Tuesday, August 27, 2013

New Staff Makes Extended Service Hours for Law Students Possible

We are delighted to announce that Sarah Kammer, who has previously served as a volunteer at the Law Library, joined the Law Library staff as a temporary staff member this week.  Sarah earned her JD from Duke University and her Master of Library Science and Learning Technologies from the University of Missouri.  The McKusick Law Library "Meet the Staff" LibGuide provides more information about our new staff member.  Beginning September 9th, Sarah will be working some alternative hours.  This will allow us to offer extended circulation/reference services for law students as well as access to the Reserve Room until 6:00pm Monday-Friday.  

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

Law Students Studying in 90 Plus Degree Heat This Week

Law Students studying in 90 degree temperatures and above this week.














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

Thursday, August 22, 2013

Welcome Back, Class of 2014 and Class of 2015

Just a note to let you know that it is great to see you back with us once again.  Remember that your Law Library Staff continues to strive to serve you in any way we can while you are here.

Remember to visit the Law Library website to search the Law Library catalog.  Use the Law Library's research guides and log on to the research databases.

If you are taking the Introduction to Intellectual Property Class you may want to explore the Intellectual Property LibGuide.  You also may want to check out the Copying and Printing LibGuide as printing options have changed.  For significant printing issues, contact the USD IT Department.  Log in to the myU Portal, click on the Technology Tab, and click on "Help Desk."

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

Thursday, August 15, 2013

Welcome Class of 2016 - Library Tours and Information

We are delighted to welcome the Class of 2016 and hope the library tours provided during orientation were helpful. 

As a reminder, if you need information about the Law Library staff, guidance on printing, or help researching select legal topics, we suggest that you review LibGuides prepared by the Law Library staff.

Also, if you are looking for some academic success materials or study aids, remember to stop by the display on the main floor of the library to review a sample of the resources available in the Law Library.

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

American Bar Association Annual Meeting

During the American Bar Association (ABA) Annual Meeting, the ABA House of Delegates considered resolutions regarding a wide range of issues, including the the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Law's Uniform Prevention of and Remedies for Human Trafficking Actadequate housing rights, and computer network hacking.  A summary of some of the resolutions adopted is available from ABA Now.  A full list of resolutions, including withdrawn resolutions such as the resolution regarding repeal of the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act, is also available.  Additionally, Attorney General Eric Holder addressed the House of Delegates and announced major changes to Department of Justice policy regarding mandatory minimum drug sentences. 
 
The ABA Council of the Section on Legal Education and Admission to the Bar also met during the ABA annual event.  As reported by National Law Journal, one of the topics discussed by the Council was the tenure requirement for law professors.

The National Law Journal is available in print and electronically via the Law Library as is Uniform Laws Annotated, a resource that contains the uniform laws promulgated by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (see above).

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

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Course Casebooks and Supplemental Readings

Law students often ask the law librarians if the library has the required casebooks for current law school courses.  According to the law library's collection development policy, the library does not purchase law school casebooks.  The collection may contain older editions of the casebooks that were donated to the library or acquired by other means.  Students should not rely on the content in these older editions, as it may differ from the content in the newer editions listed in the course syllabi. 

Students also ask the law librarians for course supplemental readings suggested by professors.  These supplemental readings usually are found on the course TWEN site.  If you need help in locating supplemental readings on TWEN or in other resources, please stop by the circulation/reference desk, or call or e-mail the library for assistance.

Students also may want to do their own supplemental reading in a subject area.  The law library has many "hornbooks," or one volume, condensed treatises of law written for law students, that provide a synthesis or summary of one area of law.  These books can be valuable in obtaining background information or reviewing course topics.  You may search the Law Library's Lib Guide on Legal Treatises by topic, or ask for assistance in locating a hornbook at the circulation/reference desk.

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

Friday, August 9, 2013

International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples 2013

Today is International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples 2013.  The theme of this year's observance is "Indigenous peoples building alliances: Honouring treaties, agreements and other constructive arrangements."  

By United Nations General Assembly Resolution 49/214 of 23 December 1994, the UN selected to observe the International Day of the World's Indigenous People on 9 August each year.  August 9, it is commonly thought, was selected as an alternative date to the second Monday in October, the date on which Indigenous Peoples Day and Columbus Day are both observed in the United States.  South Dakota Codified Laws 1-5-1.2 provides that the State of South Dakota will observe Native American Day as a state holiday on the Second Day of October. Native American Day is "dedicated to the rememberance of the great Native American leaders who contributed so much to the history" of South Dakota.

The theme for International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples 2013  is intended “to highlight the importance of honouring treaties, agreements and other constructive arrangements, between States, its citizens and indigenous peoples. Both indigenous and non-indigenous peoples have a pivotal role in making treaties ‘living documents’ in their own communities, by establishing new ways to live together, respecting one another and cooperating in the pursuit of common goals.”

In observance of this International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples there is a display of some of the resources on Indigenous Peoples and Native American Law available via McKusick Law Library. The display includes the a volume of the Statutes at Large containing treaties with Native American Tribes.

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

August is National Golf Month!

August is National Golf Month!  Many organizations and businesses offer advice on how to experience this international sport.  According to the Army's Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation Programs (MWR) website, the Army maintains and operates 48 golf courses around the world and encourages family participation in the game.  Eton Corporation, makers of radios and other electronics, recommends downloading these apps to your smartphone to help with your game before you head out to the golf course.

