Law Librarian Blog

Is Bin Laden Dead?

Time is reporting that Saudi sources have credible reports suggesting the fugitive Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden has contracted a serious "water-borne illness," and may have already died. See also CNN's coverage (CNN's official OBL watcher Peter Bergen reports that the Binladen family has no knowledge of the illness or death). The Saudi information echos a story by the French newspaper L'Est Republicain, which cited a report by the French intelligence service, Direction Generale des Services Exteriors (DGSE), that also cited Saudi sources:

"The information gathered by the Saudis indicates that the head of al Qaeda was a victim while he was in Pakistan on August 23, 2006, of a very serious case of typhoid which led to a partial paralysis of his internal organs."

Source: Excerpt of leaked French intelligence service report printed in L'Est Republicain and translated by Reuters.

Background on Typhoid Fever: CDC | Medline Plus | Mayo Clinic

Hoax? Where's the body? [JH]

Deloitte Research on the Global Economic Outlook for 2007

From Deloitte Research:

"The global economy is currently robust with strong growth in many markets including the United States and China. Yet the global economy is also plagued by serious imbalances that threaten to derail the current strength. Debate rages over how and when these imbalances will be corrected and whether that process will be disruptive or benign. This report examines that debate, considers future scenarios  and offers suggestions for managing the risks. In addition, it includes analyses of economic prospects in each major region, discusses threats to globalization and assesses the declining risk of doing business in emerging markets."

Check out the report. [RJ]

Final Report of the Commission on the Future of Higher Education

From the U.S. Department of Education:

Recommendations include:

1. Student academic preparation should be improved and financial aid made available so that more students are able to access and afford a quality higher education.
2. The entire student financial aid system should be simplified, restructured and provided with incentives to better manage costs and measure performance.
3. A “robust culture of accountability and transparency” should be cultivated throughout the higher education system, aided by new systems of data measurement and a publicly available information database with comparable college information. There should also be a greater focus on student learning and development of a more outcome-focused accreditation system.
4. Colleges and universities should embrace continuous innovation and quality improvement.
5. Federal investments should be targeted to areas critical to America’s global competitiveness, such as math, science, and foreign languages.
6. A strategy for lifelong learning should be developed to increase awareness and understanding of the importance of a college education to every American’s future.

Check out the full report.

[RJ]

King County Law Library Podcasting Goes Live!

Side Bar: a place where servers go to place and pick up drink orders.

As readers of Stina McClintock's A View from the Stacks column know the King County Law Library (KCLL) has been working on its first podcast production. In what may be a blogosphere exclusive, I'm please to report that KCLL has just released the first episode of "Sidebar," appropriately titled "Would you like to join us for a Sidebar?" Congratulations to all.

Wedged between opening and closing remarks, Stina discusses "what she knows best" beer! In this instance, Stina reviews Costco Wholesale Corp. v. Hoen, 2006-1 Trade Cases P 75,250, (W.D.Wash. 2006) which held that a state interest in promoting temperance does not trump the federal interest in promoting competition. And thank god for that! 

Stephen Diamond, Miami Law Prof known for his expertise in foreign and domestic alcoholic beverage and food law, has some real competition now! [JH]

Waterside Collaborative Donates Books to Liberian Law School

Waterside Collaborative, a group of Liberians based in the United State, has presented a consignment of law books to the Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law at the University of Liberia. Read more about it. [JH]

Rights of the Dead

Kirsten Rabe Smolensky (Arizona) has posted Rights of the Dead on SSRN. Here's the abstract:

This working paper examines how the dead are treated across a variety of legal disciplines and grapples with the question of why the law gives the dead certain legal rights but not others. For example, survival statutes allow certain tort claims to survive death, most contracts (except those personal in nature) survive death, and at least one court has suggested that the dead have a nascent constitutional right to reproductive liberty. In contrast, testamentary directions concerning the disposal of property are sometimes ignored and some states disallow posthumous right of publicity or defamation claims. While many legal rules favoring the dead might be explained in practical terms as simply an attempt to control, incentivize, punish and empower the actions of the living, such an explanation is incomplete because it ignores cultural norms and an innate desire among the living to honor the wishes of the dead even when those wishes contradict their best interests. Furthermore, consistent use of rights language by legislatures and judges suggest that a series of social and cultural norms guide judges and legislatures to honor and respect the dead, particularly where the concomitant harms to the living are minimal.

