Dakota Disc Update Issues

It was reported yesterday on the USD Law list-serv that the South Dakota Statutes on the August 2013 Dakota Disc may not be completely updated. We checked with the Seventh Judicial Circuit technology administrator who confirmed that certain statutes on Dakota Disc do not reflect all changes in the pocket parts to the print South Dakota Codified Laws. In particular, we were directed to South Dakota Codified Laws Sections 23A-27-21.1 and 23A-27-21.2. These code provisions do not appear on the August 2013 version of Dakota Disc. Updates to other provisions also may be missing.

On the Legislative Research Council (LRC) website, use the "Statute Quick Find" search to locate South Dakota Codified Laws Sections 23A-27-21.1, 23A-27-21.2 and other code sections. You also may use West's South Dakota Codified Laws in print (located in the Reserve Room and on the main floor of the McKusick Law Library), WestlawNext, LexisAdvance, or Bloomberg Law for South Dakota statutory research.

Hat tip to Jeff Hurd and Cliff Crawford for their information and assistance.

Principles, Standards and Competencies for Legal Research

Based upon the need for improved legal research skills in law students and attorneys, as perceived by legal employers and legal academics, the American Association of Law Librarians (AALL) has developed its Principles and Standards for Legal Research Competency. As explained by AALL, the Principles are "broad statements of foundational, enduring values" for skilled legal research:

I. A successful legal researcher possesses foundational knowledge of the legal system and legal information sources.
II. A successful legal researcher gathers information through effective and efficient research strategies.
III. A successful legal researcher critically evaluates information.
IV. A successful legal researcher applies information effectively to resolve a specific issue or need.
V. A successful legal researcher distinguishes between ethical and unethical uses of information, and understands the legal issues associated with the discovery, use, or application of information.

The intent of AALL in formulating these Principles, and the accompanying Standards and Competencies, is that the Principles be applied in teaching legal research in law schools, evaluating bar applicants' legal research skills, developing continuing legal education programs, and conducting law firm training programs. In particular, the Principles can be used to assess legal research skills at any time in a legal professional's career.

On December 6th, AALL launched its online information center to promote the Principles and Standards within the legal profession. This center includes readings on legal research competency and provides opportunities to share best practices and assessment methods. In its outreach program, the center will compile information on how the Principles and Standards may be used by law schools, law firms, courts, and bar examiners.

Library Hours - Winter Break

With the exception of December 24 and December 25, the McKusick Law Library will be open to the public during the week of Monday, December 23 to Friday, December 27 from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.  The Law Library will be closed for the holiday break on Tuesday, December 24 and Wednesday, December 25.  The Law Library is also closed to the public on Saturday, December 28 and Sunday, December 29. On those days that the library will be open during the week of the 23rd, assistance will be available at the Circulation/Reference Desk from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and a reference librarian will be available from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. in the library offices.  If you need assistance at that time, please go to the room number posted at the Circulation/Reference Desk. 

On Monday, December 30 and Tuesday, December 31, the Law Library will be open to the public from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. with desk staffing from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and reference assistance available until 5:00 p.m.  The Law Library will be closed Wednesday, January 1.  The library will resume a normal schedule on Thursday, January 2.  During the entire period of Winter Break (including Dec. 24, 25, and Jan. 1), students will continue to have 24/7 access to the Law Library using their swipe cards.

For those visiting the law library over Winter Break, be sure to stop by the Circulation/Reference Desk and check out our holiday tree, made of repurposed books.  Happy holidays!

Excuse Our Mess and Noise

Please be aware that on Wednesday, December 18, USD facilities and grounds staff will be dismantling and relocating shelving units throughout McKusick Law Library.  This process may result in extra noise and disruption.  However, the library will be open regular hours from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and the relocation should not affect access to any of the library's materials.

Bill of Rights Day

Monday, December 15th, was Bill of Rights Day. The first ten amendments to the United States Constitution, known as the "Bill of Rights," were added to the Constitution as limitations on the powers of the federal government. Drafted by James Madison, the Bill of Rights was based on the Virginia Declaration of Rights. On December 15, 1791, the Bill of Rights took effect following their ratification by three-fourths of the thirteen states. For more information on the history of the Bill of Rights, visit the National Archives Museum website.

To observe Bill of Rights Day, the McKusick Law Library has prepared a display of selected resources related to the Bill of Rights. Included in the display are several law review articles authored by University of South Dakota School of Law professors, available on the Law School's Selected Works site: David S. Day, Some Reflections on Modern Free Exercise Doctrine: A Review Essay, 55 S.D.L. Rev. 498 (2010), Chris Hutton, Sir Walter Raleigh Revived: The Supreme Court Re-Vamps Two Decades of Confrontation Clause Precedent in Crawford v. Washington, 50 S.D.L. Rev. 41 (2005), Chris Hutton, The Landscape of Search and Seizure: Observations on Recent Decisions from the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, 51 S.D.L. Rev. 51 (2006), and Jonathan K. Van Patten, In the End is the Beginning: An Inquiry into the Meaning of the Religion Clauses, 27 St. Louis U. L.J. 1 (1983).

Books from the Library's collection on the display are:

James Madison and the Struggle for the Bill of Rights/ By Richard Labunski

Limited Government and the Bill of Rights/ By University of South Dakota School of Law Professor Patrick M. Garry

Living the Bill of Rights/By Nat Hentoff

The Bill of Rights/By Akhil Reed Amar

The Complete Bill of Rights: The Drafts, Debates, Sources, and Origins/Edited by Neil H. Cogan

The Law Library's recent Health Law Resources Display is located on one of the bookcases just inside the front entrance. Included in the display are recent acquisitions concerning health law, an ABA newsletter, and a screen shot of available resources on Bloomberg Law. Some items of interest are Risks of Prescription Drugs, Worried Sick, Health Care Reform ,Hospital Merger, Health Care Law and Ethics in a Nutshell and Medical Records and the Law. Check out Hein Online for other titles in Health Law. One article on display is "Is Sugar the New Tobacco: How to Regulate Toxic Foods" 22 Annals Health Law 138 (2013).

80th Anniversary of the Repeal of Prohibition

Last week, on December 5th, the United States marked the 80th anniversary of the repeal of the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution. The Eighteenth Amendment, ratified in 1919, prohibited "the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof" from the United States and its territories. (Note that there was no restriction upon the consumption of alcohol.) This Amendment was repealed by the Twenty-first Amendment, ratified on December 5, 1933.

To celebrate the 80th anniversary of Prohibition's repeal, the ABA Journal created its own "legally-themed" cocktail, the "Mens Rea," or "guilty mind." Why celebrate with a cocktail? Prohibition brought about a "renaissance of cocktail creation," as a way to make moonshine whiskey and bathtub gin more palatable, according to The Voice of America.

