the Wings of My Fathers (Professor Larry EchoHawk's August 2007 campus devotional address)

The Relevance of Religious Freedom (Michael K. Young's 2007 Campus Education Week presentation)

A Walk by Faith (Elder Bruce C. Hafen's 2007 Founder's Day Dinner speech)

"These once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to argue before the Court arise when, as in Greenlaw (Jorgensen's case), the respondent abandons the lower court decision that the petitioner is challenging. That scrambles the usual adversary nature of Supreme Court cases, because it means, in essence, that both sides think the lower court decision was wrong or should be vacated.

In that circumstance, which has not arisen for five years before this term, the Court appoints a lawyer -- almost always a former clerk -- to make the orphaned argument."

In a related note, Sunday was the 265th anniversary of Jefferson's birth.

In another related note, on Saturday I began reading a biography of Jefferson - American Sphinx by Joseph J. Ellis.  Ellis has become one of my favorite authors after books like Founding Brothers (winner of the Pulitzer Prize) and His Excellency.  He is one of those authors that makes history come alive, which, as evidenced by many boring history books I have read, is not an easy task.

I actually met with several librarians from different law firms at the office of VanCott, Bagley, Cornwall & McCarthy today in Salt Lake.  I asked them what they would want me to tell our students here at BYU. One bit of advice they wanted me to pass along was "Don't be afraid to ask questions." All the firm librarians said they feel like summer associates waste a lot of time because they don't know where to start most of the time.  Asking questions to a librarian can get your research moving in the right direction.  One librarian said she feels like summer associates don't ask questions because they feel like supervising attorneys will find out and think less of their legal skills.  The librarians don't report that kind of stuff to attorneys - they are there to help and I suggest you use them. 

My advice for a successful summer - befriend a law firm librarian.  They'll make you look good.

Source: Law Librarian Blog.

You may also be interested to know that BYU ranks 13th in Brian Leiter's Supreme Court Clerkship Placement, 2000 Through 2007 Terms.

Sample Exams 

CALI 

Group Study Rooms 

Finals Study Aids 

Quiet Study 

Extended Hours

And just remember - there is an end in sight.

Hat tip to ZiefBrief.

You need the law school authorization code to register.  Contact me at neverss@lawgate.byu.edu to request it.

The top left section of the box allows you to search for books available in the law library.  If you want to run a more precise search just click on "Advanced Book Search Options."  This search was previously available above the Quick Links section of the web page and has now been relocated here.

The "Search for a Journal" box allows you to determine whether the library has access to journals in print and/or electronic format.  Simply type in a journal name, such as "Harvard Law Review," to find out where you can access print and electronic versions of that journal.

We're very excited about the next feature and I'll try to blog about it in more detail later.  This search tool, known as federated searching, allows you to search multiple databases simultaneously.  Click on "Advanced Federated Searching Options" to customize which databases you would like to search.

Finally, you can access electronic resources by subject with our "Find Resources by Subject" pull-down menu.  This can be a great place to start when doing a research paper or other topical research.  The "A-Z List of Recommended Resources" will provide you with a list of databases by name that can be extremely useful in your legal research.

We hope this new tool will be a great benefit to you in your research.  Please leave us feedback if you have ideas on how we can make it better.

Brett Scharffs, Centering on Humility, Clark Memorandum 2 (Winter 1998) (here)

Bruce C. Hafen, The Coriolanus Syndrome: Is it Virtuous to Be Obstinate?, Clark Memorandum 20 (Spring 1992) (here)

Douglas B. Richardson, A Case Study in Arrogance: Diagnosing and Addressing Lawyers' Most Common Blind Spot, Report to Legal Management 4 (June 2006) (here)

Ezra Taft Benson, Beware of Pride, Ensign 4 (May 1989) (here)

H. Reese Hanson, A Special Obligation, Clark Memorandum 17 (Fall 1999) (here)

Katheryn Hayes Tucker, Humble Lawyers: The Key to Pleasing Clients, In-House Counsel (Dec. 27, 2007) (here)

Lance B. Wickman, Soldiers of the Spirit, Clark Memorandum 2 (Fall 1995) (here)

Marlin K. Jensen, "To Walk Humbly with Thy God", Ensign 9 (May 2001) (here)

