Criminal Law Library Blog

Electronic Evidence: Law and Practice, Second Edition
Paul R. Rice
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Available in August 2008

"Electronic Evidence: Law and Practice explores the range of problems encountered with electronic communications from discovery to trial, and offers practical solutions to both existing and potential problems. It examines (1) the new discovery rules and how they relate to past practices, and (2) fundamental evidentiary issues governing the admissibility of electronic evidence. Particular emphasis is given to the unique problems evolving around the way in which parties are asserting the attorney-client privilege and judges are applying it to e-mail communications."

"Author Paul Rice offers a unique perspective on the attorney-client privilege issues of electronic evidence. He has 40 years of teaching experience, served as a special master for over 30 years, ruled on hundreds of thousands of privilege claims, and written the leading treatises on the subject of the attorney-client privilege for both state and federal courts."

Product Details:
Regular Price: $120.00 Section Member Price: $95.00

©August 2008
6x9
510 pages, Paper
Product Code:
5310375
Expert analysis and guidance on electronic evidence issues
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State Antitrust Enforcement Handbook, Second Edition

"State antitrust law and state attorneys general have become increasingly prominent parts of the antitrust landscape. State Antitrust Enforcement Handbook, Second Edition focuses on how state attorneys general exercise their rights to investigate antitrust concerns and to secure remedies for antitrust violations."

Product Code: 5030516
Regular Price: $169.00
Section Member Price: $139.00 ©2008 6 x 9 - Paperback
400 pages
_________________________________

Mergers and Acquisitions: Understanding the Antitrust Issues, Third Edition

"Since the publication of the first edition of Mergers and Acquisitions, the federal agencies and state attorneys general have continued an active merger agenda and have refined merger analyses through settlements, liquidated cases, and speeches. This third edition has been completely updated to capture the most important developments in this area."

Product Code: 5030518
Regular Price: $199.00
AT Section Member Price: $169.00
_________________________________

Data Security Handbook

"The purpose of the Data Security Handbook is to provide legal practitioners and information technology specialists with a concise, practical guide that summarizes common information security vulnerabilities and how to manage them; legal and industry information security safeguard requirements and recommended practices; the legal obligations that apply when an organization has incurred a data breach; factors that contribute to a compliant information security program; and potential legal theories in actions involving the alleged misuse or compromise of personal information."

Product Code: 5030517
Regular Price: $144.00
Section Member Price: $124.00 ©2008 6 x 9 - Paperback
160 pages, Paper
_________________________________

NEW CENTENNIAL EDITION
Model Rules of Professional Conduct, 2008 Edition
Centennial Edition

"The 2008 Edition of the Model Rules of Professional Conduct will provide you with an up-to-date resource for information on lawyer ethics. The Rules, with some variations, have been adopted in 48 jurisdictions. Federal, state, and local courts in all jurisdictions, even those that have not formally adopted the Rules, look to the Rules for guidance in resolving lawyer malpractice cases, disciplinary actions, disqualification issues, sanctions questions, and much more. In this volume, the black-letter Rules of Professional Conduct are followed by numbered Comments that explain each Rule's purpose and provide suggestions for its practical application. The Rules will help you identify proper conduct in a variety of given situations, review those instances where discretionary action is possible, and define the nature of the relationship between you and your clients, your colleagues, and the courts."

Centennial edition
On August 27, 1908, at a meeting in Seattle, Washington, the American Bar Association adopted the Canons of Professional Ethics, the first set of model standards of ethical conduct for lawyers nationwide. In August 2008 the ABA marks a century of worldwide leadership in developing standards of professional conduct for the legal profession."

Product Details:
Regular Price: $19.95
Section Member Price: $14.95

©2008
6 x 9 - Paper
188 pages
Product Code:
2150023
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VIRTUAL LAW: Navigating the Legal Landscape of Virtual Worlds
By Benjamin Tyson Duranske

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"This book is an introduction to the emerging and fascinating world of virtual law. It examines current cases and legislation impacting virtual world providers and users, and makes predictions about the future application of current law. It addresses the application of intellectual property law (copyright, trademark, and patent), criminal law, property law, contract law, securities law, tax law, and civil procedure. The author provides clear and practical advice on how to create a virtual world presence for your practice or for your clients with virtual world connections. The book also includes extensive appendices listing in-world and web-based resources for practitioners and legal scholars."

"If you are one of the many who have read about and heard about virtual worlds but do not really understand what a virtual world is, or even how to use appropriate terminology when discussing them, then this is the book for you."

Product Details:
2008
6 X 9, 430 Pages, Paperback
Product Code: 5450052

Regular Price: $49.95

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The eNewsletter of the American Library Association (ALA): July 23, 2008.

Child Online Protection Act gets third strike

"After a decade of federal litigation and two decisions that were returned to lower courts from the Supreme Court for further review, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals July 22 unanimously declared unconstitutional for the third time the Child Online Protection Act of 1998 on First and Fifth Amendment grounds. 'The government has no more right to censor the internet than it does books and magazines,' Chris Hansen, ACLU senior staff attorney, remarked after the ruling was handed down...."