The following resources in the McKusick Law Library shed more light on the reform movement that led to Prohibition, the struggle to enforce prohibition statutes, the ratification of the Twenty-first Amendment by conventions in the states instead of by state legislatures, and the impact of Prohibition on the development of legal thought.

Shaping the 18th Amendment:Temperance Reform, Legal Culture, and the Polity/By Richard F. Hamm

Ill Starred Prohibition Cases: A Study in Judicial Pathology/By Forrest Revere Black (published in 1931 and particularly interesting for its stirring foreword by Clarence Darrow)

The Amendments to the Constitution: A Commentary/By George Anastaplo (Chapter 14)

Ratification of the Twenty-First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States: State Convention Records and Laws/Compiled by Everett Somerville Brown

Federal Criminal Law Doctrines: The Forgotten Influence of National Prohibition/By Kenneth M. Murchison

Nelson Mandela (1918-2013)

Nelson Mandela, former president of South Africa and African National Congress leader, passed away last Thursday at the age of 95.  Mandela, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, served 27 years of a life prison sentence and devoted his life to end the system of apartheid in South Africa. In 1994, he became the first black president to lead South Africa.  An article from the ABA Journal is available here, acknowledging Mandela's role in teaching his nation -- and beyond -- the importance of the "rule of law" as opposed to "rule by law."  The article also provides links to other news sources.

In recognition of Mandela's contributions to the rule of law, the law library is currently featuring a display which highlights several print titles in the library's collection concerning the history of South Africa and the movement against apartheid.  Especially featured is Politics by Other Means: Law in the Struggle Against Apartheid, 1980-1994, by Richard L. Abel, with a foreword written by Nelson Mandela.  The display also features an article available from HeinOnline: Daisy M. Jenkins, From Apartheid to Majority Rule: A Glimpse Into South Africa's Journey Toward Democracy, 13 Ariz. J. Int'l & Comp. L. 463 (1996).

Those interested in learning more about the life of Nelson Mandela may want to visit the Nelson Mandela Centre for Memory, a digital archive project which aims to "locate, document, digitise, and provide access to all archival materials related to Nelson Mandela."  The Centre offers several digital exhibits chronicling different periods in Mandela's life, from his early life and imprisonment, to his presidential and retirement years.  Other exhibits focus on personal aspects of Mandela's life, such as his love of children and commitment to charitable work on behalf of youth in South Africa and around the world.  Each exhibit offers detailed information woven together with digitized documents.  For example, the exhibit on Mandela's prison years offers digital images of his Warrants of Committal, photographs of Mandela's cell and the prison, and letters to family members and others.  A smuggled letter from Mandela to his attorneys is featured in the law library's display.

What Legal Employers Want from Recent Law School Grads

According to a recent study conducted by faculty at the University of Dayton School of Law and reported by the Wall Street Journal Law Blog, legal employers want law grads with both developed people and research skills. Interestingly, it was noted that employers wanted new grads to be able to conduct research of primary and secondary authority. Further, it was specifically mentioned that law grads should be able to conduct secondary authority research in both print and electronic formats.

Looking for a tune-up on your legal research skills? The law library offers several titles devoted to legal research skills:

Legal Research in a Nutshell / By the late Morris L. Cohen and Kent C. Olson

Fundamentals of Legal Research / By J. Myron Jacobstein, Roy M. Mersky, and Donald J. Dunn

Legal Research Guide: Patterns and Practice / By Bonita K. Roberts and Linda L. Schlueter

Law students may also want to consider the CALI lessons which focus on Legal Research. Registration is required for law students. If you are not registered, see a law librarian about obtaining an authorization code.

(This entry was originally posted by Darla Jackson)

From "Dust Mites" to the Digital Age: Making Constitutional Historical Sources Available to the Legal Community

For those that are interested in the history of the Constitution and issues of original meaning, a Supreme Court case worth following is NLRB v. Canning. The case was brought by a Washington state company that appealed a decision of a panel the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Two of the three members of the NLRB panel at the time of the decision were appointed by President Obama during a Senate recess in 2012. The company has argued that the NLRB decision is invalid because the recess appointments were unconstitutional. Attorneys on both sides of the issue have focused on the historical meaning of the recess appointments clause in Article II, Section 2, which gives the president "power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate."

A recent article in the National Law Journal focused on the efforts of the attorneys on both sides of the case to obtain historical documents to assist them in determining what was originally intended by the recess appointments clause. Text from the article is also available here from the Constitutional Accountability Center. Specifically, the attorneys utilized the help of a digital library project called ConSource (The Constitutional Sources Project), which has been digitizing many of the historical documents that are relevant to the Canning case, such as letters written by Attorney General Edmund Randolph in the 1790s which discuss the recess power. Making the documents accessible digitally allows for greater access outside the "dusty" corners of archives and also makes the documents searchable. Click here for more information about ConSource.

For further reading on Constitutional history and issues of original meaning, consider some of the Law Library's titles, including:

Original Intent and the Framers of the Constitution: A Disputed Question / By Harry V. Jaffa with Bruce Ledewitz, Robert L. Stone, and George Anastaplo

Original Intent and the Constitution: A Philosophical Study / By Gregory Bassham

Original Intent and the Framers' Constitution / By Leonard W. Levy

Tribal Sovereign Immunity Case Pending Before the Supreme Court

The Prairie Law Blog recently posted an update to the "Baby Veronica" case regarding the claims of the child's adoptive parents to collect attorneys' fees from the birth father and the Cherokee Nation, and the arguments of the Cherokee Nation that tribal sovereign immunity bars their claim for fees.  The post is available both here and here. 

Tribal sovereign immunity is also at issue in the pending U.S. Supreme Court case, Michigan v. Bay Mills Indian Community, in which oral arguments were just heard on Dec. 2.  (A transcript of the oral arguments is available here.)  The case involves a gaming facility operated by the Bay Mills Indian Community (Bay Mills) near its reservation in Northern Michigan and in close proximity to another facility operated by the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians (LTBBO).  The LTBBO and the State of Michigan sought to enjoin operation of the facility, as Bay Mills had not followed the formal process of first placing the off-reservation lands into trust.  While the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled in favor of Bay Mills and continued operation of the facility, the case was successfully brought to the U.S. Supreme Court by the State of Michigan.  Indian Country Today has published several articles regarding this case, including a two-part series by Ryan Seelau and Ian Record which contains a detailed analysis of the legal issues presented as well as four speculated possible outcomes of the case.  Those two articles are available here and here. 

According to Seelau and Record, Bay Mills' defense rests on complex issues involving jurisdiction, tribal sovereign immunity and the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA).  When the Supreme Court issues its decision, it will have a great impact on the tribal sovereign immunity doctrine.  Due to the far-reaching implications of the case, Seelau and Record offer suggestions on how tribes can begin preparing now for possible outcomes.      

