"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)