Law Librarian Blog

Maping Impact of Global Warming on World Coastlines

The University of Arizona Department of Geosciences Environmental Studies Labratory has produced interactive and animated maps which depict what world coastlines will look like if sea levels increased. Want to buy some swamp land? Check out the animated maps for Louisiana and Florida.

Rankings of Law Schools by Student Quality

Yesterday, Texas Law Prof Brian Leiter released his 2006 Rankings of Law Schools by Student Quality. Leiter's study ranks the top 40 law schools by the 75th percentile LSAT (the top quarter). You can guess at the usual suspects for the Top 20 law schools (or view the table below).

Several schools made noticeable improvements in the rankings but none more so than the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign which improved its ranking by 13 places, from 33 in 2005 to 20 in 2006. Other schools with significant gains are Vanderbilt (from 26 to 20), Wake Forest (from 35 to 29) and Baylor (from being unranked in 2005 to 35 in 2006).

Several law schools dropped noticeably in the rankings, including University of Washington, Seattle (from 27 in 2005 to 34 in 2006) and University of California, Hastings (from 30 in 2005 to 36 in 2006). For the 2005 Rankings by Student Quality and other ranking reports, visit Leiter's Law School Rankings.

Top 20 Law Schools by 75th Percentile LSAT, 2005 & 2006
	School	2006	2005
	Harvard University	1	1
	Yale University	2	2
	Columbia University	3	3
	New York University	4	4
+3	University of Chicago	5	8
	Stanford University	6	5
	University of Virginia	7	6
	University of Pennsylvania	8	7
	Northwestern University	9	10
	Georgetown University	10	9
	University of Michigan, Ann Arbor	11	11
	University of California, Berkeley	12	13
	University of California, Los Angeles	12	13
	Duke University	14	12
	University of Texas, Austin	15	16
	Cornell University	16	15
	Fordham University	17	17
+4	University of Minnesota, Twin Cities	18	24
+3	Washington University, St. Louis	18	21
+13	University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign	20	33
	University of Southern California	20	19
+6	Vanderbilt University	20	26
NR: not ranked in 2005

Spotlight on Law Librarians: Greg Lambert

Greg Lambert
Information Resource and Records Manager,
King and Spalding L.L.P., Houston, Texas.

I’ve always prided myself on trying new things.  So, when my wife (who is also a librarian) suggested that I work on my MLS at the same time I was working on my JD, I said “why not!?!”  Twelve years, two degrees, and five jobs later, I think she picked out the perfect career for me.

In those twelve years, I’ve worked as a computer programmer, academic law librarian, director of 75 county law libraries, webmaster of a state supreme court website, adjunct law professor, project manager of a FEMA project, and last, but not least, a manager of a law firm library and records department.  It definitely hasn’t been boring.

Recently, I remembered something that Jon Schultz told me that really helped me expand my horizons as a law librarian.  I was interviewing with Jon for a position at the University of Houston Law Library when he asked me that inevitable question “Where do you see yourself in 10 years?”  I gave him my stock answer of how I was going to climb the ladder in academia and eventually become a director of a law library.  His very candid response was “Why would you want to limit your goals to that?”  I was stunned, and eventually told him “thanks, but no thanks” on the U of H job.  However, I did take what Jon said to heart and decided that I would take risks and try new things with my career.  The first thing I did was to write a proposal to teach a brand new class at Oklahoma City University School of Law on Computer Law.  When a Property II professor took a late sabbatical, I applied and got the job to teach it in his absence.  I was taking risks that I would have never thought of trying before, and I was having a blast.

Perhaps my favorite job was working with the Oklahoma Supreme Court.  This was an exciting and intellectually (although not financially) rewarding job.  I was given the task to consolidate all of the management of 75 county law libraries, digitize 120 years of state case law, and reconcile a couple million dollars of outstanding bills.  Perfect!!  When I left this position to move to Houston three and a half years later, the libraries were consolidated under the Court Administrator’s office, every single case decided in the State of Oklahoma, the Territory of Oklahoma, and the Indian Territory was online, we had reconciled all outstanding accounts, plus we doubled funding for the county law libraries thanks to a bill introduced by a state senator who is now the Governor of Oklahoma. 

