Vincent G. Rinn Law Library

Harvard Law Makes Scholarly Articles "Open Access"

"The Harvard University Law School  (HLS) faculty last month followed the lead of their colleagues in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) ( See previous blog post " Harvard Faculty To Make Articles Open Access") by voting unanimously to make their scholarly articles available online for free, making HLS the first law school to commit to a “mandatory open access policy” via an institutional repository."

( Source: SPARC Highlights Open Access,By Andrew Albanese, Library Journal, 6/15/2008 )

From the Harvard Law School News of May 7, 2008 :

"Under the new policy, HLS will make articles authored by faculty members available in an online repository, whose contents would be searchable and available to other services such as Google Scholar. Authors can also legally distribute the articles on their own websites, and educators here and elsewhere can freely provide the articles to students, so long as the materials are not used for profit."

"This exciting development is something in which the whole Harvard Law School community can take great pride," said John Palfrey '01, executive director of the Berkman Center for Internet & Society and newly appointed vice dean of library and information resources."

Former DePaul Law Professor Chemerinsky to Head New "Dream Law School"

Nationally known professor of Constitutional law and federal civil procedure, Erwin Chemerinsky, who taught at the DePaul Law school from 1980 to 1983, is assuming the post of dean at the newly created the Donald Bren School of Law at the University of California, Irvine. In September 2006, Professor Chemerinsky gave the  keynote address at the  First Annual Vincentian Public Interest Law Conference held in Chicago.

In an article from the Orange County Register by Marla Jo Fisher, he describes his vision for the new law school. Professor Chemerinsky says,"We have this wonderful opportunity to create the dream law school. The central tension we face is the need to keep a sufficient number of traditional elements, while adding our own innovations." He wants a faculty of excellent teachers and those that have  been recruited are from top 20 schools. There should be a starting class of 60 , hopefully with full scholarships for a large percentage of the class.

Some of the key features the the law school plans to emphasize are :
Every law student should have some clinical experience. There will be teaching of fact investigation which is often neglected in the curriculum. Plans are to have smaller classes and multiple examinations to provide greater feedback to students on their progress.

When asked about charges that the school might have an anti-Semetic tone, Professor Chemerinsky responded, that "... As a Jew, I have never seen the slightest evidence of anti-Semitism on campus.  There have been some speeches on campus against Israel that crossed over into anti-Semitic speech. But a university has to be a forum for all ideas, even if we don't agree with them."

Consumer Tip: How to Block Cellphone Spam

If you haven’t gotten any spam text messages on your cell phone, you’re lucky. But it’s only a matter of time before you do. The spammers thinks that we are at their mercy. But a very useful article by David Pogue, the New York Times technology columnist, discloses some little known protective measures available from the mobile phone carriers. Check out his article, How to Block Cellphone Spam, for the details.

Celebrate "Loving Day"

This day is not yet a "Hallmark Card" holiday and the "Loving" refers to the last name of a couple who were plaintiffs in a very significant U.S. Supremen Court case,Loving vs the State of Virginia (1967). Although the connotation of "loving" does fit the character of the decison which removed the legal barriers against the interracial marriage in the United States.

According to Wikipedia,"Loving Day is an annual celebration held on June 12, the anniversary of the 1967 United States Supreme Court decision Loving v. Virginia which struck down all anti-miscegenation laws remaining in 16 states citing "There can be no doubt that restricting the freedom to marry solely because of racial classifications violates the central meaning of the equal protection clause," In the United States, anti-miscegenation laws were state laws banning interracial marriage, mainly forbidding marriage between non-whites and whites. Loving Day is not an officially, government-recognized holiday, but is celebrated by a growing number of people throughout the United States, especially by those involved in interracial relationships."

The official Loving Day website includes a map of the U.S. which through color coding (no pun intended) is synchronized to clickable  historical dates, to show where and when interracial marriages were legalized. Only seven states never had a restriction: Vermont, New Hampshire, Connetticut,New York, New Jersey, Wisconsin,Minnesotta. The map shows that after the New England area,four Midwestern states( MN, WI,IA, IL) were an area with legal interracial marriages. Most of the West followed over a long period of time. But in the South it took the 1967 Loving decision to do the same.

Even with the Supreme Court decison,in South Carolina it took till 1998 to remove a clause that prohibited "marriage of a white person with a Negro or mulatto or a person who shall have one-eighth or more Negro blood", from the  South Carolina's state constitution. And in Alabama,it took till 2000 to remove an article from the Alabama State Constitution that stated, "The Legislature shall never pass any law to authorize or legalize any marriage between any white person and a Negro, or a descendant of a Negro."
( Courtroom History, Loving Day web site)

Mildred Loving, died on May 2, 2008 at aged 68.Richard Loving died years earlier in a car accident.
See these articles examining their legacy :

Mildred Loving - Mildred Loving, law-changer, died on May 2nd, aged 68
The Economist,  May 15th 2008

LOVING'S LEGACY WILL NOT BE FORGOTTEN
By Frank Thomas Croisdale
Niagara Falls Reporter

Professor Shaman's New Book on State Constitutional Law

In the May issue of the  DePaul “Public Interest Advocate” newsletter , Susan DeCostanza reviews  law Professor Jeffrey Shaman’s new book, “Equality and Liberty in the Golden Age of State Constitutional Law". She relates that after many years of teaching constitutional law at the federal level, Professor Shaman was struck by how much the "Supreme Court seemed to be continually narrowing the scope of civil rights and liberties”. When he also started teaching state constitutional law, he observed a trend in the opposite direction in the rulings under state constitutions. This intriguing phenomenon inspired him to spend four years writing  this book which examines “… the evolution of the rights of liberty and equality under state constitutions over the past 20 to 25 years from both a historical and jurisprudential perspective.”

