State Dep't Report on Human Rights Practices

The 2008 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices has just been published by the U.S. Department of State.

The year just ended was characterized by three trends: a growing worldwide demand for greater personal and political freedom, governmental efforts to push back on those freedoms, and further confirmation that human rights flourish best in participatory democracies with vibrant civil societies.

This report, like its predecessors, is organized by part of the world and then by country. It "cover[s] internationally recognized individual, civil, political, and worker rights, as set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights."

Published since 1979, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices are available in print in the Law Library: JC571 .U48 at Reference Area & Classified Stacks and on the State Department website since 1999.

Oral History of Justice Charles Z. Smith

An oral history of retired Justice (and former UW Law professor) Charles Z. Smith was one of the first compiled by the Washington State Legacy Project. The project, established in 2008, is part of the Secretary of State’s Office. It will publish online “oral histories and biographies of instrumental people who've shaped our history. Governors, statewide elected officials, Supreme Court justices, members of Congress, and other influential people recount defining moments in a collection of memoirs that depicts the story of Washington.”

Oral histories of journalist Adele Ferguson and Nirvana bassist (and political activist) Krist Novoselic round out the first release. Look for an oral history of Judge Carolyn Dimmick in March.

HistoryLink.org- the Free Online Encyclopedia of Washington State History

It's been 10 years since HistoryLink.org went live with its online encyclopedia of Seattle and King County history. Now this resource covers the whole state, with entries on

• people (Thomas S. Foley, Ivar Haglund),
  
• business and industry (Nordstrom Department Store, Wine in Washington State),
  
• events (Seattle General Strike, 1919), Beatles play at the Seattle Center Coliseum on August 21, 1964),
  
• controversies (Busing in Seattle: A Well-Intentioned Failure, Prohibition),
  
• places (Seattle's University District -- a Slide Show of its Early History (1890-1919), Hoquiam -- Thumbnail History), and
  
• the arts (Rock Music -- Seattle).

It's an amazingly rich resource -- and fun to browse, too!

Prize: The first UW law student to write to Reference with a note saying you looked at HistoryLink gets a small prize (we have some nice chocolate bars and other little treats).
Update: we have a winner (our first faculty member)!
Further update: Never mind: the prof declined the prize. So it's still available!

Research Tips for Career Networking

All of the career experts say that it's important to get out there and network. Find lawyers who work in the field you'd like to enter and ask them if they'd give you a little time for an informational interview.

Good idea. But some students have said that it's hard to find the lawyers to contact. How can they find who's doing corporate tax in Portland or what public interest groups in New England are working on environmental issues?

Don't despair: research can help! Try out our Sample Searches for Networking and Informational Interviews.

Care for a chocolate bar or other small prize? Be the first UW law person to write to the Reference Office with the phrase "research is useful" and the prize will be yours.

National Academy of Sciences Report on Forensics

Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States: A Path Forward is the title of the Congressionally-mandated NAS report on the condition of forensic science. The executive summary states, in part:

It is clear that change and advancements, both systematic and scientific, are needed in a number of forensic science disciplines to ensure the reliability of work, establish enforceable standards, and promote best practices with consistent application.

Chapter 3, The Admission of Forensic Science Evidence in Litigation, will be of great interest to members of the legal community.

The report finds that the existing legal regime--including the rules governing the admissibility of forensic evidence, the applicable standards governing appellate review of trial court decisions, the limitations of the adversary process, and judges and lawyers who often lack the scientific expertise necessary to comprehend and evaluate forensic evidence--is inadequate to the task of curing the documented ills of the forensic science disciplines.

The Frye standard; Federal Rule of Evidence 702; Daubert; and judicial dispositions of questions relating to DNA evidence, drug identification, fingerprint analysis, and other forensic evidence are discussed.

Library to Be Closed for Special Event

On Wednesday, March 4th, the Law Library will be closed from 3-6:30pm for a faculty scholarship reception.

Members of the Gates Hall community may register to attend the event, called Bridging Town & Gown: Legal Challenges in a Global Community. This CLE features presentations by School of Law professors Joel Ngugi, Scott Schumacher, and Veronica Taylor.