In addition to the law library's resources on tribal sovereign immunity, the law library also has several resources which focus on the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act and gaming policy:

Indian Gaming Law and Policy / By Kathryn R.L. Rand and Steven Andrew Light
 
Indian Gaming and Tribal Sovereignty: The Casino Compromise / By Steven Andrew Light and Kathryn R.L. Rand

States and the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act / By Pam Greenberg and Judy Zelio

International Human Rights Day

December 10, 2013 is International Human Rights Day.  This day is observed to mark the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations General Assembly on December 10, 1948.  The year 2013 marks 20 years since the creation of the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Vienna World Conference of Human Rights.  Accordingly, this year's theme is "20 Years Working For Your Rights."  For more information on this year's commemoration of International Human Rights Day, see the UN's Human Rights Day webpage.  The UN site also provides a timeline of achievements in human rights that have occurred in the last 20 years. To learn more about the origins and history of Human Rights Day, information is available here from the Library of Congress.

Please also take a moment to visit the Law Library's current display which features materials from our collection concerning international human rights, including the 2nd edition of Professor Jo Pasqualucci's book, The Practice and Procedure of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (2012).

National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day and World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument

On December 7, 1941, Japanese military planes attacked the United States Naval Base at Pearl Harbor, on the Hawaiian Island of Oahu. The attack killed more than 2,000 American military personnel and many civilians. This Saturday, December 7, 2013, is National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day pursuant to 36 U.S.C. §129. This statute requests that the President issue a proclamation asking the people of the United States to observe this day with ceremonies and activities, and United States governmental units and others to fly the United States flag at halfstaff in honor of those who died as a result of their service at Pearl Harbor. In Yankton, the Elks Lodge will hold a "Remembering Pearl Harbor" event on Saturday evening, with a presentation of "The Sleeping Giant Awakens" by University of South Dakota Law School Professor Roger Baron.


To coincide with the recognition of Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day in 2008, President George W. Bush issued a proclamation establishing the World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument pursuant to his authority under 16 U.S.C. §431 (the "Antiquities Act"). This Monument encompasses nine historic sites in three states. Five of the sites are in Pearl Harbor, including the USS ARIZONA Memorial and Visitor Center, the USS UTAH Memorial, the USS OKLAHOMA Memorial, the six Chief Petty Officer Bungalows on Ford Island, and mooring quays F6, F7, and F8 which constituted part of Battleship Row. Three sites are in Alaska's Aleutian Islands, including the crash sites of a Consolidated B-24D Liberator bomber on Atka Island, the site of Japan's occupation on Kiska Island, and the Attu Island battle ground. The ninth site is the Japanese-American internment camp at Tule Lake in California.

Free Coffee During Finals

Studying for law school exams and in need of a little caffeine boost?  The law school and law library are offering free coffee during finals from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.  The coffee is available at the Circulation/Reference Desk in the law library.  Please come and help yourself.  However, the library staff asks that you please be careful with open coffee containers in the library.

Continuing Disputes in "Baby Veronica" Case

The Prairie Law Blog has been posting frequent updates regarding the case of "Baby Veronica", an adoption and custody case involving the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA).  The case ultimately resulted in the child returning to South Carolina with the adoptive parents, as opposed to remaining with the child's birth father, a resident of Oklahoma and a member of the Cherokee Nation.

Shortly after the resolution of the custody matter in September, the adoptive parents filed proceedings to recoup their attorney fees, both in South Carolina and Oklahoma.  In Oklahoma, the couple is seeking over $1 million in fees from both the birth father and the Cherokee Nation.  See an article here from the Tulsa World regarding the proceedings.

Yesterday, it was reported that the Cherokee Nation has filed court papers arguing that sovereign immunity protects it from the efforts of the adoptive parents to collect the fees.  For more information, see this article from the ABA Journal.

For more information on tribal sovereign immunity, consider Cohen's Handbook of Federal Indian Law or the American Indian Law Deskbook, which both offer sections on the topic and provide a general overview.  Both of these titles are available in the Library's Reserve Room.

For more information on attorneys' fees and attorney fee disputes, consider Attorneys' Fees by Robert L. Rossi, available in the classified collection on the lower level of the library.

Library Hours - Thanksgiving Holiday

The McKusick Law Library will be open to the public until 5 p.m. on Wednesday, November 27.  The Reserve Room and Reference/Circulation Desk will be available to students and faculty until 6 p.m. on Nov. 27.  The library will be closed on Thursday, Nov. 28 and Friday, Nov. 29, as well as Saturday, Nov. 30 and Sunday, Dec. 1.  We will resume normal hours on Monday, December 2.  Law Students and Law Faculty may access the Law Library using their University IDs anytime throughout the November 27 - December 1 break.  

Remembering 50 Years Since the Assassination of JFK

November 22 marked fifty years since the day President John F. Kennedy, Jr. was assassinated in Dallas, TX.  The law library is currently featuring a display which offers some well-known resources related to the Kennedy assassination, including the Report of the Warren Commission and hearing testimony before the Commission.  Information is also included on how to access these resources on HeinOnline.  FDsys is also currently offering a PDF version of the Warren Commission Report directly from its homepage.

The display also features several print titles related to the assassination of President Kennedy, including the following:

Barbie Zelizer, Covering the Body: The Kennedy Assassination and the Shaping of Collective Memory (1992)

Charles G. Wilber, Medicolegal Investigation of the President John F. Kennedy Murder (1978)

David W. Belin, November 22, 1963: You are the Jury (1973)

Mark Lane, Rush to Judgment: A Critique of the Warren Commission's Inquiry Into the Murders of President John F. Kennedy, Officer J.D. Tippit, and Lee Harvey Oswald (1966)

More Google News: Google Reaches Settlement With 37 States, Including SD, on Privacy Issue

On Tuesday, it was announced that Google had reached a $17 million settlement with the attorneys general of 37 states (and the District of Columbia) regarding privacy settings on the Safari browser. South Dakota was one of the 37 states included in the settlement and will receive almost $225,000.00 in addition to injunctive relief. 

According to a summary from the Electronic Privacy Information Center, the attorneys general had alleged that "Google violated state consumer protection and privacy law by placing advertising tracking cookies on Safari browsers despite telling users that it would honor the default Safari privacy settings, which prevented the placement of such cookies."

For more information on the settlement and response from South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley, see the recent press release from the Attorney General's office.

A copy of the settlement is available here, which provides references to the states' consumer protection/computer abuse statutes. 

