Our Display on Space Law is "Out of This World"

On July 29, 1958 (56 years ago), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was created by Congressional legislation. July 20, 1969 marked the Apollo 11 moon landing, when man first set foot on the lunar surface.  In remembrance of these historic July events, the Law Library invites you to explore our new display featuring print and electronic resources in the field of Space Law.

The display highlights the Journal of Space Law, available via HeinOnline, as well as print resources available in the library, including The Little Book of Space Law, by Matthew Kleiman. This brief title (183 p.), provides an introduction to various topics in the area of Space Law, including orbital debris, cyber warfare in space, environmental issues, and ownership of celestial resources. 

For those interested in conducting more research in the area of Space Law, consider consulting a Space Law Research Guide, such as this one, created by the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law Library.  For news and current awareness, check out Res Communis, the blog of the National Center for Remote Sensing, Air, and Space Law, at the University of Mississippi School of Law.  For fun, visit NASA's Image of the Day Gallery.

Good Luck to Our Graduates on the Bar Exam!

Today, July 29, is the first day of the South Dakota Bar Exam, as well as the bar exam of many states across the country.  The McKusick Law Library would like to wish all of our graduates sitting for the July bar exam the best of luck!

For those thinking ahead to the bar exam in the future, don't forget about the Law Library's LibGuide on bar exam information and resources, available here.  The Law Library has also been featuring a display with bar exam resources, which will remain up through the end of July.  For more information on the materials featured in the display, see the Prairie Law Blog's previous post here. 

Law Library Display Celebrates the Ratification of the 14th Amendment

On July 28, 1868, the Fourteenth Amendment was certified as ratified by the states.  The Fourteenth Amendment granted citizenship to “all persons born or naturalized in the United States,” including  former slaves.  It also prohibits states from denying any person "life, liberty or property, without due process of law" or to "deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” As such, the Fourteenth Amendment was critical to the expansion and development of civil rights in the United States. 

This important historical event is highlighted in one of the Law Library's current displays.  The display features information about the ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment from the Library of Congress, as well as several titles which offer background and history on the ratification process, including No Easy Walk To Freedom: Reconstruction and the Ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment, by James E. Bond.

Two important Supreme Court cases arising out of the Fourteenth Amendment were Plessy v. Ferguson and Brown v. Board of Education, which addressed the constitutionality of racial segregation.  The Law Library's display also features titles regarding these important cases, including: The Plessy Case: A Legal-Historical Interpretation, by Charles A. Lofgren, Defining Moments: Brown v. Board of Education, by Diane Telgen, and With All Deliberate Speed: Implementing Brown v. Board of Education, edited by Brian J. Daugherity and Charles C. Bolton.

Other titles included in the display are: Government By Judiciary: The Transformation of the Fourteenth Amendment, by Raoul Berger, No State Shall Abridge: The Fourteenth Amendment and the Bill of Rights, by Michael Kent Curtis, and The Fourteenth Amendment and the Bill of Rights, by Raoul Berger.

New Sony Digital Paper E-Reader To Be Marketed to Lawyers

Sony recently announced that they have entered into an agreement with William S. Hein & Co., best known for its HeinOnline product, with regard to their new 13.3 inch Digital Paper e-Reader.  See the press release here.  Additional coverage is also available from GoodEReader and Information Today. 

The combination of the Digital Paper e-Reader and HeinOnline was showcased at the recent Annual Meeting of the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) in San Antonio, TX earlier this month. 

While the Law Library does not endorse particular products, those interested in features of the e-Reader may wish to consult Robert Ambrogi's review of the Digital Paper e-Reader on his LawSites blog here.  Another recent post on the blog is titled "A Couple Other Cool Things I Saw at AALL."  For those with an interest in the intersection of technology, legal research, libraries, and lawyering, the LawSites blog is a great place to check for news and new products. 

More Construction Progress

All the tabletops and adjustable lighting have now been installed on the new study tables on the main floor and upper level of the Law Library:

Study tables on the main floor with accompanying chairs.