When I had the chance to work with AMIGOS Library Services as a Project Manager to rebuild the University of Houston’s law library collection, I felt as if fate had stepped in to allow me to lend a hand to the person that gave me the vision to try such difficult tasks.  Coordinating a project to replace 175,000 volumes under the guidelines of FEMA was perhaps the most challenging job I have ever had.  However, it allowed me to see the structure of a law library in a way that few people have.  I needed to learn acquisitions, cataloging, serials, vendor relations, library systems operations, rules regarding non-profit organizations, and how to build something from the soggy remains of a library standing in 10 feet of water, all while still following the inflexible guideline of FEMA.  To say that this called for some “outside the box thinking” is an understatement indeed.

After having worked in Academic, State, Court and County, and non-profit library systems, I decided to go private.  I had spent the previous 6 years on the razor’s edge attempting to build or rebuild law libraries.  Now, I was going to take a more traditional role and manage a law firm library and take on the responsibilities of a records department.  I think my “traditional role” lasted approximately 6 minutes.  I quickly discovered that the world of law firm libraries is in constant motion.  Having to respond quickly to late Friday afternoon requests like “Can you find me an English to Vietnamese translator in Bangkok on Monday?” sure keeps you on your toes. 

Of course, I still look at the way things are and ask myself how can we make it better.  I’ve always been lucky in that most places I’ve worked, I have been given the flexibility to try new approaches.  My mother still tells the story of how I would take everything apart as a kid and see if I could make it work better.  In a way, I’m still that same kid trying to look at something in a new way to see if it can work better -- and still having a blast doing it.

Editor's Note: The Spotlight on Law Librarians feature is edited by Lee Peoples, Law Librarian Blog Contributing Editor and Associate Director for Faculty, Research and Instructional Services, Oklahoma City University Law Library. Please feel free to recommend a colleague for this feature to Lee at lpeoples@okcu.edu

Study Shows Users More Confident, Skilled and Loyal to Their Favorite Search Engine

In an April 2006 behavioral study of search engine users, iProspect found that 82% of users will narrow their initial unsuccessful search by adding keywords and executing that modified search using the same search engine. In 2002, this behavior was reported in only 68% of surveyed search engine users. The study concludes that this behavior indicates increased user confidence in their search engine. In a world of limited search engine options, this statistic just as likely indicates users are more skilled in using their favorite search engine.

The study also observed trends in search engine "success" and drill down rates.

Click on a result found on	2006	2004	2002
first page:	62%	60%	48%
second page:	80%	80%	71%
third page:	90%	87%	81%

Abandoned search after	2006	2004	2002
first page:	41%	41%	28%
second page:	68%	67%	56%
third page:	88%	83%	78%

Source: iProspect Search Engine User Behavior Study, April 2006 (pdf)

Hat tip to beSpecific.

Pending Federal Legislation on Lobbying Reform

House| Lobbying Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (HR 4975)

Highlights

• A moratorium on privately funded travel through the end of the 109th Congress, while the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct writes new guidelines.
• Lobbyists would file reports quarterly instead of twice a year, and the public would be able to access reports on the Internet.
• The House inspector general would conduct random audits of lobbying reports.
• The House ethics committee would be required to provide training sessions for lawmakers and their staffs.
• A list of earmarks and their sponsors would be included in each general appropriations bill or report accompanying the bill.
• Members negotiating outside employment would have to notify the ethics committee within five days, and members would be required to refrain from votes that would create a conflict of interest.

Legislative History

HR 4975 | Bill Summary and Status | Congressional Record | CRS Summary

Senate : Legislative Transparency and Accountability Act of 2006 (S 2349)

Highlights

• Itineraries would have to be submitted to the Ethics Committee for certification that the trip was primarily for educational purposes.
• Senators and aides could not accept meals or drinks from registered lobbyists, but could still accept meals valued at up to $50 from others as long as they disclosed the freebies on their official Web sites within 15 days.
• Registered lobbyists would have to file quarterly reports on their activities, instead of the current semiannual reports. The reports would be filed electronically and would be available to the public online.
• Members of Congress and high-level executive branch officials would be required to wait two years before lobbying former colleagues. Top congressional aides would have to wait a year before doing any congressional lobbying. The Senate also passed a non-binding sense of the Senate that these lobbying employment restrictions should also apply to the executive and judicial branches.
• Nonprofit advocacy groups that spent more than $100,000 a year or $25,000 per quarter on lobbying activities would have to disclose how much money they raised, how much they spent and whether they were affiliated with lobbying firms.