Ralph R. Mabey, Just Lawyers, Clark Memorandum 2 (Spring 2000) (here)

Ralph R. Mabey, The Teachings of Law Practice, Clark Memorandum 39 (Winter 1998) (here)

Richard G. Edgley, The Empowerment of Humility, Ensign 97 (Nov. 2003) (here)

Robert Barnes, Chief Justice Counsels Humility, Washington Post A15 (Feb. 6, 2007) (here)

The Frugal Law Students Best of... posts include:

• Massive Personal Finance Resource List 
• 180 Money Saving Tips to Turn Your Life Around 180 Degrees 
• 10 Ways to Make Money and Save Money on Facebook 
• Better Than Netflix (This one was written by my wife, Kate.)
• How Long Should You Keep Financial Records? 
• Frugal Experiment: Brushing Teeth With Baking Soda 
• 12 Meals That Easy, Cheap, and Healthy (This one was written by Frugal Law Student reader, Erica. Thanks, Erica!)
• Increase Your Buying Pleasure With Tantric Shopping 
• 5 Financial Pitfalls of Part Time Law Students 
• Do It Youself Pottery Barn Halloween Countdown Calendar 
• Hack Your Pocket Moleskine Into A Wallet 

The Frugal Law Student was named the top blog in the "JDs In Training" Category of the ABA Journal Blawg 100.

Hope this saves you a couple of bucks!

Check out other published works and works in progress by Professor Smith here.

The Bluebook Online website also contains some free information that should be useful to Bluebook users.  Blue Tips provide "authoritative guidance to reasonable questions on subjects covered by The Bluebook."  If you aren't finding the answer to a citation question in the Bluebook, this looks like a good place to go.  Bluebook Updates provide corrections to errors in the Bluebook.

Hat tip to the Law Librarian Blog.

The Library of Congress Blog has reported that with the death of Harry Landis last week, 107-year-old Frank Buckles is the last living U.S. veteran of World War I.  (see the post here - you have to scroll down as there is a problem with the formatting).  The post also mentions the Library's Veterans History Project, which contains the oral history of Frank Buckles and others. 

I am grateful for the bravery and dedication of those who have served and do serve in our military.

Mr. Lincoln's Virtual Library (Library of Congress)

The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln (The Abraham Lincoln Assoc.)

Scanned Images of:

     Emancipation Proclamation 

     The Gettysburg Address 

     Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address 

Words and Speeches of Lincoln (Lincoln Bicentennial)

Treatises on Lincoln from the late 19th and Early 20th Centuries (Making of Modern Law - Law Library subscription)

For books on Lincoln search the Library Catalog 

My favorite book on Lincoln is Lincoln at Gettysburg by Garry Wills.

This picture is of President Lincoln reading with his son, Tad, and is one of my favorites.  It sits (and will soon hang) in my office.

HeinOnline

Law Library subject pages

A-Z list of recommended resources

Making of Modern Law: Legal Treatises, 1800-1926

Making of Modern Law: U.S. Supreme Court Records and Briefs, 1832-1978

BNA (since there are so many, they are best found through the subject pages or the A-Z list)

CCH Business and Finance Library

CCH Health and Human Resources Library

U.S. Congressional Serial Set

Index to Foreign Legal Periodicals

Library Catalog

Harold B. Lee Library Resources

IndexMaster

GLIN

Constitutions of the Countries of the World

Foreign Law Guide

Happy researching!

The Awards Committee, of which I'm a member, needs your help.  We count on students to nominate fellow students and professors who are deserving of awards.  The nomination form contains details about each award.  I invite you to take a few minutes to nominate someone today and then plan on attending the Banquet on March 14th.

Nominations will be accepted until Feb. 15th.

One of the things I have noticed is that most students know about Lexis and Westlaw, but are unaware of the many other electronic resources that the library has to offer, and that are essential to writing a good research paper.  To help remedy that problem and get you on your way to writing a successful paper, I will be making a 30 minute presentation on Thursday, Feb. 7th at 3 p.m. in rooms 275/76 of the library on library resources you should know about.  You may be surprised at what the library has to offer that is not available on Lexis and Westlaw. 

I hope to see you there.

Hat tip to Law Librarian Blog.

In addition to containing citation information for the different publications, we have added links to the full text of the articles.  Now you can easily see what your professors do outside of class.