ACLU challenges expanded FISA powers

"President George Bush signed into law July 10 the FISA Amendments Act of 2008, a bill expanding legal authority for wiretaps by spy agencies that has been hotly debated since the February expiration of the Protect America Act. Within hours of the bill’s signing, the American Civil Liberties Union filed suit in the U.S. Southern District Court of New York challenging its constitutionality on First and Fourth Amendment grounds...."

New ALA award for best book in library literature

"From 2009 through 2013, the Greenwood Publishing Group Award for the Best Book in Library Literature will consist of $5,000 and a commemorative plaque. It will be given to an author or coauthors whose work exemplifies excellence in library and information studies. The award was established at the ALA Annual Conference in Anaheim, California...."

World’s oldest Bible goes online

"More than 1,600 years after it was written in Greek, one of the oldest copies of the Bible will become globally accessible online for the first time on July 24. High-resolution images from the Codex Sinaiticus, which contains the oldest complete New Testament, as well as notes on the work made over centuries, will appear on the Codex Sinaiticus Project website as a first step towards publishing the entire manuscript by next July...."

Facebook gets a facelift

"Facebook rolled out a major redesign of its social networking site late July 20 featuring a cleaner interface that links feed technology with user forums. Company officials said the updated site will give users more control and ownership over their profiles. The new version, now in limited use, will be rolled out gradually to Facebook’s 80 million users. The new look is all about the Wall, the blank space on a profile page that users can fill in with stories, photos, links, and the ever-popular Status Updates...."
New York Times, July 21; TechNewsWorld, July 22

WebAnywhere overcomes visual impairments

"Blind persons generally use computers with the help of screen-reader software, but those products can cost more than $1,000, so they’re not exactly common on public computers at libraries. WebAnywhere, developed by a computer science graduate student at the University of Washington, is an internet application that can make web surfing accessible on most any computer...."
Associated Press, July 16

Online journal access reduces citation breadth (subscription required)

"Scholarly access to more and more journal articles online may have the effect of slowing the steady increase in the number of citations of discrete articles, according to a study published July 18 in Science. University of Chicago sociologist James A. Evans found that as more articles appear online, scholars’ citations tend toward more recent and less diverse articles....
Chronicle of Higher Education, July 18"

Difficulties in determining copyright status

"Peter Hirtle discusses the impact that the 1996 copyright restoration of foreign works has had on U.S. copyright status investigations, and supplies some new steps that users must follow in order to investigate the copyright status of any work. He argues that copyright restoration has made it almost impossible to determine with certainty whether a book published in the United States after 1922 and before 1964 is in the public domain. Digital libraries wanting to offer books from this period do so at some risk...."

To see the complete issue in html format, click here.
D-Lib Magazine 14, no. 7/8 (July/Aug.)

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The following are from recent announcements received by the New York Supreme Court Criminal Term Library of American Bar Association Publications :

Advising the Small Business: Forms and Advice for the Legal Practitioner

By Jean L. Batman

"This book will help you identify issues that small businesses often encounter and answer pertinent questions you may face as a small business representative, including: what should you know about advising the small business; does your client have an idea that is patentable; does your client need a business plan or executive summary; what is the basic structure of a limited liability company; is your client ready to talk to venture capitalists; and much more. The book includes a searchable CD-ROM with dozens of sample forms, agreements, and checklists as supplements to chapters that you can use as quick refererence or to customize for your practice."

Product Details:
Regular Price: $79.95
Section Member Price: $69.95 ©2007
7 x 10 paperback
775 pages

Being Prepared: A Lawyer's Guide for Dealing with Disability and Unexpected Events

By Lloyd D. Cohen and Debra Hart Cohen
Coming soon...pre-order your copy today

"If you haven’t starting thinking about, or formulating, an action plan to properly protect your law firm, your clients, and your family in the event of temporary disability, incapacity, or other unexpected event, this essential workbook will jump start the process! It is a “how to” workbook designed to lead you through a series of active and immediate steps aimed at establishing your protection plan."

"BONUS: This book includes a CD-ROM, which contains a wealth of material with easy-to-use checklists, questionnaires, forms, sample agreements, blog site, and website links to state-specific resources. It provides an effective way to communicate vital information to family, friends, colleges and clients. "

Product Details:
Regular Price: $104.95
Section Member Price: $89.95 ©2008
8 1/2 x 10 - paperbound
Product Code: 5150423

Franchise Desk Book: Selected State Laws, Commentary and Annotations, Second Edition

W. Michael Garner, Editor
"Franchise Desk Book is your primary reference to the text of generally applicable franchise registration, disclosure and relationship statutes and accompanying regulations. You'll benefit from the expert commentary on franchise statutes and cases that provide you with a look "behind the scenes" with respect to the covered state's laws. In addition, this manual includes annotations of reported and unreported cases that are arranged and keyed to topics that franchise lawyers need and can understand, such as franchise fees, exemptions from registration and more."