This article, therefore, proposes the Dignity Theory of posthumous rights, which recognizes that while legal rules affecting the dead often have a practical aspect, one of the primary, and yet unrecognized, forces driving the creation of these legal rules is the desire to honor the wishes of the dead. In building a case for the Dignity Theory of posthumous rights, the article relies heavily on both Hohfeldian notions of legal rights and the extensive philosophical literature exploring what traits are necessary for someone to be recognized as a potential legal rights-holder. While the paper is still in its early stages, I hope to develop a first cut at a series of principles that will help us think about the way that the rights of the dead are treated. I also hope to explore questions about what it means to be a legal rights holder, how the existing rights of the dead can be enforced, and some of the agency problems created when an estate is acting on a decedent's behalf.

Hat tip to Wills, Trusts & Estates Prof Blog. [JH]

Recent CRS Reports on Congressional Issues

Recent CRS reports on Congressional matters include the following:

• WOMEN IN THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS: 1917-2006
• LIMITED-TERM APPOINTMENTS TO PRESIDENTIALLY APPOINTED, SENATE-CONFIRMED POSITIONS
• CONGRESSIONAL LIAISON OFFICES OF SELECTED FEDERAL AGENCIES
• SELECTED PRIVILEGES AND COURTESIES EXTENDED TO DEPARTING AND FORMER MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
• SELECTED PRIVILEGES AND COURTESIES EXTENDED TO FORMER SENATORS
• PAGES OF THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS: SELECTION, DUTIES, AND PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION
• HOUSE STANDING COMMITTEE CHAIRS: RULES GOVERNING SELECTION PROCEDURES

WOMEN IN THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS: 1917-2006   
CRS Publication Date:  07/26/2006
Document No.:  RL30261
Author(s):  Mildred Amer, Government and Finance Division

Abstract:  This report provides the names, dates of service, districts, and committee assignments of the 229 women who have served in the U.S. Congress.

LIMITED-TERM APPOINTMENTS TO PRESIDENTIALLY APPOINTED, SENATE-CONFIRMED POSITIONS   
CRS Publication Date:  08/25/2006
Document No.:  RS21412
Author(s):  Henry B. Hogue, Government and Finance Division

Abstract:  Several options that do not involve going through the Senate confirmation process are available for temporarily filling vacancies in presidentially appointed, Senateconfirmed positions (PAS positions). Limited-term appointments include temporary appointments under the Vacancies Act and recess appointments, each of which may be used under specific circumstances. Both types of appointment confer upon the appointee the legal authority to carry out the duties of the office, with the temporary appointee under the Vacancies Act performing such duties in an acting capacity. Alternatively, an individual may be hired by the agency as a consultant. A consultant does not carry the legal authority of the office, and may act only in an advisory capacity.

CONGRESSIONAL LIAISON OFFICES OF SELECTED FEDERAL AGENCIES
CRS Publication Date:  08/30/2006
Document No.:  98-446
Author(s):  Zina L. Watkins and Carla Berry, Knowledge Services Group

Abstract:  This is a directory of about 150 government agencies designed to assist congressional staff in contacting agencies of the legislative branch, cabinet departments and other executive branch agencies and boards and commissions. It contains names of congressional liaison officers, addresses, telephone and fax numbers, and occasionally e-mail addresses.

SELECTED PRIVILEGES AND COURTESIES EXTENDED TO DEPARTING AND FORMER MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES   
CRS Publication Date:  08/29/2006
Document No.:  98-962
Author(s):  Mildred Amer, Government and Finance Division

Abstract:  This report provides information on selected privileges and courtesies (with the exception of federal insurance and retirement benefits) extended to former Members of the House of Representatives. Some of these privileges are derived from law and the House Rules, but most are courtesies that have been extended as a matter of custom.

SELECTED PRIVILEGES AND COURTESIES EXTENDED TO FORMER SENATORS   
CRS Publication Date:  08/29/2006
Document No.:  98-963
Author(s):  Mildred Amer, Government and Finance Division

Abstract:  Over the years, a number of privileges and courtesies have been made available to former Members of the U.S. Senate. Although some are derived from law and Senate rules, most are courtesies which have been extended as a matter of custom.

