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)