Registration provides you with a nametag that provides entrance to the Library for the reception following the lectures.

During the reception, articles and books published by School of Law faculty will be on display.

Search Harper's Index

Since 1984, Harper's Magazine has featured and "index" that present a thematically related set of statistics to provoke thought or amuse. For instance, the February 2008 list began:

Projected total cost of medical care for U.S. veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars: $500,000,000,000

Ratio of this to the total military spending on both wars so far: 1:1

Chance that an Iraq war veteran who has served two or more tours now has post-traumatic stress disorder: 1 in 4

Percentage change since 1997 in the number of Vietnam-era veterans seeking treatment for PTSD: +108

Number of confirmed suicides in the U.S. Army in 2006: 102

Number of years since accurate record-keeping began in 1981 that the rate was as high: 0

But it's not all serious. The same list includes:

Length, in feet, of a prehistoric sea scorpion whose fossil was first reported last November: 8.2

Number of votes tallied in an online Greenpeace poll last fall to name a humpback whale in the South Pacific: 152,000

Percentage that favored the name “Mr. Splashy Pants”: 79

Now you can Search Harper's Index. Try plugging in "law school" or "seattle" or "legal aid" or, well, anything. It's entertaining and intriguing. And each statistic has a source listed: they don't just make this stuff up!

For more sources for statistics, see our guide, Nonlegal Research.

Thanks: WisBlawg.

Federal Court Records to the Public?

The New York Times reports on activists' efforts to make federal court dockets available online free (currently there's a charge of 8 cents a page). An Effort to Upgrade a Court Archive System to Free and Easy - NYTimes.com, Feb. 12, 2009.

The value of open access is in tension with privacy concerns. One expert quoted is local assistant U.S. Attorney Peter A. Winn, who also teaches privacy law here at the UW. (Scroll to the bottom of the page of IP faculty bios to learn more about Mr. Winn.)

Regulatory History

We are used to searching for legislative history, but what about regulatory history? For most researchers, trying to find answers to questions about the language of a regulation, or the reasons behind a regulation used to be limited to reviewing the "proposed regulation" and the "final regulation" entries printed in the Federal Register.

But there were always other documents that might be of interest in the agency's file (its "docket") on the particular rule. These may now be accessed online at regulations.gov. That website contains proposed regulations, final regulations, some agency notices, and some agency docket materials. For instance, if the agency posts its dockets at this website, you may be able to find the comments submitted by the public on a proposed rule. In fact, you will be able to comment yourself online at that website on proposed regulations if the period for comments is still open!

For more information about researching administrative law, check out the Gallagher Law Library's U.S. Administrative Law Research guide.

Public Interest Lawyer's Memoir

Making Waves and Riding the Currents: Activism and the Practice of Wisdom,
by Charles Halpern, CT275.H2584 A3 2008 at Classified Stacks.

Amid a national dialogue of change, a leading legal scholar and prominent social activist argues that inner growth through the cultivation of wisdom can bring about a more just, compassionate, and sustainable world. . . . Charles R. Halpern, co-founder of the public policy and advocacy center Demos, describes the evolution of a left-brain, aggressive attorney into an effective social entrepreneur-activist who brings a wisdom perspective to all his relationships.

With wit and self-deprecating humor, Halpern shares candid and revealing lessons from every stage of his life, from boyhood to his post-retirement activism, describing the landmarks and guideposts he discovered on his journey and the teachers and colleagues he encountered on the way-a cast of characters that extends from Barney Frank and Ralph Nader to Ram Dass and the Dalai Lama. "Making Waves and Riding the Currents" vividly demonstrates the life-enhancing benefits of integrating a commitment to social justice with the cultivation of wisdom. But this captivating memoir is about more than that. It's about the inner work that makes the outer work possible.

The first person* to email the Reference Office with the phrase "making waves" wins one of our prizes.

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*UW law student, UW law staff, UW law faculty only

SSRN: Tool for Researchers and Writers

SSRN -- the Social Science Research Network -- can be a powerful tool for researchers and for writers in many fields, including law.