Source: “the Public Interest Advocate”, p.2,  May 2008  ( Online link will be provided when available)

Link to publisher’s web page

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

Theatre Piece:"Sanitation Workers Strike of 1968"

"Your Witness" Book Gives Expert Insight Into Art of Cross-examination

"In YOUR WITNESS, fifty of the nation’s top trial lawyers share the secrets of the most engaging, difficult, and dramatic aspect of their work – cross-examination. These secrets are revealed through richly told courtroom “war stories” with a point. While the stories contain some interesting bits of Chicago “color” – mobsters, corrupt politicians and businessmen, street gangs, mass murderers, sports figures, Nobel Laureates, and Colonel McCormick of the Tribune – many of the stories occur across the nation, and the book has broad appeal to lawyers and non-lawyers alike."

Some advance praise for the book:

“Molo and Figliulo have done a tremendous service to the legal community and beyond in compiling the “Lessons” learned through cross-examination. Lawyers of every vintage can learn from it – and it preserves a wonderful bit of Chicago legal lore.”
Todd Smith, Power, Rogers & Smith,Past President of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America

“This book is a box full of special treats— colorful alarm bells for potential witnesses, chewy morsels of rich material for psychologists interested in persuasion and influence, and a feast of fascinating stories for the general reader.”
Robert Clark, Professor and former Dean of the Harvard Law School

“Your Witness shows how expert cross- examination is a result of both intense preparation and the mastery of improvisational skills. This insightful and often humorous glimpse into the trial lawyer’s art should be of interest to both lawyers and non lawyer alike. … I loved it…”
Andrew Alexander, Owner and,Executive Producer of The Second City

( Source: http://www.lawbulletin.com/legal/professional-development/your-witness-book )

Excerpt from the book by recently deceased, R. Eugene Pincham,"Secrets from the 13th juror"
( Mentioned in the Chicago IP Litigation Blog by R. David Donoghue)

Lawyers,Law Firms & the Legal Profession Symposium

Topics :

Lawyers in a Fee Quandary: Must the Billable Hour Die?
Luncheon: The Roberts Court, the 2008 Election & the Future of the Judiciary
Lawyers in Transition: Ghosts from the Old Firm Haunting the New Firm
Lawyers in the Hot Seat: The State of Ethics & Professionalism
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Tickets are $75.00 on or before April 1, 2008 and $90.00 after that date. Price includes luncheon and written materials. Judges and students are free. CLE credit offered. Register online at www.clla.org through the Chicago/Spring meeting link. For more information, contact Don Carrillo at (312) 362-6178 or depaul.bclj@gmail.com

See full leaflet, here .

"CLEAR Initiative" Symposium On Revision of Illinois Criminal Code

Today the the “CLEAR Initiative” is sponsoring a day-long symposium on the comprehensive revisions for codification in Illinois' Criminal Code at the John Marshall Law School, 315 S. Plymouth Court Chicago, IL .

“Illinois' Criminal Code was last rewritten 45 years ago. Those using the code today recognize its redundancies, inconsistencies and confusing language. Through the Criminal Law Edit, Align and Reform (CLEAR) Initiative, the state is working on a new Criminal Code that is less complex, easier to comprehend and includes the same crimes and punishments enacted by past legislatures.

The John Marshall Law Review will publish its spring 2008 issue as a symposium issue that will contain legal analysis of the new code by Professor Timothy O'Neill and other criminal law experts from academe, as well as public officials and members of the bench and bar. That issue will become the official report for the code's commentary and future court decisions will cite to it.”

( Source: John Marshall Law Review Plans Program on Criminal Code Revisions, In the Loop, March 16 - 22, 2008 )

John F. Decker, Emeritus Professor of Law at DePaul University Law School, is the Special Advisor to the CLEAR Initiative.

See previous blog posting, CLEAR Commission Panel Discussion at DePaul, April 24, 2007

Harvard Faculty To Make Articles Open Access

A long article by Peter Suberin in the March 2, 2008 issue of the “SPARC Open Access Newsletter” discusses the recent Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences  vote (Tuesday Feb. 12) to give the University a worldwide license to make each faculty member’s scholarly articles available and to exercise the copyright in the articles, provided that the articles are not sold for a profit.

The fact that the mandate comes from the faculty and that it was unnanimous, is seen by the author as a strong rebuttal to the claims by the publishing lobby  “that the call for OA mandates is a sign that researchers oppose OA and must be coerced.” Rather he says “the Harvard vote decisively confirms Alma Swan's finding that the overwhelming majority of researchers do not resent OA mandates and would *willingly* comply with one from their funder or university.”