PAGES OF THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS: SELECTION, DUTIES, AND PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION   
CRS Publication Date:  08/14/2006
Document No.:  98-758
Author(s):  Mildred Amer, Government and Finance Division

Abstract:  For more than 150 years, messengers known as pages have served the United States Congress. Currently, approximately 100 young men and women from across the nation serve as pages at any given time. Pages must be high school juniors, or at least 16 years of age. They must be appointed and sponsored by a Member of Congress for one or two semesters of a school year, or a summer session. Academic standing is among the most important criteria used in the final selection of pages.

HOUSE STANDING COMMITTEE CHAIRS: RULES GOVERNING SELECTION PROCEDURES   
CRS Publication Date:  08/09/2006
Document No.:  RS21165
Author(s):  Judy Schneider, Government and Finance Division

Abstract:  House Rules, Republic Conference rules, and Democratic Caucus rules each detail aspects of the procedures followed in selecting standing committee chairs. This report summarizes those procedures.

CRS Reports can be obtained from www.GalleryWatch.com. Individual reports are available from www.pennyhill.com. [RJ]

Opening: Law Librarian, Salt Lake City Firm

Jones Waldo Holbrook & McDonough, a 80 attorney law firm in Salt Lake City, is currently seeking an experienced Legal Librarian to manage the library.

Responsibilities: Plans, organizes, and performs the full range of work involved in operating and maintaining a modern law library including:            

• Assist attorneys, paralegals, law clerks and staff with legal and non-legal research questions;
• Prepares, administers, and monitors the law library budget; reviews and approves for payment all items charged to the library budget; negotiates contracts with publishers and vendors;
• Prepares, administers, and monitors cost recovery and billing program;
• Develops and implements policies and procedures for collection development;
• Supervise and oversee the cataloging and shelving of books, routing of publications, and loose-leaf filing; and
• Shelves new books and inserts pocket part updates both in the library and in chambers.

Qualifications:

• The ability to interact effectively, comply with deadlines, work independently, solve problems, and manage multiple tasks.
• A Master's degree in Library and Information Science, or a Juris Doctorate. A comparable combination of education and experience will be considered.
• Experience with law firm library administration, its policies and procedures.  A minimum of two (2) years of experience in law library with management experience and administration skills.
• Service oriented, able to prioritize, extremely detail oriented, research skills, strong written and oral communication skills, strong organizational and problem solving skills, ability to work without close supervision.
• Must be proficient in the use of Westlaw and Lexis, Experience with e-Utah, CourtXChange, Pacer, Courtlink, Polaris, BNA online, CCH online, and similar online legal research products preferred.

Competitive pay and benefits package.

Send resume to:  Jones Waldo, Personnel, Suite 1500, 170 South Main Street, SLC, UT 84101 or email kwalters@joneswaldo.com.  EOE

California Sues 'Big Six' Automakers Over Harmful Greenhouse Gas Emissons

Here's the complaint from Findlaw. [JH]

Who's Your Daddy ... CREW Releases Second Annual Most Corrupt Members of Congress Report

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) released its second annual report on the most corrupt members of Congress entitled Beyond DeLay: The 20 Most Corrupt Members of Congress (and five to watch).  [RJ]

New GlobaLex Articles

Added to GlobaLex this month:

• Sustainable Development Law (SDL) Research Guide by Gary Yessin
• A Guide to the Republic of Azerbaijan Law Research by Ramil Isgandarov
• A Guide to the Republic of Slovenia Legal System and Legal Research by Maja Čarni and Špela Košak
• A Guide to the Turkish Public Law Order and Legal Research by Serap Yazici

New Building Approved for Dickinson School of Law

Penn State Board of Trustees approved final plans Friday for a $60 million Dickinson School of Law building at University Park. File under "Where's Mine." [JH]

Remarks by the President to the United Nations General Assembly

President Bush Addresses United Nations General Assembly.

Opening: Reference/Technical Services Librarian, NYC Law Firm

Kelley Drye & Warren LLP, an international law firm, seeks a reference/technical services librarian.  Workload is demanding and fast paced.   Must be able to coordinate many tasks at once.  Ideal candidate has full knowledge of the AACR2 cataloging rules, possesses strong organizational, interpersonal, written, verbal and technical skills.  Duties include, but are not limited to, supervising the cataloging of all Library acquisitions utilizing the EOSI Web Enterprise software, supervising the circulation of a new acquisitions list each month, maintaining the written documentation of all cataloging procedures, organizing the materials in the collection, maintaining user guides for the online catalog, supervising the technical services assistant, in-depth reference/research services requiring thorough knowledge of print, online and electronic resources, interlibrary loan. Heavy use of Lexis, Westlaw, Internet, Dialog, Live Edgar, Courtlink, Factiva.com, etc. 