For further reading on internet privacy and consumer protection, consider one of the following library titles:

Margaret C. Jasper, Consumer Rights Law (2007)

Michael L. Rustad, Internet Law in a Nutshell (2009)

150 Years Since Gettysburg Address

Tuesday, November 19, marked the 150th anniversary of President Lincoln's delivery of the Gettysburg Address. Given in the midst of the Civil War, the address is considered to be one of the most influential speeches in U.S. history.  The Library of Congress, which houses two early drafts of the address penned by President Lincoln, maintains a bibliography of print and online resources concerning the Gettysburg Address.  Click here to access the bibliography.

The McKusick Law Library also has several titles available that relate to President Lincoln and his speeches, including the Gettysburg Address.  For further reading, consider one of the following:

Ronald C. White, The Eloquent President: A Portrait of Lincoln Through His Words (2005)

Garry Wills, Lincoln at Gettysburg: The Words That Remade America (1992)

John Channing Briggs, Lincoln’s Speeches Reconsidered (2005)

Decision in Google Books Lawsuit

Last Thursday, a decision was reached in the case of Authors Guild Inc. et al. v. Google, Inc. in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, dismissing claims of Authors Guild that Google violates copyright law by providing "snippets" of copyrighted works online via its Google Books project.  See an article on the decision from Reuters news.  Authors Guild, an advocacy group supporting the rights of authors and publishers, is expected to appeal the decision.  In a 30-page opinion, Judge Denny Chin found that Google met all the necessary elements for a fair-use defense under copyright law.  For a summary of the fair-use analysis, see this article from Wired.com.  Wired also has available a PDF copy of the opinion. 

The opinion highlights the educational and transformative nature of the full-text availability of the works, including the ability for researchers to conduct analyses of the text data, including word frequencies, etc.  The case also has far-reaching implications for the library community.  Our own text analysis of the opinion reveals that the word "libraries" was mentioned 26 times and the word "librarians" 5 times.  According to the Reuters article, Google has described the Google Books project as a "card catalog for the digital age."

Some Friday Funnies: ABA Journal Offers Caption Contest

Looking for a little diversion on a Friday afternoon with just a twist of legal analysis? Check out the ABA Journal's legal-themed cartoon caption writing contest here.  This is the second cartoon offered in this year's contest and caption submissions are due Sunday, November 17 at 11:59 p.m. CST.  While visiting the ABA Journal's website, be sure to check out some of their more serious offerings, including legal news coverage and a blawg directory which includes links to legal blogs organized by topic, author type, region, and law school. 

The library also maintains a print collection of ABA Newsletters.  Recent issues of these newsletters can be found on the circular rack just past the entrance to the main floor of the library. 

Throwback Thursday: Using the Internet Archive Wayback Machine

Ever wonder what some of your favorite or frequently visited websites looked like 5 years ago, 10 years ago, or even 15 years ago?  Take a moment to check out the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine, available at http://archive.org/web/.  This tool provides snapshots of websites at various intervals, beginning in 1996.  If you're feeling especially nostalgic, try looking up the old versions of AOL.com.

While it can be a lot of fun to revisit the days of dial-up, the Wayback Machine can also be a serious research tool.  Remember that information found on websites is not static, and what is available today may be gone tomorrow.  In addition to taking its own snapshots, the Wayback Machine offers a tool that allows you to capture a web page at a particular point in time.

For some timely news on another project from the Internet Archive, see a recent post on the Law Librarians blog.

Finals on Your Mind?

It's the middle of November and that means finals are on their way.  If you're like many law students, you are starting to write your grocery lists in outline format and maybe even dreaming in roman numerals.  To help you with your studies, here is a quick "outline" of some of the resources available through the Law Library regarding exam-taking and academic success:

I.  Check out our LibGuide on Academic Success, available here.

A.  Offers information on print resources in the library about exam-taking and law school success

B.  Contains links to web resources such as CALI lessons to help you prepare for exams

II.  Check out our collection of Nutshells available on the main floor

A.  Subject-specific Nutshells are available as study aids for particular courses

B.  There are also Nutshells that focus on law school success

C.  Older editions of Nutshells can be found on the lower level

III.  Visit the Reserve Room for other study aids such as Hornbooks

IV.  Don't forget to ask a librarian for further help or suggestions!

Veterans Day and Military Family Month 2013

Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. §6103, Monday, November 11, 2013 is Veterans Day.  President Obama also has proclaimed November 2013 as "Military Family Month." To commemorate the federal holiday and show our support for military families, the McKusick Law Library has displayed selected resources from its collection on military law and veterans' benefits.  Included are The Military Law Sourcebook, published by the American Bar Association, Military Criminal Justice: Practice and Procedure, by David A. Schlueter, Military Service and the Law, edited by Joseph Butler and Brian Clauss (with a chapter on Family Law issues as they pertain to service members) and Veterans Benefits Manual, edited by Barton F. Stichman, Ronald B. Abrams, Meg Bartley and Louis J. George (which includes a chapter on VA Benefits for family members).

Earlier this fall, the University of South Dakota was named to the 2014 Military Friendly School list by Victory Media, based on USD's "commitment to providing a supportive environment for military students." USD was recognized for "providing veteran students with assistance through the USD Veterans Club, the Fides Grant for staff and faculty development, in-state tuition waivers, special policies for deployment, streamlined registration, the Student Veterans Resource Center, and a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and South Dakota Veterans Affairs grant."  During Veterans' Appreciation Week, November 4-11, the USD Student-Veteran Resource Center, ROTC and the USD Veterans' Club have activities planned for university student veterans, military members and their families.

National Native American Heritage Month Display

On October 31, 2013, President Obama proclaimed the month of November 2013 as National Native American Heritage Month. To observe this special month, the McKusick Law Library created a display of selected books from its collection on Native American culture and history. Included in the display are Reflections on American Indian History: Honoring the Past, Building a Future, edited by Alberto L. Hurtado, a volume of essays originating from the 2005 Wilma Mankiller Symposium on American History, American Indian Nations: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow, edited by George Horse Capture, Duane Champagne and Chandler C. Jackson, a series of essays on the problems and achievements of modern Native peoples, Encyclopedia of Native Tribes of North America, by Michael G. Johnson and Richard Hook, and Women of the Native Struggle: Portraits and Testimony of Native American Women, by Ronnie Farley.  These books are only a few of the books on Native culture and history available to be checked out from the Law Library.

For more information, visit the Library of Congress's website on Native American Heritage Month.  Listen to stories from Native American veterans from the Veterans' History Project, including Marcella Ryan Le Beau from South Dakota.  Watch the video on the Bdote Memory Map, an oral history on places of importance to the Bdote Dakota people of Minnesota.

THOMAS.gov Will Transition to Congress.gov

Many attorneys, law librarians, and law students use the Library of Congress's THOMAS website for federal legislative research. In November, the url Thomas.gov will be redirected to Congress.gov. Thomas.gov will remain accessible from the Congress.gov homepage through late 2014. For more information, visit this post on the Law Librarians of Congress blog, In Custodia Legis.

