Law Librarian Blog

What do fishing, marriage, and depositions have in common?

Edward G. Connette has the answer in How to Take Better Depositions and Perhaps Improve Your Marriage, from the free edition of Tips from the Trenches.  [RJ]

ProQuest Selected to Digitize Major Historic Newspapers

Press release from ProQuest:

"The Library of Virginia is partnering with ProQuest Information and Learning on the digitization of historically significant newspapers.  The Library is one of six pilot sites to receive funds from the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP - http://www.neh.gov/projects/ndnp.html and http://www.loc.gov/ndnp ), a long-term effort by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Library of Congress to develop an internet-based, searchable database of U.S. newspapers.  ProQuest is working with the Library of Virginia to digitize key titles covering the time period 1900-1910, including The Richmond Times-Dispatch.  In addition, the Library of Congress has chosen ProQuest as a partner to digitally convert 10 years of the New York Tribune to NDNP specifications for inclusion in the NDNP repository."

[RJ]

The Constitutional Infirmity of Warrantless NSA Surveillance: The Abuse of Presidential Power and the Injury to the Fourth Amendment

The Constitutional Infirmity of Warrantless NSA Surveillance: The Abuse of Presidential Power and the Injury to the Fourth Amendment by Robert M. Bloom, Boston College Law School and William J. Dunn, Boston College Law School, Class of 2006

From the abstract: In recent months, there have been many revelations about the tactics used by the Bush Administration to prosecute their war on terrorism. These stories involve the exploitation of technologies that allow the government, with the cooperation of phone companies and financial institutions, to access phone and financial records. This paper focuses on the revelation and widespread criticism of the Bush Administration’s operation of a warrantless electronic surveillance program to monitor international phone calls and emails that originate or terminate with a United States party.

[RJ]

Caring for Your Collections: Guides and Ideas from the Preservation Directorate at LC

From the Library of Congress:

"Need advice on the care of books, photos, videos, and other media in your collections? These publications from the Preservation Directorate answer many questions about the care, handling and storage of your valuable collections."

[RJ]

Opening: Law Library Director, Golden State

Golden Gate University School of Law invites applications for the position of Director of the Law Library.  Founded in 1901, Golden Gate University School of Law is accredited by the American Bar Association and the Committee of Bar Examiners of the State of California and is a member of the Association of American Law Schools. The Law Library has eight full time librarians, seven full time staff members, and three part time technology assistants.  It contains over 340,000 volumes and subscribes to more than 1,200 legal periodicals and journals. In addition to a comprehensive collection of general law books, the Law Library collection includes special sections on tax law, law and literature, and international law with a concentration in Pacific Rim materials.

Responsibilities:

• Manages the law library. In particular, the Director oversees and is responsible for all aspects of library administration, including: hiring, training and supervising library staff; collection development; budgeting; technological development; and strategic planning.
• Oversees the ongoing renovation of the Law Library.  The library, which currently occupies two floors, will be expanding onto a third floor.  The Director will be responsible for the smooth and successful renovation of the new space.
• Monitors the programs and services of the Library, and ensures that they are sufficient to meet the needs of students, faculty, and the Bar.
• Ensures the Law Library continues to meet all applicable accreditation standards and AALS membership requirements.

Required Qualifications: Applicants must have a law degree from an ABA-accredited law school, a graduate degree in library science (or its equivalent) from an ALA-accredited institution, and significant administrative experience in a law library.

Desired Qualifications:

• Ability to work collaboratively with library staff, faculty, and patrons;
• Thorough knowledge of both California and federal legal materials;
• Skilled in searching both print and online materials (like Lexis, Westlaw, Hein);
• Willingness to be an advocate for the library;
• Strong communication skills.

To Apply: Letters of application should be sent to Professor Cliff Rechtschaffen, Chair, Faculty Appointments Committee, Golden Gate University School of Law , 536 Mission St., San Francisco, CA 94105 or by email to crechtschaffen@ggu.edu.  Applications will be reviewed upon receipt and accepted until the position is filled. 

The Law School is an equal opportunity employer and is strongly committed to diversifying its faculty and staff.

National Archives Reports of Declassification Initiatives Program

In yesterday's press release, the Archivist reported that since the ISOO audit report (The Withdrawal of Records from Public Access at the National Archives and Records Administration for Classification Purposes, April 26, 2006) was issued, "the practice of withdrawal of documents from the open shelves has been stopped in its tracks. Today, withdrawals are extremely rare and must demonstrate a compelling case." [JH]

First Amendment Podcasts

Podcast from the First Amendment Center include:

• What's the future of U.S. religious freedom?
• Students 'get' religious liberty after course
• Sexual orientation in schools: how to find common ground
• And some 20 more...

