Law Librarian Blog

How the World Rates Women as Leaders

New report from the Pew Global Attitudes Project: "On Dec.10, 2007 Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner will become Argentina's first female president, joining 11 other female prime ministers and presidents. But a Pew Global Attitudes survey finds world publics hold mixed opinions about women political leaders."  [RJ]

How Well Are American Students Learning?

From the Brown Center on Education Policy, The Brookings Institution: "This is the seventh edition of the Brown Center Report on American Education. As in the past, the report consists of three sections. The first section examines the latest test score data on math and reading achievement.This year the analysis focuses primarily on results of the 2007 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), including a discussion of NAEP achievement levels.

The second section investigates a general theme or trend in education. This year the second section scrutinizes enrollment patterns in private and public schools. Section three looks at an issue of policy relevance. International test data are examined to see whether a relationship exists between national math scores and the amount of time students spend learning mathematics in different countries."  [RJ]

Friday Fun: How Not To Conduct a Reference Interview

Six MLIS students created this puppet show to illustrate what not to do at a reference interview. [JH]

The Leading Public Policy Research Organizations in the World, 2007

From the Foreign Policy Research Institute: "Gone are the days when a think tank could operate with the motto “research it, write it and they will find it”. Today, think tanks must be lean, mean, policy machines. The report that follows summarizes the findings of a pilot project to identify some of the leading think tanks in the world, and provides lists of what might be called the “go to think tanks” in every region."  [RJ]

Maloy's America's Supreme Court: An Unfinished Symphony

America's Supreme Court: An Unfinished Symphony
by Richard, H.W. Maloy

List Price: $39.95
Paperback: 262 pages
Publisher: Vandeplas Publishing; 1st edition (2007)
ISBN-10: 1600420230
ISBN-13: 978-1600420238

Product Description: In Professor Maloy s latest book, America s Supreme Court: An Unfinished Symphony, by reviewing 182 cases decided by the Supreme Court he envisions the Court s 216 year history, from 1789 through 2005, as being divided, like most symphonic works, into four distinct compartments, or movements. The first movement, composed of the Court led by three Chief Justices, made a hesitant start, during which it was not even given a suitable place in which to hold court. This tentative beginning was followed by the second movement under the leadership of two dynamic and forceful leaders John Marshall and Roger Taney. The Court s third period, it longest in term of years, had eight Chief Justices. Some, such as Charles Evans Hughes, were brilliant leaders, others, though competent judges, did not possess the leadership abilities one might expect of Chief Justices of the nation s highest court. Nonetheless the third movement helped form a nation beyond its developing stage, but not quite at the peak of its progress. The final movement under Chief Justices Earl Warren, Warren Earl Burger, and William Rehnquist. continued the Supreme Court s symphony with a crescendo of decisions emanating from a background of lightening-like changes and incongruous social patterns. The Court s fourth movement, dramatic as it is, does not conclude its history; hence the Court s work, at this point, is unfinished. The author does not attempt to predict what the present Court, under Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., will do. Like all other interested observers, Prof. Maloy waits to see whether the present Court s members add to its fourth movement, or construct a completely new one out of the cases it will decide that arise in the ever-changing and unpredictable time in which the world exists.

About the Author: Professor Richard H.W. Maloy holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Dartmouth College, a Juris Doctor degree from Columbia Law School, and a Master of Laws degree from the University of Miami. During his 34 years of law practice in Miami, Florida he was an Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Miami and the author of books on appellate practice, pleadings and bankruptcy. He has been on the faculty of St. Thomas University School of Law in Miami since 1991, and is currently a Visiting Professor of Law at that school, where he teaches Conflict of Laws and Remedies.

Investor and Industry Perspectives on Investment Advisers and Broker-Dealers

New report from the RAND Corporation: "In theory, financial professionals are relatively distinct: A broker conducts transactions in securities on behalf of others; a dealer buys and sells securities for his or her own accounts; and an investment adviser provides advice to others regarding securities. Broker-dealers and investment advisers are subject to different regulatory structures. But trends in the financial services market since the early 1990s have blurred the boundaries between them. Regulatory reform requires a clearer understanding of the industry’s complexities. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission asked RAND to conduct this study to examine the professionals’ current business practices and whether investors understand differences between and relationships among them. The report describes a heterogeneous industry, with firms taking many different forms and offering a multitude of services and products and with investors failing to distinguish broker-dealers and investment advisers along regulatory lines. Despite this, investors express high levels of satisfaction with the services they receive from their own financial service providers. This satisfaction was much more frequently reported to arise from the personal attention the investor receives than from the actual financial returns arising from this relationship."  [RJ]

My Friend Flickr: A Match Made in Photo Heaven

From the Library of Congress Blog:

"If you’re reading this, then chances are you already know about Web 2.0. Even if you don’t know the term itself, you’re one of millions worldwide who are actively creating, sharing or benefiting from user-generated content that characterizes Web 2.0 phenomena.

