In a surprise announcement yesterday, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) released new guidance that starting in 2026, any publications and supporting data resulting from federally funded research must be openly …
Public Information
How to Request Public Records in Wisconsin
Thinking of filing a public records request but aren’t sure where to start? Wisconsin Watch has compiled a helpful primer. Here’s a selection: First, determine what you want to know and who has that record. …
Librarians Now Qualify for FOIA Fee Exemption as Educational Institution Requesters
The American Association of Law Libraries reports that academic librarians may now qualify for exemption from FOIA request fees as educational institution requestors. From the AALL Washington Update: The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) …
Researching the Legal Implications of COVID-19
We are currently facing an unprecedented time here in the law library, the law school, and the world. With the new COVID-19 virus and subsequent pandemic, we have been met with new fears, new challenges, …
Federal Circuit Hears Oral Arguments on Excessive PACER fees – Skeptical of DOJ Jurisdictional Argument
Earlier this week, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit heard oral arguments in a lawsuit challenging the legality of fees charged by the Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) …
Employer Use & Misuse of CCAP to Search Applicant’s Criminal Background
The latest issue of the State Bar’s InsideTrack has an excellent article on the use and misuse of CCAP by employers to explore a job applicant’s criminal background. Employers, and the lawyers who advise them, …
CRS Reports Now Available to the Public
By Eric Taylor, Evening & Weekend Reference Librarian Once the exclusive province of Congress, the CRS Reports are now available to everyone. Thoroughly researched and produced by the Congressional Research Service, the CRS Reports are …
CourtListener Now Offering PACER Docket Alerts
By Eric Taylor, Reference Librarian The Free Law Project recently announced the availability of PACER Docket Alerts on CourtListener.com. CourtListener is a free public access website tracking federal and state courts. The Docket Alert tool …
News on the Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau
A recent article from Madison’s local newspaper, The Isthmus, outlines some significant cuts to the staff and services of the Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau, particularly in the LRB research and library services department. For example, the …
WI Legislature Recently Introduced Two Bills Related to CCAP
CCAP, or the Consolidated Court Automation Program, is the Wisconsin electronic circuit court case management system. Recently, several bills were introduced in the Wisconsin legislature regarding CCAP. Both of these bills, Assembly Bill 723 …