Check them out. [RJ]

Abortion and Original Meaning

Yale Law Prof Jack Balkin recently posted Abortion and Original Meaning on SSRN. Here is the abstract:   
    
This article argues that the debate between originalism and living constitutionalism offers a false dichotomy. Many originalists and their critics improperly conflate fidelity to the original meaning of the constitutional text with fidelity to how people living at the time of adoption expected that it would be applied. That is, they confuse original meaning with original expected application.

Constitutional interpretation requires fidelity to the original meaning of the Constitution and to the principles that underlie the text, but not to original expected application. This general approach to constitutional interpretation is the method of text and principle. This approach is faithful to the original meaning of the constitutional text, and to its underlying purposes. It is also consistent with the idea of a basic law that leaves to each generation the task of how to make sense of the Constitution's words and principles in their own time. Although the constitutional text and principles do not change without subsequent amendment, their application and implementation can. That is the best way to understand the interpretive practices characteristic of our constitutional tradition and the work of the many political and social movements that have transformed our understandings of the Constitution's guarantees. It explains, as other versions of originalism cannot, why these transformations are not simply mistakes that we must grudingly accept out of respect for settled precedent, but are significant achievements of our constitutional tradition.

The article applies this method to the most contentious constitional issue of our generation-- the constitutional right to abortion. It concludes, contrary to conventional wisdom, that the constitutional right to abortion is consistent with the original meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment, and, in particular, its prohibition on class legislation that is embodied in the Equal Protection Clause.

The article criticizes Roe v. Wade's original trimester system, arguing that there are actually two rights to abortion instead of one. Finally, it explains how courts might have better implemented the constitutional guarantee of the two rights to abortion in ways that are more respectful of democratic politics.

How To Keep Your Search History Private

From the Electronic Frontier Foundation:

"How can you help prevent damaging privacy invasions like AOL's data leak? Along with spreading the word about this debacle, you can take steps to protect yourself online. [W]e've listed some tips and tools that will help keep your search history private."

Check it out. [RJ]

Iran: Recognizing Iran as a Strategic Threat: An Intelligence Challenge for the United States

Staff Report of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Subcommittee on Intelligence Policy.

From the summary:

"Threats against the United States and Israel by Iranian President Ahmadinejad – coupled with advances in the Iranian nuclear weapons program, support for terror, and resistance to international negotiations on its nuclear program – demonstrate that Iran is a security threat to our nation that requires high caliber intelligence support. The seriousness of the Iranian threat has been amplified by the recent rocket attacks against Israel by the Iranian-backed Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah, which, according to press accounts, has received as many as 10,000 rockets from Iran."

[RJ]

Opening: Law Library Director, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

The University of North Carolina School of Law is seeking applications and nominations for its Law Library Director. The Kathrine R. Everett Law Library has a professional staff of 11 librarians, a staff of 9 and a collection of over 500,000 volumes. The library serves 700 law students and a faculty of 60.  The University of North Carolina is a major research university, enrolling 25,000 students and supported by 18 libraries.  Chapel Hill is a small town near the cities of Durham and Raleigh in central North Carolina.  It benefits from proximity to several other major research universities, and boasts a wide variety of social and cultural opportunities.

Responsibilities: The responsibilities of the Law Library Director include, but are not limited to, supervising and managing the overall operation of the law library; meeting with the University Librarian and the Health Sciences Librarian on matters of library policymaking and budgeting; overseeing personnel and organization of the law library; managing budget and fundraising activities; planning for long-term library and collection development; preparing reports and statistics for the use of the law library and the law school; fostering good public relations for the library, serving as liaison between the law school administration and faculty and the library faculty and staff; classroom teaching; and representing the law library in various groups and at meetings and professional organizations.  The Law Library Director reports to the Dean of the School of Law. 

Qualifications: Qualifications for the position of Law Library Director include:  a Master’s degree in Library Science or equivalent from an ALA-accredited library or information science program; a Juris Doctor degree from an ABA-accredited law school; an ability to work collaboratively with library staff, campus personnel and community constituents at all levels; skills in personnel management; administrative experience at a high level in an academic law library; knowledge of legal bibliography; excellent communication skills; leadership ability; supervisory experience; a record of scholarly productivity; and excellence as a teacher.  This position may be tenured, tenure-track, or fixed term. Women and minorities are especially encouraged to apply for this position.