Legislative History

S 2348 | Bill Summary and Status | Congressional Record | CRS Summary | CBO Cost Estimates

Ron Jones, University of Cincinnati Law Library

Prestatehood Legal Materials: A Fifty-State Research Guide

Prestatehood Legal Materials: A Fifty-State Research Guide, Including New York City and the District of Columbia
Edited by Michael Chiorazzi
ISBN-13 978-0-790-2056-7; ISBN-10: 978-0-7890-2056-7
Haworth, 2006 $149.05

Prestatehood Legal Materials provides you with brief overviews of state histories from colonization to acceptance into the United States. In this book, you will see how foreign countries controlled the laws of these territories and how these states eventually broke away to govern themselves. The text also covers the legal issues with Native Americans, inter-state and the Mexico and Canadian borders, and the development of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of state government.

This guide focuses on materials that are readily available to historians, political scientists, legal scholars, and researchers. Resources that assist in locating not-so-easily accessible materials are also covered. Special sections focus on the legal resources of colonial New York City and Washington, DC—which is still technically in its prestatehood stage. Due to the enormity of this project, the editor of Prestatehood Legal Materials created a Web page where updates, corrections, additions and more will be posted.

In Prestatehood Legal Materials, you will find bibliographies, references, and discussion on a varied list of source materials, including:

• state codes drafted by Congress
• county, state, and national archives
• journals and digests
• state and federal reports, citations, surveys, and studies
• books, manuscripts, papers, speeches, and theses
• town and city records and documents
• Web sites to help your search for more information and more

One word review - excellent!

RAND Voices of Jihad Database

The RAND Corporation's Voices of Jihad Database contains speeches, interviews, statements, and publications of jihadist leaders, foot soldiers, and sympathizers. Nearly all content is in English translation, and has been collected from publicly-accessible websites. Original links are provided, along with excerpts and full-text content when available. Content is indexed by date, author, affiliated group, online source, and keyword.

See also the very useful resources producted by the RAND-MIPT Terrorism Incident Database Project

Ron Jones, University of Cincinnati Law Library

Opening: Reference Librarian, Duke Law

Duke University Law Library is now accepting applications for an open Reference Librarian position.  Review of applications will begin immediately.  Application deadline is May 2.  Please see the link below for a full description of the position and qualifications.

Position Description & Qualifications: http://www.law.duke.edu/jobs/reflib.html

Patent Awarded for Google Voice Search

On April 11, 2006, the US Patent and Trademark Office issued Google Patent #7,027,987 for a search engine voice interface, which is described as:

"A system provides search results from a voice search query. The system receives a voice search query from a user, derives one or more recognition hypotheses, each being associated with a weight, from the voice search query, and constructs a weighted boolean query using the recognition hypotheses. The system then provides the weighted boolean query to a search system and provides the results of the search system to a user."

Ken Fisher, Ars Technica, notes that Google Voice Search would be ideal for users of Google Mobile search. Michael Nguyen, Social Patterns (an excellent blog covering search engine developments), forecasts that

[t]ieing in all of Google’s search services with a mobile interface (cellphones) would allow users to tap into the power of search at all times. Combined with Google’s eventual entry into the personal data storing space (personal files, not just email/blogs), this technology could allow users to access all their data at anytime and anywhere with a simple voice command.

Study on Judical Turnover Contradicts Convention Wisdom About Retirement Decisions

Albert Yoon, Pensions, Politics, and Judicial Tenure: An Empirical Study of Federal Judges, 1869–2002, 8 Am. Law & Econ. Rev. 143 (2006).

Abstract: When Article III judges conclude active service, they effectively abdicate their seat and enable the president and Senate to select a successor. Some judicial scholars have concluded that political factors—both within and across institutions—largely influence this decision. Analyzing judicial turnover, year by year, this article finds that judges have increasingly synchronized their departure from active service with qualifying for their judicial pension. By comparison, political and institutional factors appear to have little influence on turnover rates. These findings contradict much of the existing scholarship on judicial turnover and also offer more viable alternatives for judicial reform.

