Vincent G. Rinn Law Library

Attention: Faculty Research Assistants

The Rinn Law Library will be conducting orientation sessions for faculty research assistants on May 21 at 1 p.m., and May 27 at noon. These sessions will introduce faculty research assistants to the special library services and wealth of resources available to faculty research assistants. The instructor will also suggest effective research tips and strategies for locating and using those resources.

Research assistants should sign up for the sessions via the Law Library's Workshops and Tours page.

MAC & PC Co-exist With “Boot Camp”

We’ve seen those rather amusing ( if you’re a Mac fan) television commercials with the casual, hip Mac dude and the uptight, suit-wearing PC geek, trading competitive banter. They seem to always be at adds. But Apple has made it possible to easily run the Windows operating system and the Mac Leopard operating system on the same Apple computer. The PC & Mac boys can safely  do their respective thing while sharing the same hard drive !

What makes this possible is a handy little program called Boot Camp that comes as part of the Mac OS. It safely & easily partions the hard drive to allow the installation of Windows in its own space. Each OS runs in native mode without the use of an emulator like Virtual PC. It will work with Windows XP & Vista and can also use standard Windows drivers. However, the operating systems cannot run simultaneously. Users have to run one at a time. This should minimize any further Mac dude/PC geek arguments ;-)

( Source: Smart Computing, June 2008, p. 38 )
Also see, Boot Camp. Run Windows on your Mac.

DePaul Researcher Co-authors Study On Chicago Sex Trafficking

On May 7 The Schiller DuCanto & Fleck Family Law Center at the DePaul University College of Law held a press conference at the downtown campus to announce the release of an important research study on  Domestic sex trafficking of Chicago women and girls, by Jody Raphael, Senior Research Fellow DePaul University College of Law and  Jessica Ashley, Senior Research Analyst Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority.

The press release says the study, “was conducted in conjunction with the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority and funded by a grant from the Chicago Foundation for Women. It examined the strategies used to recruit young women; the levels of coercion involved in their recruitment; and the control and violence used to keep women in the trade. The research also examined the geographical areas in which women are forced to work, including the distances they are transported and whether state lines are crossed in the process. One of the goals of the investigation was to explore parallels between young women in the local sex trade and those internationally trafficked to Chicago.

“This new information raises serious issues that Chicago communities must confront about the exploitation of needy girls within their midst to meet the sexual needs of male customers,” said Jody Raphael, an attorney and senior research fellow at the Family Law Center who led the investigation. “Like the responses provided to victims of international trafficking, alternatives to charging, sentencing and incarceration need to be implemented in a way that offers needed social service programming and housing, all supported with adequate resources.”

Link to the study from DePaul, From the ICJIA

Excellent article on the study and the issues it raises, Satisfied Sex Worker or Domestic Trafficking Victim? By Kari Lydersen, AlterNet.  May 8, 2008.

Law Professor Roy M. Mersky, Dead at 82

Many folks who attended law school may recall the name Mersky from the classic book “Fundamentals of Legal Research” first published in 1975 (with J. Myron Jacobstein) that may have been used as part of  their legal writing and research classes. The law professor and  librarian behind that moniker, Roy M. Mersky, died on May 6, 2008 after a brief illness. Here are some remembrances from collegues:

Roy M. Mersky, Dead at 82 -  Law Librarian Blog

In Memoriam: Professor Roy M. Mersky, 1925–2008 – University of Texas at Austin

In Memoriam: Roy Mersky (1925-2008) -  Brian Leiter's Law School Reports

State statutes: copyright vs. public access

Once upon a time, the only way to access cases, statutes, and regulations was in hardcopy at a library, or via subscription databases like Westlaw and Lexis.  Over the past decade or so, sites like Justia, the LII, and others have made these primary legal sources avalable to the public. But while federal legislative and judicial materials generally go into the public domain, the status of state materials isn't so clear.

Via the Volokh Conspiracy, it appears that Oregon has demanded that publicly accessible legal resources cease to carry the Oregon Revised Statutes, claiming a copyright for the state's Legislative Counsel Committee, not in the text of the statutes themselves, but in the arrangement, subject matter, notes, etc.  (Documents available at the OLC's site.)

The Committee notes that the statutes are freely available on the state's own site.  On the other hand, restricting the statutes in this way limits the possibilities for other vendors to provide better search engines, improved display options, and integration with other resources that would benefit public users.

Copyright is a limited monopoly intended to encourage the creation of artistic and other creative endeavors by allowing the creator to profit from it; whether the state of Oregon needs such an incentive to produce laws is, at least, an open question.  Current copyright law may well give the state the legal right to limit the distribution of its statutes in this way, but it's difficult to see the public interest in doing so.