Writers can post abstracts of papers (and the papers, too, if they want), whether in draft or already published. That helps them reach an audience. For papers that they're still developing, it can help them get valuable feedback.

Researchers can search the database of abstracts to find papers. If they register (it's free!), they can download papers (it's free!).

Researchers (or anyone interested in a subject) can also subscribe to subject-based electronic journals that regularly send you new abstracts.

UW Law Faculty with SSRN pages include:

• Craig H. Allen
• Robert T. Anderson
• Steve Calandrillo
• Thomas D. Cobb
• Samuel A. Donaldson
• Patricia Carol Kuszler
• Daniel Laster
  
• Clark B. Lombardi
• Joel M. Ngugi
  
• Peter Nicolas
• Sean M. O'Connor
• Kate O'Neill
• Jane K. Winn

You don't have to be a professor to post your papers. Students who want to increase the audience for their law review and journal notes can post. And you can post if you have a paper that's unpublished that you'd like to make accessible.

Fifty Unique Legal Paths: How to Find the Right Job

Check out this new book from the ABA: Fifty Unique Legal Paths: How to Find the Right Job, KF297 .F87 2008 at Classified Stacks.

One of the best-kept secrets about the law degree is its versatility. Few degrees can match the 600 career tracks that can be followed upon its receipt. Today's world requires increased flexibility, and a law degree can provide diverse career choices and many legal paths that still allow you to impact the lives of countless people through your work.

This thorough, easy-to-use handbook focuses on the wide variety of job options for law graduates. In addition to non-practicing legal positions, you'll find the ten booming practice areas for attorneys, as well as some unique positions outside the legal field for which the JD degree is a natural fit--many of which you may have never considered! This is not a book just about non-attorney positions in the law or about shunning the law altogether. From banking to criminal justice, from education to ethics and compliance, the job market is ripe with opportunity for JD's--and this book has them all.

Most importantly, the book includes insight and advice from successful attorneys and law graduates who have carved out fulfilling careers while involved in their profession. You'll also discover how each person got their great position (sometimes rather unexpectedly) through a series of career changes and decisions. In addition, the book contains a wealth of resources, online and elsewhere, to help you gather all the facts and put them to work for you. This engaging book will inspire you to set out on a journey of your own towards the career that will prove to be your perfect fit! If you are considering a career in law, if you have your degree and haven't made up your mind, or are considering a career change, this is the perfect book for you!

The first UW law student to email the Reference Office with the phrase "find the right job" wins a prize.

Welcome High School Mock Trial Students

Today high school students from three schools (Archbishop Murphy in Everett, Meridian in Bellingham, and Port Townsend) are visiting the law school for a mock trial scrimmage, with feedback from UW law students.

High school mock trial programs are a great way for teenagers to develop their speaking skills and learn about the legal system.

How many of today's law students were on mock trial teams five or ten years ago?

I'll be giving the students a little web tour, using this guide.

Creative Research for Advocacy: Tips for Clinic Students and Others

A new guide, Creative Research for Advocacy: Tips for Clinic Students and Others offers some help to students (and others) who have assignments like "Gather social science studies about this problem our clients face" or "Write a brochure to explain this legal issue to the public."

The guide was prepared for the Refugee and Immigrant Advocacy Clinic, but the tips should be helpful in many other settings.

Trial Court Opinions on Westlaw

Westlaw currently offers databases of trial court orders; look for significant trial court opinions to become available soon.

In an open letter to the American Judges Association, published in Court Review, a content acqusitions manager from West encourages judges to subject significant rules and noteworthy cases for inclusion in Westlaw's Trial Opinions database.

We are primarily interested in publishing opinions and selected orders that contain substantive legal reasoning on important issues for your court, your jurisdiction, or Westlaw customers. In exchange for your willingness to let us know about your significant orders and opinions, we will make the state trial orders database for your state available on Westlaw to you free of charge.