EFF Releases Unintended Consequences: Seven Years under the DMCA

Just released, Unintended Consequences: Seven Years under the DMCA is the Electronic Frontier Foundation's analysis of reported cases where the anti-circumvention provisions of the DMCA were invoked against consumers, scientists, and legitimate competitors. The report will be updated as the need arises.

From the Executive Summary:

In practice, the anti-circumvention provisions have been used to stifle a wide array of legitimate activities, rather than to stop copyright infringement. As a result, the DMCA has developed into a serious threat to several important public policy priorities:

The DMCA Chills Free Expression and Scientific Research.
Experience with section 1201 demonstrates that it is being used to stifle free speech and scientific research. The lawsuit against 2600 magazine, threats against Princeton Professor Edward Felten's team of researchers, and prosecution of Russian programmer Dmitry Sklyarov have chilled the legitimate activities of journalists, publishers, scientists, students, programmers, and members of the public.

The DMCA Jeopardizes Fair Use.
By banning all acts of circumvention, and all technologies and tools that can be used for circumvention, the DMCA grants to copyright owners the power to unilaterally eliminate the public's fair use rights. Already, the movie industry's use of encryption on DVDs has curtailed consumers' ability to make legitimate, personal-use copies of movies they have purchased.

The DMCA Impedes Competition and Innovation.
Rather than focusing on pirates, many copyright owners have wielded the DMCA to hinder their legitimate competitors. For example, the DMCA has been used to block aftermarket competition in laser printer toner cartridges, garage door openers, and computer maintenance services. Similarly, Apple invoked the DMCA to chill RealNetworks' efforts to sell music downloads to iPod owners.

The DMCA Interferes with Computer Intrusion Laws.
Further, the DMCA has been misused as a general-purpose prohibition on computer network access which, unlike most computer intrusion statutes, lacks any financial harm threshold. As a result, a disgruntled employer has used the DMCA against a former contractor for simply connecting to the company's computer system through a VPN.

Reminder: Bloggership Conference at Harvard on April 28

Over twenty of the nation’s leading law professor bloggers will meet for the first scholarly conference on the impact of blogs on the legal academy in less than two weeks. Bloggership:  How Blogs Are Transforming Legal Scholarship will be held at Harvard Law School on Friday, April 28.  The conference is sponsored by the Berkman Center for Internet & Society.  It is free and open to the public; registration is not required.  I hope to see you there.

Here is the agenda:

8:30 - 8:40 a.m.: Welcome: John Palfrey (Executive Director, The Berkman Center for Internet & Society)

8:40 - 9:00 a.m.: Introduction: Paul Caron (Cincinnati; Publisher & Editor-in-Chief, Law Professor Blogs Network)

9:00 - 10:30 a.m.: Law Blogs as Legal Scholarship

• Papers:
  • Doug Berman (Ohio State; Sentencing Law and Policy): Scholarship in Action: The Power, Possibilities, and Pitfalls for Academic Blogs
  • Larry Solum (Illinois; Legal Theory Blog): The Role of the Blog in the Dissemination of Legal Scholarship
  • Kate Litvak (Texas): Law Prof Blogs: Useful, Yes; Scholarship, No
• Commentators:
  • Paul Butler (George Washington; BlackProf)
  • Jim Lindgren (Northwestern; The Volokh Conspiracy)
  • Ellen Podgor (Stetson; White Collar Crime Prof Blog)

11:00 - 12:30 p.m.: The Role of the Law Professor Blogger

• Papers:
  • Gail Heriot (San Diego; The Right Coast): Was Publius Our Nation's First Blogger?
  • Orin Kerr (George Washington; The Volokh Conspiracy): Law Professors As Public Intellectuals
  • Gordon Smith (Wisconsin; Conglomerate): Bit By Bit: A Case Study of Bloggership

http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/home/bloggership

• Commentators:
  • Randy Barnett (Georgetown; The Volokh Conspiracy)
  • Michael Froomkin (Miami; Discourse.net)