The new platform, Congress.gov, provides the same information as Thomas. In the search entry box, choose Current Legislation or All Legislation. Search by bill number (hr5 or s276), public law number (109-71), the Popular Name of an Act ("Wind Cave"), or use a boolean search or field search (see Search Tips link circled in red in the first screenshot below).  Refine your search results by using the "facets," or categories, displayed on the left side of the search results. Click on the hyperlinked bill number to go to the Overview and Legislative History tabs.

 

The screenshot below shows the Overview and Legislative History for Senate Bill 276, which became Public Law No. 109-71.  In the Overview, there is a link to the Senate Committee Report. Below the Overview, the "Text" tab links to five versions of the bill.  The "Actions" tab includes Congressional Record links for this bill.

Hat tip to WisBlawg, the University of Wisconsin Law Library Blog.

"Goulish" Legal Research

At this time of year, many blawgers and legal authors ponder laws and cases on Halloween-related matters. Francisco Macias, in the In Custodia Legis: Law Librarians of Congress blog, posted a "jack-o-lantern " full of state statutes related to Halloween, including many laws related to wearing masks while committing a crime. Daniel B. Moar explored case law related to haunted houses, chainsaw-related accidents, and provocative Halloween costumes, in an article entitled "Case Law from the Crypt" found in the October 2011 issue of the New York State Bar Journal, available on WestlawNext. (USD first-year law students may want to follow up on the costume cases, as some of these cases involve the topic of their legal writing open memo, sexual harassment in the workplace.)

This Halloween, PrairieLaw Blog brings you "goulish" articles from the venerable American Law Reports (A.L.R.) (available in print on the main floor of the library in Stack 3, and on WestlawNext and LexisAdvance):

• Dead Bodies: Liability for Improper Manner of Reinterment, 53 A.L.R. 4th 394
• Construction and Application of Graverobbing Statutes, 52 A.L.R.3d 701
• Liability for Desecration of Graves and Tombstones, 77 A.L.R.4th 108

Other Halloween-related articles:

• Right of Victim of Practical Joke to Recover Against Its Perpetrator, 9 A.L.R. 364 (useful for April Fool's Day, too)
• Validity and Construction of State Statute or Ordinance Prohibiting Picketing, Parading, Demonstrating, or Appearing in Public While Masked or Disguised, 2 A.L.R. 4th 1241

Adoption Law Display

November is National Adoption Awareness Month, and in conjunction with this observance, the McKusick Law Library is currently featuring a display which provides information and resources regarding adoption law, both generally and in the State of South Dakota.  Included in the display are the following titles:

Cecilia Fiermonte and Jennifer L. Renne, Making it Permanent: Reasonable Efforts to Finalize Permanency Plans for Foster Children (2002)

Sanford N. Katz and Daniel R. Katz, Adoption Laws in a Nutshell (2012)

Ann M. Haralambie, Handling Child Custody, Abuse, and Adoption Cases (2009)

Barbara Ann Atwood, Children, Tribes & States:  Adoption and Custody Conflicts Over American Indian Children (2010)

Sharon G. Elstein, et al., Achieving Permanency for Adolescents in Foster Care:  A Guide for Legal Professionals (2006)

In addition to the titles listed above, the display offers references to adoption laws in the South Dakota Codified Laws as well as information on adoption from South Dakota's Department of Social Services.  The display also features electronic resources, including articles on adoption law available on HeinOnline, as well as an electronic adoption law treatise available via WestlawNext.

Important News for Exam4 Users

You should previously have received notice that the exam software used at USD Law, Exam4, requires a laptop or desktop computer with:

10 MB free hard disk space

Network connection and/or working USB port

A supported operating system:

Microsoft Windows 8 (excluding Surface Pro)

Microsoft Windows 7

Microsoft Windows Vista

Apple OS X 10.6 "Snow Leopard

Apple OS X 10.8 "Mountain Lion (current)

Please note that the following operating systems are NOT supported:

New Windows 8.1 and Mac 10.9 Mavericks

Microsoft Windows XP and earlier

Apple Macintosh OS X 10.5 Leopard and earlier

Linux

Chromebooks

Microsoft Surface (incl. Pro)

Virtual operating systems (VMs)

Apple iDevices (iPad, iPhone, etc.)

If you have questions regarding if your computer meets these requirements, you should discuss this issue with the IT by visiting the help desk prior to the beginning of the exam period.

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

Suggested Reading from Gunderson Lecture

On Monday, October 28, Robert Keatinge presented the 2013 Clark Y. Gunderson Lecture at the Law School.  Held annually as a lecture or symposium with the support from the University of South Dakota Foundation, the Gunderson Lecture is the Law School's preeminent lecture honoring Clark Y. Gunderson, a USD School of Law faculty member from 1934 to 1963.  Robert Keatinge is an attorney of counsel with the law firm of Holland & Hart, LLP in Denver, CO and practices in the areas of business organizations, taxation, and professional responsibility.  He has also taught at the University of Denver College of Law, Suffolk University School of Law and the University of Miami School of Law.  The title of Keatinge's lecture was "There is No Right Answer to the Wrong Question: Whither the Law?" To accompany the presentation, Keatinge provided a list of books for recommended reading.  Available in the McKusick Law Library are the following titles:

Sol Linowitz, The Betrayed Profession (2003)

Richard Susskind, The Future of Law (1996)

Richard Susskind, Transforming the Law (2003)

These titles are currently featured in a library display, and are available for checkout.
In addition to these titles, the following titles were also on Keatinge's recommended reading list:

Richard Susskind, Tomorrow's Lawyers (2013)

Richard Susskind, The End of Lawyers (2010)

Brian Tamanaha, Failing Law Schoools (2012)

Bruce MacEwen (President of Adam Smith, Esq.), Growth is Dead, Now What?: Law Firms on the Brink, an Inquiry Into the Economics of Law Firms (2013)

Steven J. Harper, The Lawyer Bubble: A Profession in Crisis (2012)

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

The South Dakota Unified Judicial System's Odyssey Case Management System

Odyssey, the South Dakota Unified Judicial System's new case management system, will allow statewide online filing of documents, online payments, and online access to court records. On September 10th, the South Dakota Supreme Court adopted Supreme Court Rule 13-12 relating to Circuit Court Electronic Filing Rules.  Pursuant to this Rule, "[e]ffective July 1, 2014 ... all filings, notices, petitions, pleadings, motions, briefs or documents, with the exception of small claims, shall be filed electronically for all civil case types.  For criminal case types all documents, except the initiating pleading or documents specifically exempted by these rules or court order, shall be filed electronically."  On the same date, the South Dakota Supreme Court adopted Supreme Court Rule 13-11 related to Supreme Court Electronic Filing Rules.  According to the State Court Administrator's office, an e-filing training pilot program took place this month in Rapid City and will be held at other locations in the state during the next few months and into 2014.