Product Code: 5620123
Regular Price: $350.00
Forum Member Price: $295.00 ©2008
7 x10 - Loose-leafe w/binder
2 volumes, 1,800 pages

Loan Loss Coverage Under Financial Institution Bonds

Edited By Gilbert J. Schroeder and John J. Tomaine

"Written by experienced fidelity insurance specialists, this book provides in-depth analysis of the relevant insuring agreements, riders and exclusions, as well as detailed analysis regarding specific types of loan loss claims, issues related to the investigation of loan loss claims and related ethical issues, loss calculation and accounting issues, the use of experts, and much, much more."

Witness Preparation for Deposition and Witness Preparation for Trial

By Jan M. Spaeth Ph.D.

" 'These DVDs provide real assistance to counsel in guiding witnesses through what can be a scary prospect. Not preachy or intimidating, these videos set just the right tone in providing guidance while inspiring confidence. After watching one of these programs, a witness should be much better prepared.' "
--Philip R. Higdon, Esq., Perkins, Coie, Brown & Bain, P.A.

"Now, one of the nation's leading authorities on jury research and witness preparation, nationally-recognized litigation consultant Jan Mills Spaeth, Ph.D., has created two essential witness preparation DVDs to make sure you bring out the best qualities in your witnesses during their depositions and testimony."

"This 2-DVD set contains one DVD focused exclusively on preparing the witness for a deposition, and another for preparing witnesses for trial. Both feature sample questions, positive and negative responses-some filmed in an actual courtroom setting, and stress the essentials for a credible, convincing testimony. Each DVD is accompanied by a witness take-away booklet which covers all the points on the DVD, and stresses again the basics of testifying."

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The e-Newsletter of the American Library Association - July 16, 2008:

Colorado book thief sentenced

"Thomas Pilaar, 34, who pleaded guilty in May to stealing thousands of items from Denver Public Library and the systems in nearby Aurora, Arapahoe County, and Douglas County, was sentenced July 8 to 10 years in prison and $53,549 in restitution. Pilaar took about 1,400 books and DVDs by checking them out on his own and other people’s library cards..."

Highsmith purchased by W. W. Grainger

"Library supply company Highsmith, headquartered in Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin, has been purchased by Lab Safety Supply, a direct-marketing subsidiary of Chicago-based facilities maintenance supplier W. W. Grainger. Terms of the acquisition, announced in the business press July 10, were not disclosed. The company is an ALA Library Champion and funds two ALA awards—PLA’s Highsmith Library Innovation Award, and AASL’s Highsmith Research Grant...."

Digital copyright slider

"The Office for Information Technology Policy is now offering a digital copyright slider to go alongside its physical one. Thanks to Michael Brewer, OITP Copyright Advisory Committee member and designer of both tools. Simply align the arrows by date of publication to determine a work’s copyright status and term...".
District Dispatch, July 16.

Libraries and e-government services

"ALA Council passed a resolution at Annual Conference urging Congress to reemphasize its commitment to support the role of libraries in delivering e-government services. The Public Library Funding and Technology Access study (PDF file) found that, every day, 74% of public library staff assisted federal, state, and local governments in achieving their missions...."

Featured review: Reference

Smith, Bonnie G. (editor). The Oxford Encyclopedia of Women in World History. Feb. 2008. 2,752 p. Oxford, hardcover (978-0-19-514890-9).

"Aiming to survey “women’s history in all parts of the world and at all times in the past,” The Oxford Encyclopedia of Women in World History contains nearly 1,250 entries and subentries covering not only individual women but a very wide range of other topics, from Brazil to Buddhism, Feminism to Footbinding, and Welfare state to Witchcraft. Biographical coverage is 'representative rather than exhaustive.' The biographical entries are among the shortest—generally less than a page in length—and, with a few exceptions, cover women who are deceased. Under Polygamy in the index, readers will find references to the practice in ancient China and Egypt, in Iraq, in Russia, and among the Aztecs, to name just a few. This global perspective, bolstered by the fact that the 900 or so contributors represent “some fifty countries around the world,” is one of the set’s most important contributions...."

Five things you should read about copyright

"The ACRL Instruction Section’s Research and Scholarship Committee has launched a “5 Things” series of publications that focus on topics of importance to instruction librarians. The first is “5 Things You Should Read about Copyright and Sharing Instructional Materials” (PDF file), which offers material that helps articulate why sharing is important and gives concrete examples of successful sharing projects..."