As a communicator, I want to expand the reach of the Library and access to our magnificent collections as far and wide as possible. Of course, there are only so many hours in the day, so many staff in Library offices and so many dollars in the budget. Priorities have to be chosen that will most effectively advance our mission.

That’s why it is so exciting to let people know about the launch of a brand-new pilot project the Library of Congress is undertaking with Flickr, the enormously popular photo-sharing site that has been a Web 2.0 innovator. If all goes according to plan, the project will help address at least two major challenges: how to ensure better and better access to our collections, and how to ensure that we have the best possible information about those collections for the benefit of researchers and posterity. In many senses, we are looking to enhance our metadata (one of those Web 2.0 buzzwords that 90 percent of our readers could probably explain better than me)."

Check out Flickr's take:  Many hands make light work.  [RJ]

Professional Reading: The Next Frontier for Network Neutrality

Paul Weiser's (Colorado) The Next Frontier for Network Neutrality, 60 Administrative Law Review __ (2008)(forthcoming) is available from SSRN. Here's the abstract: 

The challenge for policymakers evaluating calls to institute some form of network neutrality regulation is to bring reasoned analysis to bear on a topic that continues to generate more heat than light and that many telecommunications companies appear to believe will just fade away. Over the fall of 2007, the hopes of broadband providers that broadband networks could escape any form of regulatory oversight were dealt a blow when it was revealed that Comcast had degraded the experience of some users of Bittorent (a peer-to-peer application) and engaged in an undisclosed form of network management. This incident, as well as the polarized debate that followed it, underscores the need to reframe the policy and academic debate over broadband regulation and begin evaluating a blueprint for a next generation regulatory strategy that will focus on promoting innovation in the network itself and by applications developers. This Article seeks to do just that.

This Article begins by explaining how the debate over network neutrality has all-too-often presented polarized perspectives and slogans where more nuanced analysis is called for. As Internet pioneer David Clark commented on the network neutrality debate, [m]ost of what we have seen so far (in my opinion) either greatly overreaches, or is so vague as to be nothing but a lawyer's employment act. As the Article explains, any effort by Congress to develop a well-specified response to network neutrality concerns would be premature, as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) should first be afforded an opportunity to develop an effective consumer protection and competition policy strategy.

As the Article explains, the FTC has an important opportunity - and indeed a responsibility - to develop and implement a consumer protection strategy in this area, calling for effective disclosure of broadband terms of service and the enforcement of the commitments made in those policies. Moreover, as to the relevant competition policy issues, the Article calls on either the FTC or the FCC (or both) to develop and implement an effective institutional strategy to guard against anticompetitive refusals to provide access to quality of service assurances. In short, the appropriate response to network neutrality concerns is not to ban such quality of service assurances altogether - as that would stifle the Internet's development - but to ensure that the offering of such assurances is not used to injure competition and harm consumers.

AALL Scholarship Applications Due April 1

Visit the AALL Scholarships page on AALLNET for complete information, instructions, and applications.

General Educational Scholarships, supported by AALL and the LexisNexis John R. Johnson Memorial Scholarship Fund:

• Graduate Library School Scholarships, for students with JD degrees or for students without JD degrees
• Law School Scholarships, for students with MLS/MILS degrees or for those seeking a dual JD/MLS degree
• Scholarships for Library School Graduates Seeking a Non-Law Degree
• Scholarships for Continuing Education Classes

Additional Scholarships include:

• AALL and Thomson West George A. Strait Minority Scholarship
• James F. Connolly LexisNexis Academic and Library Solutions Scholarship

[JH]

Cornell Law Library's InSITE Website Reviews

Reviews published in the January 28, 2008 issue of InSITE:

• BlackBoxVoting.org
• Blawg Search
• ELS Bibliography
• IRC: International Rescue Committee
• RJ&L Religious Liberty Archive

[RJ]

BlackBoxVoting.org
http://www.blackboxvoting.org/

Black Box Voting is a national nonpartisan, nonprofit elections watchdog group that “investigates election problems, communicates the problems to the citizenry, and teaches citizens how to manage their own government -- which means teaching citizens how to identify elections problems and providing citizens with the tools to oversee elections.”  The group was founded in 2004 by Bev Harris, author of Black Box Voting: Ballot-Tampering in the 21st Century. The book is available for free downloading from various pages of the site. The top link on the home page is to the Citizen Tool Kit, a compilation of 20 modules on how to become involved through becoming a poll worker, auditing the election, monitoring the counting, and so forth. There are specific tool kit modules for candidates, celebrities, and affluent citizens.  The Press Kit answers basic questions about the organization and provides story angles, interview questions, contacts, and resources for reporters. The strength of the site is public participation via Forums where citizens post information about such matters as investigations, relevant news, the election industry, voting technology, and election processes by jurisdiction.  A Tree View of all the topics is helpful in locating and selecting forums. There is a sophisticated search function for all the posts, and archives are available. The threaded conversations are easy to follow and all post authors are required to post their names.  The latest resource is Black Box Videos with posts of investigative work and interviews. The videos are accessed via links to video.google.com. This is a site that reflects the members’ crusade for fair voting. It is neither slick nor fancy but succeeds in getting key information across and allows for citizen interaction. [JC]