“Professor Stuart M. Shieber who proposed the legislation states, “This is a large and very important step for scholars throughout the country. It should be a very powerful message to the academic community that we want and should have more control over how our work is used and disseminated.” 
(Source : Legislation designed to allow greater worldwide access, Harvard Gazette Online )

In an opinion piece about the faculty vote (The Case for Open Access) , Robert Darnton, the Director of the Harvard University Library, spoke about the negative effects of the present commercial publishing system on libraries & scholars.

“The spiraling cost of journals has inflicted severe damage on research libraries, creating a ripple effect: in order to purchase the journals, libraries have had to reduce their acquisitions of monographs; the reduced demand among libraries for monographs has forced university presses to cut back on the publication of them;and the near impossibility of publishing their dissertations has jeopardized the careers of a whole generation of scholars in many fields…” “The Harvard University Library will set up an Office for Scholarly Communication to make the open-access repository an instrument for access to research across all disciplines…”

While the Harvard decision has gotten the most press. Mr. Suberin points out that before Harvard there were at least 12 other institutional mandates and three departmental mandates in nine countries...

40TH Anniversary of Assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

“King went to Memphis in early April 1968 to lead a peaceful march in support of garbage workers. At age 39, he was already a Nobel Laureate and had won major victories in ending segregation, making civil rights a part of the legal fabric of the United States.

But his aides have said, looking back, that death was on his mind. King made a speech in Memphis that he had made many times before, but seemed more moved than at earlier times. He ended, “I’m not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.”

King, while standing on the same motel balcony, was shot to death on April 4, 1968.”

Son: 40 years later, MLK’s work not finished
Martin Luther King III calls on presidential candidates to attack poverty

"King III was just 10 years old when his father was killed by a single shot to the head while standing on the balcony outside his Memphis motel room. Now 50, he has gone on to become an international human rights advocate and the founder and CEO of the nonprofit organization Realizing the Dream, formed in 2006 to promote conflict resolution, nonviolence training, youth leadership training and community and economic development.

“Forty years ago, my father was focused on the Poor People’s Campaign to guarantee an annual income for all citizens,” Martin Luther King III told TODAY’s Ann Curry. “Tragically, today, 40 years later, where 36 million people are living in poverty — 12 million children — we’re not doing near enough.”

Computer Security Information From "US-CERT"

The Winter 2008 Rinn Law Library Newsletter included a section listing web sites (p.5-6) that were useful in protecting computer users in the digital world. Mark Giangrande, one of our reference librarians, has found an excellent US government web site that has additional guidance for the everyday user. The United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) is a sub-unit of the Department of Homeland Security that was established in 2003 to protect the nation's Internet infrastructure, US-CERT coordinates defense against and responses to cyber attacks across the nation. In addition to sophisticated information for the government users, it also provides useful information for home and corporate users, or for people new to computer security.

Here are some of the links provided in this section:

• Protect Your Workplace
• Before You Connect a New Computer to the Internet
• Recovering from a Trojan Horse or Virus
• Home Network Security
• Home Computer Security
• Software License Agreements: Ignore at Your Own Risk

And Securing Your Web Browser - Includes step-by-step instructions with illustrations on how to make the settings needed to make your browser(s) less vulnerable and more secure while accessing the internet. Instructions are included for These browsers: Microsoft Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox ,Apple Safari.

                              

New 2008 U.S.News Law School Rankings Released

The new U.S.News & World Report rankings of graduate school programs were released last week. A posting from the Tax Prof Blog provides a quick overview of the  Top 25 law  schools and the biggest moves among the Top 100 schools.

U.S.News page with DePaul University Law School included.

The New Grad Rankings Are on the Way
March 27, 2008   Robert Morse (director of data research for U.S. News & WorldReport )

Addendum :  See DePaul NewsLine Online article :
MBA program, law school advance in national rankings

Midwest Regional Conference on International Justice

On Friday, April 25, 2008, IHRLI will host a conference recognizing the ten-year anniversary of the establishment of the International Criminal Court (ICC). The conference is organized by IHRLI and funded by a grant from The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. The conference will reflect on the achievements of the ICC and the challenges that lie ahead. It will also address ICC investigations in Sudan, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The President of the ICC, Philippe Kirsch and the Chief Prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, will both be speaking at the conference.

The conference is free and open to the public. It will take place in the Cindy Pritzker Auditorium of the Harold Washington Library, Lower Level, located at 400 S. State St., Chicago, IL 60605, from 8:30 a.m. to5:30p.m.  Pre-registration is required.