.Google and Viacom agree to preserve user privacy

"The Google-Viacom showdown over the handover of YouTube user data appears to be over. The two sides agreed to changes in a previous ruling that would have required Google to hand over user ID’s, IP addresses, and a list of all viewed YouTube videos to Viacom in connection with their ongoing copyright infringement litigation. The new order, filed July 14, states that Google will substitute user ID’s and IP addresses for anonymous but unique identifiers.."
TechCrunch, July 14

Book collector claims innocence in Durham Shakespeare theft

"A British man arrested over the theft of a First Folio edition of Shakespeare insisted July 13 he was the owner of a different book. Raymond Scott, 51, walked into Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C., two weeks ago with what experts say is a book stolen from Durham University Library in England in December 1998. But Scott claims the book seized by police in Sunderland was a different copy of the folio that he came across in Cuba through a friend of his 21-year-old fiancée..."
Newcastle (U.K.) Journal, July 14

Bush Library suspends foreign donations

"Faced with a report that a rogue lobbyist urged an exiled Central Asian leader to support the George W. Bush Presidential Library to curry favor in Washington, library officials promised that no foreign money will be accepted until President Bush leaves office. The Houston-based lobbyist Stephen Payne resigned July 15 from a Homeland Security advisory committee studying border policy after he offered access to senior administration officials to two men posing as agents of Kyrgyzstan’s former president if they donated to the Bush Library.."..
Dallas Morning News, July 17

Socially awkward? Hit the books

"A group of Toronto researchers have compiled a body of evidence showing that bookworms have exceptionally strong people skills. Their years of research—summed up in an article by Keith Oatley in the June 28 issue of New Scientist—has shown that readers of narrative fiction scored higher on tests of empathy and social acumen than those who read nonfiction texts. And follow-up research showed that reading fiction may help fine-tune these skills: People assigned to read a New Yorker short story did better on social reasoning tests than those who read an essay from the same magazine...."
Toronto Globe and Mail, July 10

LC releases report on copyright and digital preservation

"The Library of Congress has released an International Study on the Impact of Copyright Law on Digital Preservation (PDF file), a joint effort of the LC National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program, the Joint Information Systems Committee, the Open Access to Knowledge Law Project, and the SURFfoundation. One of its recommendations: 'Allow preservation institutions to proactively preserve at-risk copyrighted materials before they deteriorate, are damaged, or are lost, and before any software or hardware required to access and use the material becomes obsolete.' "...
Library of Congress, July 14

To see entire eNewsletter, click here

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"OCLC has announced a new OCLC Minority Librarian Fellowship program designed to provide a unique opportunity for aspiring library professionals from historically underrepresented groups. The 12-month program offers the selected Fellow two 90-day assignments within specific divisions of OCLC, and one six-month assignment with a specific operating unit within the OCLC organization. Applications will be accepted between July 15 and August 29.."

.Georgia State: Online course reserves are fair use

I"n a closely watched copyright-infringement lawsuit, Georgia State University fired back at its accusers, three academic publishers who say the institution invites students to illegally download and print readings from thousands of works. The university asserts that its online distribution of course material is permitted under copyright law’s fair-use exemption. Georgia State made its case in papers filed June 24 in U.S. District Court in Atlanta..."

.Judge throws out Indiana harmful-to-minors law

"A federal court struck down a law July 1 that would have required sellers of sexually explicit materials to register with the state, marking a victory for retailers and First Amendment advocates. U.S. District Judge Sarah Evans Barker ruled that House Enrolled Act 1042, passed by the Indiana General Assembly earlier this year, burdens First Amendment rights and is unconstitutionally vague and overly broad. The law would have taken effect July 1...."
Indianapolis Star, July 1
Chronicle of Higher Education, June 27.

Flash files are now searchable

"For most people on the Web, if Google or Yahoo cannot find something, it doesn’t exist. That has been one of the biggest drawbacks to creating a website or application that displays itself as a Flash (SWF) file. Search engines could see the file, but they could not see what was in it. Until now. Adobe has teamed up with Google and Yahoo to devise a way for the search engines to read Flash files and index all of the information they contain...."
Washington Post, July 1

Readex to create world newspaper archive

"Digital publisher Readex and the Center for Research Libraries in Chicago announced June 26 that they will create the world’s largest, fully searchable digital archive of international newspapers. The resource will first offer Latin American newspapers published between 1805 and 1922 in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Cuba, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru, Venezuela, and other countries. Further series will focus on historical newspapers published in Africa and South Asia...."

New jobs: Subject experts need not apply

"Todd Gilman writes: 'Many recent job postings for humanities librarians, reference librarians, or those specializing in research education do not list subject expertise as a requirement. In place of subject expertise, those job postings require relevant library experience (variously defined) and, more often than not, technology skills, neither of which, to my mind, makes up for a lack of advanced education in a particular discipline. In a number of recent hires, Ph.D.’s and M.A.’s have been passed over in favor of candidates straight out of library school whose only previous degree was a bachelor’s.'..".
Chronicle of Higher Education, July 1
Readex, June 26

All a Twitter: Want to try microblogging?