In addition to providing the Key Number Digest Outline and KeySearch, West released the new "Search for Key Numbers" function.  This feature allows you to search the headnotes of the jurisdictions you select.  If a headnote contains your search terms, you will be told which Topics and Key Numbers are associated with at least one headnote containing your search terms.

For example, imagine you are researching limited purpose public figures in California.  After selecting California as your jurisdiction and typing in "limited purpose public figure" in the search box, you would be given a list of Topics and Key Numbers that contained the phrase "limited purpose public figure" in at least one headnote.  By clicking on the Topic and Key Number you would then be taken to a list of headnotes which you could peruse just like you would in a print Digest. 

While the initial search is based on a word search, it is used to direct you to a subject search, which can be very useful in your research.

Much of what Judge McConnell said about Patrick Henry was based on speeches Henry made in the Virgina Ratifying Convention in 1788.  If anyone is interested in reading these debates they can be found in a work known as Elliot's Debates that is available online through the Library of Congress's American Memory Project.  Volume 3 contains the text of speeches from the Virginia Ratifying Convention.  You can browse through this volume (may take a while) or follow the index entries for Patrick Henry.  The print volumes of Elliot's Debates are available on the 3d floor of the library at call number KF 4502 .E44 1996.

As Judge McConnell mentioned, Patrick Henry has been largely overlooked in the new scholarship that has been produced about the founding generation.  The Library does have some of the older scholarship that may be of interest to you if you'd like to learn more about Henry.

Beeman, Richard R., Patrick Henry: A Biography, E 302.6 .H5 .B44 1974 (3d floor)

Campbell, Norine Dickson, Patrick Henry: Patriot and Statesman, E 302.6 .H5 .C23 1969 (3d floor and Reserve)

Tyler, Moses Coit, Patrick Henry, E 302.6 .H5 .T92 1898 (3d floor and Reserve)

Morgan, George, The True Patrick Henry, E 302.6 .H5 .M8 1907 (3d floor)

Henry, William Wirt, Patrick Henry; life, correspondence and speeches, E 302.6 .H5 .H5 1891 (Reserve)

U. of U. Law Faculty Bio 

CV

US News Week article published when he was considered a potential nominee for the US Supreme Court in 2005

Links to audio files of his oral arguments before the Supreme Court

Wikipedia entry 

Books available in our library by Judge McConnell:

- Religion and the Constitution, 2d ed., KF 4865 .A7 M235 2006

- Religion and the Constitution, KF 4865 .A7 .M235 2002

- Christian Perspectives on Legal Thought, BR 115 .L28 .C475 2001

During the break we did have some significant changes in the library that you should know about.  Linda Brown Norton, our Circulation Manager, retired and was replaced by our very own Dianne Davenport, our former Administrative Assistant.  We're sad to lose Linda, but feel very lucky to have kept Dianne with us.  Alecia Richey was hired to be our new Administrative Assistant and we're excited to have her here.

Ever wonder where Domino's "30 minutes or less or your pizza is free" ads went?  Check out this post from the Wall Street Journal Law Blog.

And in the "that had to hurt more than finals" category, a post from our own Professor Gordon Smith's Conglomerate blog.  (Although you may argue that at least it was over in a second or two.)

I also want to take this time to remind you that quiet study is enforced in the Fourth Floor Reading Room.  If you're looking for a quiet place to study for finals it is a wonderful option.  The Fourth Floor Reading Room can be accessed through the stairwell or the elevator in the southwest portion of the law library. 

See the following blog posts for other ways in which the law library can help you during finals: Sample Exams, Finals Study Aids, CALI, Group Study Rooms and Extended Library Hours.

See the following blog posts for other ways in which the law library can help you during finals: Sample Exams, Finals Study Aids, CALI, and Extended Library Hours.

Not all professors have submitted sample exams and some have more exams than others, but it's certainly worth it to take a look.

For more ways in which the law library can help you prep for finals see the following blog posts: Extended Library Hours, Finals Study Aids, and CALI.

  Today, Nov. 14th, we celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the birth of President Howard W. Hunter, for whom the Law Library is named.  The Law Library is grateful to carry the name of such an inspiring leader and successful attorney. 