Selected April 2008 Law Library Acquisitions

             

Catalog Record            Catalog Record        Catalog Record        Catalog Record
More Info                         More Info                 More Info                More Info

               

Catalog Record          Catalog Record         Catalog Record        Catalog Record
    More Info                     More Info                  More Info               More Info

             

Catalog Record              Catalog Record             Catalog Record
     More Info                       More Info                    More Info

For the full list of April 2008 acquisitions, broken down by subject, Click Here

“Long May It Live:” New CEO Sounds Off on (What Used to Be Known As) West Publishing

“Long May It Live:” New CEO Sounds Off on (What Used to Be Known As) West Publishing
By Dan Ursini

On April 17th,  Thomson completed its acquisition of Reuters. The new name of the resulting corporate entity is Thomson Reuters. How will this affect   Thomson’s various law-oriented imprints,  which last year pulled in  $3.3 billion dollars?  In particular,  how will it impact ThomsonWest Publishing? This buyout has loomed as a possibility for a year now (see this NYT article from May 7, 2007, But reporting about it has stressed how Thomson-Reuters could seriously challenge the dominance of Bloomberg in the financial community.  Other issues have been largely ignored.

Fortunately articles with fresh angles from Twin Cities newspapers are surfacing online, especially the Pioneer Press TwinCities.Com.  They deal with the effects of the buyout on the American legal market-- dominated for most of the 20th century by  St. Paul-based West Publishing.  Gleaning through them, it is important to keep in mind that the new CEO of Thomson Reuters, the 48-year-old Thomas Glocer, is an attorney, a product of the Yale Law School, where he was introduced to Westlaw.  Please see in particular this article:

St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN) - April 19, 2008 - C1 Business
CEO HAS EYE ON EAGAN THE HEAD OF NEWLY MERGED THOMSON REUTERS SEES FUTURE PROFITS AND NEW JOBS AT THE COMPANY'S EAGAN FACILITY. THE FIRST STEP: MOVING AHEAD WITH A $150 MILLION EXPANSION.

It is apparent from it that Glocer favors all the legal products and services under Thomson Reuters’ new umbrella. The story says that Glocer enthuses,”“The North American Legal division "couldn't be more core, it couldn't be more strategic, and long may it live.”

The article continues:
“So if the boss is happy, the division's 7,000 employees can relax and focus on a planned $150 million expansion. Those plans stalled last year after Gov. Tim Pawlenty vetoed $15 million in state and local tax breaks and subsidies for the project.”

What was that expansion all about? According to This Week Online 6/8/07
“The expansion, planned as 425,000 square feet of additional office space and 80,000 square feet of additional data center space, was expected to bring about 2,000 new jobs to Eagan by 2012. The jobs were expected to pay an average salary of $70,000.”

It appears now these plans can become a reality. To return to the article in  St. Paul Pioneer Press TwinCities.Com:

“Technology and the Internet are vital to the company's well-being. Pawlenty visited Thomson Reuters on Friday to meet Glocer and sign a bill that creates a task force that will study how to bring the ultrafast broadband available in Japan and Sweden to Minnesota. Thomson officials lobbied for the bill.”

A related development  is detailed in an article in the April 10, 2008 Wall Street Journal details how Comcast has begun a superbroadband service in Minnesota, offering download speeds of 50 megabits per second:

Needless to say, these are all developments with a happy effect on West – or Thomson West – or Thomson Reuters North American Legal Division Formerly Known As West. Whatever name you choose to give to the core of American legal publishing, it is clear that it is going to remain solid.

Dan Ursini

Summit on Wrongful Convictions to be held May 8 at Texas State Capitol

In the last few days there have several news stories about the growing number of exonerations of prioners in Texas who were convicted for serious crimes. Due to the work of the Innocense Project of New York City and the determination of the new Dallas District Attorney Craig Watkins, 17 men have been exonerated so far by DNA evidence in Dallas County, which has more DNA exonerations than any other county in the nation. At the state level in Texas, 31 people have been exonerated, more than any other state.
( Source: DNA frees man who spent almost 23 years in prison for rape, By Jeff  Carlton )

“As a result of the unprecedented number of exonerations in Texas, key leaders from across the state will gather in Austin on May 8 for a landmark Summit on Wrongful Convictions. Judges, lawmakers, defense attorneys, prosecutors, exonerees, professors and many others will come together for the Summit. The Summit will mark the first time any state’s criminal justice leaders have initiated a high-level meeting themselves to address wrongful convictions. Texas State Senator Rodney Ellis is spearheading the Summit, and Innocence Project Co-Director Barry Scheck will attend. The Summit will be open to the public.”
( Source; As 18th Person is Freed Based on DNA in Dallas, Summit on Wrongful Convictions in Texas Is Set for May 8 )

The Innocence Project is a non-profit legal clinic affiliated with the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University and created by Barry C. Scheck and Peter J. Neufeld in 1992. The project is a national litigation and public policy organization dedicated to exonerating wrongfully convicted people through DNA testing and reforming the criminal justice system to prevent future injustice. As a clinic, law students handle case work while supervised by a team of attorneys and clinic staff.

