Check out this ”Westcast” showing how case editors provide headnotes and other editorial enhancements.
Hat tip Legal Skills Prof Blog.
Category Archives: Databases
A Legacy of 9/11: The USA Patriot Act
After the horrific events of 9/11/01, Congress acted quickly to pass the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001, better known as the USA Patriot Act. It was signed by President Bush on October 26, 2001.
The Act expanded the investigative authority of federal officials, including their ability to track and intercept communications, in addition to other enhanced powers to combat domestic and international terrorism. The Act has been controversal because of its impact on civil liberties.
To learn more about the Patriot Act, please consult the law library’s Homeland Security Research Guide. Resources available in the library include a five volume compiled legislative history of the Act. To discover more about the controversy surrounding this law, members of the GMU community may find the Opposing Viewpoints in Context database useful in addition to popular news sources.
Printing from Westlaw, WLNext, and Lexis
Westlaw has finally made printing from WestlawNext seamless and free, just like printing from Westlaw.com. Unfortunately, Westlaw’s printer in the microforms room (Library 1st floor) is out of order right now. We will post letting you know when it is fixed.
In the meantime, you can still print for free from Lexis in the microforms room and Lab 351. You can print from Westlaw.com and WestlawNext in Lab 351.
Whether or not you have configured your laptop to print to the GMU pay-for-print systems, you can direct your Westlaw and Lexis print jobs to the Westlaw and Lexis printers from your laptop.
Tragedy in Norway and the Legal Process
The tragedy in Norway occurred just days after I was fortunate to visit Oslo—a normally peaceful city where one of the main attactions for visitors is City Hall, the site of the Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony. These horrific events have now brought Oslo and the Norwegian Legal Process into the forefront of international attention.
According to an article in The Telegraph, admitted shooter and bomber Anders Behring will have a detention hearing before a District Court judge (held today, in closed session). He will later be examined by doctors to assess his mental fitness to stand trial. The article cites unamed legal experts who say that a trial is likely to occur in about a year.
Behring has been charged under Norway’s anti-terriorism laws. Currently, Norwegian law provides for a maximum prison term of 21 years and there is no death penalty. However, according to a law professor at the University of Oslo, jail terms are renewable for 5 years if the court determines there is a risk of repeat offenses. The Norwegian Parliament has decided to raise the maximum prison term for terriorism to 30 years, but the law is not yet in effect.
The Norwegian courts have a useful website, available in English, that explains Norway’s judicial system. An unofficial English translation of the Norwegian Penal Code is available here. Additional resources include the Law Library of Congress Norwegian Law research guide and the Foreign Law Guide database available to the GMUSL community.
Memorial Day
In observance of Memorial Day, the Law Library will close at 6 pm on Sunday, May 29 and remain closed on Monday, May 30.
A brief Memorial Day History is available on the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Website. Also of interest may be two famous Memorial Day speeches delivered by Oliver Wendell Holmes, one in 1884 and the other addressed to the graduating class at Harvard Law School in 1895. PDFs of these speeches are available using The Making of Modern Law: Legal Treatises Database (GMULS users link to this database here). Select Advanced Search>Enter Title “Speeches,” Author “Oliver Wendell Holmes.”
And where is Memorial Day officially designated a Federal holiday? Title 36 of the United States Code includes statutes relating to “Patriotic and National Observances.” 36 U.S.C. § 116 designates the last Monday in May as Memorial Day.
Westlaw and Lexis Summer Access
If you meet the criteria outlined by Westlaw and Lexis for continuous access this summer (e.g., you are in classes, are an RA, or are working for a non-profit under certain conditions), you must sign up for summer access before June 1. When you log-on, you should see a news blurb in the main section of the pages providing instructions.
Summertime Access to Loislaw
The law school has an agreement with Loislaw to provide students complimentary access to Loislaw online research, which includes searchable primary materials for all 50 states and federal jurisdictions. Unlike Lexis and Westlaw, Loislaw is offered on a year-round basis, and students are encouraged to use Loislaw for part-time and summer positions. Students also have free access for six months after graduation.
To obtain the GMUSL access code for Loislaw, please email Melanie Oberlin at moberlin@gmu.edu or drop-by the Reference Office. To obtain a copy of the Loislaw Subscriber Handbook, please drop by the Reference Office. For more information on Loislaw, click here.
April Fools is No Defense
Claiming “April Fools” as a defense is not likely to succeed in the legal world. Today’s post on the Westlaw Insider blog** has a few examples of taking the joke too far.
**The Westlaw Insider features tips on using Westlaw and WestlawNext as well as highlighting other topics related to the legal profession.
HeinOnline Webinar Rescheduled
Due to technical difficulties, the HeinOnline Searching 101 webinar has been postponed. It will now be offered on Thursday, March 3, at 10:00 and 2:00. Click here for information and to register.
Who are the Most Cited Legal Scholars?
As noted here recently, HeinOnline is a great resource for law reviews and journals. Now Hein has published an updated bibliometric analysis of its hefty Law Journal Library identifying the 50 Most Cited Authors. According to the HeinOnline Blog, the calculation was done including both the number of articles written and the number of times the author’s articles have been cited. No doubt many of the names will be familiar!