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Summer Access to LexisNexis
Comments off · Posted by admin in Announcements, Legal Resources
Rising 2Ls and 3Ls who have registered for Lexis Advance will continue to have access to Lexis Advance this summer. Students wishing to use Lexis.com this summer should sign up for a password extension by completing the required form. Remember that use of your LexisNexis password is for academic purposes only. Graduating students will have access to the Aspire program. Go here for more details. Contact Valerie Henderson, our LexisNexis Account Manager, at valerie.henderson@lexisnexis.com if you have questions.
~ Karen Skinner
Current students will have access to all academic content on Westlaw for 40 hours in June and July each. If you need more than that, for instance if you’re working as a faculty research assistant, you can sign up to extend your password. Sign up at www.lawschool.westlaw.com the next time you sign in or go here. Remember that your Westlaw password is for academic purposes only.
Additionally, graduating students have access to Westlaw for 5 hours in both June and July to assist with bar exam preparation if they extend their passwords. You can sign up for the extension on www.lawschool.westlaw.com or here. All graduates will continue to have access to Westlaw’s job search content for 18 months regardless of whether or not they extend their passwords. Contact Scott Wilson, our Westlaw Account Manager, at scott.wilson@thomsonreuters.com if you have any questions.
~ Karen Skinner
California to Vote on Death Penalty Repeal
This week a measure qualified for the November ballot in California that would replace capital punishment with a life term without possibility of parole. If it passes, the measure would commute the sentences of over 700 people currently on death row in California. Read the details in the Los Angeles Times.
Supreme Court Addresses Arizona Immigration Law
On Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court suggested that it may allow Arizona to enforce part of its controversial law that requires police officers to check the immigration status of people they suspect are in the country illegally. The decision will turn on what kind of role states should play in immigration policy, which generally is under the control of the federal government. The Associated Press reports more.
Job Discrimination Based on Gender Identity Illegal According to EEOC
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has ruled that transgender people are protected from bias in the workplace. Although some federal courts have ruled similarly in the past few years, experts say the EEOC decision breaks new ground because setting a national standard provides employers with clear guidance on this matter. Read more about it in the New York Daily News.
-Judy Davis
Dmitri Krioukov received a $400 ticket for running a stop sign. He used his background in physics to get out of the ticket. The UCSD physics professor argued that the ticketing officer used Krioukov’s angular velocity, rather than his linear velocity, to make the call that Krioukov didn’t stop at the stop sign. If you understand the difference, you may want to use the argument the next time you get a traffic ticket because it worked. The judge let Krioukov out of the ticket. Hear the story at NPR or read it at CBS News.
~ Karen Skinner
Once again, the USC Law Library will be providing a Spring Legal Research Refresher on Monday, April 16th during lunch. We will have two guest speakers discuss their research experiences, followed by a question/answer period. The law librarians will then give a quick refresher on how to handle research tasks and distribute take-home guides. Our two speakers are:
- Kandice Kovac, 2L, is currently a Legal Writing student fellow. Last year she worked at Archer Norris, PLC and this summer she will be a summer associate at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher.
- Joel Purles, ’08, is an associate at Munger, Tolles & Olson. Previously he worked as a Judicial Clerk for two U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit judges.
Lunch will be provided! To ensure sufficient food and guides, RSVP by Thursday, April 12th mbuckley@law.usc.edu.
Supreme Court Considers Constitutionality of Health Care Law
After three days of hearing arguments, the Supreme Court will meet this morning to vote on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act. During final arguments, the Court asked questions about the consequences of invalidating the law, leading some to speculate that its days may be numbered. Regardless of this morning’s vote, the Court probably will not announce its decision until June. Read the full story in the Boston Herald.
Obama Administration Proposes Changes to Green Card Application Process
The Los Angeles Times reports that the Obama administration would like to make it easier for some illegal immigrants to apply for permanent U.S. residency. The change would affect undocumented immigrants who are family members of American citizens. On Monday, the Homeland Security Department will post a proposed change that would shorten the time illegal immigrants have to spend away from their U.S. families while applying for legal status.
Legal Practicalities for Lottery Winners
So you’re planning to win tonight’s half-billion-dollar (yes, that’s a “b”) Mega Millions lottery drawing? Then there are a few legal issues you should consider before you contact all your friends and update your Facebook status with the good news. There may be various ways to protect your newfound wealth—like forming a trust to manage the assets, for example—depending on where you live. Learn all about how to safeguard your millions at FindLaw.
-Judy Davis
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Google’s Research Tools
Comments off · Posted by admin in Free Resources, Fun Stuff, Research Generally
I really LOVE Google….and I’m not ashamed to admit it. Google is often my starting point in my quests for information – did I just hear the gasps of other librarians!?!?! Google opens the doors and leads me to the pathways wherein I can then narrow my research and zero in on the most credible sources of information. But Google also has some nifty tools. We all know about Google Docs, Wallet, and Earth. Here’s a few more tools specific to research.
Google Books Ngram Viewer is a tool that graphs the frequency of words/phrases occurring in a corpus of books over a selected period of time (e.g., “British English”, “French”). Jean-Baptiste Michel and Erez Lieberman Aiden helped develop this tool, which is used primarily to research and show cultural trends. To learn about this tool, view their TED Talk.
Google Public Data Explorer is a user-friendly tool that allows both expert and inexperienced statistical researchers to find, manipulate, and graph data from over 1,500 datasets – separately or combined. The datasets are provided by 62 third-party providers (e.g., World Bank, IMF, US Census Bureau, OECD, and USAid). The tool allows users to upload their own datasets as well, in order to visualize and communicate their research.
Google Scholar has recently changed its legal citator. Instead of listing the citing cases by prominence, the How Cited tool now lists by extent of discussion of the cited case. The amount of discussion is visualized using a blue bar system (1-4 bars), with 4 bars indicating an opinion discussed the cited case extensively. Google explained this revision was in response to feedback and requests from legal researchers. It’s always nice when information providers actually listen. 
Enjoy exploring Google’s tools. – Cindy Guyer