Hours: 9:30 A.M. -5:30 P.M.  Monday – Friday.

Mandatory Requirements: MLS From an ALA Accredited Graduate Program; Experience in EOS Software a Plus; At Least One Year Reference Experience in a Law Library; Excellent Cataloging/Reference Skills.

Benefits: Competitive

Salary: Commensurate with experience and qualifications.

If interested, please send your resume and salary requirements to:

Patricia Renze
Manager of Library Services
Kelley Drye & Warren LLP
101 Park Avenue – 30th FL
New York, NY 10178
Tel:    212 808 7758
Fax:    212 808 7897
E-Mail:  prenze@kelleydrye.com

Now Comes SSRN Download Data

Freshly minted from SSRN comes new download data. Fodder for more info antics? Hat tip to Brian Leiter who writes "SSRN downloads make for amusing chatter and fairly meaningless competition...but that's about all, I suspect." [JH]

Does Judge Posner know how to Shepardize or KeyCite?

Apparently his clerk doesn't. See Sentencing Law & Policy. [JH]

LexisNexis Discontinues West Headnote Coverage in Shepard's

LexisNexis has announced that, as of September 1, 2006, it no longer provides coverage of West headnotes for most case law in Shepard's Citations. LexisNexis also began removing "historic headnote analysis" from Shepard's Citations on September 1, 2006. See James Duggan's post on Law Dawg Blawg for details. [JH]

Gun-related Violence from a Global Public Health Perspective

The Global Gun Epidemic
From Saturday Night Specials to AK-47s
by Wendy Cukier and Victor W. Sidel

ISBN: 0-275-98256-4
Publisher: Praeger Security International
Publication Date: 12/30/2005
List Price: $49.95

Description: Just as guns know no borders, gun violence has become a global epidemic, killing hundreds of thousands of people each year and injuring many more. The toll is staggering. Experts estimate that there are 35,000 annual gun-related deaths in Brazil, 10,000 in South Africa, 20,000 in Colombia, and 30,000 in the United States. While guns kill or maim great numbers of people in war zones, two thirds of small arms are in the possession of civilians. Although guns do not in and of themselves "cause" violence, they increase its lethality and fuel "cultures of violence." This book documents the global gun trade, its threat to public health, and efforts to remedy the situation.

Virtually every illegal gun begins as a legal gun. With the globalization of trade in licit products has come the globalization of the illegal trade in guns. For example, weapons originating in the United States fuel violence in Canada, Latin America, and as far away as Japan. And unregulated ownership of guns fuels crime. Because weapons tend to flow from unregulated areas to regulated areas, international cooperation is critical, but global efforts have been hampered by major arms producers and gun lobbies such as the National Rifle Association. Since 1998 there has been an emerging global movement to control the illicit trade and misuse in guns, and many countries have moved to strengthen their gun laws in an effort to combat this global epidemic.

And for the origins of gun control in the United States, see:

A Well-Regulated Militia:
The Founding Fathers and the Origins of Gun Control in America
Saul Cornell

List Price: $30.00
Hardcover: 288 pages
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (August 1, 2006)
ISBN: 0195147863

Description: Americans are deeply divided over the Second Amendment. Some passionately assert that the Amendment protects an individual's right to own guns. Others, that it does no more than protect the right of states to maintain militias. Now, in the first and only comprehensive history of this bitter controversy, Saul Cornell proves conclusively that both sides are wrong.

Cornell, a leading constitutional historian, shows that the Founders understood the right to bear arms as neither an individual nor a collective right, but as a civic right--an obligation citizens owed to the state to arm themselves so that they could participate in a well regulated militia. He shows how the modern "collective right" view of the Second Amendment, the one federal courts have accepted for over a hundred years, owes more to the Anti-Federalists than the Founders. Likewise, the modern "individual right" view emerged only in the nineteenth century. The modern debate, Cornell reveals, has its roots in the nineteenth century, during America's first and now largely forgotten gun violence crisis, when the earliest gun control laws were passed and the first cases on the right to bear arms came before the courts. Equally important, he describes how the gun control battle took on a new urgency during Reconstruction, when Republicans and Democrats clashed over the meaning of the right to bear arms and its connection to the Fourteenth Amendment. When the Democrats defeated the Republicans, it elevated the "collective rights" theory to preeminence and set the terms for constitutional debate over this issue for the next century.