This year also marks the 10th Anniversary of the dedication of the Howard W. Hunter Law Library.  The old library was expanded, remodeled and then dedicated in honor of President Hunter in 1997.  While I personally never saw the old library, I have been told that the transformation was a great blessing to students and faculty.  In a BYU Magazine article about the dedication (see here), it was reported that President James E. Faust remarked, "A great library is a fitting way to memorialize President Howard William Hunter, who had a fitting mind, an exceptional aptitude, and a great love for the law."  It was also reported that President Thomas S. Monson stated, "All those who use this facility should not only remember him, but also try to emulate the virtues he possessed."

In honor of President Hunter's birthday and the dedication of the library, the Law Library will host a reception today from 2-4 in the Fourth Floor Reading Room (472 JRCB).  From 2-2:30 we will here remarks from David Hunter, a grandson of President Hunter and a graduate of our Law School, Dean Kevin Worthen, and Constance Lundberg, former Director of the Law Library.  Come help us celebrate these wonderful events! 

For a more detailed discussion of President Hunter, his life and relationship with the law and the Law School, as well as the redidication of the Law Library see Lovisa Lyman's article, "Anonymous No More," (pp. 2-11) in the Spring 1997 edition of the Clark Memorandum. 

 

When discussing electronic legal research, it's difficult not to focus on Westlaw and LexisNexis.  They are, after all, the 800 lb. gorillas of the topic.  And while access to these systems is free to you now (although I'll be quick to insert that the law library pays for your "free" access), things may be different when you begin to practice.

In that vein, I want to begin introducing free or low-cost alternatives to Westlaw and Lexis that may be of use to you in the future.  Court websites have become valuable tools for attorneys and pro se patrons.  They often provide 10 years of recent cases, as well as court forms, court rules, model jury instructions, and self-help items.

The Utah State Courts website is a great example.  This site has UT Supreme Court opinions from 1996 and UT Court of Appeals opinions from 1997.  A number of UT State Court Forms are also available, as well as the Utah State Court Rules.  A work-in-progress that should prove very valuable to the Utah Bar is the inclusion of the Model Utah Jury Instructions, 2d ed.  There is also a link to the Online Court Assistance Program to assist pro se patrons prepare basic legal documents.  You'll also find quite a bit of other useful information to help you in your practice or in your coursework.

As a student I found several of these Study Aids useful, especially because many of them provided practice exam questions.  I wouldn't recommend that these Study Aids replace notes, sample exams, and other materials from your particular class, but they can be a useful supplement.  Good luck in your finals prep!

The Advocacy Program is holding an open house to celebrate this wonderful news on Friday, Nov. 2 from 12:30-2 in the Rex Lee Reading Room (3d floor of the library).  Students, faculty and staff are invited.  Refreshments will be served.

Westlaw

When you pull up a statutory provision in Westlaw, there is a link for "Tools" in the bottom right-hand corner.  Clicking on that will give you the option to select "Limit Display by Fields."  Once you click on "Limit Display by Fields" you can select which portions of the code section you would like to see.  If you just check "Citation" and "Text" that's all you'll get.

LexisNexis

When you retrieve a statutory provision in Lexis, the default view (shown in the upper left-hand corner) is "Full."  Next to "Full" there is an option to select "Custom."  If you do so, you will have the option of selecting segments of the code provision that you want to see.  Selecting "Cite" and "Text" will give you a basic unannotated look at the code provision.

Thanks to fellow law librarian Galen Fletcher for pointing this out to me.

CALI contains over 600 tutorials/lessons covering 32 different legal subjects.  Lessons are written by law and library faculty from all over the country.  Besides providing helpful explanations of the law, my favorite part of CALI is that it contains questions throughout most lessons.  These questions help keep your interest while also making sure you are understanding the concept being taught before moving on.

CALI passwords were handed out to 1Ls during their library orienation along with a CALI CD (in the packet that also contained your LexisNexis and Westlaw passwords).  If you have misplaced the password you can email me, Shawn Nevers, at neverss@lawgate.byu.edu. 

If you are interested in further information on CALI I will be holding a training on CALI on Thursday, Nov. 8, 2007 at 11am in rooms 275/76 in the library.

As we all know, the law is all around us and it touches baseball too.  If you're ever doing research on baseball and the law (or are just plain curious) you might want to check out, "Baseball and the Law: A Selected Annotated Bibliography, 1990-2004." 