Conference Luncheon - A luncheon will take place on the day of the conference from 12:15-1:45 p.m. in the Winter Garden of the Library. The speaker will be Professor M. Cherif Bassiouni, who will reflect on his experiences in international criminal justice. Seating is limited. RSVP required.
To RSVP, please email Liz Drew at edrew3@depaul.edu    

List of Co-sponsors                               
For more information : www.law.depaul.edu/icc

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There will also be a pre-conference student event to familiarize students with the work of the ICC. This will be held from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 24 at DePaul College of Law, room TBD. For more information on the student event, please email Program Coordinator Liz Drew at edrew3@depaul.edu

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See related article:

Prof. David Scheffer Speaks on R2P at DePaul: A Personal Reaction by Dan Ursini  (law library staff member),  DePaul Rinn Law Library Newsletter, Winter 2008, p.2 

Northwestern law school Professor Scheffer spoke at DePaul in Nov. 2007, on the developing "Right To Protect" doctrine in the area of international humanitarian intervention.

Chicago Women's History Event at Chicago History Museum

Kathryn DeGraff, department head of special collections and archives at DePaul University,  was quoted in the front page story of the 3/5-11/2008 issue of  the Streetwise newspaper entitled “Seeking feminist history – before it’s too late”, which announces the March 16 event, “Documenting the Women’s Movement in Chicago, 1960s – 1980s”, at the Chicago History Museum.

"Chicago is bursting at the seams with women's records and activities,' said Kathryn DeGraff, department head of special collections and archives at DePaul University. “A lot is being held but a lot is in danger of being lost if not collected soon. Women are retired or moving, and their children or whoever is cleaning out their closet is not going to know or care. People who are commited to the movement did it, but they move on. There's a fire or flood and the records are lost.”

The March 16 event at The Chicago History Museum, Documenting the Women's Movement in Chicago, 1960s -1980s, is a "chance to try to catch the materials." added Elizabeth Myers, director of the Women and leadership Archive at Loyola Universit,Chicago. "An individual woman might think it's not worth anything. But we're trying to say,'no, quite the opposite. History, at least women's history, won't be written without these documents.'"

EVENT DETAILS :

Women's Movement in Chicago 1960s-1980s
Chicago History Museum's Chicago Room
1601 N. Clark St., Chicago, IL   Sunday, March 16, 1:30 p.m.
Advance Registration Required - online at: www.cawhc.org or call: 773-227-0093
Admission to the event is free, but Museum admission is required $14.00
Museum members (C.H.M., DuSable, Nat. Museum of Mexican Art) admitted free.

Law Professor Gerstenblith to Chair Panel on Cultural Property & Armed Conflict

The Lawyers’ Committee for Cultural Heritage Preservation whose current president is our own law professor Patty Gerstenblith, will be presenting a program entitled “Protecting the Past: the Fate of Cultural Property in Times of Armed Conflict”, at George Washington University on Apr. 24, 2008.

The Lawyers’ Committee for Cultural Heritage Preservation (LCCHP) is a nonprofit organization of lawyers, law students and interested members of the public who have joined together to promote the preservation and protection of cultural heritage resources in the United States and internationally through education and advocacy.

Professor Gerstenblith will be one of the co-chairs for the panels. Among the issues to be examined at this event will be discussion of the Nazi and World War II art looting, wartime preservation measures and post-War restitution, including the role of the WWII Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives troops ( “The Monument Men” ) in protecting, preserving and restituting looted art. The more recent events involved in the  looting and destruction of cultural property at the Iraq National Museum and recovery efforts will also be addressed. Panelists will discuss damage done to cultural heritage during the Iraq War and efforts toward cooperation between the U.S. military and cultural heritage professionals of different nationalities.

For those of us who may be part of the “interested members of the public” who could use some  background on these matters, there are two very relevant articles in the February issue of the Smithsonian Magazine, that deal with both the WWII & Iraq War experiences :

Monumental Mission   By Robert M. Poole  Smithsonian magazine, February 2008
Assigned to find art looted by the Nazis, Western Allied forces faced an incredible challenge

Looting Iraq     By Robert M. Poole    Smithsonian magazine, February 2008
No one was prepared for the pillaging of Baghdad's Iraq Museum in 2003, but a fast-thinking Marine officer Col. Matthew Bogdanos, improvised an investigation—and helped recover thousands of stolen antiquities

Law Professor Bassiouni Speaks on Panel to Open "Abu Ghraib" Exhibit

On February 15, law professor Cherif Bassiouni, attorney Susan Burke and artist, Daniel Heyman, participated in a panel at the opening of the DePaul University Museum’s exhibit, , "Abu Ghraib Detainee Interview Project."

The works on display were created by Mr. Heyman while he was allowed to witness the interviews with former detainees administered in Jordan and Turkey prior to a class-action lawsuit filed on their behalf by the Center for Constitutional Rights and  the law firm of Burke O’Neil LLC that Ms. Susan Burke help found. (The Estate of Himoud Saed Atban et al. v. Blackwater USA et al. )

Over a period of two years Mr. Heyman drew the likenesses of these interviewees and incorporated excerpts of their testimony into the final images. “Heyman uses both watercolor and drypoint print mediums to illustrate the prisoners and record excerpts of their testimonies. The watercolors are contained in a 34-foot accordion-style book. The Philadelphia native cut the copper for the prints on the spot as the subjects told their stories of torture and humiliation.”

