Legal Writing and Research Commons^™

Facilitating Collaborative Metadata Creation For Faculty-Initiated Digital Projects, R. Cecilia Knight, Elizabeth Rodrigues, Rebecca Ciota

Publications

The usability and long-term preservation of digital humanities projects, such as a digital archive or other project built around digitized materials, depend on thoughtful and thorough metadata creation. The variety of expertise required to create high-quality metadata for digital humanities projects practically requires a collaborative approach. Putting the call for collaboration into practice requires tools that are accessible and functional for all collaborators. Research on tools for metadata creation has tended to focus either on tools for librarians to manage digital project metadata or on tools for independent author metadata creation (Greenberg, 2003; Crystal & Greenberg, 2005). The …

Technologies Of Language Meet Ideologies Of Law, Anya Bernstein

Faculty Scholarship

This Article challenges this new prevailing wisdom, puts legal corpus linguistics in the context of other meaning-making technologies, and suggests an approach for analyzing any technology of language in the law. One of my aims is to caution against technological exceptionalism—a view that computerized, automated, or big-data approaches are somehow special, perhaps more trustworthy, less subjective, and most likely to succeed. Rather, I argue that we should ask the same questions and make the same demands of any method of interpretation.

Any technology, after all, is only as useful as the way it is used: Technology depends on technique. So …

Reflections On Emerging Practices And Developments In The Field Of Law Reporting: Lessons From Kenya, Teddy J.O. Musiga

Southern African Journal of Policy and Development

Many users and/or consumers of law reports grapple with two major questions. The first question revolves around the issue why some judicial decisions are referred to as reported decisions, while others are referred to as unreported decisions. This question therefore deals with the dichotomy between reported judicial decisions and unreported judicial decisions. The second question flows from the first and relates to which categories of decisions appear in law reports (and therefore are classified as ‘reported’) and which ones do not (and therefore are classified as ‘unreported’). Put the other way around, that second question becomes: what are the criteria …

W&L Law Fall Scholarship Celebration 2019, Brant J. Hellwig, Christopher B. Seaman

Library Events

On October 15, 2019, the Washington and Lee Law Library hosted the third bi-annual W&L Law Fall Scholarship Celebration. The event was co-sponsored by the Frances Lewis Law Center and took place in the Law Library's main reading room from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.

On display were dozens of scholarly articles, books, and chapters authored by the W&L Law faculty and student body during 2018 and 2019, with hundreds of additional works accessible online through the Scholarly Commons institutional repository.

Faculty, librarians, staff, and administrators mingled with law students over hors d'oeuvres and wine to peruse the formidable scholarly output …

Using Court-Connected Adr To Increase Court Efficiency, Address Party Needs, And Deliver Justice In Massachusetts, Madhawa Palihapitiya, Susan Jeghelian, Kaila Eisenkraft

Massachusetts Office of Public Collaboration Publications

This report presents research and findings from a study of court-connected ADR commissioned by the Executive Office of the Trial Court (EOTC). The study was conducted by the state office of dispute resolution also known as the Massachusetts Office of Public Collaboration at the University of Massachusetts Boston. The office has been serving as a neutral forum and state-level resource for almost 30 years. Its mission is to establish programs and build capacity within public entities for enhanced conflict resolution and intergovernmental and cross-sector collaboration in order to save costs for the state and its citizens and enable effective problem-solving …

Law Review Cite Checking, Heather Simmons, Jason Tubinis

Presentations

Bluebook and cite checking for law review, presented by the law library. This session is only for members of the Georgia Law Review, the Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law, and the Journal of Intellectual Property Law.

Law Review Cite Checking, Jason Tubinis, Heather Simmons

Presentations

Bluebook and cite checking for law review, presented by the law library. This session is only for members of the Georgia Law Review, the Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law, and the Journal of Intellectual Property Law.

Law Library Blog (August 2019): Legal Beagle's Blog Archive, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Law Library Newsletters/Blog

No abstract provided.

Leading, Energizing, And Developing Staff Through Times Of Change, Carol A. Watson, June Liebert, Jane Sánchez, Austin Martin Williams

Presentations

The nature of library work is changing. New technology, user preferences, tighter budgets, and new expectations have meant that libraries have altered and adapted the way they provide resources and services. While these changes have brought many benefits to library users, innovations in how libraries provide resources and services often have long-term implications on the skills needed from librarians and staff. Now more than ever, it's important to communicate to staff about the future of their work and their roles in the library, and to provide them with the development and training they need to transition into new roles. "Where …

Maximizing Your Faculty's Scholarly Impact: Techniques To Increase Findability, Carol A. Watson, Thomas J. Striepe, Caroline Osborne

Presentations

Increasing the impact of faculty scholarship is consistently a top priority at law schools. Law librarians are uniquely positioned to offer a significant amount of assistance to faculty and law administration in achieving this goal and enhancing the reputation of the law school. Understanding the differences between the tools and techniques available to assist on this topic can be a complex endeavor. This program focused on providing the best strategies to increase the impact of faculty scholarship. Speakers discussed the various social media platforms available to upload scholarship, as well as how to increase findability in search results and take …

Better With Science: Strengthening Patron Learning, Heather Simmons, Alyson Drake, Joseph Lawson

Presentations

A baseline understanding of cognitive theory and educational psychology concepts is critical to successful student learning. With librarians in all settings providing more teaching and training than ever, designing educational experiences with these concepts in mind will result in greater retention and understanding for their patrons. This program will discuss five important ideas from cognitive learning science and give examples of how librarians and other information professionals can incorporate those theories into their instructional offerings. Participants will then work in groups to brainstorm ways various theories can be applied as they design or restructure their own instructional programs.

