Legal Research

Cheerleading and the Law

Posted on March 31, 2011
I haven't written a cheer and the law post since last July, but I've been working on a research project that touched on cheerleading this week, so it seems like a good time to post. First, the question of whether...

Online Catalog is Everywhere

Posted on March 31, 2011
We had a couple of questions at the reference desk that made us realize that not everyone is aware that our online catalog is available to anyone who is online. In fact, you can be on the other side of...

Ohio Deposition Hi-Jinks

Posted on March 18, 2011
Most people wouldn't have a hard time determining whether their office had a photocopier or not. You would think that the acting head of information technology for the recorder's division of the Cuyahoga County fiscal office should be able to...

California Supreme Court Involved in Facebook Juror Case

Posted on February 25, 2011
There has been an interesting development in the Sacramento Facebook juror case that we first posted about last week. The Sacramento Bee is reporting that the California Supreme Court has asked both parties in the case to submit briefs on...

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DOJ will stop defending the Defense of Marriage Act

Posted on February 23, 2011
Attorney General Holder issued a statement today announcing that the President has instructed the Department of Justice not to defend the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) as applied to legally married same-sex couples. Further, he has informed Congress of...

WestlawNext Training Workshops

Posted on February 23, 2011
The librarians are offering a series of research workshops about WestlawNext, Westlaw?s new research system. The workshops are open to all USF law students. And yes, we will provide lunch if you RSVP to let us know you are attending...

California Juror in Hot Water Over Facebook Posting During Trial

Posted on February 17, 2011
We're always on the lookout for stories about jurors who cannot resist sharing about their trial experiences on social media. Westlaw Insider reports today on a juror who participated in a Sacramento County murder trial. After the trial was over,...

Library Catalog Unavailable, Monday, Feb. 21

Posted on February 15, 2011
On Monday, February 21, the primary library server will be replaced. The library catalog, Ignacio, will not be available between 8:00 a.m and 5:00 p.m. Also, off-campus researchers will not be able to access library databases. Doncore will be available...

Sex Torts

Posted on February 14, 2011
Just in time for Valentine's Day, California Lawyer features a lengthy story on sex torts. The story focuses on a recent tortious transmission of an STD case, Behr v. Redmond, in which a jury recently awarded the plaintiff a whopping...

Happy 75th Anniversary Federal Register

Posted on February 09, 2011
The Federal Register is published daily, Monday through Friday, except offical Federal holidays. It is a wealth of regulations (new and revised), legal notices and executive actions. It is the "newpaper" of all the Federal agencies and the rest of...

Today Is John Grisham's Birthday

Posted on February 08, 2011
Legal thriller author John Grisham turns 56 today. The Writer's Almanac has a fun bio of Grisham today, including these tidbits: He settled on being "a high-powered tax lawyer," but then he got to law school and found that he...

Wayback Machine Revamped

Posted on February 01, 2011
The Internet Archive has refined its Wayback Machine interface and released a new Beta version. The Wayback Machine is an archive of web pages. You enter a URL, and the Wayback Machine shows you how that page looked on different...

Chocolate Library OK'd in NYC

Posted on February 01, 2011
We posted a few weeks ago about a NYC chocolate shop that wanted to call itself "The Chocolate Library," but the state Education Department nixed the idea under a NY statute that prohibits the use of the word "library" in...

Banning iPods While Walking

Posted on January 27, 2011
According to Lowering the Bar and this AP story, a legislator in NY is seeking to prohibit pedestrians (and that includes joggers) from using cell phones and iPods while walking. The New York bill would prohibit individuals from entering or...

The Bluebook Slammed by Richard Posner

Posted on January 26, 2011
I think it's safe to say that Judge Posner hasn't been particularly fond of the Bluebook for quite some time (he called the 16th edition a "grotesque 255 pages long"), and that is especially true for the new 511-page 19th...