The McKusick Law Library is celebrating National Golf Month by displaying resources from our collection and the internet involving the intersection of golf and the law.  Robert J. Robertson's book, Fair Ways, chronicles the story of six African-American golfers who sued the city of Beaumont, Texas in federal court and won the right to play the Tyrrell Park Municipal Golf Course.  John H. Minan's book, The Little Green Book of Golf Law, from the American Bar Association's "Little Books" series, includes discussions of 19 golf cases that track the 18 holes of a round of golf plus the 19th Clubhouse Hole.  ESPN.com's article from August 2012, entitled "Augusta adds first woman members," reported that former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and South Carolina financier Darla Moore became the first women members of the Augusta National Golf Club. 

The display also includes Harms v. Northland Ford Dealers, 1999 SD 143, 602 N.W.2d 58, the case in which the South Dakota Supreme Court held that a unilateral contract existed between the sponsor of a "hole-in-one" contest and golfer Jennifer Harms.  The Court reasoned that when Ms. Harms accepted Northland Ford's offer to participate in the contest by her performance, an enforceable contract was created and Northland Ford had a contractual duty to award the prize, a new Ford Explorer, to Ms. Harms.  Also on display is the American Law Report (ALR) annotation entitled "Liability for Injury Incurred in Operation of Power Golf Cart."  Like all ALR annotations, this article collects summaries of cases from all jurisdictions on a narrow issue of law and thus provides an overview of law on a particular topic.














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

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Wanted: Law Library Student Assistants

The McKusick Law Library is looking for student assistants to update materials, shelve books, answer patron questions, and assist the librarians with a variety of projects.  A library student assistant must be punctual, reliable, able to handle highly-detailed work, lift and move a significant amount of weight, and have good customer service skills.  Because the experienced library staff will work with and train you, previous library experience is not required.

If you have filled out a FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid), please check with the University of South Dakota's Financial Aid Office to find out if you qualify for work-study funds. The office number is 605-677-5446. 

If you are not eligible for federal work-study funds, but are interested in working as a student assistant in library, please e-mail Marsha Stacey, Assistant Director of the Law Library at Marsha.Stacey@usd.edu with the hours you are available to work this fall. Please also attach a one-page resume containing your contact information, educational background, work experience, and a list of two educational or work references.  While priority will be given to filling work study student positions, there may be other student assistant positions available this fall.

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

Thursday, August 1, 2013

Changes in South Dakota Exemption Statutes and Property of Bankruptcy Estate includes Alimony Award

On July 1, 2013, several changes to South Dakota's statutes on exemptions from levy and attachment went into effect.  S.D.C.L. §43-45-2 was amended by adding a new subsection (8) for "[a]ny health aids professionally professionally prescribed to the debtor or to a dependant of the debtor."  S.D.C.L. §43-45-4, commonly known as the "wildcard" exemption, was amended to raise the limit on the value of other exempted personal property by a debtor as head of a family to $7,000.00 and by a debtor not the head of a family to $5,000.00.

Property exemptions are located in various titles and chapters of the South Dakota Code. When using West's South Dakota Codified Laws in print or on WestlawNext, it is recommended that you use the index.  To locate property exemption statutes, first look under the heading "Debtors and Creditors," and the subheading "Exempt property."   Bloomberg Law,  Fastcase, the Legislative Research Council website, and Lexis Advance do not include indexes for the South Dakota statutes.  When using these resources to locate property exemption statutes, it is recommended that you begin with South Dakota Codified Laws chapters 43-45, 43-31, 58-12, 58-37A, 61-6, and 62-4.  For all the resources mentioned above, you should do further research to find additional exemption statutes within the Code.

In other recent legal news affecting the law of debtors and creditors, the United States Bankruptcy Appellate Panel of the Eighth Circuit in Mehlhaff v. Allred (In re Mehlhaff) upheld the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of South Dakota's order that a debtor's prepetition alimony award was property of her bankruptcy estate within 11 U.S.C. §541(a)(1), and was not expressly excluded by §541(b) or (c)(2).  In addition, the Eighth Circuit Panel quoted the South Dakota Supreme Court in Jasper v. Smith, 540 N.W.2d 399, 403-04 (S.D. 1995):  "[a]n examination of the statutes shows the [South Dakota] legislature has seen fit to exempt certain property from the attachment process in SDCL ch. 43-45 but alimony is not one of them."  The Panel also noted that although the federal bankruptcy exemption scheme provided a specific exemption for future alimony payments in 11 U.S.C. §522(d)(10)(D), South Dakota opted out of this scheme and does not provide an alimony exemption. 

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

Patent Law Resources

During the 2013 fall semester, the USD Law School will offer a course entitled "Introduction to Intellectual Property Law" taught by Adjunct Professor Mark Ekse. To support the students taking this course, the Law Library created a research guide for Intellectual Property Law. This guide covers many online and print resources for patent, copyright, trademark, and trade secrets law. 

In addition, the Law Library's latest display showcases selected patent law resources from its collection, including Moy's Walker on Patents, How to Write a Patent Application by Jeffrey G. Sheldon, The Manual of Patent Examining Procedure (also available online at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) website, and Intellectual Property and Antitrust Handbook from the ABA Section of Antitrust Law.  Also featured on the display is the flowchart for the Process for Obtaining a Utility Patent, prepared and posted by the USPTO.














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