At the present time, the public may access and print online case information, including the Register of Actions and documents filed in the case, using the public access computers at county courthouses.  Instructions and the log in credentials for the public access computers are found on the Unified Judicial System website.  To conduct a search for case information, users must have the case number or request the case number from the Clerk of Courts and pay any applicable search fee. 

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

In The News..............

The library subscribes to a variety of newspapers, including several for leisurely reading.  Our newspapers include the New York Times, Wall Street Journal,  National Law Journal, Sioux Falls Argus Leader and the Vermillion Plaintalk.  These items are located on the table near the main floor library entrance door.  Newspapers are kept for a week before recycling with the exception of the National Law Journal, which is kept indefinitely, and the Wall Street Journal, which is kept for a week.  To access older issues of these papers, please ask one of the librarians. 

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

Looking For Career Advice?

The library has a new career section in the Reserve Room and we continue to add to our collection.  This career section is located on one shelf on the far wall  and you may want to browse the titles at your convenience.  These books are very current and relevant to law school and your future in a law-related career.  Some of the newest titles include subjects such as taking the bar exam, setting up your own law office, and beyond.  Some selections of interest may include: Essential Lawyering Skills, The Legal Job Interview, From Lemons to Lemonade in the New Legal Job Market, and The New What Can You Do with a Law Degree?

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

Practical Resources for Professional and Personal Life

The Law Library has many books and materials available for check out that offer practical advice for both our professional and personal lives.  A search of the Library's online catalog in the subject areas of Alzheimer's Disease, Persuasion, and Indian Land Transfers brings up titles we have recently received in these subjects which include "Alzheimer's and the Law: Counseling Clients with Dementia and their Families," "Win Your Case : How to Present, Persuade, Prevail - Every Place, Every Time" and "Buying America from the Indians."  Other titles of interest may include "Excellence in the Workplace: Legal & Life Skills in a Nutshell" and "Where there is a Will there is a Way: or, All I Really Need to Know I Learned from Shakespeare".

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

Annual MAALL Meeting in Omaha

Darla Jackson, Law Library Director, Marsha Stacey, Assistant Law Library Director, and Sarah Kammer, Library Assistant, will be attending the Mid America Association of Law Libraries (MAALL) meeting this week.  MAALL is comprised of law libraries in seven states (Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma and South Dakota).  The theme for the conference this year is "Connecting Law Libraries for 40 years" and will be held in Omaha, Nebraska October 17-19.

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

Temperature in the Library

Campus Facilities Operations and Maintenance has started the process of changing over the campus buildings to heating for the winter.  Most buildings will have heat by this Friday, the 18th, and the full process will be completed by October 23.  During the transition, there may be some temperature fluctuations.  The law library staff are always concerned with the comfort of our faculty, students and other patrons within the law library.  If you experience temperature fluctuations that interfere with your use of the library, please let us know.  However, your patience is appreciated during the heating transition phase.

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

In A Nutshell.............

Almost every week, the Law Library receives a new Nutshell Law study guide. Be sure not to overlook these useful study aids.  They are found in the front bookcase as you walk into the library, and are shelved according to call number.  Many different subject areas covered by this series, and the books are a handy size to carry with you and read in your spare time.  The current editions in the "Study Aids" section may be checked out for 24 hours at a time, while the older editions found in the LC collection may be checked out as any classified book, for 4 weeks.  Take time to become familiar with them.  New titles include Global Internet Law and Trade Secret Law.

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

Library Hours - October 11 and October 14

Monday, October 14 is Native Americans' Day, a legal holiday in the State of South Dakota.  The McKusick Law Library will be closed to the public all day on October 14.  Students will continue to have 24/7 access to the Law Library.  The Law Library will also be closing at 5:00 p.m. on Friday, October 11.

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

Native Americans' Day - October 14, 2013

In 1990, the South Dakota Legislature voted to observe the second Monday in every October as Native Americans' Day. This legal holiday is dedicated to the remembrance of the great Native American leaders who contributed so much to the history of South Dakota.  S.D. Codified Laws §1-5-1.2.

To coincide with this legal holiday, the McKusick Law Library has displayed some essential tribal law and federal Indian Law resources from its collection.  Included in the display are The Encyclopedia of Native American Tradition edited by Bruce Elliott Johansen and American Indian Tribal Governments by Sharon O'Brien, both recommended by David Selden of the National Indian Law Library at the Native American Rights Fund (NARF) as good secondary sources on tribal legal systems . In addition, this display includes resources for background on federal Indian Law, such as Cohen's Handbook of Federal Indian Law, Stephen Pevar's The Rights of Indians and Tribes and American Indian Law in a Nutshell, also recommended by David Selden and Monica Martens of NARF. Print copies of Selden's "Basic Indian Law Research Tips - Tribal Law" and Selden and Marten's "Basic Indian Law Research Tips - Part I: Federal Indian Law" also have been placed in the display.

The Law Library also has compiled a list of selected online Native American law resources.  These resources include the National Indian Law Library, the Tribal Court Clearinghouse, Versus Law, Tribal Law Journal, and the American Indian Law Review (available to USD Law students and faculty from Hein Online).

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

Legal Ethics in the News

A recent article in the ABA Journal discusses the Arizona prosecutor who has been accused of an ethical violation in a capital murder case. To read the article, click here.  For more information on legal ethics in the State of South Dakota, visit the State Bar's Ethics page. The site provides links to Ethics Opinions, the Rules of Professional Conduct, and links to other states' ethics opinions and ABA ethics opinions.

If you are interested in reading further about legal ethics, check out the law library's ethics collection in the Reserve Room. A couple of titles of interest include:
ABA/BNA Lawyers' Manual on Professional Conduct
The Law of Lawyering

(This entry was originally written and posted by Gordana Filipovic)

Archive of federal agency websites saved before the shutdown

Before Federal Agency websites were taken offline, the Internet Archive saved copies of a number of these websites. The archives are available through the link below with the exception that the databases, search engines, etc. may not work. Static pages should be available.
http://blog.archive.org/2013/10/02/governmentblackout/

(This entry was originally written and posted by Gordana Filipovic)

Last Chance to Purchase Surplus Print Law Reviews and Journals

The Law Library is nearing completion of the print law review and journal deacquisition project. Only those titles that are accessible electronically on Hein Online are being removed from the collection. This week is the last chance sale of these print materials at very reduced prices. The cost of individually bound items is ten cents ($.10). You may purchase an entire series of a law review or select individual volumes on a cash and carry basis by submitting your cash payment to Gordana Filipovic in Room 132A.