Blawg Search
http://blawgsearch.justia.com/

To complement their other offerings, Justia provides BlawgSearch.  BlawgSearch allows users to find law-related blogs—blawgs—in multiple ways.  BlawgSearch offers a search engine, a directory, and a "most popular" section.  The search function is a basic keyword search on the postings of legal blogs.  On the main page of the site, Justia provides a list of recent search terms that are hyperlinked and can be clicked to run as search terms.  The blawg directory is very useful.  For topical access, users will find over 2300 blawgs categorized into 60 topics.  For geographic access, there are state and country listings.  In addition, 234 law school blawgs are categorized by 112 school names.  The most popular feature ranks blawgs by the number of visits originating from BlawgSearch.  Rankings are by current day, current week, current month, and all time.  Monthly rankings for all of 2007 are available, too.  If you do not see a blawg of interest on BlawgSearch, you may suggest it for inclusion. [MM]

ELS Bibliography
http://www.law.ucla.edu/home/apps/els/ 

A joint project between UCLA and Cornell, the ELS (i.e., Empirical Legal Studies) Bibliography provides bibliographic access to recent empirical legal scholarship.  Coverage of the database begins in July 2005, and it is current through July 2007.  Articles were culled from roughly eighty journals, including flagship law reviews from the top forty law schools, law school-based major specialty journals, relevant non-law school journals, and top journals in economics, psychology, sociology, political science, and anthropology.  Articles selected for inclusion in the database were subject to a set of protocols to ensure that they contained significant empirical research.  Each record in the database contains several pieces of metadata, including the author(s) and author affiliation, article title, journal, year of publication, and one or more assigned subject terms.  The database may be searched by one or more of these parameters.  In addition to regular updating of the database, there is a plan to extend coverage back to 2000. [MM]

IRC: International Rescue Committee
http://www.theirc.org/

Since its founding in 1933, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) has provided hope and humanitarian aid to refugees and other victims of oppression and violent conflict around the world.  It is currently active in 25 countries assisting in the aftermath of natural disasters and armed conflict.  “Who We Are” identifies directors and officers, gives contact information, and posts complete financial statements for the past two years. Indeed, every page of the website highlights IRC’s high charity rankings for efficient use of funds and requests donations.  “What We Do” describes assisting in areas such as Anti-trafficking, Children, Economic Recovery and Development, Health, and Immigration Assistance.  Each area of assistance includes several specific programs. For example, “Children” includes youth programs, separated children, child soldiers, and education.  “How You Can Help” emphasizes advocacy to Congress on IRC target issues. Some programs have a Research Library link to websites and documents (project descriptions, lectures, briefings, and papers).  The “News from the Field” section is of  use to researchers looking for information on current events, with articles from around the world, staff blogs, a list of issues in focus, a “crisis watch,” and “hot zones.” A multimedia section offers podcasts, photo essays, videos, RSS feeds, and an e-newsletter to keep current on humanitarian efforts. The IRC site is complex and requires drilling down to find specifics. The site does a very good job in educating the world about its role and in highlighting important global issues. [JC]

RJ&L Religious Liberty Archive
http://www.churchstatelaw.com/

Sponsored by Rothgerber Johnson & Lyons LLP, the Religious Liberty Archive is an extensive repository of resources for anyone seeking information about state and federal laws pertaining to religious freedom in the United States.  Here visitors may view Supreme Court cases and commentaries, state statutes, and important historical documents and speeches relevant to religious issues in the United States.  Cases are browseable by topics such as “Abortion” or “Censorship,” or viewable by date or case name.  Some of these cases have commentary by the Rothgerber Johnson & Lyons law firm.  Statutes are browseable by act name.  The Archive also provides law review articles and treatise excerpts.  A wonderful resource of the Archive is the “Historical Documents Outline” section, which contains the full text of early colony charters, state constitutions dating back to 1776, Congressional debates, Presidential proclamations, ands statements regarding religion and religious liberty. [BWK]

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

InSITE contributors: J. Callihan, B. Kreisler, M. Morrison, J. Pajerek (editor)

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. This information can be accessed via:

1. Searchable database or by browsing current and archived
   issues on the web:

        Click InSITE at http://www.lawschool.cornell.edu/library

2. RSS feed ( http://www.lawschool.cornell.edu/lawlibrary/insiteasp/public/rss.asp )

3. Via e-mail subscription: send the following request to: lyris@cornell.edu:

        join INSITE-L "your name"

where your name (include the quotation marks) is the name you want to be available to the list's administrator.  You must send this message from the e-mail address where you want to receive the e-list's messages.