Study tables installed on the upper level of the Law Library.










The Prairie Law Blog will continue to post new pictures of the construction progress.

Weekend Disruption to TWEN Access

Law School Westlaw/TWEN users should be aware that Westlaw recently posted the following message:

Due to system maintenance, you will be unable intermittently to access TWEN beginning early Saturday evening, July 26th through Sunday morning, July 27th.

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact a member of the Law Library staff.

Indigenous Law Portal from the Law Library of Congress

The Law Library of Congress has recently created a Indigenous Law web portal, which offers links to American Indian Constitutions and Legal Materials by state.  See their recent tweet about the portal here on their Twitter feed @LawLibCongress.  To directly access materials on the portal for South Dakota tribes, click here. 

For those interested in additional resources related to Federal Indian, tribal, and indigenous peoples law, the McKusick Law Library has recently published a LibGuide titled Native American Law Guide: Federal Indian, Tribal & Indigenous Peoples Law Related Resources, which provides additional information and links for researchers.

Update on Law Library Construction Progress

The construction in the Law Library has been progressing quickly.  Since the last time the Prairie Law Blog posted, the furniture for the Technology Learning Center has been mostly assembled and the new study tables on the main floor and upper floor are partially assembled.  See the pictures below.  Keep checking back in to the Prairie Law Blog for more pictures and updates!

One of the two tables of the new Technology Learning Center on the main floor.  Large screen monitors will ultimately be installed on the brackets.

The second of the two tables of the Technology Learning Center.

The frames for the new study tables on the main floor of the Law Library are installed.  The table in the foreground has the adjustable LED lighting already installed.

Additional study tables being installed on the main floor of the Law Library.

A crew member works on cabling for the new study tables located on the upper level of the Law Library.  In addition to lighting, all the tables will be wired for electricity and data.

Law Library Construction Progress

The construction in the law library is continuing to progress, with the arrival of new furniture for the technology learning center and new chairs and study tables.  The continued patience of our patrons throughout the construction process is much appreciated!  The Prairie Law Blog will continue to post pictures as the construction progresses.  If you have any questions or concerns, please contact a member of the library staff.

Older chairs are stacked to be moved out of the library.

The older study tables will also be relocated.

New chairs are lined up between the stacks, awaiting their installation.

Pieces of the technology learning center tables, which will be located on the main floor of the library.  The learning center will feature large screen monitors and an interface that will allow laptops, IPads, and other devices to be viewed on the monitors. 

Today in Legal History: Scopes Trial Began July 10, 1925

Often considered one of the most famous American court trials, arguments in the case of State of Tennessee v. John T. Scopes began in Dayton, Tennessee on July 10, 1925. The case, which began to be referred to as "The Scopes Trial" or the "Monkey Trial", involved the prosecution of high school teacher John Scopes for violation of a Tennessee law prohibiting the teaching of evolutionary biology in the state's public schools. The trial involved renowned civil rights attorney Clarence Darrow, representing Scopes, and William Jennings Bryan for the prosecution.

The trial was extensively covered in the press at the time, and while Scopes was ultimately convicted of violating the Tennessee law, the case placed a national spotlight on the issue of creationism and evolution in education. The legal principles at the center of the Scopes Trial have remained hotly contested in the many decades since they were argued at Dayton. Eighty years later, the 2005 case of Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District, 400 F. Supp. 2d 707 (M.D. Pa. 2005), involved a challenge to public school district policy that required the teaching of intelligent design. The court in Kitzmiller ultimately held that the policy violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.