"Ellyssa Kroski writes: 'While sitting before a presentation at a recent library conference, I was able to broadcast my whereabouts, my mood, and my desire to connect with friends for dinner to over 150 conference attendees simultaneously, using my mobile phone. I managed this feat of hyperconnectivity through a service called Twitter, which enables social butterflies like myself to instantly publish brief messages to a network of contacts.'..."
School Library Journal, July 1

Book drive for Iraq

"Christopher Hitchens writes: 'In the northern Iraqi city of Sulaymaniyah, the American University of Iraq has just opened its doors, and it is appealing for people to donate books. The U.S. Congress has pledged more than $10 million to the project, as has the Kurdish Regional Government. Thomas Cushman, professor of sociology at Wellesley College, tells me that the American University attaches special importance to the establishment of a library in English.'..."
Slate, June 30

Click here to see entire July 2, 3008 Issue of this e-newsletter

--------------------------------------------------------
Posting Submitted by Philip Y. Blue, Senior Law Librarian
New York Supreme Court Criminal Term Library.

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From the American Library Association (ALA).*

Midwest libraries endure rising floodwaters

"Days of sandbagging could not keep the Cedar River out of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Overflowing barriers on June 12, it deluged more than 100 blocks of the city’s eastern side, including the Cedar Rapids Public Library (a YouTube video, above left, shows the library at about the 6:20 mark). Some 64 miles to the northwest, some 18 inches of water destroyed the wooden interior of the Elizabeth Rasmussen Martin Memorial Library in New Hartford (bottom left). In Iowa City, the University of Iowa ordered the June 13 closing of the Main Library and a number of other campus buildings in the wake of several area bridges collapsing. Hundreds of volunteers formed a chain (top right) to remove books and dissertations from the campus library, while others transferred artwork from the museum as the arts campus was submerged. River towns throughout the upper Midwest continue sandbagging in anticipation of record overflows predicted to hit by June 20..."

.ProQuest to acquire Dialog

"Ann Arbor, Michigan–based electronic publishing company ProQuest signed an agreement June 12 to purchase the Dialog database service from media company Thomson Reuters. The transaction is expected to close by mid-July, pending completion of a formal consultation period and other customary closing conditions, ProQuest CEO Marty Kahn told American Libraries. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed...."

Arkansas library evicts court from building

"In what might prove to be the end game in a conflict that has persisted for over a decade, the Pine Bluff–Jefferson County (Ark.) Library System served an eviction notice to District Court Judge Waymond Brown June 10 requiring him to remove his court’s operations from the ground floor of the library building. Division 2 of the Jefferson County District Court has occupied the space since 2001 in an arrangement that was intended as a temporary measure...."

Libel suit over digitized article dismissed

"A federal judge has dismissed a $1-million lawsuit filed by a Cornell University alumnus who claimed that the school libeled him in a 1983 Cornell Chronicle article reporting that he had been charged with third-degree burglary when he was a student. Back issues of the Chronicle, a newspaper published by the university’s press office, are being digitized by the campus
library...."

Defining digital preservation

"The ALCTS Preservation and Reformatting Section has developed a definition of digital preservation. It was developed to promote an understanding of digital preservation within the library community as well as its allied professions and user communities. The definition marks a current understanding of digital preservation and grew out of a conversation held at the Digital Preservation Discussion Group at the ALA 2007 Midwinter Meeting...."

How to annoy a public librarian

"Five suggestions from Roland Saint-Laurent, among them: 'If the computer you’re working at has icons, delete them all as soon as you finish your session. I don’t know why patrons do this, but I will occasionally see a computer station with either one, a couple, or all of the icons missing. Since there are a ton of computers in the library, it’s usually not a terrible inconvenience to the public,' but it certainly is annoying to the staff.."..
Stay Down Here Where You Belong, June 17

Talking points against the new Canadian copyright bill

"A bill to amend Canadian copyright law that would make it illegal to circumvent digital rights management technologies, Bill C-61, is currently before Parliament. Brendon Wilson offers a concise set of talking points to use when educating your friends and informing your Member of Parliament about the wide-reaching ramifications of the legislation on consumers’ rights. Open Source Cinema has created a PSA video (0:50) about the bill....
Brendon Wilson, June 16; Open Source Cinema"

ISBNs for digital books

"Peter Brantley writes: “Already, publishers are making a single EPUB digital book package, and then leaving the proliferation of more discrete e-book reader formats to intermediaries, distributors, and wholesalers. Ingram will make the XYZ, Amazon will make the Kindle format. The publisher is only responsible for one file—the .epub package. We are rapidly jerking forwards into a near-term future where ISBNs will be assigned for derivative digital book products by intermediaries, not publishers.”...
Publishing Frontier, June 16"

100 useful web tools for writers

"Laura Milligan writes: 'Whether you’re a freelance writer or someone with regular hours, the internet can provide you with unending support for your practical duties (like getting paid) and for your more creative pursuits—like developing a plot, finding inspiration, and playing around with words. Turn to this list for 100 useful web tools that will help you with your career, your sanity, and your creativity whenever you write.'..."