4. Print format for the Cornell Law School community.

The contents of this publication and any recommendations therein are the opinions of the authors and do not reflect the views of Cornell University.

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

© 2008 Cornell Law Library

Universal Affordable Broadband for All Americans

Report from the Benton Foundation: "Benton Foundation releases Universal Affordable Broadband for All Americans, a report and roadmap for making broadband access as universal as telephones are today. The report calls for an aggressive new approach, a national broadband strategy, and efforts to modernize federal universal telephone service policies to help meet the challenges of connecting all Americans to broadband."  [RJ]

What if the Machine Stopped

Recently a major undersea cable failure in the Mediterranean brought down Internet services in much of Asia, the Middle East and northern Africa. What if the failure was permanent? Would civilization as we know it come to a grinding halt if the Internet stopped working? Check out Lynn Greiner's Networkworld article, What if the Internet went down...and didn't come back up? Civilization, no. But "the business world would come to an end until they completely rebuilt their business model." So would law school student legal research! [JH]

USLaw Launches Blog Directory and Search Engine

USLaw.com tracks 1,000-plus law blogs including over 40 that cover law libraries and legal research. Check out the Law Blog Directory. [JH]

The Google Generation and Emerging Web Behavior

More on the "Google generation" from Pandia Search Engine News:

"Internet technology develops at a dizzying speed. Insight into new and emerging Web behavior is crucial in order to make sense of the latest developments and contribute to the development of the Web of the future. What are the habits and skills of the so digital natives, the Millennials, the Google generation?" 

Check out our earlier post:  Is the Google Generation a Myth? [RJ]

A Pocket Guide to the Classified Information Procedures Act

Keeping Government Secrets: A Pocket Guide for Judges on the State-Secrets Privilege, the Classified Information Procedures Act, and Court Security Officers is available from the Federal Judicial Center:

"Most federal judges come into contact with classified information infrequently, if at all, but when they do, they are faced with the dilemma of how to protect government secrets in the context of an otherwise public proceeding. This pocket guide is designed to familiarize federal judges with statutes and procedures established to help public courts protect government secrets when courts are called upon to do so. The guide provides information about the Classified Information Procedures Act (CIPA), information security officers, and secure storage facilities."

[RJ]

New Cambridge UP Press Titles in Law

Regulating Vice
Jim Leitzel

Regulating Vice provides a new, interdisciplinary lens for examining vice policy.

Common Law Theory
Douglas E. Edlin

Experts analyze the common law through three of its classic themes:  rules, reasoning, and constitutionalism.

International Criminal Law Practitioner Library
Volume 1: Forms of Responsibility in International Criminal Law
Gideon Boas, James L. Bischoff, Natalie L. Reid

An examination of the criminal responsibility of individuals for the commission of war crimes etc.

Capital Markets Law and Compliance
Paul Nelson

A practical guide to, and an analysis and critique of, the regulation of capital markets.

Unequal Treatment: Confronting Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care

From the press release:

"Racial and ethnic minorities tend to receive lower-quality health care than whites do, even when insurance status, income, age, and severity of conditions are comparable, says a new report from the National Academies' Institute of Medicine. The committee that wrote the report also emphasized that differences in treating heart disease, cancer, and HIV infection partly contribute to higher death rates for minorities.

"Disparities in the health care delivered to racial and ethnic minorities are real and are associated with worse outcomes in many cases, which is unacceptable," said committee chair Alan Nelson, a retired physician, former president of the American Medical Association, and current special adviser to the chief executive officer of the American College of Physicians-American Society of Internal Medicine, Washington, D.C. "The real challenge lies not in debating whether disparities exist, because the evidence is overwhelming, but in developing and implementing strategies to reduce and eliminate them."

The congressionally mandated report says a large body of research underscores the existence of disparities. For example, minorities are less likely to be given appropriate cardiac medications or to undergo bypass surgery, and are less likely to receive kidney dialysis or transplants. In addition, several studies show significant racial differences in who receives appropriate cancer diagnostic tests and treatments. Minorities also are less likely to receive the most sophisticated treatments for HIV infection, which could forestall the onset of AIDS. By contrast, they are more likely to receive certain less-desirable procedures, such as lower limb amputations for diabetes and other conditions.

