Legal News

New Digital Collection—Slavery in America and the World

This amazing new online collection from HeinOnline brings together for the first time “all essential legal materials on slavery in the United States and the English-speaking world . . . , includ[ing] every statute passed by every colony and state on slavery, every federal statute dealing with slavery, and all reported state and federal cases on slavery.” This new library also has “hundreds of pamphlets and books written about slavery . . . [and] every English-language legal commentary on slavery published before 1920, which includes many essays and articles in obscure, hard-to-find journals . . . .” It also contains “more than a thousand pamphlets and books on slavery from the 19th century . . . , many modern histories of slavery . . . , [and] all modern law review articles on the subject.”

Access is simple: from the Library’s home page click HeinOnline under Electronic Resources. Choose Slavery in America and the World: History, Culture & Law from Browse Collections by Name. Or simply click here to access it directly.

Racial Discrimination in Jury Selection

On November 2, the U.S. Supreme Court heard argument in Foster v. Chatman, No. 14-8349, revisiting the issue once thought settled by the 1986 decision in Batson v. Kentucky, which held it unconstitutional to strike potential jurors based on race.  A transcript of the oral argument in Foster is available here.  The Court will post an audio recording on November 6.

For a brief review of peremptory challenges to jury selection and their history, see this excerpt from Professor Michael Roffer’s recently published The Law Book: From Hammurabi to the International Criminal Court, 250 Milestones in the History of Law.

Happy Birthday ADA!

Twenty-five years ago, on July 26, 1990, President George H.W. Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, 101 Pub. L. No. 336, 104 Stat. 327.  The ADA is one of America’s most comprehensive pieces of civil rights legislation and its impact on American society has been undeniable.  It prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities and guarantees them the same opportunities as everyone else to participate in the mainstream of American life—to enjoy employment opportunities, to purchase goods and services, and to participate in State and local government programs and services. The ADA is an “equal opportunity” law for people with disabilities.

Want to know more?  Visit ADA.gov, the official government website from the United State Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division.  And of course, the Library has a very comprehensive collection of materials for your review.  Getting started is as easy as doing a title search in the Library catalog: Americans with Disabilities Act.

New: Global Guide to Same-Sex Relationship Laws

Check out this new comprehensive guide that analyzes same-sex relationship laws around the world.  Created by the global law firm Jones Day, it outlines the law of same-sex relationships in all U.N. recognized countries as well as each U.S. state.  For each jurisdiction, the guide provides the status of legal recognition along with additional insights.  For example, it discusses whether marriage or some other status is available and whether foreign same-sex marriages are recognized.  It also provides information about the dissolution of same-sex relationships.  Jones Day intends to maintain and update the site as new court decisions and statutes emerge.

For more details on this guide, see the Jones Day news release .

New Court of Appeals Judge Nominated

Governor Andrew Cuomo has nominated Justice Leslie Stein to replace Judge Victoria Graffeo on the New York Court of Appeals. A Democrat, Justice Stein currently sits in the Appellate Division’s Third Department, where she had been appointed by former Governor Eliot Spitzer in 2008. Cuomo’s decision to replace Graffeo, a Republican, has the potential to give Democrats a 4-3 majority on the Court.  The Senate has 30 days to act on the nomination.

For more details on Governor Cuomo’s appointment, read the New York Law Journal’s article, Cuomo Picks Third Dept. Justice for Top Court and the Governor’s press release.

Warren Commission Report Available

In observance of the 50th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination on November 22, 1963, the U.S. Government Printing Office has made the official, digital version of the Warren Commission Report available on FDsys, the Federal Digital System housing electronic government documents.

The Warren Commission was created by President Lyndon Johnson to investigate the JFK assassination.  With 26 volumes of supporting documents, the 900-page Report includes numerous photos, maps and diagrams from the scene in Dallas, Texas.  FDsys has also made available post assassination audio tape recordings.  Conspiracy theorists and aspiring presidential historians alike should be sure to check them out!

Free SCOTUSblog App Now Available

SCOTUSblog, a popular blog providing comprehensive coverage of the United States Supreme Court, recently announced the availability of a FREE iOS app.

The new app provides mobile access to the content available on SCOTUSblog, access to its Twitter feed, and notifications alerting users to breaking Supreme Court news.  It will also “be rolling out new features and improvements regularly.”

You can download the FREE SCOTUSblog iOS App at the App Store.

‘Appy Constitution Day

To celebrate Constitution Day (September 17th), the Library of Congress has released a free app containing the official, annotated version of the United States Constitution.  This is a mobile version of its U.S. Constitution: Analysis and Interpretation work, a comprehensive analytical treatise prepared by attorneys of the Congressional Research Service.  “We the People . . .” can preamble over to the App Store to download it.  The Android version is apparently still under development.

New! Web Access to NY Law Journal and other Legal Newspapers!

We now have a site-license for unlimited access to all articles and cases found on the websites of four major legal newspapers: The New York Law Journal, The New Jersey Law Journal, The National Law Journal, and The American Lawyer. These sites offer the latest legal news, with a six-month archive. Earlier content is available on Lexis.

Access is easy: Under Electronic Resources on the Library’s homepage, click Complete List by Title. The newspapers are listed there alphabetically. Click on the “website” link for the title you want. If you’re on campus, you’ll go straight to the newspaper’s website. Off campus, you’ll be prompted to enter your name and ID barcode.

We’re still working out some technical issues, but once we’re done you’ll also be able to subscribe to emailed alerts from these newspapers. They serve as excellent current awareness sources. Watch this Mendik Matters blog for further announcements!