Happy Halloween From the McKusick Law Library

Halloween comes but once a year, bringing along with it the traditional candy, costumes.... and of course, court cases. For those with a few free moments between studying and trick-or-treating, the McKusick Law Library invites you to check out some interesting court opinions dealing with the holiday and other spooky scenarios:

- Stambovsky v. Ackley, 169 A.D.2d 254 (N.Y. App. Div. 1991), which held a house to be haunted as a matter of law

- Purtell v. Mason, 527 F.3d 615 (7th Cir. 2008), considering First Amendment right to display Halloween tombstone lawn decorations designed to poke fun at neighbors

- South Dakota v. Waters, 529 N.W.2d 586 (S.D. 1995), upholding conviction of aggravated assault for pulling a shotgun on Halloween egg-throwers

(This entry was originally written and posted by Sarah Kammer)

USD Law Team Wins International Moot Court Competition in Information Technology & Privacy Law

Congratulations to 2L Christopher Dabney and 3L Kara Frankman, winners of the International Moot Court Competition in Information Technology & Privacy Law held October 25-27, 2012 at the John Marshall School of Law in Chicago. The team also received an award for the best respondent’s brief. To link to the University's press release, Click Here.

(This entry was originally written and posted by Sarah Kammer)

Congratulations to the Winners of the Intra-School Negotiation Competition

This past weekend, the USD Law ADR Board hosted the the 1L Intra-School Negotiation Competition. The final round matched the team of Ashlee Wendt and Melissa Knight against Tony Teesdale and James Shanor, with the Wendt/Knight team emerging as the victors. Congrats to Ashlee and Melissa!

For those interested in learning more about legal negotiation and alternative dispute resolution, the law library has a variety of resources available.

To view the library's titles on alternative dispute resolution, Click Here.

To view the library's titles on negotiation, Click Here.

(This entry was originally written and posted by Sarah Kammer)

New Arrivals in the Law Library

Several new books have arrived that will be of interest to first year Law Students.

To view this book in the catalog, Click Here.

To view this book in the catalog, Click Here.

To view this book in the catalog, Click Here. 

(This entry was originally written and posted by Karyl Knodel)

Cross-Train at the Crossroads

Several of our Librarians are attending the MAALL (Mid-American Association of Law Libraries) annual conference this week in St. Louis, MO. The theme for the convention is Cross-Train at the Crossroads. The meetings will be held at the Drury Inn at the Arch, just a few steps from the Gateway Arch grounds. We hope they return with many new insights and ideas.

(This entry was originally written and posted by Karyl Knodel)

Employee Recognition Event

Several of our Law School and Library faculty and staff were recognized last week at the Employee Recognition reception, in the ballroom of Muenster University Center. They were honored for 10 to 35 years of dedicated service to our Library and Law School. The event was hosted by Dr. Chuck Staben and awards were given out by President James Abbott. After this 3 year catch up event Academic Affairs will return to the 5 year increments of honoring long term employees from each academic unit. We want to congratulate and thank them for their years of service to the University and the State of South Dakota.

(This entry was originally written and posted by Karyl Knodel)

Capital Punishment display at McKusick Law Library

There is a new display of books on the subject of capital punishment in the first floor reading room of the McKusick Law Library. These books are available to the public to be checked out during this time of heightened interest in death penalty issues. Additional information on capital punishment can also be found on the new LibGuide at http://libguides.law.usd.edu/

(This entry was originally written and posted by Doris Hodgen)

Former Senator George McGovern

Relatives say that former Senator George McGovern is in hospice care. For an article discussing the Senator's legacy and a video, Click Here.

(This entry was originally written and posted by Karyl Knodel)

Inclusive Training at the Law School

Dr. Jesus Trevino, USD's new Associate Vice President for Diversity, presented an inclusive training workshop at the Law School this week, hosted by Interim Dean Geu. Dr. Trevino's desire is to implement a strategy of inclusive excellence at USD as he did at the University of Denver where minority students represented only 11% of the student body in 2002 and increased to 20% as of this past summer. Dr. Trevino stated that "inclusive excellence is a transformation of the University of South Dakota into an institution that embeds diversity and inclusiveness into everything it does." Faculty and staff attended Monday's inclusive training session, the first such session at USD. These individuals look forward to the part they can play in diversity.

(This entry was originally written and posted by Karyl Knodel)

Women in Law Clothing Sales

Check out what Women in Law are doing this week in the Law School Student Commons and get your new USD Law logo wardrobe featuring t-shirts, polo tops, sweatshirts and sweatpants. They are taking orders through October 26th. Be sure to contact either Swapna Kilani or Suzie Jones Pranger for detailed information. To see the items offered for sale, Click Here. For a printable copy of the order form, Click Here.

(This entry was originally written and posted by Sarah Kammer)

Display - Native American Day

South Dakota celebrated Native American Day on Monday, October 8th. At the McKusick Law Library, our current display highlights items from the Indian Law Collection, including University of South Dakota Law Professor Frank Pommersheim's book Broken Landscape: Indians, Indian Tribes, and the Constitution, and the South Dakota Humanities Council's 2012 One Book South Dakota selection Dammed Indians Revisited by Michael L. Lawson. We also have compiled a list of recommended online Indian Law Resources.

(This entry was originally written and posted by Marsha Stacey)

Display - Sports Law

With the fall sports season now underway, the McKusick Law Library is currently featuring a display of Sports Law materials in both print and electronic format. For those with an interest in the intersection of sports and the law, these materials offer a starting point for research into the legal issues surrounding both professional and amateur sports.

(This entry was originally written and posted by Sarah Kammer)