Salary: Salary is commensurate with experience.

Interested applicants should send a cover letter, a resumé, and contact information of three references via mail to:

Human Resources
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Law
100 Ridge Road, Campus Box 3380
Chapel Hill, NC 27599
http/library.law.unc.edu/

Application deadline: Open Until Filled

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is an Equal Opportunity Employer

Top 20 Law Schools by Size of Endowment

Texas Law Prof Brian Leiter is reporting 2000 data on law school endownments on his Law School Reports blog. Harvard, of course, leads the pack by a wide margin. The top public school is Michigan. [JH]

Librarians at the Gates

Great article from The Nation:

“The day-to-day challenges librarians face are inherent in the job description: defending access to controversial or banned books, staving off budget cuts, and creating and expanding programs to draw more citizens into one of the few remaining genuinely public commons in American life. While the ethic of secrecy often prevails in the gathering and dissemination of corporate and governmental information, the work of a librarian is imbued with just the opposite. Be it in the capacity of archivist, reference librarian or information technology professional, a common thread is the profession’s dogged commitment to safeguarding books, research and information to make knowledge more widespread, not less.”

[RJ]

Cornell Law Library's InSITE Website Reviews

Reviews published in the August 28, 2006 issue of InSITE:

• CREW: Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington
• Fostering Results
• Jobs with Justice
• National Obscenity Law Center
• Selfhelpsupport.org

CREW: Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington 
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) is a progressive public interest group that “targets government officials who sacrifice the common good to special interests.”  Using litigation, CREW seeks to hold public officials accountable and pursue remedies for misconduct, including improper fund-raising and withholding of information to which the public is entitled.  The website provides straightforward information on CREW’s various activities.  On the site, users will find a log of CREW’s legal actions with a description of each, including links to related news stories.  As well, relevant documents, such as complaints and exhibits, are made available.  CREW’s actions include a Federal Election Commission complaint against a U.S. Senator, an ethics complaint against a Congressman, and an IRS complaint against the National Abstinence Clearinghouse.  Another section of the site details the group’s many Freedom of Information Act requests.  Finally, the website Press Center provides access to CREW’s news releases in reverse chronological order. [MM]

Fostering Results   
Sponsored by the Children and Family Research Center at the School of Social Work at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Fostering Results is a public education and outreach campaign which is designed to highlight the need to address the federal financing mechanisms that favor foster care over other services and options for children and families, and to improve court oversight of child welfare cases.  The Fostering Results website provides visitors with research briefs and other related publications, mostly in PDF, in the "Reports" section.  The "Emerging Issues" section highlights Fostering Results' collaboration with related agencies and organizations to promote data-driven reform in order to improve dependency case processing in courts and child welfare agencies.  Another agenda item includes the promotion of evidence-based strategies to develop and retain a competent child welfare workforce.  The Fostering Results website provides links to related pages and provides news releases from its "Press Room." [BWK]

Jobs with Justice   
The mission of Jobs with Justice (JwJ), founded in 1987, is to improve working people's standard of living, to fight for job security, and to protect workers' right to organize.  JwJ's core belief is that in order to be successful, workers' rights struggles have to be part of a larger campaign for economic and social justice. To that end, JwJ has created a network of local coalitions that connect labor, faith-based, community, and student organizations to work together on workplace and community social justice campaigns.  The JwJ website provides tools for activism and fact-sheets covering topics such as “Unemployment,” “Immigrant Rights,” “Living Wage,” and “Welfare Reform.”  Legal researchers may be interested in the site’s “Workers’ Rights Board,” a section which focuses on the efforts to create locally-based panels to address workers’ and community concerns.  This site is also in Spanish. [BWK]

National Obscenity Law Center 
The National Obscenity Law Center (NOLC) is a clearinghouse on civil and criminal obscenity law.  The Center maintains copies of all reported obscenity cases since 1800. NOLC files also include categories of material and information such as legal memoranda, pleadings and motions, jury selection, jury instructions, expert witness bank, articles, statutes and ordinances.  Begun as a recommendation of the Hill-Link Minority Report of the Presidential Commission on Obscenity and Pornography (often cited by the U.S. Supreme Court), the clearinghouse concept was tested and proven as a Law Enforcement Alliance of America (LEAA) project from 1973 to 1975, and is now continued through private funding.  NOLC makes available selected articles from its bi-monthly "Obscenity Law Bulletin," which contains information, articles, and comments regarding the most recent obscenity cases and related issues.  Chapter descriptions and a chapter index from the "Obscenity Law Reporter" are available for free, but the reporter itself is not online.  The site also offers several ordinance construction studies on sexually oriented businesses (SOBs). [BWK]

