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November 6, 2008.

National Moot Court Competition

“For the first time, William S. Hein & Co., Inc. is offering the winning records, briefs and related organizational materials from the 1st-58th annual National Moot Court Competition in digital format in HeinOnline! The Young Lawyers Committee and the Association of the Bar of the City of New York sponsor the national competition each year to enable law students throughout the United States to match their abilities as appellate advocates against one another and bring together law students, practicing lawyers, legal scholars and judges to exchange ideas and attitudes and to compare notes. It’s not a coincidence that the winning teams subscribe – don’t sell your tea m short!”

To view the full-text of cases you must sign in to FindLaw.com. All summaries are produced by Findlaw.

U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals, November 05, 2008 Parker v. Gerrish, No. 081045 In a claim that defendant-police officer violated plaintiff’s constitutional rights by using his Taser during the course of arrest, verdict in favor of plaintiff and compensatory damage award of $111,000, are affirmed over claims of error that: 1) defendant was entitled to qualified immunity; and 2) the district court’s answer to a jury was responsible for an inappropriate damages award.

U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, November 07, 2008 Choose Life Illinois, Inc. v. White, No. 07-1349 In a suit by an interest group seeking on First Amendment grounds to force the state of Illinois to issue “Choose Life” specialty license plates, judgment in favor of plaintiffs is reversed where: 1) specialty license plates implicate the speech rights of private speakers, not government speech; 2) specialty plates are a nonpublic forum; and 3) the state could enforce a content-based but viewpoint-neutral ban disallowing any abortion-related message, whether pro-life or pro-choice, to be displayed on its license plates.

To view the full-text of cases you must sign in to FindLaw.com. All summaries are produced by Findlaw.

U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals, November 05, 2008 US v. Ford, No. 072613 Conviction for being a felon-in-possession of a handgun and denial of defendant’s motion to suppress evidence are affirmed over a claim that the district court erred in denying defendant’s motion to suppress a firearm found on his person because it was obtained during an unconstitutional search and seizure. ..

U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals, November 05, 2008 Parker v. Gerrish, No. 081045 In a claim that defendant-police officer violated plaintiff’s constitutional rights by using his Taser during the course of arrest, verdict in favor of plaintiff and compensatory damage award of $111,000, are affirmed over claims of error that: 1) defendant was entitled to qualified immunity; and 2) the district court’s answer to a jury was responsible for an inappropriate damages award.

Update from the Lexis Alert Service, Search run morning of November 12, 2008.

1. People v. Washington, 4474, 3958/05, SUPREME COURT OF NEW YORK, APPELLATE DIVISION, FIRST DEPARTMENT, 2008 NY Slip Op 8406; 2008 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 8242, November 6, 2008, Decided, November 6, 2008, Entered, THE LEXIS PAGINATION OF THIS DOCUMENT IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE PENDING RELEASE OF THE FINAL PUBLISHED VERSION., THIS OPINION IS UNCORRECTED AND SUBJECT TO REVISION BEFORE PUBLICATION IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS.

The People of the State …

On Thursday November 6, 2008 the Law Library Association of Greater New York (LLAGNY) presented in conjunction with the Electronic Legal Information Access and Citation Committee of the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) a program at the New York County Lawyers Association in New York City regarding how findings of the 2007 authentication report published by AALL and its ELIAC Committee can be adopted in the State of New York.

The program consisted of a panel of representatives of AALL, its Electronic Legal Information Access and Citation (ELIAC), and two agencies of New York state government, the New York State Reporting Bureau and the Office of General Counsel of the New York State Department of State discussing the AALL Authentication Report, published in 2007 and approaches, strategies, and challenges to adopting its findings to authenticating and otherwise validating in accordance with accepted standards New York State primary source legal information published on the web.

The following are links to the opening remarks of the moderator, David Badertscher, Slides frm the presentation of Mary Alice Baish,and a summary of the program kindly provided by Theodore Pollack, Senior Law Librarian at the New York County Public Access Library, who attended the program, and to the program announcement from LLAGNY. Other links will be added if they become available.

2009 LARRY J. HACKMAN RESEARCH RESIDENCY PROGRAM AT THE NEW YORK STATE ARCHIVES The New York State Archives and the Archives Partnership Trust announce the availability of awards for qualified applicants to conduct research using historical records at the New York State Archives. The Larry J. Hackman Research Residency Program is intended to support advanced research in New York State history, government, or public policy. The program encourages public dissemination of research products. The Hackman Research Residency Program honors the New York State Archivist who headed the dramatic development of the State Archives between 1981 and 1995.

Applicant/Project Eligibility – Applicants must be engaged in an original research project using historical government records held by the New York State Archives. Preference will be given to projects that: (1) have application to enduring public policy issues, particularly in New York State, (2) rely on holdings that have been little used and are not available on microfilm or electronically, and (3) have a high probability of publication or other public dissemination. Research in records held by other institutions is not eligible for support.

Previous residents have included academic and public historians, graduate students, independent researchers and writers, and primary and secondary school teachers. Projects involving alternative uses of the Archives, such as research for multimedia projects, exhibits, documentary films, and historical novels, are welcomed.

Relationship Launches With Three Programs Based on Internet For Lawyers’ Popular Live Programs

Albuquerque, NM (November 3, 2008) – Internet For Lawyers, the country’s pre-eminent provider of live continuing legal education presentations helping legal professionals use technology and the Internet more effectively in their practice, has partnered with Lawline.com to deliver some of its most popular seminars online. The relationship begins with three programs: “The Lawyer’s Duty to Google: The Cybersleuth’s Guide to the Internet,” “Search Strategies and the Invisible Web for Lawyers,” and “Locating Hard to Find Information Online & On Your Computer.” Initially, credit will be available for California, New York, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Virginia, with other jurisdictions to come. All of the programs will be co-presented by Internet For Lawyers principals Carole Levitt and Mark Rosch.

“Our programs are a natural for attorneys who are already online and looking for continuing legal education material,” said Levitt, Internet For Lawyers’ President. “We like the way Lawline.com presents and distributes its programs. We’re looking forward to working with them.”

From The 411, November 2008 (The Newsletter of the Webby Awards).

This year, we have seen an even greater reliance on the Web for active involvement in the political process. With this in mind, the Webby Awards has created a special Top 10 list of political Web moments that have influenced this arena. Read about them and get engaged in this year’s election, by voting!

Also, check out Fox News’ coverage of our 10 most influential Web moments in politics.

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