To see entire issue, click here.
____________________________
*Submitted by Philip Y. Blue, Senior Law Librarian
New York Supreme Cour Criminal Term New York County

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The ABA Section of Science and Technology Law has just published the first edition of SCITECH e-Merging News, an electronic newsletter to be published quarterly. See theTable of Contents for the first issue follow:

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Practice Edge

BioBlurb

The Biotechnology Law Committee's weekly update publishes a roundup of hyperlinks to current legal, business, regulatory, and scientific developments in the industry.

read more...

Claiming Pitfalls in Bioinformatics Patent Applications

Analysis by category patent data from the USPTO shows that the number of patents issued for bioinformatics-related subclasses is relatively low. One explanation offered for this decline is "the relative difficulty of patenting bioinformatics innovations." This article provides practical suggestions to overcome this difficulty and thus to obtain meaningful IP protection for inventions in bioinformatics.

read more...

E-Tech Update

In this quarterly column, find coverage of Internet jurisdiction, IEE standards, RIAA lawsuits, and FISA and FOIA.

read more...

Judicial Neuroscience Seminar
Judges increasingly are confronted with cases – criminal and civil – that present issues at the frontiers of science and technology.
read more...

SciTech Standards Law Update

The Technical Standardization Committee's quarterly newsletter highlights relevant updates, news items and developments.
read more...

COLLEAGUE CONNECTION

Please click here to complete the on-line form to inform Section members about a change of employer, position or office. Section members may also share information about professional association appointments or leadership activity on boards. These colleague updates will be shared on a quarterly basis through the SciTech e-Merging News. The Section looks forward to keeping members connected through this communication.

read more...

Section News

Bylaws Revised

The ABA Board of Governors recently approved the Section's request to amended our bylaws in two ways.

read more...

Nominating Committee Report
The 2008-2009 Nominating Committee, chaired by Ruth Hill Bro, is pleased to announce the nominees for Section Officer and Council Positions for the 2008-2009 bar year.
read more...

Register Today for ABA Annual Meeting
The Section is pleased to invite you to all of the spectacular programs and events we have planned.
read more...

United Nations E-Contracting Convention
The Section Council voted to send a report with recommendation to the ABA House of Delegates urging the U.S. Government to ratify the United Nations Convention on the Use of Electronic Communications in International Contracts.

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Street Legal: A Guide to Pre-trial Criminal Procedure for Police, Prosecutors, and Defenders

By Ken Wallentine

This 396-page book provides specific guidance on pre-trial criminal procedure of all sorts, and explains in understandable terms "what you can do and what you can't do" under 4th Amendment search and seizure law. From traffic checkpoints and forceful felony arrest, from Miranda warnings to inmate and cell searches, it's all covered in this concise reference. In addition, numerous charts and guides are included throughout the book to make this as practical a guide as possible.

Product Details: 5090112
Regular Price: $79.95
CJ Section Member Price: $64.95 ©2007
6 x 9 - Paperback
396 pages, Paper


Vouching: A Defense Attorney's Guide to Witness Credibility, Law and Strategy

By Donna Lee Elm
This one-of-a-kind book supplies all you need to know about the sometimes misunderstood concept of “vouching”. In fifteen chapters you’ll find the topic of vouching covered from every angle, backed up with relevant case citations whenever applicable. You’ll discover when it’s permissible, and when it’s prohibited. You’ll get a cleared picture of where the illusive grey areas lie, and learn to recognize when it’s been crossed. If you are a trial lawyer, prosecution or defense, you need this book to help establish your expertise in the sometimes confusing area of vouching.

Product Details: 5090112
Regular Price: $89.95
CJ Section Member Price: $74.95 ©2008
6 x 9 - Paperback
250 pages, Paper

The Litigation Manual: Jury Trials
Weyman I. Lundquist and Alyson Pytte, Editors
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Litigation Manual has been valued as much for its refreshing style as its practical, how-to approach. This addition to The Litigation Manual library focuses on jury trials. The book includes the most useful articles from Litigation journal, taking you through the steps of a jury trial. The book provides concrete, time-proven techniques and innovative ideas from many of the country's preeminent trial lawyers and judges. And it contains some of the best legal writing available -- clear, informal and never dull. Read it and you will learn how to deal more effectively with the situations you face in preparing for and conducting a jury trial. Topics include:

· Understanding Today's Jurors
· Finding the Jurors You Want
· Instructing the Jury
· Winning Over the Jury
· Telling the Jury a Story
· Opening Statements
· Witnesses
· Complex Cases
· Closing Arguments

The Curmudgeon's Guide to Practicing Law
By Mark Herrmann
"Funny" -- "Clever"-- "Insightful"-- "Great read"

When the Curmudgeon speaks, pay attention. He will make you a better lawyer. He offers practical and honest, if blunt, advice for surviving and thriving in a law firm. Read the Curmudgeon and find out what drives law partners crazy, what will impress them and what ten mistakes you should avoid. Concise, humorous and full of valuable (but curmudgeonly) insight, this is a must-read for every lawyer and law student.