The surplus print law reviews and journals are being temporarily shelved on the east side of the back shelving range on the main floor of the Law Library (Range 16).  All of the print volumes that are being removed have been stamped as "WITHDRAWN" in red ink. If you pick up a volume that is not stamped as withdrawn, it is NOT one of the surplus volumes and is not available for purchase.  The books will remain on the shelves through this week (October 8-11), so you should come early and claim the volumes you would like to purchase.

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

Women in Law Attorney of the Year, Brendan Johnson

Today, October 7, at 5:00 p.m. in the Law School Courtroom, USD Women in Law will honor United States Attorney Brendan Johnson with the group's Attorney of the Year Award.  While all of Johnson's accomplishments are being honored, the group especially recognizes his contributions in the area of human trafficking.  In conjunction with this event, the Law Library has created a display that includes biographical information about Johnson, and other resources available on the United States Attorney's Office for the District of South Dakota website, including the Office's annual report on Human Trafficking, and a link to a video featuring U.S. Attorney Johnson regarding sex trafficking in South Dakota, titled "Hidden in Plain Sight."  The display also features print and electronic resources available from the law library which discuss human trafficking.

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

New Library Signage for Help in Locating Items

Looking for a quick reference on where to find materials on particular legal topics in the law library?  The law library has just posted new signs that direct you to the Library of Congress call number ranges for particular subjects, from Administration of Justice (KF8700-8709) to Zoning (KF5691-5699).  Two signs are posted downstairs in the Library of Congress classified collection.  One should be visible at the bottom of each stairwell, posted at the end of the nearest shelving range.  There are also signs posted in the Reserve Room and next to the public access terminals on the main floor.

While the signs provide a quick reference, don't forget that subject searching is available through the library's online catalog, available on the Law Library's website.  Choose Advanced Search to limit your searching to subject fields. 

Did you know that you can also search by call number?  When you bring up a new search, choose Call Number as a search field, and type in the main part of the call number (for example, KF8700 -- no spaces).  The catalog will then locate other items that begin with the same Library of Congress class number.

For additional help in locating items in the law library, please ask any of the library staff for assistance.  

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

Changes to Alarm System

Please be aware that the controls for the alarm system are now secured with a locked cover.  A key to the locked cover is maintained in the Dean's Suite and by University Police.  The Law Library staff do not maintain a copy of the key.  Accordingly, even if library personnel are at the desk, if an alarm is triggered between 5pm and 7:30am, the alarm will not be turned off until University Police personnel are contacted and arrive at the Law School.  Because of this security change, students are advised to take additional care to not trigger an alarm through use of an emergency exit door after hours.  If you trigger the alarms after hours, on weekends, or during a holiday, you will need to contact University Police.  The University Police number for non-emergencies is 605-677-5342.  In the case of an emergency, dial 9-911 from any campus phone. 

Because the alarm system is not automatically disarmed after a set period of time, failure to contact University Police will result in the alarm continuing to sound.  Please be courteous to your colleagues by taking extra care not to set off the alarms and by contacting the appropriate organization should you mistakenly trigger an alarm.

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

Update on "Baby Veronica" ICWA Adoption Case

The Prairie Law Blog has been reporting on the high-profile ICWA case of Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl, which has become known in U.S. media outlets as the "Baby Veronica" case.  (See our previous posts of June 28, 2013 and September 5, 2013 for more information on the background of the case.)  In an emotional turn of events, Baby Veronica was handed over to her adoptive parents on Monday after the Oklahoma Supreme Court lifted an emergency stay which had allowed Veronica to stay in the custody of her biological father in Oklahoma.  As reported by CBS News, the Oklahoma Supreme Court's decision to lift the stay was not unanimous.  For a local perspective on this issue, the South Dakota Public Broadcasting website has made available an interview with Saunie Wilson, a former juvenile court judge on the Pine Ridge Reservation, and Raymond Cournoyer, ICWA Director of the Yankton Sioux Tribe.  Click here to listen to the interview. 

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

Banned Books Week: Celebrate the Freedom to Read

This week (September 22 to September 28, 2013) is Banned Books Week, an annual event which is sponsored by the American Library Association (ALA) and other national organizations.  The purpose of Banned Books Week is to celebrate the freedom to read and "the value of free and open access to information" (ALA Office of Intellectual Freedom, http://www.ala.org/bbooks/bannedbooksweek). 

The law library is currently featuring a display for Banned Books Week.  This display features compiled lists of some of the most frequently banned or challenged books by decade and by year. The display also features selected library resources on the First Amendment and freedom of speech. 

For more information about Banned and Challenged Books, visit the ALA's website on the topic here.  The ALA also maintains a list of Notable First Amendment Cases on the Right to Read Freely.  For First Amendment and free speech resources in the law library, click here to access a list of titles in the law library's catalog.

Update:  A local Sioux Falls attorney and USD Law alum has been blogging on "Banned Books That Shaped America."  You can visit his blog, A Progressive on the Prairie, here.  (Note: The McKusick Law Library has included this link for informational purposes only, and does not endorse the blogger or blog or any opinions expressed therein.)

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

New Study on Link Rot in Supreme Court Opinions

A recent New York Times article has highlighted a topic that has been of recent interest to law libraries and legal scholars: link rot in legal citations.  The article addresses a forthcoming study by Jonathan Zittrain, a professor of Law and Computer Science at Harvard, Larry Lessig, a professor of Law and Leadership at Harvard, and Kendra Albert, a Harvard law student.  The study looks specifically at link rot in U.S. Supreme Court opinions, finding that nearly 50% of the links in Supreme Court opinions no longer work.  The study also looked at link rot in law journals, including the Harvard Law Review.  Professor Zittrain discusses the study in a recent post on his blog and provides a link to the study on SSRN. 

Law libraries, who have long had an interest in this topic (see a recent article here by law librarians Raizel Liebler and June Liebert in the Yale Journal of Law and Technology), are becoming more involved than ever in addressing link rot in legal citations.  Zittrain's blog discusses a new project called Perma.cc, which is a project undertaken by the Harvard Library Innovation Lab and a number of academic law libraries.  According to Zittrain, the project "will allow those libraries on direction of authors and journal editors to store permanent caches of otherwise ephemeral links."

(As an aside, the New York Times article mentions the recent book by Richard A. Posner titled "Reflections on Judging."  The Law Library has recently received this book as part of its collection.  See the library's catalog for more information.)

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

Dakota Days - Legal Research CLE

Darla Jackson and Marsha Stacey will be co-presenting a Continuing Legal Education program titled “Conducting Free, Low Cost, and Other Electronic Legal Research” from 3:00 - 4:30PM on October 4, 2013 (during Dakota Days) at USD Law School Room 102. Attendance at the program is free to all who are interested in improving their legal research skills. Registration is requested but not required.

