Excuse our "Mess"

If you have been by the Law Library lately, you may have noticed the stacks of books and shelving on the main floor. This is all part of a project to widen the aisle space between the shelving to ensure compliance with accessibility requirements for all of our patrons. Please excuse the mess, we are working as quickly as possible to move the shelving and get the carpeting properly laid so that the reference area will be back to "normal" as soon possible. However, you may notice that while we are putting the books back on the shelves, we are changing the locations of some of the resources so that more often used reference resources, such as legal encyclopedias, can be more easily seen and located. We hope this will encourage you to use these resources.

(This entry was originally written and posted by Darla Jackson)

Retirement Announcement

Doris Hodgen, a member of the staff at the McKusick Law Library at the University of South Dakota School of Law, has announced her intent to retire, effective December 21, 2012. The Law Library staff, the Law School and USD communities would like to express our appreciation of her service. While, consistent with her wishes, a formal reception in her honor will not be held, those who have worked with Doris are invited and encouraged to visit her at the Law Library prior to December 21st to wish her well in her retirement.

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

Human Rights Day, December 10, 2012

The date was chosen to honour the United Nations General Assembly's adoption and proclamation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) on December 10, 1948. The UDHR was the first global enunciation of human rights. The Human Rights Day was formally established at the General Assembly on December 4, 1950, when all member states and any other interested organizations were invited to celebrate the day as they saw fit. To learn more about Human Rights Day visit http://www.un.org/en/events/humanrightsday/2012/about.shtml. Also, the McKusick Law Library's current display, compiled by Gordana Filipovic, highlights information on international human rights.

(This entry was originally written and posted by Darla Jackson)

The Citation Wars, Episode II

The Citation Wars, Episode I: In two 1999 decisions, the United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit denied West Publishing's claims of copyright protection in some of its judicial opinion enhancements and its internal page numbers. In one case, the Second Circuit held that West's additions of parallel or alternative citations, attorney information,and data on subsequent procedural history to its printed compilations of judicial opinions (known as "reporters") was factual information and as such, was not copyrightable by West. As a result, CD-Rom manufacturers Matthew Bender & Company and HyperLaw, Inc. could copy this information. (1) In the second case, the Second Circuit held that Matthew Bender and HyperLaw's "star pagination" (insertion of citations within their judicial opinions on CD-ROM to show the location of particular text in West's printed reporters) did not infringe on West's copyright. (2)

The Citation Wars, Episode II??? Fast forward to 2012. Last week, in a post on 3 Geeks and a Law Blog, Mark Gediman described how he obtained a letter from Westlaw, which included the following language (see Mark's post for the text of the entire letter):

"Please know that we have not given permission to LexisNexis for the use of Westlaw citations to unpublished decisions on the Lexis Advance research service. Moreover, we would encourage you to trust only those Westlaw citations that access directly from Westlaw Classic or WestlawNext where you can be assured of their accuracy and origin."

Gediman also included in his post the LexisNexis response to West's letter, assuring its users that Lexis Advance's Westlaw parallel citations were lawfully obtained "from reliable and accurate sources." Gediman noted that both Westlaw and LexisNexis have used parallel citations for several decades and also have built their reputations as "accurate purveyors of legal information." In commenting on Westlaw's letter, Gediman concluded ".., I think that to respond to what is really a common industry practice indicates a surprising degree of desperation."

Continuing the discussion, Joe Hodnicki, in the Law Librarian Blog, acknowledged Gediman's conclusion, but added his belief that "... Thomson Reuters is preparing the stage for an anticipated new normal when West is not the official publisher of federal and state court opinions." Referring to the First Episode of Citation Wars, he opines that "[t]hen all decisions may be 'unpublished' as defined in the [Second Circuit cases discussed above] and vendor database file citations ... may require permission to be used by a competitor."

Are these November 2012 letters from Wexis the opening volleys in the next Citation War? Is Westlaw positioning itself for the time, as Hodnicki suggests, when all courts officially publish in electronic format and adopt a universal system of official citation? Could Westlaw be serious about copyright protection for its WL citations? Or is this merely evidence that Westlaw, whose small competitors (e.g., Fastcase, CaseMaker) have never really developed into serious competition, is running scared with the advent of a third major contender for our online database dollars, Bloomberg Law?

(1)Matthew Bender & Co., Inc. v. West Publ'g Co., 158 F.3d 674 (2d Cir. 1998), cert. denied, 526 U.S. 1154 (1999).
(2)Matthew Bender & Co., Inc. v. West Publ'g Co., 158 F.3d 693 (2d Cir. 1998), cert. denied, 526 U.S. 1154 (1999).