Selfhelpsupport.org
Selfhelpsupport.org is a collaborative project among multiple groups including the National Center for State Courts, Legal Services Corporation, the Chicago-Kent College of Law and Pro Bono.net.  Dating from 2003, the project was originally funded by the State Justice Institute.  The website is designed to be “a virtual meeting place for people involved with providing pro se assistance or directing pro se and self help programs.”  The site is intended for courts, lawyers, and other advocates, and most of the site’s offerings require free membership.  Members can use the site for information-sharing and professional networking.  The main feature of the site is an ever-growing library of materials from pro se programs from around the country.  Content includes scanned documents and links to articles and reports.  The material is extensive and the site map provides well-organized access.  Materials include statistical reports, ethics materials, training materials, and substantive law items covering topics from custody, to landlord/tenant to probate. [MM]

InSITE contributors: Julie Jones, Research Attorney, Brandy Kreisler, J.D., M.L.S., Matt Morrison, Research Attorney, Jean Pajerek (editor), Head of Technical Services & Information Management, all current or former members of the professional staff at Cornell Law Library.

About InSITE: InSITE highlights selected law-related Web sites in two ways: as an annotated publication issued electronically and in print; and, as a keyword-searchable database. The law librarians at Cornell evaluate potentially useful Web sites, select the most valuable ones, and provide commentary and subject access to them.

Digital versions of this information can be accessed via:

1. Searchable database or by browsing current and archived issues on the web: Click InSITE at www.lawschool.cornell.edu/library

2. E-mail subscription. Send the following request: SUBSCRIBE InSITE-L <YourFirstName> <YourLastName> to: listproc@cornell.edu

3. Readers can subscribe to the new InSITE RSS feed at http://www.lawschool.cornell.edu/library/RESOURCES/insite.htm

The contents of InSITE and any recommendations therein are the opinions of the authors and do not reflect the views of Cornell University. InSITE is copyright protected by Cornell Law Library, © 2006 Cornell Law Library. Permission to republish InSITE issues on Law Librarian Blog has been granted. For permissions, contact Jean M. Pajerek [jmp8@cornell.edu].

Cornell Law Library URL: http://www.lawschool.cornell.edu/library

Practicing Reference . . . A Blog’s Life

Mary Whisner, Assistant Librarian for Reference Services at the Marian Gould Gallagher Law Library, discusses her blogging experiences in the latest issue of Law Library Journal. Check it out. [RJ]

Report to Congress on Implementation of Section 1001 of the USA PATRIOT Act

New report from the Office of the Inspector General, U.S. Department of Justice:

"Section 1001 of the USA PATRIOT Act (Patriot Act), Public Law 107-56, directs the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ or Department) to undertake a series of actions related to claims of civil rights or civil liberties violations allegedly committed by DOJ employees. It also requires the OIG to provide semiannual reports to Congress on the implementation of the OIG’s responsibilities under Section 1001. This report – the ninth since enactment of the legislation in October 2001 – summarizes the OIG’s Section 1001-related activities from January 1, 2006, through June 30, 2006."

[RJ]

Opening: Access Services/Research Librarian, Vanderbilt Law

The Alyne Queener Massey Law Library
Vanderbilt University Law School

POSITION:  Access Services/Research Librarian

DESCRIPTION:  Directs the Access Services Department, including circulation and its related functions, document delivery, interlibrary loans, and loose-leaf filing.  Provides reference service to faculty, students, and other patrons, including general and legal reference, using print and online resources; conducts in-depth research for faculty; and participates in collection development.   Some evening and weekend hours may be required during academic year.

QUALIFICATIONS: Required: ALA-accredited MLS and ABA-accredited JD; competence in delivering legal research services and knowledge of print and electronic legal information sources; interest and proficiency in technology applications for legal research and library public services programs; excellent written, oral communications and interpersonal skills; ability to work and collaborate with a variety of people; and strong service orientation.  Preferred: 1 to 3 years law library experience; familiarity with OCLC systems and ILLiad software.