The committee's first recommendation for reducing racial and ethnic disparities in health care is to increase awareness about them among the general public, health care providers, insurance companies, and policy-makers. Consistency and equity of care also should be promoted through the use of "evidence-based" guidelines to help providers and health plans make decisions about which procedures to order or pay for based on the best available science. Other specific steps to reduce and eliminate disparities are presented in the report."  [RJ]

President's Budget of the U. S. Government, FY 2009

New from GPO:

"Issued by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the Budget of the United States Government is a collection of documents that contains the budget message of the President, information about the President's budget proposals for a given fiscal year, and other budgetary publications that have been issued throughout the fiscal year."

[RJ]

Beware Kentucky Librarians

Kentucky librarians save the day with quick thinking and aggressive confrontations in this entertaining sentencing case from the Sixth Circuit.  While the opinion's author seems to be quite taken with the fact that the bed sheet used by the would-be rare book robbers to carry out their nefarious plan was pink, the story is riveting (by judicial opinion standards).  Here's an excerpt:

[A librarian] caught up to them in a stairwell where they were attempting to open the emergency exit and, surprised by her arrival and aggressive confrontation, they dropped several objects — specifically, the two remaining volumes of the Birds of North America four-volume set (they had left two volumes atop the pink bed sheet in the Special Collections Department) and the two volumes of the Quadrupeds three-volume set (one of the three volumes had been left behind, tuck in its drawer in the Special Collections Department). Lipka and Borsuk fled through the emergency door carrying five objects (Hortus Sanitatis, the 20 pencil drawings, Synopsis of the Birds of North America, Origin of Species, and Illuminated Manuscript), with Ms. Brown and other librarians in hot pursuit. Lipka and Borsuk scrambled into the waiting van and Allen sped away, though not before Ms. Brown had scratched the van with a key in an attempt to mark it for later identification. Once the robbers had escaped, the police were called, but before the police could document the crime scene, some librarians collected the discarded objects and returned them to their proper places.

Bully for them! For future reference, the value of books never removed from their primary home (in this case, the rare book room) are not "taken" and so are not to be considered in sentencing calculations, whereas the value of books removed from the rare book room but later abandoned (even within the same building) are "taken" and should be be considered.  Indeed.

[JJ]

Bringing Trials to your Desktop

Here's something not typically seen in most library budgets today, but may become the line-item of the future.  CourtroomLive is a new product that provides live and on-demand video coverage of noteworthy trails, directly to your computer.  From the homepage:

Viewers can simultaneously view video of the proceedings while examining digital snapshots of evidence presented in court. Video is used for trial preparation, research, and educational purposes by a range of legal and business professionals, from litigators to in-house counsel to financial analysts to educational institutions.

A joint product of ALM and CVN, it could be a great teaching tool, or used to scope out the style of opposing counsel, conduct jury research, and many other applications. 

[JJ] 

What's Wrong With an Objective Bar Passage Standard for Law School Accreditation?

Check out Gary Rosin's (South Texas) Reports and Comments on Proposed ABA Interpretation 301-6 on SSRN. Here's the abstract:

The ABA Section of Legal Education and Admission to the Bar has proposed to add Interpretation 301-6 of its Standards and Rules of Procedure for Approval of Law Schools. Interpretation 301-6 would impose Bar-based outcome measures of the quality of a law school's academic program. This paper collects letters or reports submitted by the author to the ABA that comment on each of the three versions of 301-6 proposed to date. These comments not only provide an empirical evaluation of 301-6, they also suggest changes to 301-6.

The Interpretation, if approved by the ABA, would impose a bright-line test: over a five-year period, 75% of a school's graduates must have passed the bar and the school's annual first-time bar passage rate in its home state must not be more than 15 percentage points below the average first-time bar passage rate in that state. 

Paul Caron (Cincinnati) has done a great job covering this issue on TaxProf Blog. See his ABA to Impose 75% Bar Passage Requirement as Law School Accreditation Standard and his Law Schools in Jeopardy of Failing ABA's New 75% Bar Passage Accreditation Standard which identifies law schools that could fail this test. [JH]

Endorsements 2008

The Hill's Endorsements '08 is a running tally of members of the US Senate and House of Representatives who have publicly committed to 2008 presidential hopefuls -- Obama, Clinton, Romney, McCann, Huckabee and Paul. Wonder how much this list will change after Super Tuesday's results are announced tonight. [JH]

Some Evidence for the Assimilation of Blogs into the Structure of Legal Literature

Why Cite to Blogs?

There are a number of reasons to cite to blogs. Ones usually identified are factual assertions, crediting/criticizing ideas, and using a blog post as supporting authority but one largely overlooked reason is the role blogs play as informal repositories of downloadable documents.

Recently Balkinization's Jack Balkin and The Volokh Conspiracy's Orin Kerr observed that the law review citation rate for their blogs has increased somewhat significantly on an annual basis since 2004. This shouldn't come as much of a surprise. Blogs, as Jack Balkin writes "are being assimilated into the larger universe of legal writing and becoming part of the web of [legal] citations."