The CCR web page states, “Estate of Himoud Saed Atban, et al. v. Blackwater USA, et al. is a civil case filed by the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) against notorious private government contractor Blackwater USA for the killing of innocent Iraqi civilians.” … “The case was filed on behalf of Talib Mutlaq Deewan, an Iraqi citizen who was injured by Blackwater personnel during the incident, and the families of three deceased men – Himoud Saed Atban, Usama Fadhil Abbass, and Oday Ismail Ibraheem.”

Atban_Complaint_10.07

Atban_1st Amended Complaint_11.07

Atban_ Defendant's Motion to Dismiss_01.08

Sources:

Portraits of atrocities  by Clark Jones Online Editor,  By Joe O'Donnell Staff Writer,  The DePaulia

“Atban, et al. v. Blackwater USA, et al.”, Center for Constitutional Rights

Panel on Harold Washington, Black Politics and the Media

Lawyers Playing Catch-up in Use of Technology ?

Interesting article about the rate of adoption of technology by the legal profession from LexisONE site and Boston Globe site.

The legal profession seems to have resisted  the use  of technology much longer than many other fields. But some key factors have accelerated use of technology in recent years, such as the requirements of electronic discovery, the data collection requirements under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, managing ever more complicated cases and keeping up with the technology used by corporate clients.

Amazing Database Of Federal Data - For Lawyers Too

Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse and the TRACFED Data Warehouse
by LINDA ROBERGE,SUSAN LONG,DAVID BURNHAM & PATRICIA HASSETT,

Trends in Law Library Management and Technology, v.17, p.61-73

"Lawyers are “word” people. They read and author complaints motions, opinions, etc.—text documents all. But they, along with other “word” professionals, are recognizing the value of numerical information, especially once- dreaded statistics.

In this paper we discuss an information delivery system that goes beyond searchable Full-text databases and look at a data warehouse and data mining application,TRACFED. This state-of-the-art technology, and the information lawyers are able to generate using it, promises to redefine some of the best-practice standards of the legal profession.

Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, better known as TRAC and described at the end of this paper, is a not-for-profit, non-partisan research center at Syracuse University. The center has developed TRACFED which makes it possible to produce useful information about federal government activities from previously inaccessible data. For years, investigative reporters public intetest groups, Congressional committees and others have used TRAC’s data warehouse. And now lawyers are discovering the power of TRACFED as well."
TRAC’s Websites (URL, internet address):

TRAC (trac.syr.edu) is a free public web site that provides easy access to TRAC's published reports, spotlights, and other information, mostly about federal enforcement issues.

TRACFED (tracfed.syr.edu) is a subscription site offering direct dynamic access to a wide range of federal data concerning enforcement, staffing, spending, and other matters.

Professor Bassiouni On Panel to Address Ethics of IRAQ War

Please join us for a discussion of the ethical and religious dimensions of the ongoing war in Iraq. Together with a distinguished panel of scholars, we will consider how three major religious traditions respond to the complex moral questions raised by the U.S. presence in Iraq.

Wednesday, February 20, 5:00-7:00 PM
Cortelyou Commons ( 2324 N. Fremont St. ),
DePaul University, Lincoln Park Campus

SPEAKERS:

M. Cherif Bassiouni , Professor of Law, DePaul University
Nobel Peace Prize Nominee,Specialist in International and Human Rights Law 

Samuel Fleischaker , Professor of Philosophy, University of Illinois, Chicago, Specialist in Moral and Political Philosophy

William French , Associate Professor of Theology, Loyola University Chicago, Specialist in Theology, Ethics, and Society and Ethics and War

MODERATOR:

Yuki Miyamoto, Assistant Professor of Religious Studies, DePaul University, Specialist in Atomic Bomb Discourse

For further information, please contact Scott Paeth (773) 325-4447
or Frida Furman (773) 325-4275.

President's Book Club Discussion

Supreme Discomfort: The Divided Soul of Clarence Thomas                              
President’s Book Club Discussion

The book "Supreme Discomfort: The Divided Soul of Clarence Thomas", has been chosen as the winter selection for the President's Book Club. We will gather to discuss the book on Monday, January 28 from 3:00 - 5:00 p.m. in the DePaul Club located on the 11th floor in the DePaul Center.  The book is authored by Michael Fletcher, White House correspondent, The Washington Post, and Kevin Merida, associate editor, The Washington Post.  Both authors plan to travel to DePaul to join us for this conversation.

The book examines the life and contribution of Justice Thomas, but also such matters as the national debate on affirmative action, the experience of being a conservative black in America, and the Court's recent trend toward the right.  The book was written without the assistance of Justice Thomas, but with the participation of his immediate family, friends, and numerous professional colleagues.  It is a critical book, challenging Justice Thomas's own version of his early formative experiences, which he often invokes to explain his jurisprudence.

Register on-line, here.