ENVIRONMENT:  Vanderbilt University consists of ten schools and colleges with an enrollment of over 11,000.  The university is served by the Jean and Alexander Heard Library system, which has a collection of over 3 million volumes in eight libraries and a staff of 210.  The library is highly automated with an on-line system based on SIRSI software.  The Law Library contains over 500,000 volumes and has a staff of 16, with an annual operating budget of over $2 million.  In addition to the law school and the university, the Law Library serves the regional legal community.  For more information about Vanderbilt, the Vanderbilt Library, and the Law Library, consult the library web pages at http://www.library.vanderbilt.edu. Vanderbilt is located in Nashville, Tennessee, a major business and educational center in the mid-South with a population of over 1.5 million in the metropolitan statistical area.

COMPENSATION:  Salary negotiable. Benefits are those applicable to exempt employees of the university, including health care insurance, retirement plan options, and a tuition discount program.

APPLICATIONS:  Preference will be given to those applications received by October 15, 2006.  Review of applications will begin immediately.  Send letter of application and resume, with names, addresses, and telephone numbers of three references to:

Lisa Terranova Shipman
Director of Administrative Services
Vanderbilt University Library
419 21st Avenue South
Nashville, TN  37240-0007
lisa.shipman@vanderbilt.edu

Vanderbilt University is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer.  Minorities, persons with disabilities and women are particularly encouraged to apply.

Law Professor Blogs Network Passes 10-Million Page View Milestone

Thanks to the hard work of our 50 editors and 20 contributing editors, the 32 blogs of our Law Professor Blogs Network passed 10 million page views last month. When Paul Caron and I started this venture in July 2004 we had no idea the Network would be this successful. I would also like to thank our sponsor (Thomson-West, Thomson-RIA, and Foundation Press) and, most importantly, our loyal readers. [JH]

Attn Law Librarians: Many of our blog editors have identified resources they find useful in their field in the left sidebar of their blogs.

Members of the Law Professor Blogs Network:

AntitrustProf Blog
Shubha Ghosh (SMU)

Aviation Law Prof Blog
Brian F. Havel (DePaul)
Michael S. Jacobs (DePaul)
Andrew Eastmond
(Intern'l Aviation Law Institute)

Business Law Prof Blog
Dale Oesterle (Ohio State)

Chinese Law Prof Blog
Donald C. Clarke (George Washington)

ContractsProf Blog
Frank Snyder (Texas Wesleyan)
Carol L. Chomsky (Minnesota)
Official Blog of the AALS Section on Contracts

CrimProf Blog
Mark A. Godsey (Cincinnati)

Elder Law Prof Blog
Kim Dayton(William Mitchell)

Environmental Law Prof Blog
Susan L. Smith (Willamette)

Family Law Prof Blog
Barbara Glesner Fines
(Univ. of Missouri-Kansas City)
Nancy Ver Steegh (William Mitchell)

Health Law Prof Blog
S. Elizabeth Malloy (Cincinnati)

ImmigrationProf Blog
Kevin R. Johnson (UC-Davis)
Bill O. Hing (UC-Davis)
Jennifer Chacón (UC-Davis)

Land Use Prof Blog
Paul Boudreaux (Stetson)

Law & Econ Prof Blog
Jagdeep Bhandari (Florida Coastal School of Law)
Thomas S. Ulen (Illinois)

Law Librarian Blog
Joseph A. Hodnicki (Cincinnati)
Ronald Jones (Cincinnati)

Law School Academic Support Blog
Daniel Weddle
(Univ. of Missouri-Kansas City)
Elizabeth Stillman (Suffolk)

Legal Writing Prof Blog
Nancy Soonpaa (Texas Tech)
Sue Liemer (Southern Illinois Univ.)