I took a quick look at annual blog citation rates for 2004-2007 recently and found similar increases. Using LexisNexis, instead of Westlaw (hat tip to PrawfsBlawg's Dan Markel who was wondering why no one seems to use Lexis-Nexis for citation counts anymore), I searched US Law Reviews & Journals Combined and US Federal & State Cases Combined by the domain name of three common blog service providers (blogspot.com, typepad.com, and wordpress.com) to estimate citation rates.

At the outset, I should emphasize that this search method underestimates the number of blog citations, possibly by a wide margin. For example, The Volokh Conspiracy was not captured because its URL, http://volokh.com/, does not identify a blog hosting service while Balkinization was captured because its URL, http://balkin.blogspot.com/,  does include one of the blog hosting services I searched. Additional understating is likely due to the fact that this is a document count, not a pure citation count. (Any single counted document may cite two or more blogs, or more than one post from the same blog.)

This built-in undercount does not diminish from the fact that the below statistics do give a sense of the magnitude of the growth rate of blog citations. According to this estimate, blog citations in law reviews and court opinions have grown from about 70 in 2004 to over 500 in 2007 (and still counting since many law reviews have not completed their 2007 publishing cycle). I believe it is fair to say that for 2005 and 2006 blog citations probably grew exponentially on a document count basis, doubling each year. 

It is unlikely, however, that any final count for 2007 will show a similar rate of growth. If the case, would this mean that blogs are "on the decline." Doubtful. It would simply mean that the blogging phenomenon is maturing. As with other forms of publication, with age comes acceptance and recognition of place within the structure of legal literature.

Click to enlarge. [JH]

Professional Reading: Judicial Elections and the Making of American Tort Law

Check out Jed H. Shugerman (Harvard Law School) interesting Fear, Filters, and Fidelity: Judicial Elections and the Making of American Tort Law (NELLCO). Here's the abstract:

The received wisdom is that American judges rejected strict liability through the nineteenth and early twentieth century. In fact, a majority of state courts adopted Rylands v. Fletcher and strict liability for hazardous or unnatural activities by the turn of the twentieth century, after a series of flooding tragedies in the late nineteenth century. Federal judges and appointed state judges generally ignored or rejected Rylands, while elected state judges overwhelmingly adopted Rylands or a similar strict liability rule. Statistical anaylsis demonstrates counterintuitively that judges elected to relatively long terms were far more likely to adopt strict liability in the wake of disasters (and public fears) than judges elected to shorter terms. Some of these judges never expected to face another election again, but even without direct political pressure, they were the most responsive group of judges in adopting Rylands after the floods.

This article suggests that the state bench was less influenced by the pressures of upcoming elections, and more by the selection effect of past elections and their effect on judges’ psychology. By using archival evidence, this Article demonstrates that judicial elections were hotly competitive in many states, with some judges campaigned aggressively. First, these elections created a populist filter: Some elite professional jurists (who were more formalistic by training and insulated from public opinion) were filtered out of the partisan political process, while lawyer-politicians (who were trained to be responsive to the public, rather than to doctrinal consistency) with party connections were filtered in.

Second, elected judges then conceived of their legitimacy as being democratically accountable – even if they never faced another election. I suggest their role fidelity as elected judges led them to perceive public opinion as an important factor in their decisions. Even with the filter effect and the role fidelity, judges elected to short terms would still face the reality of “fear and favor,” due to special interests and partisan renomination politics. On the other hand, elected judges with more job security could be more faithful to role (hence, “role fidelity”) and to public opinion. In the context of strict liability for industrial activities, special interests and partisan deal-making cut strongly in one direction, while public fears after industrial disasters cut the other. Long terms allowed judges to weigh public opinion over special interests.

The article offers some thoughts about this era’s chaotic and politicized doctrinal turns and its impact on the shape of American tort law and the direction of American legal thought in the twentieth century, and then concludes with some priorities for judicial reform based upon this historical episode.

New Companion Website to Ohio State Journal of Criminal Law

The Ohio State Journal of Criminal Law, a peer-evaluated, faculty-student journal published semi-annually by The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law has launched an online companion website, OSJCL Amici: Views From the Field. Hosting timely commentaries from crim law practitioners, OSJCL Amici: Views from the Field aspires to "help bridge divide between the academy and the practicing community by creating a venue for leading practitioners to engage with academics, students, the public, and others in the criminal law field." [JH]

Democracy Charade Undermines Human Rights

In its World Report 2008 [PDF | Website], Human Rights Watch argues that established democracies are accepting flawed election results for political expediency, placing human rights at risk worldwide. "By allowing autocrats to pose as democrats, without demanding they uphold the civil and political rights that make democracy meaningful, the United States, the European Union and other influential democracies risk undermining human rights worldwide." [Press Release] [JH]

2008 Index of Economic Freedom

From the press release:

"The economies of North and South America earned an average economic freedom score of 61.6, slightly ahead of the world average (60.3), according to the 2008 "Index of Economic Freedom," published annually by The Wall Street Journal and The Heritage Foundation.