Book excerpt
 

 

IICLE Smartbooks Available Online

The DePaul University Law school users can now  access  the IICLE Smartbooks collection online. It has been added to the law library database list and can  be accessed at :
http://www.law.depaul.edu/library/research/database_list.asp#I

SmartBooks is IICLE's subscriber-based online publications library of Illinois-specific practice guidance for legal professionals. Our practice handbooks, QuickGuides, Flash Points, and select course materials written by Illinois' leading attorneys, are a searchable, easy-to-use online legal research tool. No special software is needed. You can access SmartBooks® from any computer with an Internet connection 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. ( Source : https://www.iicle.com/smartbooks/info.asp  )

Users can select indivudual IICLE handbook titles. Browse through chapters including "Index/Table of Cases". The  “Browse section” links on each page, can be used to move forward or backward through a section. Users can print a single page or download an entire chapter in PDf format to print. Also any forms accompanying a handbook, can be downloaded  & printed.

A Search can be executed in ten practice areas or in any single handbook. Search functions include :

• All Words ( AND ), Any Words ( OR ), Exact Phrase ( “ word(s)” ).

• Use the wildcard (*) to return results that include any other character or characters in a in place of the wildcard.

• Check the "Include forms of the word" box to return forms of words, e.g. child, children, childlike.

• Proximity of the search terms will be reflected in the ranking of the search results. Documents in which the search words occur closer together will appear higher on the list of results.

Links to free resources include :

Free FlashPointsSM: Monthly practice updates e-mailed directly to you every month! Choose from 12 practice areas authored by field experts.

Free Online Articles: Written by topic experts covering new developments and popular trends.

Extensive listings of CLE (Continuing Legal Education) courses, for purchase, in various formats are also listed on the IICLE website :

• Live Courses – With expert instructors in Chicago downtown, Chicago suburbs & downstate Illinois.

• Webcasts - Watch courses LIVE over the Internet with IICLE's Web Cast courses. Get the practice guidance you need without leaving the comfort and convenience of your home or office.

• SmartCourses - cost-effective online SmartCourses in the practice areas that meet your needs, and you'll have access to them for 90 days, so you can learn at your own pace when it's convenient for you.

Illinois Legal Aid Online Video Library – Valuable Instructional Resources

Their re-designed website incorporates cutting-edge technology not used by other non-commercial providers of online legal resources. These include webcast training and education classes. The website provides support & training resources for legal aid and pro-bono attorneys. But these online webcasts  can be accessed by any user with a broadband internet connection. Law students taking courses in trial advocacy, could probably find these tutorials to be a valuable addition to their coursework.

Users can search for appropriate webcasts in any of these areas of law :

Arts & Entertainment,    Children,    Civil Practice,   Civil Rights,   Consumer Law,
Criminal Law,   Disability,   Economic Development,  Education Arts & Entertainment, Children,   Civil Practice,   Civil Rights,   Consumer Law,   Criminal Law,   Disability, Economic Development,   Education

For a sampling of some of the webcasts offered click here.

Two New Law Faculty Publications

Dean GLen Weissenberger has contributed a chapter entitled, "Balancing the Challenges with the Rewards", to the new Thomson-West book, "Law School Leadership Strategies: Top Deans on Benchmarking Success, Incorporating Feedback from Faculty and Students,and Building the Endowment"

This book outlines the role of today’s educational leaders and the current and future shape of law school management. It provides a comprehensive overview of the industry and the strategic thinking behind operating a law school. It discusses the role and responsibilities of the dean, the need to build a successful administration team, and the importance of striking a balance between being a center for intellectual growth and a profitable institution.
Source: publisher's website

See longer posting about book from Law Librarian Blog

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Illinois Decisions on Search and Seizure with 2007 Supplement

As federal courts take a less expansive view of the Fourth Amendment, more defendants in search-and-seizure cases will ground their arguments on the privacy provisions of the Illinois Constitution. This comprehensive compendium of cases by two respected legal scholars- John F. Decker of DePaul University College of Law and Ralph Ruebner of John Marshall Law School-is a great starting point for your research, whether you represent the defense or the state. $35 mbrs./$45 nonmbrs.

Source : https://secure.isba.org/bookstore/

Law Library Online Reference Service

Law Library Launches New Online Reference Service!

The law library now offers an online reference service for your convenience. The system allows you to send a reference question by email using a web based form. We anticipate being able to respond within one business day. We also have a collection of FAQ's posted as well.

To access the forms, visit: http://www.law.depaul.edu/library/ and follow the ONLINE REFERENCE link.

Additional Website For Discounted Software Purchases

In addition to the E-academy website for DePaul that allows student, faculty & staff to buy discounted computer software online, there is also www.CampusEstore.com . DePaul participates in both programs.

Institutions participating in Illinois

 

Who can order from JourneyEd?

College Students:
Matriculating college, university and career school students qualify.

K-12 Students:
If your school participates in the Microsoft Student Select program, you may purchase Microsoft software. All other K-12 students can order all of the software we offer with the exception of Microsoft software.(Graduating seniors who can show proof of college acceptance may order Microsoft software.)

Faculty/Staff:
K-12 as well as all post-secondary faculty and staff members can order software from Journey at the same student educational pricing.

Schools:
To place school orders, fax a school Purchase Order to (972) 481-2100 or call our School Sales Department at (800) 874-9001.

Non Academic Customer:
Customers not affiliated with an educational institution may purchase any of our non-academic products. To determine which products are non-academic the product order code will end in a "N". Any order received for educational products will be canceled unless academic verification is received.