Additional details regarding the program and registration are available via the September 2013 issue of the State Bar of South Dakota Newsletter at page 30.

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

U.S. Judicial Conference Appeals to President for Additional Court Funding

In the wake of several years of flat funding for the judiciary and the sequestration cuts that took effect in fiscal year 2013, the Judicial Conference of the United States recently wrote a letter to President Obama, appealing for additional funding in FY2014.  The Chief Justice of the United States is the presiding officer of the Judicial Conference, and membership is comprised of the chief judge of each judicial circuit, the Chief Judge of the Court of International Trade, and a district judge from each regional judicial circuit.  See the Judicial Conference website for further information about the U.S. Judicial Conference.  To view the letter to President Obama, click here.  As the letter outlines, the judiciary has already announced new cost-cutting measures in anticipation of continued budget cuts, including reducing attorney compensation for indigent criminal defense.  Fiscal year 2014 begins on October 1, 2013, the deadline for Congress to resolve the budget issue.  See here and here for other articles discussing this topic.  For further information on the federal judiciary and budget issues, consult the 2012 Year-End Report on the Federal Judiciary prepared by the Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.

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

Upcoming Presentation on Tribal/State Relations and Library Display

On Thursday, September 19 at 3:00 p.m., the USD Native American Law Student Association and the USD School of Law are hosting a presentation by P. Sam Deloria, board member of the American Indian Graduate Center, Albuquerque, NM.  Deloria will speak on Tribal/State Relations in the Law School Courtroom.  After Mr. Deloria's presentation, there will be a discussion panel with other experts in the area, including Professor Frank Pommersheim of USD Law, J.R. LaPlante, director of the South Dakota Department of Tribal Relations, and Philip Mahowald, general counsel for the Prairie Island Indian Community in Minnesota.  Both LaPlante and Mahowald are graduates of the USD School of Law.

To accompany the presentation, the law library is currently featuring a display which features a recent article by Tasse Hanna, Sam Deloria, and Charles E. Trimble, The Commission on State-Tribal Relations: Enduring Lessons in the Modern State-Tribal Relationship, 47 Tulsa L. Rev. 553 (2011-2012).  The display also features print titles on tribal/state relations, as well as information on the South Dakota Department of Tribal Relations website and resources.

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

Hispanic Heritage Month Display

September 15 through October 15 is Hispanic Heritage Month, a time to recognize the contributions of Hispanic and Latino Americans to the United States and celebrate the group's heritage and culture.  The law library is currently featuring a display to commemorate Hispanic Heritage Month.  The display features some of the law library's print resources which discuss Hispanic and Latino identity and the American legal system.  Highlighted are American Cultural Pluralism and the Law by Jill Norgren and Serena Nanda, which contains a chapter on Latinos and the Law, as well as Race, Racism & Reparations by J. Angelo Corlett, which offers a chapter on Latino Identity.  The display also features A Latina Judge's Voice, 13 Berkeley La Raza L.J. 87 (2002), a transcription of a speech by Sonia Sotomayor, in which she discusses her background and its impact on her judicial career.  Justice Sotomayor is the first Hispanic American appointed to the United States Supreme Court.

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

HeinOnline Collection Trial

As evidenced in the image below, in coordination with the McKusick Law Library and the University Libraries, HeinOnline is providing trial access to a number of collections, including:

- Session Law Library - This library contains the session laws of all 50 U.S. states as well as Canada, Australia, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, and the D.C. Register. All states are current within 60 days of the printed publication, and all states are available back to inception.

- U.S. Congressional Documents - This collection features the complete Congressional Record Bound version, as well as the daily version back to 1980. It also includes the three predecessor titles: Annals of Congress (1789-1824), Register of Debates (1824-1837) Congressional Globe(1833-1873), and Congressional Hearings (1927-2012), as well as other important congressional material. Using the Daily-to-Bound Locator Tool, you can quickly find a page in the Bound volume from the Daily edition.

- American Indian Law Collection - With more than 900 unique titles and more than 900,000 pages dedicated to American Indian Law, this collection includes an expansive archive of treaties, federal statutes and egulations, federal case law, tribal codes, constitutions, and jurisprudence. This library also features rare compilations edited by Felix S. Cohen that have not been accessible online.

- Congress and the Courts - This library,featuring William H. Manz's Congress and the Courts: A Legislative History 1787-2010, brings together materials reflecting congressional concern with the composition and structure of Article III Courts and provides all relevant documents prepared by various Congresses relating to the purpose, formation, organization, and restructuring of the federal government. Also included are Federal Judicial Center Publications, Periodicals, Links to Scholarly Articles,CFR Title 28 - Judicial Administration, Other Related Works, and much more.

- History of Supreme Court Nominations - This library features the complete print series Supreme Court of the U.S. Hearings and Reports on Successful and Unsuccessful Nominations of Supreme Court Justices by the Senate Judiciary Committee. Browse by Justice option allows you to see relevant works related to that Justice including links to articles and a bibliography of other works, along with links to Scholarly Articles.

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

Constitution Day is September 17

Constitution Day, September 17, was established by Congress in 2004 to recognize the ratification of the United States Constitution.  The Constitution was signed by the Constitutional Convention on September 17, 1787.  The law library is currently featuring a display that includes several titles which focus on the history of the Constitution.  The display also offers information on USD's Constitution Day program, which this year features Law Professor Frank Pommersheim.  Professor Pommersheim, a nationally-recognized expert in Indian law, will be speaking in the Law School Courtroom at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, September 17.  The title of Professor Pommersheim's address is “Broken Landscape: Indians, Indian Tribes, and the Constitution” which is also the title of his recent book, featured in the law library's display.  The display also offers biographical information about Professor Pommersheim as well as copies of recent articles he has published in the South Dakota Law Review.  The Constitution Day program is free and open to the public, and students and professors alike are encouraged to attend.  To link to the official USD press release about the program, click here.

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

Academic Success LibGuide

Whether you are a first-year law student or a seasoned veteran of the halls of The University of South Dakota School of Law, the Law Library is here to help you advance your skills to perform your best.  The new Academic Success LibGuide is intended to assist all law students in developing their full potential to study, analyze, and use the law.  The Academic Success LibGuide lists available resources to help students succeed in their legal education.  With topics such as "Getting Started," "Online Resources," "Help with Specific Legal Subjects," and "Getting Further Help/Bar Exam Study Information," the Academic Success LibGuide provides a variety of ways to strengthen students' learning and skills.  Time management, effective outlining, test-taking skills, and stress management are just some of the ways to enhance your academic achievement.  The LibGuide will connect you to strategies to help conquer topics.

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