Libraries are bridges to information and knowledge.

The ABA Commission on the American Jury Project is pleased to announce Judge Judith S. Kaye, the Chief Judge of the State of New York, and G. Thomas Munsterman, Director Emeritus of the National Center for State Courts Center for Jury Studies, as the recipients of the 2008 Jury System Impact Award. The award honors those that have made tremendous efforts toward the improvement and strengthening of the American jury system.

Both awards were presented at the 2008 Annual Meeting in New York, NY during the Judicial Division Welcome Breakfast on Friday, August 8 from 7:30 – 9:00am at the Marriott Marquis in New York City.

The e-newsletter of the American Library Association ALA.*

IFLA Conference showcases Québecois culture

“Canada played host to the 74th World Library and Information Congress of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions, August 10–14, in Québec. The annual IFLA conference is the largest and most diverse international gathering of library and information science professionals in the world. The five-day conference offered more than 3,280 delegates from 150 nations an opportunity to meet colleagues from around the globe, to hone their skills at 224 sessions, and to enjoy the cultural offerings of the host city. Kicking off an elaborate opening session, Canadian Governor General Michaëlle Jean (right) welcomed the delegates to the 400th anniversary celebration of the founding of Québec City….”

Witness Preparation for Deposition DVD and Witness Preparation for Trial DVD

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.”

All four of the recommendations submitted by the Criminal Justice Section to the ABA House of Delegates were unamiously approved on August 11, 2008:

Brief descriptions of the final versions of the recommendations are included below. Those seeking addtional information can contact the Criminal Justice Section at http://www.abanet.org/crimjust:

104A Recommends that Rule 32 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure be amended by the addition of subsections (c)(3) and (c)(4), that would call for availability of information received from parties and non-parties to ensure that both the government and the defense have an opportunity to review information to be considered by the sentencing court in determining the appropriate punishment.

Anne Skove and her group who publish the Court-o-Rama. org (otherwise known as the “least dangerous blog”) have reminded us once again in a August 3 posting just how useful NCJRS is as an information and research source for a wide range of criminal justice related information.

Below is an excerpt from their posting:

“We are still getting used to living in a world in which not everyone knows that NCJRS stands for the National Criminal Justice Reference Service. Odder still is the idea that some people might not have heard of it or used the NCJRS site. We can hear you now saying ‘N-C-J-What-What?’ “

From: News from the New York State Archives, Region 1, August 2008

Changes in FOIL: The New York State Legislature has changed New York’s freedom of information law (FOIL). Below are some of the changes to the law which may affect how you manage your government’s records and information!

The legislation makes several amendments to §87 of the public officers law to provide guidelines for determining the actual cost of reproducing a public record when a copy of such a record is provided to the public under the Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) and the traditional per page photocopy fee may not be applicable. A new paragraph (C) of subdivision 1 of §87 is added to provide that the public may and can only be charged an amount equal to the hourly salary attributed to the employee or employees required to produce a copy of the record and the actual cost of the storage device or media provided to the public in complying with the FOIL request, and the actual cost to a public agency of engaging an outside professional service to produce a copy of the record or records, if the agency needs to engage an outside entity in order to comply with the FOIL request.

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