Legal Research

SC.GOV Gets a New Look

Posted on March 17, 2010
I noticed recently that SC.GOV has a new look, and if you link to any of its pages, a slightly differenct url. Of interest this Sunshine Week are  the Spending Transparency and Campaign Finance links located below the scrolling pictures at the top.   At the bottom of SC...

It?s Sunshine Week: Celebrate Open Government in SC

Posted on March 17, 2010
Visit the SC Press Association website for a round-up of the Op ?Ed articles published in newspapers across the state, including one from our own Jay Bender. Also, check out Mark Beckom?s political cartoons. (Post-TC)

Circuit Riders: From the Upstate to the Pee Dee

Posted on March 16, 2010
Friday we took our Legal Research for Non-Law Librarians workshop to the Headquarters Library for  Spartanburg County Public Libraries in downtown Spartanburg. The library building was as inviting as the attendees from both the Spartanburg County Public Libraries system and the University of  South Carolina Upstate...

Climate change bibliographies

Posted on March 11, 2010
Librarians love bibliographies, but others can find them useful as well.  If you are doing research, a good bibliography on your topic can save lots of time by identifying sources that should be consulted.  Often, there will be sources listed that you would not have found on your own or would not have considered using...

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Indian Law ? Tribal Court Decisions

Posted on March 09, 2010
For those of you interested in Indian Law. Mary Whisner, Reference Librarian from University of Washington Law Library, who is constantly providing excellent resource lists, has  put together a  list of Tribal Court decisions websites.  She has also included a list of print reporters for these decisions...

WorldCat Partnering with Jstor to Increase Access to Scholarly Content

Posted on March 08, 2010
Sweet! Two fabulous research tools are working together to bring us more access points for scholarly content. WorldCat.org is the world’s largest database of library holdings around the globe. We use it for many purposes, including verifying materials for interlibrary loan requests...

Sunshine Week is March 14-20.

Posted on March 05, 2010
Celebrate Open Government with the SC Press Association. Find out more on the Sunshine Week: Your Right to Know website. More to come. (Post-TC)

Beware the Poison Pen

Posted on March 02, 2010
No matter how strong the impulse to “tell ‘em how you really feel,” the proper venue might not be your appellate brief. This idea is brightly illustrated in a 2008 case before the Supreme Court of Vermont. The Court noted that the defendant’s briefs lacked “the professional tone we expect from members of [...

Circuit Riders Reach Out Again

Posted on March 02, 2010
A few years ago, the USC law librarians began an outreach program to teach non-law librarians about legal resources available to their patrons. We travelled to 13 locations across South Carolina and shared our legal research expertise with academic and public librarians eager to learn and apply their knowledge...

GPO Access to FDsys Navigation

Posted on March 01, 2010
Most of us know that GPO Access is going away and the new Fdsys is coming in.  For anyone who hasn?t seen it in its transformative state, it is a work in progress. It is slated to be completed in April of this year with a with a full switchover to FDsys in Summer 2010...

Study Aids for Smart Phones

Posted on February 24, 2010
Looking for a handy way to review while at the beach over spring break?  Of course, you are!  The current RIPS blog post discusses more iPhone apps, including some study aids. “The Law in a Flash flash cards carry an average price of $31.99 (only Professional Responsibility comes in higher at $47...

Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure (CARD) Act of 2009

Posted on February 22, 2010
Key provisions of the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure (CARD) Act of 2009, signed into law by President Obama on May 22, 2009, take effect today. The Federal Reserve Board approved its final rule last month. The new rule amends Regulation Z to address CARD Act amendments to the Truth in Lending Act...

Mystic Krewe of Shangri-Law?

Posted on February 16, 2010
When things did not go well between the king’s wife and the Captain of the Mystic Krewe of Shangri-La during Mardi Gras in New Orleans, the Captain refused to escort the king to the ball. The king, Wayne Cresap, resigned and sued the Krewe for breach of contract...

SC ?New? on Hein Online

Posted on February 12, 2010
There is always something new on Hein Online. Fortunately for those of us having a hard time keeping up, Hein tags it as ?New? in bright yellow. Yesterday I noticed that both the SC Bar News and SC Lawyer are now available from 1989 forward to browse or search...

SC Reaches for Success

Posted on February 11, 2010
SC?s technical colleges will be receiving much needed American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds for public computer centers and computer labs throughout the state. According to U.S. Commerce Secretary, Gary Locke, the 5.9 million dollar grant will enable the computer centers at the 16 member colleges of SC?s Technical College System to serve twice as [...