New Associate Advice: Get to Know the Librarian

Posted on January 24, 2011
Ms. JD has a helpful post from a new associate offering advice to other new attorneys after her first trial. She has two items on her list that are worth repeating in full here (emphasis mine): 1. Ask questions of...

Attorneys and Groupon

Posted on January 20, 2011
The ABA Journal reports that the Ethics Committee of the North Carolina State Bar met this week to consider whether NC attorneys may offer Groupon discounts under the state's ethics rules. Because Groupon receives a portion of any profits that...

WestlawNext Is Here for USF Law Students

Posted on January 06, 2011
Happy New Year! We wanted to remind our student patrons that they now have access to WestlawNext, Westlaw's new research system. Students can access it by signing in to Westlaw as they normally do, going to the Law School home...

The Art of Timesheets

Posted on January 03, 2011
Mark Herrmann is the author of The Curmudgeon's Guide to Practicing Law and he recently moved from being a partner at Jones Day to in-house counsel at Aon. He posts regularly at Above the Law about what it's like to...

US Court of Appeals Protects Privacy of Stored E-Mail Thanks in Part to Prof. Freiwald

Posted on December 17, 2010
As noted in a previous blog entry on Zief Brief, USF professor Susan Freiwald co-filed an amicus brief in United States v. Warshak [PDF of the 12/14/10 decision], a case in which the Government seized over 27,000 of the defendant's...

Looking for a Topic for Your Law School Paper, or Law Review Comment or Note?

Posted on December 17, 2010
We've just updated our ever-popular guide to finding topics for law review comments/notes and law school papers. Plus, we've moved it to a new platform that presents the tips and techniques in a more useful and accessible way. Getting inspiration...

WestlawNext Coming to USF Law Students

Posted on December 16, 2010
All currently enrolled USF law students will have access to Westlaw's new research system, WestlawNext, as of January 3, 2011. All students will continue to have access to the "classic" Westlaw interface that you have used throughout law school. To...

SCOTUS Gives a Shout-Out to Secondary Sources!

Posted on December 10, 2010
In a recent oral argument in the case of Chamber of Commerce v. Whiting Justice Kennedy is quoted as saying he would "look in Corpus Juris Secundum or ALR or something" to help clear up a question about "licensing." While...

Ban on Using "Library" in Business Name

Posted on December 10, 2010
The NY Times' Diner's Journal reports on an interesting New York law that prohibits including the words "library, school, academy, institute," and other words in a business name, unless the state education commissioner consents to the proposed business name...

Is Social Networking Derailing Trials?

Posted on December 09, 2010
According to an investigative article by Reuters, the answer is yes. Since January 2009, judges have granted new trials or overturned verdicts in 21 criminal and civil cases. In Advanced Legal Research this semester, we experimented with searching for phrases...

Second Installment of SCOTUSblog Prop 8 Coverage

Posted on December 07, 2010
Mary Fischer has posted a second installment in SCOTUSblog's special coverage of Prop 8 entitled "Progress v. Backlash."

Prop 8 Oral Arguments

Posted on December 06, 2010
SCOTUSblog's Lyle Denniston has summarized (masterfully, IMHO) today's Ninth Circuit oral arguments in Perry v. Schwarzenegger.

Google eBookstore

Posted on December 06, 2010
Google announced today that it has opened its Google eBookstore, which will allow users to "buy, store, and read Google eBooks in the cloud." You can set up a free, password-protected account (just like a Gmail account), and store an...

Free Access to Examples & Explanations Series on Google Books

Posted on December 03, 2010
The John Marshall Law School library blog pointed out today that law students can access a significant portion of the Examples & Explanations exam prep series on Google Books. The entire full-text of the books in the series is usually...

Compelling Coverage of Prop 8 Appeal on SCOTUSblog

Posted on December 03, 2010
SCOTUSblog's special feature posts on the Prop 8 appeal are really compelling and well-written. The first post does a fabulous job of discussing the key players and events that led to this pivotal moment in the struggle for same-sex marriage....

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