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

Display - International Human Rights

To coincide with the publication of the latest edition of Law Professor Jo M. Pasqualucci's book, The Practice and Procedure of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, one of the McKusick Law Library's current displays is on International Human Rights, compiled by Gordana Filipovic. Included in the display are Professor Pasqualucci's book on the human rights system in the Western Hemisphere, Vincent O. Orlu Nmehielle's book, The African Human Rights System , and Kirsten Young's book The Law and Process of the U.N. Human Rights Commission on the procedure developed by the Commission to govern its consideration of violations of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). In addition, the display features the Encyclopedia of Human Rights, published by Oxford University Press, and Human Rights and Judicial Review, edited by David M. Beatty, a collection of essays on the basic principles, methods, and analysis that are used by the Supreme Courts of India, Japan, Canada and the United States, the Constitutional Courts of Germany and Italy, and the European Court of Human Rights to decide whether a law violates someone's constitutional rights. The display also includes the web address for the U.S. Department of State's website on Human Rights. This website contains the State Department's annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices.

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

Display - The South Dakota Constitution

On October 1, 1889, the South Dakota Constitution was adopted by the people of South Dakota with a vote of 70,131 yeas and 3,267 nays. The most recent display at the McKusick Law Library, compiled by Doris Hodgen, contains a brief history of the three constitutional conventions in South Dakota and a display of items from the library's general collection. These books include Dakota Constitutional Convention, published by the Huronite Printing Company in 1907 and containing the South Dakota Constitutional Debates of 1885, History and Civil Government of South Dakota, authored by G.M. Smith and C.M. Young and published in 1898, and the Annotated Constitution of the State of South Dakota. (When referring to constitutions or statutes, the term "annotated" means that each provision may be followed by "squibs," or brief paragraphs, describing cases that interpret the provision.) Interestingly, this Annotated Constitution, presented to the Library in 1935 by the Honorable Ellison G. Smith, Justice of the South Dakota Supreme Court and Professor of Law, has lined, blank pages between each page of the printed text. One can speculate that this feature allowed practicing attorneys to make important notes on particular provisions of the South Dakota Constitution.

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

Finding a Law Blog (Blawg) That's Right for You: Blawg Directories and a Directory of Legal Birds

Are you looking for a blog about law ("a blawg") in a subject that interests you? In my quest to find a quality blawg in my specialty area, I discovered numerous blawg directories. In addition, while putting together this post, I was directed to the December 2012 issue of the ABA Journal. This issue contains the ABA Journal's inaugural "Blawg 100 Hall of Fame," described as the 100 law blogs the authors "can't imagine not making our favorites list each year." Listed below are the links to the ABA Journal "Blawg 100" article and several of the "best" and "not so good" blawg directories.

1. For the ABA Journal "Blawg 100" article, click here. Many of the blawgs listed, such as "Above the Law" and "SCOTUSblog," are exemplary and valuable learning resources. It is exam time, however, so you may want to enjoy the odd legal humor of "Lowering the Bar" or Allison Leotta's analysis of the legal procedures in every episode of "Law and Order."

2.The ABA Journal has its own Blawg Directory. It is a well-maintained list organized by topic, author type, region and law school.

3. Another blawg directory, US Law Blogs, has some good features, but the ads on the site distract me. I like the ability to search for "Today's Posts" by category. After the first click on a post, however, click on the link directly to the blawg to read the post. If you click on the link to the individual post, you will be asked to log in to the blog feed reader. This directory also lets you know when a blawg was last updated and the average number of posts per day. One drawback: some of the blogs listed may be abandoned.

4. "A Taxonomy of Legal Blogs" is unique in its categorization of blawgs. You can search by law or legal event, jurisdictional scope, author/publisher type, number of contributors, topic, collection, or general legal blog. Although this directory may not be updated regularly, it is very useful.

5. Many of the blawgs listed in the directories discussed above are authored by practicing attorneys, often for marketing or networking purposes. For blawgs that focus more on legal scholarship, try the directory at Law Professor Blogs Network.

6. Last, but not least, is Justia's BlawgSearch. This site contains blawg lists by subject, state, country, and law school, as well as a list of other blawg directories. (Note that the alleged University of South Dakota School of Law blawg is written by a University of North Dakota School of Law professor.) And for those on Twitter, the site links to Justia's Legal Birds site for legal professionals who tweet.

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