Takeaways:

1) …

Time Traveling With Timelines: Web Apps For Storytelling In Libraries, Sharon Bradley, Rachel S. Evans

Articles, Chapters and Online Publications

From online embeds to interactive displays, timelines can serve many purposes and tell powerful stories. At the University of Georgia’s Law Library we have teamed up with faculty and staff to bring history to life, engage students, and preserve scholarly and institutional milestones. Through trial and error we have found a variety of tools for creating timelines digitally. In this article we share our four favorite web-based applications for creating timelines including Tiki-Toki, TimeToast, Prezi and Piktochart.

An Introduction To Legal Research, Anne Burnett, Stephen Wolfson

Presentations

As part of UGA Summer Academy Legal Camp two law librarians teamed up to give an introduction to legal research to high school students from across the country, including tips and strategies for using Google effectively.

A Time Lord, A Timeline And Legal Instruction, Rachel S. Evans, Sharon Bradley, Eleanor Lanier

Presentations

From online embeds to interactive displays, timelines can serve many purposes and tell powerful stories. In this session librarians team up with an archivist and a clinician to bring history to life, engage students, and preserve the scholarly and institutional milestones. A variety of tools for creating digital timelines and gathering content will be shared including TikiToki, TimeToast, and Piktochart. Comparisons will be given based on cost, technical limitations, collaborative potential, and general ease of use. Potential applications for timelines will also be shared in the form of examples including:

• a TimeToast embedded timeline tribute for individual faculty scholarship as …

Non-English Materials For The English Speaker : European Languages, Erin Gow

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

So many legal materials are in languages other than English worldwide, that it is inevitable that most of us will need to find or access one of these documents at some point. Foreign, comparative, and international law (FCIL) librarians often work with materials in languages in which they are not fluent, and can provide useful ideas and insight for the non-FCIL specialist faced with this type of research. This portion of a 2019 AALL webinar titled "Non-English Materials for the English Speaker" focuses on European languages, and provides practical guidance in finding English translations of European laws, tips and techniques …

An Examination Of Sound Resource Libraries And Their Applications At Bowling Green State University, Madeleine Grimm

Honors Projects

In this applied research project, I have explored the uses and limitations of sound resources at Bowling Green State University for student projects. My goal has been to create a stock music library for students on campus to have easy access to for class projects and portfolio work. In this project I address: How can a university best manage its stock music and sound resources; are there any standards for best practices or outstanding examples? What sound resources currently exist for student use in general and at BGSU? How are these sound resources currently managed at BGSU? What are the …

A Rhetorical Analysis Of Opening Statements In Trial: Reconsidering The Classical Canon Of Invention, Andrew Chandler

Undergraduate Theses

This analysis of 21 opening statements probes at current persuasive practices employed by trial attorneys through the lens of mainstream legal advice and an expanded definition of rhetorical invention – one which includes both discovery and creation. An evaluation of such practice reveals the utility, and furthermore the duty of the advocate, to draw upon an expanded realm of available arguments.

Oral Argument Tactics On The Supreme Court Bench: A Comparative Analysis Of Verbal Tools Used By Justices Sotomayor, Kagan, And Gorsuch, Corinne Cichowicz

Politics Honors Papers

Oral argument scholars like Adam Feldman have categorized the Supreme Court justices’ behavior during oral argument using the approach-based method, labeling each as one-sided, even-handed, or restrained. This approach is too narrowly constructed. Scholars sometimes categorize justices in terms of the tools they use, which include questions, hypotheticals, declarations, interruptions, tone of voice, and silence (Feldman 2018a). Neither of these methods alone produce a nuanced analysis of each justice’s actions during an individual case or across a Term. As the Court’s composition and dynamics are continuously changing, scholarship on oral argument needs to adapt to …

The Cold War And The Discipline Of Negotiation, Bazil Cunningham

Global Tides

The Cold War period is perhaps one of the most tumultuous periods in modern history apart from the calamity of World War I and World War II. The juxtaposition of two world superpowers and the proliferation of nuclear arms resulted in extreme tension, uncertainty, and fear during the Cold War era. Although nuclear warfare was averted, experts all unanimously agree that the world barely escaped unscathed. This paper will provide detail surrounding the history of the Cold World Era, an in-depth discussion regarding the application of Negotiation theory to this conflict, and any conclusions that can be drawn. The synthesis …

The Policing Of Prosecutors: More Lessons From Administrative Law?, Aaron L. Nielson

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

On a daily basis, prosecutors decide whether and how to charge individuals for alleged criminal conduct. Although many prosecutors avoid abusing this authority, prosecutors’ discretionary decisions might result in biased enforcement, inappropriate leveraging of authority, and a lack of transparency. These problems also arise when agency enforcement officials decide whether to act on conduct that violates a legal prohibition.