The Law Library has several titles in its collection which focus on the Scopes Trial and the Kitzmiller case. A display is currently being featured which highlights these resources, including:

Center of the Storm: Memoirs of John T. Scopes / John T. Scopes and James Presley

Bryan and Darrow at Dayton: The Record and Documents of the "Bible-Evolution Trial"/ Leslie H. Allen, editor

In the Interest of Justice: Great Opening and Closing Arguments of the Last 100 Years / Joel J. Seidemann (Chapter 9 focuses on the arguments in the Scopes Trial)

Law, Darwinism & Public Education: The Establishment Clause and the Challenge of Intelligent Design / Francis J. Beckwith

The Devil in Dover: An Insider’s Story of Dogma v. Darwin in Small-Town America / Lauri Lebo

40 Days and 40 Nights: Darwin, Intelligent Design, God, Oxycontin, and Other Oddities on Trial in Pennsylvania / Matthew Chapman

New Database Enhancements

New enhanced features are available via Bloomberg Law, including the addition of new Litigation Portfolios and an enhanced News Search, which allows users to more easily include or exclude web sources from their news search. Bloomberg Law has also expanded coverage of their one-click access to court opinions discussing federal laws and regulations.  The coverage now includes all of the United States Code (USC) and Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). 

Bloomberg Law is available to USD Law faculty and students, and to subscribers.  For more information about Bloomberg Law, please ask a member of the law library staff.

Lexis Advance is also planning global enhancements to its platform.  For a preview of the new features, see information here from LexisNexis for Law Schools (sign-in required).  Both a video and webinar recording are available which highlight the new platform.

South Dakota's First Veterans Treatment Court Now Open

As part of the the judicial reform law passed by the South Dakota legislature last year, the State is implementing a new system of veterans treatment courts.  These courts will offer veteran offenders with the option of alternate sentences, including treatment, as opposed to prison time.

The first of these courts opened this week in Watertown, SD, serving Codington County.  An article from KELOLand.com about the opening is available here.  South Dakota Supreme Court Chief Justice David Gilbertson was present at the opening and provides his comments in the article.  According to the article, the opening of two additional courts in Sioux Falls and Rapid City is planned for the future.

Interested in learning more about Veterans Affairs in South Dakota?  The Law Library has a LibGuide page available here with links and more information.

Independence Day Display

Each year, as a nation, we celebrate July 4 as Independence Day to commemorate the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776.

The Declaration of Independence, being of central importance to American history and our U.S. legal system, is the focus of the Law Library's current Independence Day display. The display offers copies of the Declaration for reading and reflection, as well as the following titles in the Law Library's collection:

Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence: Origins, Philosophy, and Theology / by Allen Jayne

Declaring Independence: The Origin and Influence of America’s Founding Document: Featuring the Albert H. Small Declaration of Independence Collection / Christian Y. Dupont and Peter S. Onuf, editors

To Secure These Rights: The Declaration of Independence and Constitutional Interpretation / by Scott Douglas Gerber

The display also offers information about the history of the Declaration of Independence from the Library of Congress' Declaration of Independence Web Guide. The Web Guide provides a chronology of events leading up to and following July 4, 1776. For instance, did you know that the engrossed copy of the Declaration of Independence was not signed by most of the delegates until August 2, 1776? The Web Guide links to the Journals of the Continental Congress for this reference and many other interesting historical details.

Hobby Lobby Decision Sparks Nationwide and Local Reaction

Earlier this week, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision in the Hobby Lobby case, holding that "as applied to closely held corporations, the regulations promulgated by the Department of Health and Human Services requiring employers to provide their female employees with no-cost access to contraception violate the Religious Freedom Restoration Act" (from the SCOTUSblog summary, available here).

The 5-4 opinion in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, Inc., authored by Justice Alito, has sparked reaction across the country, and South Dakota is no exception.  A recent article from KELOLand.com, a local news affiliate, offers reactions from local political leaders and South Dakota citizens.  An article from the Argus Leader, a Sioux Falls newspaper, is available here. 

Law Library Hours - July 4th

The McKusick Law Library will be closed to the public on Friday, July 4th in observance of Independence Day. The Law Library will resume its normal summer hours of 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. weekdays on Monday, July 7. Law students may continue to access the Law Library 24/7 throughout the weekend, using their ID cards.