12:30 - 2:00 p.m.: Lunch

2:00 - 3:30 p.m.: Law Blogs and the First Amendment

• Papers:
  • Glenn Reynolds (Tennessee; InstaPundit) (via video conference): Libel, the First Amendment, and Bloggers
  • Eugene Volokh (UCLA; The Volokh Conspiracy): Cheap Speech and What It Has Done
  • Eric Goldman (Marquette; Technology & Marketing Law Blog): Joint and Guest Blogger Arrangements
• Commentators:
  • Betsy Malloy (Cincinnati; Health Law Prof Blog)
  • Dan Solove (George Washington; Concurring Opinions)

3:45 - 5:15 p.m.:  The Many Faces of Law Professor Blogs

• Papers:
  • Larry Ribstein (Illinois; Ideoblog): Bloggership as Amateur Journalism
  • Ann Althouse (Wisconsin; Althouse): Why a Narrowly Defined Legal Scholarship Blog Is Not What I Want: The Joys of Well-Rounded Blogging
  • Christine Hurt (Illinois; Conglomerate) & Tung Yin (Iowa; The Yin Blog): Pre-Tenure Blogging: Is It Worth It?
• Commentators:
  • Howard Bashman (How Appealing)
  • Peter Lattman (Wall Street Journal’s Law Blog)

Hing on Guest Workers Program With a Path to Legalization

In UC-Davis Law Prof and co-editor of ImmigrationProf Blog Bill Ong Hing argues

Legalizing the [flow to the United States of Mexican migrants] through a large guestworker program is a step toward easing pressures at the border (thus freeing up personnel to concentrate on the serious challenge of looking for terrorists and drug smugglers), addressing the labor needs of employers, bringing the undocumented out of the shadows, and ending unnecessary border deaths that have resulted from current enforcement strategies. But we have to do this in a manner that provides the workers with respect from other Americans and hope for membership in our society. Thus, a path toward legalization becomes a critical ingredient of any guestworker program.

Let's hope someone is listening.

I don't know what Prof Hing thinks but, in my opinion, the size limit of Judiciary Committee proposed guestworker program is way too small to deter the flow of undocumented migrants. Why have a limit on the number of guestworkers?

Opening: Web Developer/Data Systems Administrator, Syracuse Law

The Syracuse University College of Law is seeking applications for its Web Developer/Data Systems Administrator position.  The position is responsible for overseeing the development, planning, and implementation of the College of Law's web site and its web based resources.  This position works closely with the Law Library, Law administration, faculty, and student groups to implement web based access to resources and information. 

The successful candidate will have a Bachelor's degree or an equivalent combination of experience and education, plus 2-3 years experience in web development.  Must possess a working knowledge of web based development tools such as Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Photoshop, HTML, ASP development, .NET platform, CGI, Perl, ActiveX, Java, SQL.  Working knowledge and experience with Microsoft Internet Information Server , Microsoft Windows 2003 Server and NT Server, Microsoft Media Server and web streaming technologies.

Syracuse University offers an excellent benefit package that includes tuition, retirement, comprehensive health care plan, paid vacation, and the opportunity for continued professional development.

For a position description and online application instructions, go to www.sujobopps.com (022536).  Cover letter w/ URLs of sites you have created, resume and list of three professional references w/ contact information must be attached.  Priority consideration will be given to applications received by April 30, 2006 and the search will remain open until the position is filled. 

Syracuse University is an AA/EOE.

Life as an Undocumented Immigrant

See How to get by as illegal immigrant: work hard, pay cash, Pittsburgy Post-Gazette, April 16, 2006.

The Tax Man Cometh Again

C|NET staff writers Declan Mc Cullagh and Anne Broache report that 15 states and the District of Columbia now tax downloads of music, movies and electronic books and other states are eager to follow either by enacting legislation or enforcing their use tax. Read all about it: States seek levies on digital-media downloads. See also States push to tax Net shopping.

File under "iTunes sold too many downloads to be ignored by the tax man."

Bush & Cheney Income Tax Returns

TaxProf Blog has copies of the income tax returns of President Bush and Vice President Cheney along with press releases and media reaction. Check it out.

New Blog from Foreign Policy

Check out Passport, a blog by editors of Foreign Policy.