Proof of Academic Status

You will need to provide proof of your academic status. No order will be shipped until a valid academic ID is received. You can place your order at anytime. We will place your order on "hold" until we receive your valid academic ID. Upon receipt of your academic ID, we will ship out your order.

Acceptable Forms of Academic Proof:

(Any one of the following)
• Dated Student ID Card
• Dated Faculty ID Card
• Dated, current class schedule
• Letter from school on school letterhead
• Recent faculty/staff payment stub (please black out salary information)

How to Send Your Academic Proof:

• FAX: to (972) 481-2150
• EMAIL: Send to proof@journeyed.com (Attach proof to email. Attachment must be 300KB's or smaller. Larger sized emails will not be accepted.)
• MAIL: Journey, 13755 Hutton Drive, Suite 500, Dallas, TX 75234

Don’t Forget BNA Resources & E-mail Updates For Faculty & Students

Almost two years ago the DePaul Rinn Law Library acquired the Bureau of National Affairs BNA-All Package, which gives DePaul College of Law faculty and students access to more than one hundred titles in the BNA database. This includes government documents and analyst reports on a wide range of topics including; antitrust, corporate law, health care, IP, international trade, securities, tax, and others. Access is available from the database listing on the library’s website or by going directly to the BNA platform at this link. ( Access is also be available through our LEXIS and WESTLAW subscriptions )

BNA is the largest independent publisher of information and analysis products for professionals in law, tax, business, and government. They publish daily, weekly, monthly, and up-to-the-minute news covering the full range of legal, legislative, regulatory, and economic developments that impact the business environment. They produce more than 350 news and information services known and valued for their unbiased reporting.

Year after year, in surveys comparing legal and business publishers, customer groups recognize BNA's leadership in editorial quality. American Lawyer Media's annual survey of law librarians at the nation's 200 largest law firms has given BNA the top rating on content quality since 2002 when the survey began. Experienced reporters with expertise in specialized fields get their information from high-level sources. BNA's timely, comprehensive, focused coverage means users spend much less time on reading and research.
( Source: About BNA )

If you have been receiving a printed copy of the table of contents for any of the BNA titles, you can now have  this information sent directly to you in an email. On the top of the BNA platform web page is a link for  you to sign up for email summaries of any BNA News Service or BNA Reference Library. All that is required is your e-mail address,selecting the updates you want and clicking to submit. Updates will have links to fuller discussion of items listed.

List of available BNA E-Mail – Reference Services Updates

List of available BNA E-Mail - News Service Upadates

Celebrate Inaugural Issue of DePaul Journal for Social Justice

The DePaul Journal for Social Justice published its inaugural issue this month.
Please join Journal editors, members, authors, sponsors and supporters for the Journal's Inaugural Edition Publication Celebration on Thursday, Nov. 1, 2007 in the Rare Book Room ( law library) from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. For questions about the Journal or to subscribe or submit an article to the Journal, please contact the Journal editors at depaulj4sj@gmail.com

From the introduction by Professor Leonard Cavise :

"Our goal is to provide practitioners and academics in public interest with a scholarly alternative to traditional law journal publications. Our contributors are free to share the wisdom of their experience without feeling compelled to shed their advocates role or having to cite as comprehensively (and sometimes needlessly) as typical law journals demand. Our contributors are free to take credit for their own ideas. We also like to think of this Journal as an opportunity for public interest advocates to share their aspirations. With the practice of public interest law as encumbered as it is by a lack of resources, unresponsive courts, overlarge caseloads and continuing restrictions on what kinds of cases can be brought, many lawyers have devised innovative ways to accomplish their goals and still serve the client. We would be delighted to offer those lawyers the pages of our journal to describe their experience in a way that will serve others."

Link to table of contents

Discussion of Book On Cook County Public Defenders

The DePaul Student Bar Association will sponsor a symposium discussing the book, Defending the Damned,Inside Chicago's Cook County Public Defender's Office By Kevin Davis.

From publishers website:

“Veteran journalist Kevin Davis reveals the compelling true story of a team of battle-scarred lawyers fighting against all odds. Unflinching, gripping, and full of surprises, Defending the Damned is an unforgettable human story and engaging courtroom drama where life and death hang in the balance. Davis explores the motives that compel these lawyers to come to work in this dark corner of the criminal justice system and exposes their insular and often misunderstood world.”

Speakers will include Kevin Davis, the author, and criminal defense attorneys : Marijane Placek, Ruth McBeth, Woodward Jordan, Robert Strunk.

The program will take place on Thursday, October 25, 2007, 4:30 - 7pm at the Chicago Bar association Building, 321 S. Plymouth Court.
Contact:Mary Butterton,       vp.depaulsba@gmail.com

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Background on the book and the author:

Their Job Is Murder, By Harold Henderson , Chicago Reader

New Book Profiles Public Defender Elite , National Public Radio

Affirmative Action In Law Schools CCR Report

     Racial preference disclosure urged
     U.S. commission report wants legislation; critics
     decry recommendation

     Leigh Jones / Staff reporter, The national Law
     Journal
     September 3, 2007

   "The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights is calling for legislation requiring law       schools to disclose their use of racial preferences in their admissions processes. ( CCR press release )  In a 220-page report, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights also is recommending that the American Bar Association abandon its standard for accreditation regarding racial diversity in law schools.

