Blackberry Apps for Lawyers

If you have (or are thinking about) a Blackberry, you might be interested in this list of apps for lawyers.

Compiled by attorney Nicole Black, the list includes:

• dictation software
  
• federal court rules
• legal dictionaries
• mobile Microsoft Office suite

The 25 Greatest Legal TV Shows

The American Bar Association asked a jury of 12 experts – people who write and teach about law and popular culture – to pick the greatest legal shows in television history. The top 10 are:
1. L.A. Law (1986-1994)
2. Perry Mason (1957-1966)
3. The Defenders (1961-1965)
4. Law & Order (1990-present)
5. The Practice (1997-2004)
6. Ally McBeal (1997-2002)
7. Rumpole of the Bailey (1978-1992)
8. Boston Legal (2004-2008)
9. Damages (2007-present)
10. Night Court (1984-1992)
Listen to NPR’s interesting interview with the ABA Journal Editor here.

Washington Briefs on the Web

The Washington State Courts are posting briefs on the web. The project began with Division II, but now includes Supreme Court and Division I briefs as well. Supreme Court and Court of Appeals - Briefs has

• Supreme Court briefs, June 2006-
• Division I, June 2009-
• Division II, June 2006-

Coverage is not complete, especially in the early months. For example, in one case, there might be a respondent's brief but not the appellant's brief.

For more, see Court Briefs & Oral Arguments.

2009 Trafficking in Persons Report

The State Department released the ninth annual Trafficking in Persons Report. It discusses trends in and types of human trafficking, and includes maps and statistics, but the bulk of the 300+ page report is the country narratives.

Human trafficking is a multi-dimensional issue. It is a crime that deprives people of their human rights and freedoms, increases global health risks, fuels growing networks of organized crime, and can sustain levels of poverty and impede development in certain areas.

Habeas Corpus Rights in 13 Countries

The Law Library of Congress has published a review of habeas corpus rights in thirteen countries.

This report analyzes the right available to persons in Canada, Egypt, France, Germany, Iraq, Italy, Japan, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Kingdom, and
Yemen to challenge the legality of their arrest or detention.

This report is in the Current Legal Topics series, which also includes items on Abraham Lincoln, children's rights, John Adams, the stimulus plan, and other subjects.

Judge Sotomayor: CRS analysis of selected opinions

The Congressional Research Service report, Judge Sonia Sotomayor: Analysis of Selected Opinions, dated June 19, 2009, is now available.

To fulfill its constitutional “advice and consent” function, the Senate will consider Judge Sotomayor’s extensive record – compiled from years as a lawyer, prosecutor, district court judge, and appellate court judge – to better understand her legal approaches and judicial philosophy. This report provides an analysis of selected opinions authored by Judge Sotomayor during her tenure as a judge on the Second Circuit. Discussions of the selected opinions are grouped according to various topics of legal significance.

Judge Sotomayor's confirmation hearing is scheduled to begin Monday, July 13.

Statistics on Latest Supreme Court Term

SCOTUSblog has released a batch of statistics on the work of the 2008-09 Term of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Available as a single file and as individual files are statistics on:

• Opinion Tally
• Justice Agreement
• Decisions by Final Vote
• Frequency in the Majority
• Opinion Authors by Sitting
• Circuit Scorecard
  
• The Court’s Workload
• Grant Rates by Conference

Also available is a Summary Memo and a Visual Representation of Supreme Court Voting Lineups.