Controversial Sentinel Bill [HB 1087] passes the House 42-27

As the nation debates gun control measures and as President Obama leaves Washington to bring his agenda for gun control to the nation, the South Dakota House passed a bill to allow school boards to create, establish, and supervise individual school sentinel programs. The bill leaves the decision to have arms in the school to the individual school boards. The bill is sponsored by 29 of the 105 legislators in Pierre. The bill passed the house 42-27 on the 29th of January. House Bill 1087 had its first reading in the Senate on the 30th and has been referred to the Senate State Affairs committee.

You can follow the bill at legis.state.sd.us/sessions/2013/Bill.aspx?Bill=1087. You can also sign up for bill tracking on the LRC website at legis.state.sd.us.

(This entry was originally written and posted by Candice Spurlin)

Faculty Publications

On its main level, the McKusick Law Library recently added a display of Law School Faculty Publications. Included in the display are select books, law review and law journal articles authored by the law professors. This display of print publications supplements the more extensive electronic collection of faculty publications available via the BePress Selected Works University of South Dakota School of Law Institutional Series website.

 












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

South Dakota Public Broadcasting Provides Live Coverage of Legislative Sessions

South Dakota Public Broadcasting provides online access at a Web page titled Statehouse throughout the legislative session. This site enables you to link to live audio coverage of many of the House and Senate activities for each day. In addition, they provide live video coverage of some of the meetings. At noon, SDPB Radio sponsors a live discussion of the legislative issues called Talkback and at 8:00 pm on Thursday SDPB TV sponsors South Dakota Focus a show discussing current issues in South Dakota.

For additional information on coverage please consult the online site for Statehouse at http://www.sdpb.org/Statehouse/default.aspx.

SDPB Program Booklets for the month of January and February can be found on top of the front book case as you enter the Law Library Reading Room. Please take them. The program carries a daily listing of live coverage of the sessions.

(This entry was originally written and posted by Candice Spurlin)

Librarians Are Committed To Helping You Find Whatever You Need To Locate

The Law Library staff is committed to helping you find whatever you need, whether it be information or the loss of an item.

Last week a student dropped a significant amount of money in the vacinity of the Library Circulation Desk early in the day. The money was found by two different people and turned in to the Circulation Desk personel. The librarians, in turn, brought the money to the Dean's office to be kept in the law school's lost and found.

Shortly before the end of the day, the student, who had searched around the campus, stopped at the Dean's office and asked if any money had been turned in. The student was quickly reunited with the money and all ended well.

This is a good reminder to all that there is a central lost and found in the building so remember to check before assuming something is forever gone.

(This entry was originally written and posted by Candice Spurlin)

Bill Information and Tracking for the 2013 Legislative Session

The South Dakota Legislature's Legislative Research Council (LRC) website is the "go-to" place to find texts of bills and information about state legislators, and to listen to live audio broadcasts of meetings and debates from the 2013 South Dakota Legislative Session. In the left column of the LRC homepage, under Current Legislators, find who are your legislators by district, county or city. Under Current Legislative Session, retrieve the text of a bill by its number or its subject. On the same webpage as the link to the text of a bill, see the list of actions taken on the bill. You also can create an RSS feed for updates to a bill's webpage. Click on the link to Live Audio Broadcasts for House and Senate debates and Committee meetings.

To track a bill or multiple bills through the legislative process, go to New MyLRC Account in the left-column of the LRC homepage to create your MyLRC Account. You can create bill tracking "lists" and be notified by e-mail with a bill hearing schedule each day or when a new version of one of your bills is available. You also may create a list of committees and be notified when one of your committees posts an agenda or calendar, or posts minutes or a journal. You also may create a list of legislators ("members") and be notified when the address information list is updated.

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

2013 South Dakota Legislative Session Display

Our current library display, compiled by Candice Spurlin, features information on the current 2013 South Dakota Legislative Session, as well as the 2012 Session Laws, 2012 Senate Journal, 2012 House Journal and a statistical comparison of the 2012 Session with previous sessions. Also included in the display is the South Dakota Public Broadcasting (SDPB) magazine for February 2013, copies of which are available in the display, outlining SDPB's radio, television and SDBP.org's Statehouse coverage during the 2013 Session.

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

Cameras in South Dakota Trial Court Proceedings

In his 2013 State of the Judiciary Message last week, South Dakota Supreme Court Chief Justice David Gilbertson reviewed the number of requests made by the press for audio, video and photographic media coverage of trial court proceedings pursuant to a new South Dakota Supreme Court Rule that went into effect on July 1, 2011. He stated that of the sixty-one requests made, forty-four had been acted upon. The Chief Justice explained that "[i]n seven cases, the judge and attorneys agreed to full access. In 21 cases, the judge granted audio access. Access was denied in 18 cases." Stating that "[t]he determination of access is up to the attorneys and/or the judge based on the facts and circumstances of each individual case," he concluded that he believed "this continues to provide a fair balance between public access to the judicial proceedings and the right to a fair trial."

