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.
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
For most of June and July, construction will take place within the library to install a fire sprinkler system. This work is necessary in order to bring the building into compliance with local and state ordinances. Since there may be a heavy amount of noise associated with this construction, certain areas within the library may not be quiet places to study.
We recommend that if you must use the library while the construction is in progress, if and when necessary, you relocate to an area within the library to study that is not as noisy. This project is set to run over the course of the summer, so if you are a law student and need an alternate place to study, please see the circulation desk for a list of local law libraries.
We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
Anthony S. Park, et al., v. The Thomson Corporation and Thomson Legal and Regulatory, Inc., Case No. 05 Civ. 2931 (WHP)
PARK BAR/BRI Settlement Website (estimated $30 - $40 per class member)
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Rodriguez, Ret. al v. West Publishing Corp., d/b/a BAR/BRI, and Kaplan, Inc., Case No. CV-05-3222 R (MCx)
BAR/BRI Class Action Website (claim form for $125 )
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For following cases,information was gathered from the US Courts, PACER service :
Stephen Stetson v. West Publishing Corp., No. 2:08-cv-00810 (C.D. Calif.)
Antitrust Complaint Against BARBRI Stetson
Dismissal Stetson Antitrust Case BARBRI
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
JEFFREY PROVENZANO et. al. v. THE THOMSON CORPORATION and WEST, PUBLISHING CORPORATION No. 1:07-CV-00746 (N.D. N.Y. )
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.
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
This past Friday, DePaul’s International Human Rights Law Institute ( IHRLI ) co- sponsored a conference on the role of the International Criminal Court ( ICC ), ten years after its creation. (See blog posting: Midwest Regional Conference on International Justice ) . In addition to the ICC there are several conflict-specific regional international tribunals that have been formed to deal with accountability for war crimes in these conflicts. The Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia is one such tribunal that the IHRLI has been closely involved with.
Coincidentally, in today’s Chicago Tribune there is a very interesting story about, Andrew Strong, a law student from the Chicago-Kent school of law who through being at the right place at the right time, took advantage of an opportunity to became an important part of a defense team for one of the defendants before this tribunal. In addition to the personal courage and prodigous work of Mr. Strong, the story shows the importance of providing a credible defense for the defendants, for having such tribunals regarded as genuinely fair judicial proceedings.
See story: War crimes trial a lifetime's lesson for Chicago man
By Christine Spolar, Tribune correspondent, April 29, 2008
See official tribunal press release re. the case, here.
"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)
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 .
“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.”
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:
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.
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
Congratulations to Josh Larsen and Tom Rammer who won the Midwest Regional Giles Sutherland Rich Memorial Moot Court Competition. Now in its 35th year, the AIPLA Moot Court Competition is named for a member of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit who was one of the most distinguished jurist in the field of patent law in the world. The Midwest Regional is the largest of the four regional competitions with 24 teams participating.
Josh and Tom not only won the regional competition but they also got the awards for the best appellant brief and best appellee brief. Unlike most moot court competitions, teams must write two briefs, one for each side to the dispute. Apparently, according to the organizers, this is the first time in the Midwest Regional Competition that one team won the award for having written the best brief for both appellant and appellee. This year, the average brief score (on a 100 point scale) for the appellant was 79.625 and the average appellee score was 81.139. Tom and Josh had brief scores of 97.3 for each of their briefs.
Tom and Josh will be one of eight teams arguing at the national competition held at the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington DC in April. And, of particular note, is that both gentlemen participated for no class credit. They did it for the “fun” and experience. Congrats!
(Source: DePaul University College of Law Newsletter, March 24,2008)
Some of us may think that online web sites and “alternative reality” sites created by young people will be filled with fantasy and not deal with serious life & death issues. But that is hardly the case with the International Justice Center, which will be an online clearinghouse for public information and action in support of the International Criminal Court and related human rights concerns. The IJC will be based both in the virtual world of Second Life and on the web. [ Second Life requires registration, the website does not. ]
The International Justice Center is a project of Global Kids. Global Kids was founded in 1989 to “transform urban youth into successful students and global and community leaders by engaging them in socially dynamic, content-rich learning experiences”. It is supported by a grant from the Digital Media and Learning Initiative of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. It is an independent initiative and is not formally associated with the International Criminal Court.
The Center was launched on March 20, 2008 and involved the participation of ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo and former foreign minister of Canada Lloyd Axworthy. Some tentative plans for the Center in the near future may include the following:
• Live Video from the ICC: As the first major trial at the ICC moves forward, we have the potential to host at the Center live viewings of trials and hearings over the next months.
• Developing a tool that connects SMS text messaging to Second Life that can enable people in low-bandwidth environments to connect with people in virtual worlds via text chat. Some possibilities include holding online discussions with people in Uganda and the Congo to talk about the role of the ICC in their countries.
• The Center could host workshops, lectures and classes on ICC-related subject matter, which would be conducted by experts from legal associations, non-profits and academia.
( Source: http://www.justicecenter.net/ )
Such an initiative like the International Justice Center should reshape our expectations,to seeing that tech-savvy “global kids” can certainly contribute in a significant way to promoting global justice and human rights in the real world.
Addendum : "Second Life" Instructions
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.
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.
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_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
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.
Celebrating its 22nd year in 2008, ABA TECHSHOW continues to be the world’s premier legal technology conference & expo. The three-day conference gets attendees from throughout the country.Get up-to-speed on the latest and greatest in legal technology! ABA TECHSHOW‚ is the premier legal technology conference and expo— created by and for lawyers and legal professionals—produced by the ABA Section of Law Practice Management. ABA TECHSHOW‚ offers more than 60 legal technology CLE programs and training sessions in sixteen topical tracks and includes a two-day expo featuring more than 100 technology vendors and the latest in legal technology products and services.