Let It Snow

Posted on February 09, 2010
Are the general characteristics of a snowman a fit subject for judicial notice? The Second Circuit Court of Appeals says yes in the copyright infringement case of Eden Toys, Inc. v. Marshall Field & Company, 675 F.2d 498 (1982). The Court did a thorough job of comparing two snowman toys by different manufacturers [...

Free Legal Research Database

Posted on February 08, 2010
Here is a very simple database for free legal research, www.nolo.com/legal-research.  NOLO has a basic page with definitions and explanations of law and legislative law enactment.  The main web page has links to a federal laws section with access to the United States constitution, United States code, and Code of Federal Regulations...

Interested in Public Interest Law?

Posted on February 05, 2010
Visit Equal Justice Works at http://www.equaljusticeworks.org/ and subscribe to their weekly E-Clips newsletter; check out their blog; or follow them on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. Also, explore summer and fellowship programs available to law students and visit their Resources page to learn more about how to launch a public service career and debt relief possibilities...

Legal research on your iPhone

Posted on February 02, 2010
Fastcase ? a competitor to Casemaker – has introduced a legal research app for iPhones.  Robert Ambrogi reviews it on his website, Lawsites.  The app, which is awaiting approval from Apple, ?will be free to download and searching the Fastcase library using the app will also be free...

Ethical use of social media

Posted on January 27, 2010
An article in the February-March ABA Young Lawyers Division newsletter touted the benefits of social media (such as Facebook & Twitter) to  a law practice.   The author uses social media to enhance his practice and to stay connected with family and friends in spite of the demands of a busy legal practice...

Keeping Up with the Statehouse

Posted on January 25, 2010
Two weekly resources for keeping up with issues addressed by the SC General Assembly this session are the SC Statehouse Report and the SC Bar?s Weekly Legislative Report. Every Friday, the SC Bar reports on legislation addressed and passed that week. The SC Statehouse Report includes commentary on political and policy issues, as well as [...

New ?Twist? in the Law

Posted on January 22, 2010
The Social Security Administration Commissioner, Michael J. Astrue, and rock and roll legend Chubby Checker recently announced a new campaign to inform Americans about a new program to help seniors and disabled citizens who are struggling to pay for their prescription drugs...

Top 20 Must See Legal Movies for Law Students

Posted on January 22, 2010
The Jurist has posted the Top 20 legal movies that ALL law students should see. Additionally, the legal wwebsite  has recommendations for other legal movies of interest to law students. Check it out you may be surprised about movies on the list. For your information here are the top 5...

Video of LAW.GOV Kickoff Event

Posted on January 22, 2010
Interested in Open Access and the possibility of a national registry of law? On January 12th, the Stanford Law Library hosted the kickoff event to begin a dialogue about how this might be accomplished.  To read more and to access a link to a video of the event’s panel discussion, visit Stanford’s Legal Research Plus [...

LAW.GOV

Posted on January 21, 2010
Wouldn?t it be great if we had free access to all U.S. legislative, regulatory, and judicial resources? Well, according to the new Law Librarian of Congress, Roberta I. Shaffer in her holiday letter: ?The Law Library is pursuing the registration of the ?LAW...

The More Things Change. . .

Posted on January 19, 2010
. . .the more they stay the same. Privacy rights is a hot topic in the Internet Age, but the issues have been around for a long time. For example, back in 1976, a sports figure plaintiff sued a popular magazine for invasion of privacy. The defendant had reported activities from the plaintiff’s earlier years, [...

New Session Begins

Posted on January 14, 2010
The 2nd session of South Carolina?s 118th General Assembly began on Tuesday. Legislators will be grappling with cutting the state?s budget, our unemployment woes, as well as the many new bills introduced. Interested citizens may track legislation, view House and Senate calendars, and access live broadcasts of debates, all from the SC Legislature Online?s home [...

Blogging from the big house ? Day 3

Posted on January 13, 2010
I’m sure you’re all waiting breathlessly to find out what happened on Day 3 of my jury duty.  Well, I’ll have to disappoint you.  There will be no Day 3.  When I called last night for instructions, I was told that we had been dismissed for the rest of the week...

Blogging from the big house ? Day 2

Posted on January 12, 2010
I was so close!  I reported to the jury assembly room at 9:00a this morning and settled in to wait.  I had things to work on, so time wasn’t being wasted.  [They have, by the way, stopped tuning the TV set to worthless reality shows.  Instead, they play movies, which are so much easier to [...

Blogging from the big house ? Day 1

Posted on January 11, 2010
Well, not really the big house.  The court house. I’ve been summoned for jury duty in Richland County Circuit Court and I’m not looking forward to it.  Don’t get me wrong.  I’m happy to do my civic duty and I would LOVE to actually be on a jury...

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