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Other coverage of story:

18th Innocent Man Freed in 1 Texas County; Officials Vow Change
By Martha Neil, ABA Journal, Apr 30, 2008

Two Incredible Men - One in jail, and one that got him out.
The Freedom Files, columnist: RS Davis

Student helps free man imprisoned in Dallas 27 years
By MAX B. BAKER, Star-Telegram Staff Writer

Reconciling Law Day and May Day ?

Today on May 1ST in Chicago, thousands of people are expected to march dowtown for immigrant rights. Over the last couple years these marches in major U.S. cities have almost become a tradition. This harkens back to the historical links that Chicago has with the origin of May 1ST as an international  workers’ holiday.( See May Day as the Labor Day )

However, ever since President Dwight D. Eisenhower proclaimed "May 1 Law Day, U.S.A.",  in 1958, stating that  “…free people can assure the blessings of liberty for themselves only if they recognize the necessity that the rule of law shall be supreme and that all men shall be equal before the law.”  May 1St has been officially celebrated in the U.S. as Law Day, as codified by Public Law 87-20 in 1961.  The American Bar Association   (ABA) has taken the lead in popularizing & celebrating Law Day.

Interestingly, the theme chosen by the ABA for the 2008 celebration seems to bring the spirit of both these manifestations of the May 1ST holiday, together !  Not necessarily in full agreement but at least in mutual support for common goals.

The theme of Law Day 2008 is:

The Rule of Law: Foundations for Communities of Opportunity and Equity.

"Many people do not make the connection between the rule of law and their daily lives—their safety, jobs, health, education, and infrastructure. Advancing the rule of law helps achieve an array of public benefits. We all have a stake in the rule of law,and we all can do our part to strengthen it.

The rule of law refers to a system of self-government with a strong and accessible legal process. It features a system based on fair, publicized, broadly understood and stable laws, and diverse, competent, and independent lawyers and judges. This foundation is essential to foster sustainable communities of opportunity and equity.

Without the rule of law, individuals are consigned to live in societies characterized by violence, poverty, illness, and ignorance."

Source : ABA Law Day, May 1, 2008 brochure

Hidden Treasures at the DePaul Richardson Library ?

A current posting on the DePaul University Libraries blog entitled “I ♥ the Special Collections and Archives” entices DePaul users to  check out the special collections that we may have heard about but have never explored. Here is an excerpt to whet your interest:

“Special Collections refers to the books with rare or unique content, format, or subject focus. Our Special Collections contains over 21,000 volumes, including unique collections like the Lemke Napoleon Collection, the Bradford Dickens Collections, the Vincentiana Collection, or Faculty Publications. The Archives contain documents and materials from different organizations or institutions- including those of DePaul University- arranged in an orderly manner to aid patrons in their research.”

Collection Guides

Copyright Law Exhibit at Ryerson Library of The Art Institute

 

Why Are These Pictures in the Public Domain?

The short answer is that it’s complicated. Several layers of copyright law, some going back to the 1909 Act, may need to be addressed to determine the copyright status of many works. To make things even trickier, some works may be in the public domain in the U.S. but not in other countries. Also, due to changes in the copyright law in the 1990s, “many artworks that had previously fallen into the public domain in the United States for failure to renew the copyright were “restored” to full copyright protection …” !

To help provide some clarity to this somewhat tangled legal web, one of the legal adviser at the Art Institute of Chicago has mounted a small exhibit in the Ryerson Library of the Art Institute. It includes examples of artworks from the collections of the Art Institute to accompany the concise explanations of the varying rules that may apply to particular works.

So if you are planning to see the current Edward Hopper and Winslow Homer exhibits or dropping by on free Thursdays (after 5PM) , and find these copyright issues of interest. Ask where the entrance to the Ryerson library is and tell the person at the desk that you’re there to see the small exhibit on “Copyright Law: Publishing Artwork and the Public Domain”. It will be there through June 9, 2008.

Announcement from MEMBERS’LOUNGE CASE