Science for Lawyers
By Eric Y. Drogin J.D., Ph.D.
Science for Lawyers clearly explains and discusses 13 applied scientific disciplines in jargon-free language that is specifically geared toward lawyers. The book explores the definitions (what is science), the practice (what scientists do) and the professional roles (what ethical guidelines influence scientists) of 13 professional disciplines.

With dozens of photos, figures, graphics and artwork, the book covers these subjects in terms that are not only easy to understand, but fascinating to read.
Listen to Eric Y Drogin J.D., Ph.D. discuss why lawyers need a scientific primer

The Creative Lawyer: A Practical Guide to Authentic Professional Satisfaction

By Michael F. Melcher
The Creative Lawyer is a self-help and career-management book for lawyers of all levels of experience. Written by Michael Melcher, one of America's leading career coaches who is himself an attorney, the book is a step-by-step method for imagining and realizing your path to personal and professional satisfaction.

Brilliantly written, consistently practical, and filled with scores of illuminating exercises, The Creative Lawyer is the book you need to rethink your definition of success.

Never Enough: One Lawyer's True Story of How He Gambled His Career Away
By Michael J. Burke
"I heartily recommend this book for every lawyer in America and to anyone whose life is being sadly touched by a loved one undergoing an addiction of any kind."
--John W. Reiser, President, Washtenaw County Bar Association, Ann Arbor, Michigan"

Never Enough is the shocking, true story of Michael J. Burke, who went from being a successful lawyer, loving father and husband, and respected member of his community to a closet alcoholic and gambling addict to the tune of $1,600,000.00, using his client's trust account funds. It’s is a succinct, powerful book that will open your eyes to the reality of gambling and alcohol addiction and what it can do to any professional's life -- even in the happiest and most successful of situations.
____________________________________
* All of the above descriptive material was prepared by ABA Publishing unless otherwise noted. Although all of the above information is from recent ABA announcements, some of the books noted have also appeared in previous announcements from ABA Publishing.

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David Badertscher*

How trustworthy are state-level primary legal resources on the Web? The American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) published the State-by-State Report on Authentication of Online Legal Resources (Authentication Report) that answers this very important and timely question. The comprehensive report examines and draws conclusions from the results of a state survey that investigated whether government-hosted legal resources on the Web are official and capable of being considered authentic. The survey was conducted by the Access to Electronic Legal Information Committee of AALL. The principal authors and editors of the comprehensive report were Richard J. Matthews, Editor in Chief of the 2005-2006 Access to Electronic Legal Information Committee and Mary Alice Baish, Executive Editor, AALL Washington Affairs Office; volunteer authors were responsible for sections within the comprehensive report devoted to individual states. The survey and comprehensive authentication report could not have been completed without their efforts.

The Authentication Report follows the publication in 2003 of AALL's State-by-State Report on Permanent Public Access to Electronic Government Information that researched and reported what, if anything, state governments were doing to meet the enormous challenges of ensuring permanency and public accessibility of government information on the Web. The Permanent Public Access Report raised national awareness and encouraged states to take steps to ensure permanent public access to electronic state government information. As a result, several states have enacted legislation requiring permanent public access.

The trustworthiness of online legal resources is fundamental to permanent public access and is inherently a matter of great concern to the legal community. Thus, AALL undertook its investigation of the authenticity of online legal resources in 2006-2007 as an important follow-up and corollary to the Permanent Public Access Report.

The Authentication Report presents the findings of a survey that targeted six sources of law: state administrative codes and registers, state statutes and session laws, and state high and intermediate appellate court opinions. The summary answer to the question of the trustworthiness of these online legal resources is that a significant number of state online resources are official but none are authenticated or afford ready authentication by standard methods. State online primary legal resource are, therefore, not sufficiently trustworthy.

AALL's Authentication Report raises concerns that must be addressed by the states, both as high-level policy decisions and practical matters. AALL believes that the Authentication Report will serve as a guide for states to correct smaller-scale deficiencies in their current dissemination of online legal resources and to initiate long-term progress toward the all-digital legal information environment that will enhance each state's fundamental interaction with its citizens.

The Authentication Survey's findings indicate that while some states are beginning to address issues discussed in the AALL Authentication Report, the government publishers of electronic legal information have not been sufficiently deliberate in their policies and practices to ensure that information obtained from their websites can be relied upon and can be verified to be complete and unaltered when compared with the version approved or published by the content originator. Such verification is an essential prerequisite if digital legal resources are to be trustworthy and truly merit both official and authentic status.

Achieving an acceptable level of authenticity and trustworthiness requires appropriate authentication procedures. Standard methods of authentication may include encryption, digital signatures and public infrastructure but other methods to adopt best practices are also possible. Certification and other types of formal endorsement of legal resources are a vital link in the "chain of custody" involved in dissemination, maintenance, and long-term preservation of digital legal information. That chain may contain a link to computer technologies that guarantee the very copy delivered to one's computer screen is uncorrupted and complete or it may be part of other archival methods.