An inherent tension between the desire to avoid overburdening the system and the need to prevent inconsistent decision-making exists in the exercises of both prosecutorial discretion and regulatory enforcement discretion. It is clear from the similarities between the two that administrative …

Prosecutorial Misconduct: Mass Gang Indictments And Inflammatory Statements, K. Babe Howell

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

This Article examines inflammatory statements by prosecutors in the context of mass gang indictments. I contend that inflammatory remarks not only harm the justice system and defendants, particularly minorities, but also that, when prosecutors craft and repeat hyperbolic narratives about vicious gang wars, prosecutors may come to believe the narratives and become effectively blinded to the fact that these narratives are improper, unfair, and untrue. First, I review the professional rules, standards, and case law that prohibit. Then, drawing on press releases and trial transcripts from two mass gang indictments in New York City, I demonstrate how prosecution statements exaggerate …

The Fire Rises: Refining The Pennsylvania Fireworks Law So That Fewer People Get Burned, Sean P. Kraus

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

On October 30, 2017, the General Assembly of Pennsylvania passed an act that repealed the state’s fireworks law, which had prohibited the sale of most fireworks to Pennsylvanian consumers for nearly 80 years. The law’s replacement generally permits Pennsylvanians over 18 years old to purchase, possess, and use “Consumer Fireworks.” Bottle rockets, firecrackers, Roman candles, and aerial shells are now available to amateur celebrants for holidays like Independence Day and New Year’s Eve. The law also regulates a category of larger “Display Fireworks,” sets standards for fireworks vendors, and introduces a 12-percent excise tax on fireworks sales that serves to …

Prosecutorial Discretion: The Difficulty And Necessity Of Public Inquiry, Bruce A. Green

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

Prosecutors’ discretionary decisions have enormous impact on individuals and communities. Often, prosecutors exercise their vast power and discretion in questionable ways. This Article argues that, to encourage prosecutors to use their power wisely and not abusively, there is a need for more informed public discussion of prosecutorial discretion, particularly with regard to prosecutors’ discretionary decisions about whether to bring criminal charges and which charges to bring. But the Article also highlights two reasons why informed public discussion is difficult—first, because public and professional expectations about how prosecutors should use their power are vague; and, second, because, particularly in individual cases, …

Between Brady Discretion And Brady Misconduct, Bennett L. Gershman

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

The Supreme Court’s decision in Brady v. Maryland presented prosecutors with new professional challenges. In Brady, the Supreme Court held that the prosecution must provide the defense with any evidence in its possession that could be exculpatory. If the prosecution fails to timely turn over evidence that materially undermines the defendant’s guilt, a reviewing court must grant the defendant a new trial. While determining whether evidence materially undermines a defendant’s guilt may seem like a simple assessment, the real-life application of such a determination can be complicated. The prosecution’s disclosure determination can be complicated under the Brady paradigm because …

Law Library Blog (April 2019): Legal Beagle's Blog Archive, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Law Library Newsletters/Blog

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of Prosecutorial Misconduct, Overreach, And Misuse Of Discretion On Gender Violence Victims, Leigh Goodmark

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

Prosecutors are failing victims of gender violence as witnesses and when they become defendants in cases related to their own victimization. But it is questionable whether that behavior should be labeled misconduct. The vast majority of these behaviors range from misuses of discretion to things that some might consider best practices in handling gender violence cases. Nonetheless, prosecutors not only fail to use their discretion appropriately in gender violence cases, but they take affirmative action that does tremendous harm in the name of saving victims and protecting the public. The destructive interactions prosecutors have with victims of gender violence are …

Data Visualization: Tips & Tricks, Amy Taylor, Carol A. Watson

Presentations

Data visualization has quickly become a fixture in daily life, from presentations of charts and graphs by media organizations to presentations of data analytics and case relationships by legal database providers. This program will walk participants through the four conceptualizations of data presentation, as well as an exploration on using data visualization to persuade your audience. We will present law library examples for each concept, using free and low cost data visualization tools.

Food Waste Legislation Scholarship: A Mapping Study, Angela Hackstadt

University Libraries Faculty Scholarship

The purpose of this study is to examine research activity on food waste legislation published in law journals to identify top sources and experts cited by recent scholarship. Searches for "food loss" and "food waste" were conducted in three legal research databases for law journal articles published between January 2013 and January 2018. The core list of selected articles consists of 13 law journal articles. The citations from each of the core articles were collected to form a database, which was analyzed to determine what kinds of resources legal scholars rely on when conducting research in food waste legislation. Government …

Law Library Blog (March 2019): Legal Beagle's Blog Archive, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Law Library Newsletters/Blog

No abstract provided.

Public Records Searching, Margaret Butler

Continuing Legal Education Presentations

Shared websites for searching and finding public records.