The Index reflects data compiled in 10 key categories of economic freedom. Again this year, the United States led the region in economic freedom and finished fifth in the world. It's joined on the Index's global top 10 list by Canada (7th) and Chile (8th).

But there was more bad news than good. "Across the region, the reality is that economies are stagnating," warn Index editors Kim Holmes, Edwin Feulner and Mary Anastasia O'Grady.

Only 12 economies in the Americas boosted their level of economic freedom in this edition of the Index, while 17 lost ground. "The lack--and in some cases, erosion--of economic freedom in the Americas reflects reversals of free-market policies and a failure by some governments to persevere in pursuing economic freedom," the editors write." 

[RJ]

Shenon's The Commission: The Uncensored History of the 9/11 Investigation

According to Philip Shenon, New York Times reporter and author of The Commission: The Uncensored History of the 9/11 Investigation, Philip Zelikow, the September 11 commission's executive director, sought to intimidate staff to avoid damaging findings for President Bush. See: Book: Head of 9/11 panel had friends in White House. [JH]

The Commission: The Uncensored History of the 9/11 Investigation
by Philip Shenon

List Price: $27.00
Hardcover: 464 pages
Publisher: Twelve (January 31, 2008)
ISBN-10: 0446580759
ISBN-13: 978-0446580755

Book Description: In a work of history that will make headlines, New York Times reporter Philip Shenon investigates the investigation of 9/11 and tells the inside story of most important federal commission since the the Warren Commission. Shenon uncovers startling new information about the inner workings of the 9/11 commission and its relationship with the Bush White House. The Commission will change our understanding of the 9/11 investigation -- and of the attacks themselves.

Global E-Government Survey 2008

From E-Government to Connected Governance

"The UN E-Government Survey 2008: From E-Government to Connected Governance assesses the e-government readiness of the 192 Member States of the UN according to a quantitative composite index of e-readiness based on website assessment, telecommunication infrastructure, and human resource endowment. ICTs can help reinvent government in such a way that existing institutional arrangements can be restructured and new innovative arrangements can flourish, paving the way for a transformed government.

The focus of the report this year, in Part II, is e-government initiatives directed at improving operational efficiency through the integration of back-office functions. Whilst such initiatives, if successful, will deliver benefits to citizens, the primary purpose is to improve the effectiveness of government and governmental agencies. Models of back-office integration, irrespective of the delivery mode, fall into three broad categories: single function integration, cross functional integration, and back-office to front-office integration. The level of complexity, expressed in terms of the number of functions within the scope and number of organizations involved, is the primary factor influencing a successful outcome - with a tendency amongst the more ambitious projects to fail to deliver the full anticipated benefits. The key variables involved in the delivery of back-office integration are the people, processes and technology required.

Whilst the technology is increasingly resilient and 'fit for purpose', the evidence indicates that success or failure is less a technological issue and more a people issue - in particular, the ability to change public service cultures and motivate public sector workers to new ways of working, address trade union concerns, and provide adequately skilled and competent management and leadership."  [RJ]

LC Report Urges Libraries to Update Cataloging Strategies

Interesting article from the Chronicle:

"Libraries need to share records more with one another, make greater use of the Web, and bring more attention to their special collections, according to a report released this month by the Library of Congress.

The new study examines how libraries can improve the distribution and use of their materials in a technology-centric environment. But "On the Record: Report of the Library of Congress Working Group on the Future of Bibliographic Control" is worrisome to some in the library community because it suggests that the Library of Congress should scale back its role as the leading organization for cataloging and classifying library materials.

The document is the result of a year of work by leading research librarians and executives from technology companies like Google and Microsoft, with input from the public. They describe their report as "a call to action" for libraries and their users."  [RJ]

New GlobaLex Articles (February 2008)

New legal research articles available from GlobaLex:

• Legal Information Institutes and the Free Access to Law Movement by Graham Greenleaf
• Guide to Legal Research in Belarus By Nadia Shalygina 
• Legal Research in Germany between Print and Electronic Media: An Overview by Rita Exter and Martina Kammer 
• The Law and Legal Research in Lesotho by Buhle Angelo Dube 
• An Overview of Malaysian Legal System and Research by Shaikh Mohamed Noordin and Lim Pui Keng

[RJ]

Suffolk Law School Unveils iTunes U

According to the press release, the Suffolk University Law School iTunes U site includes podcasts on how to write a legal memorandum and mp3 files of Dean of Admissions Gail Ellis responding to the most frequently asked questions of prospective law students. Future features will include webcasts of open houses, mock classes and mock trial competitions. [JH]

Report to Congress on Stalking and Domestic Violence, 2005 Through 2006

From the U.S. Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women:

"The Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (VAWA), Pub. L. No.106-386, requires that “The Attorney General shall submit to Congress an annual report, beginning one year after the date of enactment of the Act that provides information concerning the incidence of stalking and domestic violence, and evaluates the effectiveness of antistalking efforts and legislation.”