A Well-Regulated Militia not only restores the lost meaning of the original Second Amendment, but it provides a clear historical road map that charts how we have arrived at our current impasse over guns. For anyone interested in understanding the great American gun debate, this is a must
read.

Cornell Law Library's InSITE Website Reviews

Reviews published in the September 11, 2006 issue of InSITE:

• Immigration Equality
• Law, Social Justice and Global Development Journal
• National Center for Adoption Law and Policy
• Public Knowledge
• WomenWatch

Immigration Equality
Immigration Equality (formerly the Lesbian and Gay Immigration Rights Task Force) was founded in 1994 as a national organization that works to end discrimination in U.S. immigration law against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and HIV-positive people, and to help obtain asylum for those persecuted in their home countries based upon their sexual orientation, transgender identity, or HIV status.  Immigration Equality's site focuses on issues such as bi-national couples, immigration detention, and asylum-seeking.  Each issue section has subsections broken down into question and answer-type informational documents.  There is also a section on "Immigration Basics," which contains a glossary as well as a FAQ page.  Topics covered in this section include non-immigrant visas, LGBT and HIV immigration overviews, and employment-based immigration options.  The "Resources and Publications" section provides research materials for lawyers, including briefs and opinions, and offers immigration policy memoranda and other primary sources.  Many parts of this site are available in Spanish as well as English. [BWK]

Law, Social Justice and Global Development Journal
Published by the University of Warwick, Law, Social Justice and Global Development (LGD) is an innovative electronic law journal covering a range of topics relating to legal issues surrounding the impact of globalization on social development.  Starting with its premiere issue in 2000, LGD has contained a wide range of materials, including peer-reviewed and non-refereed articles, commentaries, work-in-progress articles, book reviews, and conference reports and papers, as well as information papers, news and details of global conferences.  Visitors may view LGD articles through an alphabetical list or through the site’s basic and advanced search engine.  Each article is abstracted and is available in HTML and RTF.  The site’s “Conferences” section contains a calendar of events and announcements of upcoming events and calls for papers for related symposia.  Prospective contributors will appreciate LGD’s submission standards, copyright statement, and call for papers. [BWK]

National Center for Adoption Law and Policy 
Sponsored by Capital University Law School, the National Center for Adoption Law & Policy (NCALP) seeks to improve the law, policies, and practices associated with child protection and adoption systems using education, advocacy, and research.  The NCALP website provides a weekly news summary and information about several of the Center's projects, such as the Adoption JobSite and the Adoption LawSite Project.  Legal researchers will be interested in the site's "Weekly Case Summaries," a weekly summary of relevant case law in the areas of adoption, and child welfare available via e-mail or through the Center's website.  Summary archives are available back to 2002. [BWK]

Public Knowledge   
Public Knowledge (PK) is a group of lawyers, technologists, lobbyists, academics, volunteers and activists dedicated to fortifying and defending a vibrant information commons.  PK’s website offers visitors a variety of blogs (“Copyright,” “DRM” (Digital Rights Management), and “Open Access”), a Press Room for the media, and a large, robust News section which offers related news feeds.  The “Hot Issues” section covers topics such as “Network Neutrality” and "Orphan Works."  These issues provide detailed overviews of the subjects in question, one or more resources for further analysis, and links to additional materials.   They also offer information about pending court cases in which PK is involved, and information about pending legislation related to the topic.  A nice feature of the PK site is that they offer nine different RSS-based syndication feeds, covering news, press releases, and content-specific feeds such as FCC and Copyright Office filings. [BWK]

WomenWatch   
Created in 1997 as an initiative of the Inter-Agency Network on Women and Gender Equality (IANWGE), WomenWatch is a central gateway to information and resources on the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women throughout the United Nations system.  The organization also works to support implementation of the 1995 Beijing Platform for Action.  The WomenWatch website works as a portal and inter-agency network to a large number of agencies, such as Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW), United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) and United Nations International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW).  WomenWatch provides a directory of UN resources, documents and publications, meetings and events, and news related to gender issues.  Most documents are available in PDF; few are in languages other than English. [BWK]

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

Public Libraries, not just Cybercafes

Lure them in with access to the Internet. Hook them on books. That's the strategy of some public libraries. Hat tip to LISNews. [JH]