The authentication survey and report are not the only steps AALL has taken to address this issue. It convened a National Summit on Authentication of Digital Legal Information near Chicago where approximately fifty delegates from the judiciary, the legal community, state governments, and interested organizations, all of whom share AALL's concern about ensureing the authenticity of digital legal information, participated in discussions about the Authentication Report findings and explored legal and technological solutions to ensure that state online legal resources are authenticated and trustworthy.

Hon. Herbert B Dixon, Jr, who sits on the Superior Court of the District of Columbia was one of the delegates to the National Summit. He has since written an article “The Lack of Effort to Ensure Integrity and Trustworthiness of Online Legal Information and Documents,” (see 46 The Judges’ Journal 42-45 (Summer 2007)) in which he cautions that “ as more and more courts and agencies institutionalize the use of electronic filing and the maintenance of records, the courts will need to address certain lurking issues to ensure the integrity and trustworthiness of legal documents. Judge Dixon concludes his article by writing: “..The AALL study [Authentication Report] is convincing that the time is now to implement these steps to ensure the integrity and trustworthiness of online legal information.”

In February 2008 the Uniform Law Commission informed AALL that it has approved the creation of a new Study Commission on Online Authentication of Legal Materials to investigate the issues and discuss the feasibility of a uniform law or model act on digital authentication. The chair and members of the new study committee will be named shortly after the NCCUSL annual meeting in August.

As mentioned earlier, the state survey upon which the findings in the Authentication Report are based, was conducted by the Access to Electronic Legal information Committee of AALL. That Committee is continuing to help address these issues and concerns in a variety of ways, including developing guidelines for ensuring greater authenticity of information on government websites and continuing to monitor the progress of state-by-state efforts related to address issues and concerns noted in the Authentication Report. To further these efforts AALL and its members would like to build alliances with states to help overcome legislative and technical obstacles to providing residents of each state with permanent access to reliable official legal information on the web.
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David G. Badertscher is the Principal Law Librarian, New York Supreme Court Criminal Term, First Judicial District and a member of the Access to Electronic Legal Information Committee of AALL.

This article has also been published by LEXOLOGYat http://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=de5e5391-7100-4686-9323-4ecd40176bf4

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Bonnie Shucha has asked us to "spead the word" about the exciting Web 2.0 Challenge that is being sponsored by the Computer Services Special Interest Group of the American Association of Law Libraries. We are happy to do so. Here is part of Bonnie's announcement:

Are you interested in learning about applications like blogs, wikis, and Second Life, but don’t have a lot of time?

Take the Computing Services-SIS Web 2.0 Challenge!

The Web 2.0 Challenge — a free, comprehensive, and interactive online course — will use hands-on exercises to introduce law librarians to many kinds of social technologies in just five weeks. The course will take only 1-3 hours per week.

The Web 2.0 Challenge will take place between July 21 and August 18, immediately following the AALL Annual Meeting. The course will focus on:

Week 1: Blogs & RSS
Week 2: Wikis
Week 3: Social Networking and Second Life
Week 4: Flickr & Social Bookmarking
Week 5: Next Steps: Web 2.0 @ Your Library
For more information, visit the CS-SIS Web site at http://cssis.org/cssis-web-20-challenge/. See also our brochure (PDF).

Registration opens today, so don't wait. We expect that the course will fill quickly.

If you have any questions, please contact CS-SIS Web 2.0 Challenge Co-chairs Deborah Ginsberg, Meg Kribble, or Bonnie Shucha

--
Bonnie Shucha
Head of Reference
University of Wisconsin - Madison Law Library
Phone: 608-265-5513
Email: bjshucha@wisc.edu
UW Law Library Website: http://library.law.wisc.edu
WisBlawg: http://www.law.wisc.edu/blogs/wisblawg/

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From the Introduction:

"On the Record, the report from the Working Group on the Future of Bibliographic Control, describes a new technological environment in which libraries have exciting opportunities for making information resources available and useful to new and demanding audiences. The Working Group has spent a year studying how best to exercise bibliographic control within this environment. The opening sentence of the report's introduction sums up conclusions with which the Library of Congress agrees: 'The future of bivbliographic control will be collaborative, decentralized, international in scope, and Web-based."

This Response to the report was prepared under the supervision of Deanna B. Marcum, Associate Librarian for Library Services at the Library of Congress.

To see the entire response to the report of the Working Group click here.

Those interested in this topic will also want to see the January 10, 2008 posting on this blog: Final Report: Library of Congress Working Group on Bibliographic Control.

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The June issue of WSLL @ Your Service has been published at http://wsll.state.wi.us/newsletter/0806.html
In this issue:

*What's New: Please take a 5-minute survey about our website; Library news and upcoming events
*Start Here: A Selected List of Resources on ... Estate Planning in Wisconsin
*This Just In...: Selected new and updated library materials, and a link to our latest New Titles List
*Tech Tip in Brief: Highlighting in presentations and on webpages

*Odds 'n' Endings: Celebrate Dairy Month! and More notables for June

As always, your comments about the newsletter are welcome.

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