This report, covering the time period 2005-2006, is the latest report in a series of stalking reports submitted to Congress since the enactment of VAWA. This report provides an overview of a collaborative effort between the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) and the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) to expand our understanding of the crime of stalking through the development of a statistical supplement to the National Crime Victimization Survey on the crime of stalking. This report also provides a summary of the training and outreach efforts undertaken by the OVW-funded Stalking Resource Center, a program of the National Center for Victims of Crime." 

Opening: Reference Librarian, Georgetown University Law Library

Georgetown Law Library invites applications for the position of Reference Librarian. Georgetown University Law Center is one of the premier law schools in the world. Located in the nation’s capital, within walking distance of the U.S. Congress, the Supreme Court and the Department of Justice, Georgetown Law is known for the quality of scholarship and teaching of its faculty, which is the largest in the nation, and for its exceptionally talented and diverse student body.

The Reference Librarian provides extensive reference service to the Law Center's faculty and students by participating in the reference desk rotation, individual research consultations, writing research guides, and participating in other law library instructional programs as needed.  Reference service is provided on evenings and weekends as well as during normal business hours.

The Reference Librarian participates in basic and advanced legal research instruction, online training, clinical research instruction, Legal Research and Writing liaison program, journal liaison program, library tours, and other educational programs.

The Reference Librarian evaluates and selects materials for the library’s collection in assigned subject areas. 

The Reference Librarian is expected to actively participate in the intellectual life and administrative activities of the Law Center.  The successful applicant will fulfill the responsibilities of the position in a superior manner, and in doing so grow professionally in knowledge, expertise, effectiveness, and where appropriate, scholarship.

Required:
M.L.S. degree from an ALA-accredited library school; knowledge of legal materials, and excellent communications skills.

Preferred: J.D. from an ABA-accredited law school or significant law library experience.
Experience with legal research materials, including online legal databases.  Awareness of current trends in legal research, library automation and library instructional programs. Preferably one to three years of professional experience in a law or academic library, and experience with teaching legal research. Experience with or training in empirical research methods and statistics preferred.

Salary commensurate with experience and qualifications. Application review will begin February 8 and will continue until the position is filled. To apply for this position, please send a letter, resume, and names of three references to:

Margaret A. Fry
Associate Law Librarian for Administration
Edward Bennett Williams Library,
Georgetown University Law Center,
111 G Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001
(202) 662-9168 (fax )
or submit materials by email to libraryjobs@law.georgetown.edu

Georgetown University is an EOE/AA employer.

Why the World Resists US Liberalism

"Catley and Mosler provide a compelling and comprehensive account of the forces driving American foreign policy today as well as those resisting it. Its masterly fusion of history and political science deserves to be widely read and discussed by all who want a balanced yet sharply critical account of America's attempt to make the world safer for liberal and democratic processes and ideals." -- Wayne Cristaudo, University of Hong Kong

The American Challenge
The World Resists US Liberalism
R. Catley and David Mosler

List Price: $99.95
262 pages | Ashgate
Publication Date: 12/2007
ISBN: 0 7546 7212 3

Description: The rise of the US as a hegemonic power during the twentieth century first pursuing a liberal project of globalization under Clinton and then moving towards greater unilateralism after the election of George W Bush, is comprehensively described in this much-needed study. Following the invasion of Iraq, the Bush administration became increasingly unpopular at home and abroad. America's power to impose its will declined and rivals were able to take advantage of its weakened state and pursue their own agendas with considerable success.

This indispensable book looks at whether policy failure in Iraq and declining US soft and hard power mark the beginning of the end of US hegemony or whether the resilience of America's military and economic foundations will once again prove observers wrong.

New Documentary on Role of Faith in Politics

Article VI documents Bryan Hall’s experience as he travels around the country engaging people in a discussion about faith in politics. Hall encounters unique viewpoints from political pundits, religious leaders, historians, and everyday citizens. Here's the trailer:

Contemporary "debate" about this volatile topic could use a healthy dose of Senator John Danforth's Faith and Politics: How the "Moral Values" Debate Divides America and How to Move Forward Together (Viking, 2006).

Hat tip to First Amendment Law Prof Blog. [JH]