Brian Leiter's Law School Reports
Brian R. Leiter (Texas)

Mass Tort Litigation Blog
Byron Stier (Southwestern Law School)

Media Law Prof Blog
Christine A. Corcos (Louisiana State)

Products Liability Prof Blog
J. David Prince (William Mitchell)
Michael K. Steenson (William Mitchell)
Kenneth Ross (William Mitchell)

PropertyProf Blog
D. Benjamin Barros (Widener)

Science & Law Blog
David L. Faigman (Hastings)
David H. Kaye (ASU)
Michael J. Saks (ASU)
Joseph Sanders (Houston)
Edward K. Cheng (Brooklyn)

Sentencing Law & Policy Blog
Douglas A. Berman (Ohio State)

State & Local Government Law Prof Blog
Judith Welch Wegner (North Carolina)

Statutory Construction Blog
David Hricik (Mercer)

TaxProf Blog
Paul L. Caron (Cincinnati)

Tech Law Prof Blog
Mark Giangrande (DePaul)

TortsProf Blog
William G. Childs (Western New England School of Law)

Unincorporated Business Law Prof Blog
Gregory M. Duhl (Tulsa)
Official Blog of the AALS Section on Agency, Partnership, LLCs, and Unincorporated Business Associatons

White Collar Crime Prof Blog
Peter J. Henning (Wayne State)
Ellen S. Podgor (Stetson)

Wills, Trusts and Estates Prof Blog
Gerry W. Beyer (Texas Tech)

Workplace Prof Blog
Richard Bales (NKU Chase)
Paul Secunda (Mississippi)

Congressional focus on data theft raises concerns

The recent rash of data thefts in government, business, and education alongside AOL's data privacy meltdown demonstrate the lack of effective data privacy protection in the United States.

Two new reports from the Michigan-based Ponemon Institute indicate that the situation is indeed dire. The report commissioned by Vontu indicates that companies may not even know if they have lost data.

81% of respondents report that their organizations have experienced one or more lost or missing laptop computers containing sensitive or confidential business information in the past 12 month period...When asked how long it would take to determine what actual sensitive data was on a lost or stolen laptop, desktop, file server, or mobile device, the most frequent answer was “never”...On average, 64% of respondents admit that their companies have never conducted a data inventory to determine the location of customer or employee information contained in various data stores. |Vontu|

The report commissioned by PortAuthority indicates that many information technology professionals feel that lax managerial practices make it difficult (if not impossible) to secure customer and employee data on corporate networks.

More than 41% of respondents believe their organization is not effective at enforcing compliance with their organizations’ data protection policies and procedures. Many respondents believe that their organizations do not have the right leadership structure or enough resources to properly enforce compliance with required internal control procedures. Another contributing factor appears to be the fragmented use of portable storage technologies such as memory sticks that that allow individuals to completely bypass enterprise-level control systems. |PortAuthority|

Numerous bills have been introduced in Congress this year that would require notification of consumers if their data was stolen including the Notification of Risk to Personal Data Act (HR 1069), the Comprehensive Veterans' Data Protection and Identity Theft Prevention Act of 2006 (HR 5588), Veterans Identity and Credit Security Act of 2006 (HR 5467), the Federal Agency Data Breach Notification Act (HR 5838), the Privacy Rights and OversighT for Electronic and Commercial Transactions Act of 2006 (PROTECT) (S 3713), the [less stringent] Data Accountability and Trust Act (DATA) (HR 3997), the [more stringent] Data Accountability and Trust Act (DATA) (HR 4127), and the Consumer Notification and Financial Data Protection Act of 2005 (HR 3374).

Some privacy advocates feel a state approach is superior to a federal one.

Many of the notification bills in Congress would be weaker than some of the state laws already passed [according to Georgetown Law Professor and privacy expert Daniel Solove]. State laws in California and New York, for example, require notification any time there’s been a breach of unencrypted data and don’t allow companies to decide whether there’s a significant risk. Solove would rather see those state laws stand than see a national breach notification bill pass, he said. Most of the congressional bills are “not very stringent,” he said. “The state innovations here are really good.” |MacWorld|

However, there are reasonable counter-arguments for a systematic federal approach. While requiring notification of data breaches is a step in the right direction, the more difficult task is to establish and enforce standards for managing and controlling data.

Data breach notification laws assume companies are able to detect the loss of personal data in the first place and then determine if lost data contained personally identifiable information. The Ponemon Institute's reports highlight significant deficiencies in current data practices across industry and government.

The more stringent version of the Data Accountability and Trust Act (HR 4127) at least addresses these concerns about preventing data thefts, but recent reports indicate Congress is leaning towards the less comprehensive alternative (HR 3997).

If organizations are unable or unwilling to protect confidential citizen data, they should not be allowed to warehouse the data in the first place.

Neal R. Axton, Reference Librarian, William Mitchell College of Law

Women Suddenly Scarce Among Justices’ Clerks

Linda Greenhouse, from the NYT, dicusses the rapid decline in female law clerkships. Check it out. {RJ}