I've had the chance to see the documentary and was impressed with how well it was done.  I certainly gained a greater insight and appreciation for J. Reuben Clark.  In his opening remarks on the first day of classes at the Law School, President Marion G. Romney said, "I recommend that you law students and you faculty members familiarize yourselves with President Clark's accomplishments and with his writings."  (p. 18; See the full text here)  This documentary helps us take a step closer to doing just that.

Professor Wise has provided me with the summary that will appear in the program guide:

The Legacy of J. Reuben Clark captures the compelling story of the life of J. Reuben Clark from his earliest childhood in the farmlands of Grantsville, Utah through his law school education at Columbia and his years of government service including his work as Ambassador to Mexico. While serving as Ambassador, President Heber J. Grant issued him the call to return to Salt Lake City and serve as a counselor in the First Presidency. The calling came as a surprise as the sixty-one year old Ambassador had never served as bishop or stake president. Dutifully, J. Reuben Clark heeded the call and served nearly thirty years as a counselor to three LDS presidents.

Featured Interviews include prominent biographers and scholars, relatives of J. Reuben Clark, as well as commentary from the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

"He was an example of the very best of our people, and others recognized those qualities in him, and as a result they came to respect not only him, but the church of which he was a member. A generation is almost gone since he died. J. Reuben Clark was loved by everybody who knew him, certainly respected by everybody who ever came up against him. I am grateful for his life."

President Gordon B. Hinckley

"The First Monday in October" - Wall Street Journal Law Blog

"2007-2008 Supreme Court Term Roundup" - Law Librarian Blog 

"Online Resources to Follow the Supreme Court" - Ross-Blakely Law Library Blog 

In looking at a case in LexisNexis you will have noticed LexisNexis Headnotes.  These are not the same as Westlaw's topic and key number headnotes, although they serve a similar function.  With both, certain portions of a case are grouped by topic and subtopic making it easier for a researcher to find similar cases.  In Lexis, clicking on "More Like This Headnote" following the text of the individual LexisNexis Headnote allows the user to craft a search for other cases dealing with the original headnote's legal issue.

LexisNexis also provides subject searching if you don't yet have a case on point.  By clicking on the "by Topic or Headnote" tab (need valid Lexis ID) on the LexisNexis Search screen you are taken to a list of legal topics.  From there you can drill down through a topic outline or you can search for a specific topic. 

These options are great for beginning your research or for making sure you have been comprehensive.  Using keyword searching in addition to subject searching helps rest your research on a surer foundation.

"The web site includes information on a range of legal issues and research topics as well as our services and logistics of using the Reading Room. In addition to established products such as the Global Legal Information Network (GLIN), Guide to Law Online and the Global Legal Monitor, new Law Library products are available as well. Highlights include:

Congressional Hearings Project: Full-text access to selected historical Congressional committee hearings on a variety of topics.
http://www.loc.gov/law/find/hearings.html

Foreign and International Law Guides: Provides a starting point for researching foreign, international, and comparative law with analysis and references to official printed and online resources.
http://www.loc.gov/law/help/foreign.html

Pakistan: Crisis in the Judiciary
Find information and analysis of the suspension and subsequent reinstatement of the Chief Justice of Pakistan.
http://www.loc.gov/law/help/pakistan-justice.html"

You may also be interested in what some of the leaders of the LDS church - specifically President Ezra Taft Benson and Elder Dallin H. Oaks - have said about the Constitution.

However, when you began researching on Westlaw the warmth, comfort and familiarity of a keyword search made you forget all about the Digests and their many key numbers. You may even be asking yourself, "I wonder whatever happened to those key numbers."  Well, they're still in the books, but just as important, they, and a Digest system, are on Westlaw too and are accessible to you as a researcher.

Just like when you are looking at a case in print, a Westlaw case contains West headnotes with topics and key numbers.  In Westlaw the key numbers appear as links.  When you click on the link to a key number you are directed to a Custom Digest where you can select the jurisdiction you would like to search to find other cases with the same key number (or in other words, other cases dealing with the same specific legal issue). The relevancy of your results is generally very high because your search was based on a specific subject rather than key words.

This is a great way to take one good case and find others.