In one of its reports on the Chief Justice's Message, KELOLAND.com stated that 36 states allow cameras in the courtroom without many restrictions, while 6 require permission of all parties involved to use cameras. Also included in this report are links to audio and video clips from several recent high profile cases, including the sentencing proceedings for Eric Robert and Rodney Berget, confessed killers of Officer Ronald Johnson. In another story, KELOLAND.com reported that there had been no complaints about how the system of allowing expanded media coverage works.

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

How do I find the South Dakota Code or Am. Jur. 2d in the Law Library? Are we ever going to get DVD's in the Library?

As we return the books to the shelves after our project to widen aisle space, we have changed the locations of some resources to better suit your needs. We also will be adding DVD's to our collection.

• Two sets of the South Dakota Code are located on the main floor of the Law Library in the first short bookcase in the middle row. Look for the sign "South Dakota Collection." Two sets of the South Dakota Code remain in the Reserve Room.
  
  
• Secondary materials, including American Jurisprudence 2d (Am. Jur. 2d), the American Law Reports (A.L.R.'s), the Restatements and the form books, are in the tall bookcases in front of you as you walk in the main floor of the Library, in Ranges 3 and 4.
  
  
• Federal materials, including the United States Code Congressional and Administrative News (U.S.C.C.A.N.), Statutes at Large, the Codes (U.S.C., U.S.C.A. and U.S.C.S.), the Supreme Court reporters, Federal Reporter 2d, Federal Reporter 3d, Federal Supplement, and Federal Supplement 2d, are in Ranges 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9.
  
  
• State materials, including the Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota and Wyoming Codes, the Regional Reporters, including the North Western 2d Reporter and the North Western 2d digest, will be in the remaining shelving ranges.
  
  
• The Nutshell Study Guides are in the short bookcase in front of you as you walk in the main floor of the Library. You may check them out for 24 hours.
  
  
• We will be getting popular, legally-themed, DVD's for check out. On order are People v. Larry Flynt, Hot Coffee (McDonald's too-hot coffee litigation), Gideon's Trumpet, (Gideon v. Wainwright), and Trials of Darryl Hunt (the story of a man wrongly accused of rape and murder and the nearly twenty years he spent in prison). 

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

Bloomberg Law Available for USD Law Students, Faculty and Staff

The Law Library has recently added a subscription to Bloomberg Law. Because Bloomberg has also acquired BNA publications, you may now access BNA via Bloomberg Law. The Law Library staff hopes to receive publications, which outline the registration process. However, you do not have to wait for print instructions. You can register now: 1. Go to http://www.bloomberglaw.com 2. Click the "Request a Law School Account" button 3. Complete the information form (listing your USD email account) and click the submit button. Once you have submitted the information, you will get a message that you will be contacted in 24-48 hours. In reality you should get an email with your password within a few minutes. Once you have your password, you may sign in and begin using the system. If you have questions about using the system, please feel free to ask a librarian for assistance. Because Bloomberg has only recently entered the academic market, the company has a limited number of trainers. However, we hope to be able to schedule a Bloomberg representative to provide training soon. Additionally, the law librarians will be providing some training on use of Bloomberg to 1Ls in the Fundamental Legal Skills course and as requested by 2L and 3L students.

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

Berget's Death Sentence Reversed by the South Dakota Supreme Court

On January 3, 2013, the South Dakota Supreme Court reversed and remanded the circuit court’s death sentence for Rodney Berget for the murder of correctional officer Ronald Johnson. Although the Court rejected eight of Berget's other challenges to the imposition of the death sentence, it agreed with Berget's argument that the circuit court’s consideration of Berget’s “unwarned” statement, made to a psychiatrist during a competency evaluation, violated Berget’s Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. Because the Court could not conclude that the use of the statement was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt, it reversed Berget’s sentence and remanded the matter to the circuit court for resentencing "without the use of or consideration of [the psychiatrist’s] report" unless Berget chooses to call the psychiatrist to testify. To read the full-text of the South Dakota Supreme Court’s opinion, click here.

For reports and comments on the Court’s decision:

South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley’s reaction

South Dakota Peace and Justice Center

Sentencing Law and Policy Blog (an affiliate of the Law Professor Blogs Network)

For more information and resources on the death penalty:

McKusick Law Library’s LibGuide on Capital Punishment in South Dakota

Crime and Consequences Blog

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

American Bar Association Accreditation Visit to USD School of Law

As you may be aware, the American Bar Association accreditation visit to the USD School of Law is scheduled for February 2013. You can learn more about the ABA accreditation process and the USD visit by reviewing the LibGuide prepared by the USD Law Library staff at http://libguides.law.usd.edu/aecontent.php?pid=414936&sid=3391753.

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

Welcome Back

Welcome back from the holidays. The Law Library Staff hopes you had a restful break and that you are returning refreshed and ready to begin a new semester. We look forward to continuing to improve our services during the spring semester. To that end, many of the staff have moved offices so that we will now all be available on the main floor and more accessible to you. If you need any assistance, the following is a new directory of Law Library offices: Gordana Filipovic, Acquisitions Librarian (Rm 132A) Darla Jackson, Director (Rm 122) Karyl Knodel, Serials Librarian (Rm 132) Candice Spurlin, CALR/Reference Librarian (Rm 124) Marsha Stacey, Assistant Director (Rm 129)

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