Legal Research News and Information with an Emphasis on Wisconsin
Link Rot is a pervasive problem in the legal community – so much so that Supreme Court opinions are sometimes riddled with cites to websites that no longer exist, which undermines the entire concept of a citation. Many in the legal academic world are aware of Perma.CC, which is a long-term solution to link …
The following blog post was written by Eric Taylor, Evening Reference Librarian at the University of Wisconsin Law School Library CourtListener is a powerful new free legal research website sponsored by the non-profit Free Law Project. The Court Listener platform is composed of four searchable databases containing judicial opinions, an audio collection of oral arguments, …
This post was authored by Jenny Zook, Reference and Instructional Services Librarian at the UW Law School Library. SEC has adopted a final rule requiring public companies to include hyperlinks in their exhibit index, making it easier for investors to locate previously filed exhibits. According to the SEC, there was overwhelming support for this final …
There have been some very exciting advances in the fight to make court documents more freely accessible to everyone. As many legal researchers and law librarians are aware, many legal materials can be relatively rare or sheltered behind a paywall. Movements are afoot to change this, at least in part, and there has been progress …
The University of Wisconsin Law School Library invites applications for the position of Reference and Technology Librarian. The Reference and Technology Librarian will be responsible for promoting and implementing technology that will support faculty, students and staff at the University of Wisconsin Law School in their research and scholarship as well as thorough legal research …
Last month the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that “the state Department of Natural Resources recently scrubbed language from an agency web page on the Great Lakes that said humans and greenhouse gases are the main cause of climate change. The DNR now says the subject is a matter of scientific debate.” The web page in …
A new study on SSRN examines whether law clerks exert any influence on voting by Supreme Court justices. According to authors Adam Bonica, Adam Chilton, Jacob Goldin, Kyle Rozema, & Maya Sen, there is indeed “strong evidence that clerk ideology does affect judicial voting behavior.” The authors examined political donations made by Supreme Court clerks …
A new study in the latest edition of The Reference Librarian explores the use of blogs by academic law librarians. In “An Exploratory Examination and Critique of Academic Law Librarian Blogs: A Look into an Evolving Reference Communication Practice,” author Grace Jackson-Brown of Missouri State University “demonstrates how academic law librarians use blogs as a …
It’s the end of an era as Lexis.com, the long-running and highly regarded database says its final goodbyes to the Law School community. With 100% of Lexis content now migrated to Lexis Advance, the small amount of loyal Lexis.com users will have to prepare for the switch to Lexis Advance, which has slowly been becoming …
My Own Words by Ruth Bader Ginsburg Law Library Stacks: KF8745 .G56 A3 2016 Book Review by Eric Taylor, Evening Reference Librarian My Own Words is a delightful read. The words and stories are hers. A woman ahead of her time. Lucky in love to have met life partner, Marty, who was her champion in …