And best of all, for resource-challenged law students - It's FREE.
ABA TECHSHOW® 2008, March 13–15,2008, Hilton Chicago
Pricing and Registration
Full Conference Rates (3 Days)
Law Student - FREE
Note: The law student rate requires a copy of a current student id and schedule to be presented with registration.
Register at : https://www.abanet.org/techshow/
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.
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
From Scout Report:
Basic Legal Citation
http://www.law.cornell.edu/citation/
For law students, learning about the world of legal citations is key. For many years, the standard reference work on legal citation was a manual known as "The Bluebook". This work has been revised numerous times over the years,and this online version appeared in May 2007. It is offered here as a public service, by the Legal Information Institute (LII) at Cornell University's Law School, and it will be helpful for those looking for a quick online reference work. It is worth noting that this particular introduction is focused on the forms of citation used in processional practice rather that those used in journal publication. Visitors can search through the contents at their leisure, and they can also jump around to sections that coverthe use of underlining, italics, and citation principles.
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.
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.
Law Library Launches New
Online Reference Service!
The law library now
offers an online reference service for your convenience. The system
To access the forms,
visit: http://www.law.depaul.edu/library/ and follow the ONLINE
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
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
From an e-mail suggestion from Glennis Jones-Marshall of our law school staff :
News about a group of Stanford law student who are using statistics submitted by law firms re. their demographic makeup, to produce “diversity rankings” of these firms. The students want their rankings to exert some market pressure to have firms improve the representation of minorities & women among their lawyers. “The students have ambitious plans, including asking elite schools to restrict recruiting by firms at the bottom of their rankings. They also plan to send the rankings to the general counsels of the Fortune 500 companies with the suggestion that they be used in selecting lawyers.”
(Source: In Students’ Eyes, Look-Alike Lawyers Don’t Make the Grade, By ADAM LIPTAK , New York Times – Online )
Also see response by a Stanford law professor to the criticism that the rankings concentrate on about 10% of lawyers that work at the biggest law firms, leaving out the places where the other 90% of lawyers will be working. A Better Legal Profession , from a blog by a male 2L law student from Los Angeles.
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
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
Last week the law librarians presented a short introduction to finding and using select secondary sources for Prof. Landsman's First-year Torts class. Included were discussions on legal authority structures and the various formats for locating and evaluating them. The PowerPoint slides will be available for review for a short period at:
http://www.staklofoundation.com/torts/Torts-Oct-3.mht (Note: Works with Microsoft Internet Explorer only.)
Report Criticizes Police in UCLA Library Taser Incident
Norman Oder -- Library Journal, 8/3/2007
"An independent investigation of the Nov. 14, 2006 incident at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) library, in which a campus police officer used a Taser at least three times in subduing a passively resistant and verbally combative Iranian-American student, found that "the police response was substantially out of proportion to the provocation." It called the use of force "unnecessary, avoidable, and excessive." The incident, caught in part on cell phone cameras and broadcast on YouTube, generated protests and outrage."
Link to the 77-page report, by the Police Assessment Resource Center of Los Angeles :
"A Bad Night at Powell Library: The Events of November 14, 2006"
From the website for the film :
"A Lawyer Walks into a Bar ..." sounds like the start of a bad joke, but in this case it is the name of a soon-to-be-released documentary. The bar in issue is in California and serves up not alcohol concoctions but essay questions to lawyer wannabes. The film, A Lawyer Walks into a Bar ..., follows six aspiring lawyers as they prepare for and take the California bar exam. The filmmakers describe it this way:
"The documentary features a cast of characters that runs the gamut -- from a type A 'gunner' hellbent on rising to the top of her profession at whatever cost, to a former Marine who has taken the bar exam 41 t imes. (Yes, 41 times.) Cameras were rolling for six months of tears, hysteria, hypnotherapy sessions and 'Lamborghini lessons' as our subjects traveled through the nine circles of hell in a quest to fulfill their collective lifelong dream."
That's not all. In following these six, the film also "takes a whimsical look at lawyers, law and litigiousness in America." ... The film is non-ideological and exceedingly balanced in its treatment of these issues, which include, among other things, stress, big firm economics, substance abuse, law as a calling, frivolous litigation, bar exam economics, women in the law and other threads that you can likely intuit.
Available exclusively at Amazon.com
Microsoft is offering copies of “Office 2007 Ultimate” to students actively enrolled in educational institutions for $59.95. The program is called “the Ultimate Steal” which seems apt as the promotional price is over 90% off the regular price. The program began September 12, 2007 and runs through April 30, 2008.
Eligibility details :
This offer is good only to eligible students who possess a valid email address at an educational institution geographically located in the United States. This offer is non-transferable. Limit one purchase per eligible student. The following conditions serve to define student eligibility for the Promotion:
1.Individual must possess a valid e-mail address at a U.S. educational institution which contains the domain suffix .edu; AND
2.Individual must be a student at a U.S. educational institution and must be actively enrolled in at least 0.5 course credit and be able to provide proof of enrollment upon request.
Microsoft or an appointed vendor may contact you to verify that you are a current student. If documentation is not provided indicating that you are a current student, you will be liable to reimburse Microsoft for the full retail cost of the software ($679).
(Source: http://www.microsoft.com/education/ultimatesteal.mspx )
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)