The commission's report is a frustration to affirmative-action backers who assert that racial preference policies are needed to help achieve diversity in law schools. The report by the commission — made up of four Republicans, two Democrats and two independents — relies heavily on a 2004 study published in the Stanford Law Review by Richard Sander, a law professor at the University of California at Los Angeles School of Law.

Sander's study, which focused on black and white law students, concluded that affirmative action has resulted in the admission of blacks to schools for which they were not academically qualified."

Responses to the Sander Study :

Sanding Down SanderThe debunker of affirmative action gets debunked.
By Emily Bazelon
Posted Friday, April 29, 2005, Salte.com

Reply to Critics essay
Richard H. Sander           57 STAN. L. REV. 1963 (2005)

Does Affirmative Action Reduce the Number of Black Lawyers?
Ian Ayres & Richard Brooks       57 STAN. L. REV. 1807 (2005)

Current Finkelstein Academic Contract Voided By DePaul ?

A front-page story in today’s Chicago Tribune, “DePaul pulls plug on controversial professor” by Ron Grossman, relates that political science professor, Norman Finkelstein, who previously was denied tenure after a controversial set of events, ( See “Tenure Denial for ... Lack of Collegiality?” , under date: June 21, 2007 ), has also had his current class cancelled and had access to an on-campus office removed.

While the DePaul law school faculty had no role in Finkelstein’s tenure process, Professor Alan Dreshowitz from the Harvard University Law School, had sent the members of the DePaul law faculty, the same packet of information that he sent to the political science faculty.An April 2007 article in the Chronicle of Higher Education states that :

“Last fall, with Mr. Finkelstein up for tenure, Mr. Dershowitz sent the DePaul law-school faculty and members of the political-science department what he described, in a letter dated October 3, as a "dossier of Norman Finkelstein's most egregious academic sins, and especially his outright lies, misquotations, and distortions." “ …

“In a telephone interview, Mr. Dershowitz confirmed that he had sent the information to "everybody who would read it." He said he had compiled the material at the request of some two dozen DePaul students, alumni, and faculty members who were alarmed at the prospect of Mr. Finkelstein's receiving tenure.”

While the tenure process in this instance was in the political science department, the issues that it has raised are of concern to all faculty members. As the Tribune article indicates, there are broader concerns for all university faculty.

“According to the norms of academia, a professor denied tenure has the right to a final year of teaching at the university that turns him down. The watchdog of those rights is the American Association of University Professors, the umbrella organization of college teachers, which can censure a school found in violation of its ground rules. Such a finding also can be the preliminary to a lawsuit against the university by the faculty member.

According to Jonathan Knight, director of the AAUP's program in academic freedom and tenure, a university owes a faculty member denied tenure more than just a year's salary. He or she has the right to a classroom (and presumably an office). A university can't simply buy him or her out by invoking administrative leave, Knight said.

He added that a faculty member can't be put on administrative leave without a hearing except in an extreme emergency.

"We're not aware of an emergency requiring DePaul to take such action at the 11th hour and 59th minute," Knight said.

Related document :

Illinois Conference of the American Association of University Professors  Letter to  DePaul re. Dr. Finkelstein  and Dr. Larudee Tenure cases June 22, 2007

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Addendum:

This past Sunday's Chicago Tribune had a follow-up, front-page story by the same author, relating that newly obtained university memos indicate that the leave imposed by the university was based on Professor Finkelstein's recent behavior and that it was not related to the controversial tenure decison. For full text of story see:         

DePaul memos tell of run-ins with professor
By Ron Grossman, Tribune staff reporter
September 3, 2007

JMLS Professor Sues School Over Breach of Contract & Academic Freedom

Professor John D. Gorby has filed suit against his employer, the John Marshall Law School in Cook County Circuit Court, alleging breach of contract and violation of academic freedom. The situation leading up to this suit has been going on for five years, covering the tenure of three law school deans.

The difficulties for Professor Gorby started with an out-of-class comment to a student  about the possible reasons for the different bar exam passage rates by different ethnic groups with differing religious training. A formal complaint, a formal reprimand, the withdrawl of the reprimand and the rescission of a pay raise, have ensued. In the complaint professor Gorby also says that the  former dean who put a letter of reprimand in his file, did so based on provisions that are not part of the school’s tenure and promotion policy.

The complaint seeks more that $150,000 in compensatory damages and $1 million in punitive damages.The case is John D. Gorby v. The John Marshall Law School, No. 07 L 7901.

Sources:

“Did prof's views on Jews, blacks cross line?”
JOHN MARSHALL | He sues law school, says remark about students' religions cost him his raise
Chicago Sun Times, August 1, 2007 BY ABDON M. PALLASCH

“John Marshall professor sues over fallout from 2002 incident”
JOHN FLYNN ROONEY   July 31, 2007  pg. 3    Chicago Daily Law Bulletin