44 Ct. Rev. 107 (2008).

Life Balance for Lawyers

UW Affiliate Professor Andy Benjamin has an article in Trial about life balance: G. Andrew H. Benjamin, Reclaim Your Practice Reclaim Your Life, Trial, Dec. 2008, at 30.

He reviews studies on lawyer distress (depression, substance abuse, etc.) and recommends a "Rule of Two": Select and maintain caseloads whose cases satisfy at least two of these three factors:

• clients with personalities that fit well with your own
• legal issues that you value
• either a sufficient advance fee/retainer or the conscious decision to handle cases pro bono.

Statutory Interpretation in Washington

Figuring out how to interpret statutes -- and persuading courts that your interpretation is correct -- is a recurring challenge.

To help Washington legal researchers through this thicket, Prof. Helen Anderson has written Statutory Interpretation in Washington in the Feb. 2009 Washington State Bar News.

Prof. Anderson walks you through the framework used by Washington courts -- plain meaning (which the Supreme Court says can include context), common textual canons of construction (e.g., expressio unius, "to express one thing in a statute implies the exclusion of the other"), canons related to context, legislative history, and more.

This is a good time to remind you of our guide, The Legislative Process. It includes a section listing resources (both online and print) on statutory interpretation.

If you need to roll up your sleeves and do a legislative history of a Washington law, you might want to start with our guide, Washington State Legislative History.

Washington Supreme Court Briefs Online

Washington Supreme Court briefs (June 2006-date) are now available on the Washington Courts website.

You can browse the briefs by case number, by case name, or by hearing date. Or you can search. I tried searching for "confrontation" and pulled up briefs discussing the confrontation clause.

The Courts site also has Division II briefs filed since June 2006.

A welcome development!

Update (Feb. 25): Welcome, that is, to researchers who have been frustrated working with microfiche briefs. Some lawyers, though, are not sure it's such a boon for their work to be available to anyone who wants to cut and paste.

What About Law Librarianship?

Have you ever wondered about law librarianship as a career?

I first thought about it when I was a law student and heard one of my school's law librarians speak, but I didn't do anything about it for a long time. Three years out of law school, I talked to several law librarians (informational interviewing!) and then got a temp job in a law library. I was hooked.

I wrote an online article about law librarianship back in 1999 after responding to several email inquiries. This last summer I updated the article: Update to Choosing Law Librarianship: Thoughts for People Contemplating a Career Move | LLRX.com.

If you want to know more, come talk to us. The UW has a terrific law librarianship program, and the Gallagher Law Library has a lot of good librarians to talk to.

Lighten Up!

The Law Library has plenty of very serious works -- like the human rights and genocide books I've mentioned in recent posts.

But there are some lighter law books, too. And the wish to amuse oneself in the midst of serious work is not new: consider Bench and Bar: A Complete Digest of the Wit, Humor, Asperities, and Amenities of the Law, published in New York in 1867 (K183 .B54 1871 at Classified Stacks).

Here are a few recent works:

• The Green Bag Almanac of Useful and Entertaining Tidbits for Lawyers & Reader of Good Legal Writing from the Past Year Selected by the Luminaries and Sages on Our Board of Advisors (2006, 2007, 2008), K184 .G743 at Classified Stacks and Good Reads. Not all of the Green Bag Almanac is humor -- most of the selected "good legal writing" is not -- but there are plenty of amusements tucked in.
  


• The Party of the First Part: The Curious World of Legalese, KF184 .F74 2007 at Good Reads


• Judges Say the Darndest Things, 2004 K184 .J83 2004 at Good Reads


• Amicus Humoriae: An Anthology of Legal Humor, PN6231.L4 A64 2003 at Good Reads

Books too heavy? Here are some online sources for lawyer cartoons:

• Courtoons (a daily blog).
• Stu's Views (website).
• Cartoonbank is the online source for New Yorker cartoons and covers. If you go to this page and choose the "Law Channel," you'll see a new law-related cartoon every 30 seconds.
  

For community building as well as some much-needed entertainment, go to the Student Bar Association's Law Revue Friday evening. Cocktail hour at 5:00, showtime at 6:00. Free food, free drink, free entertainment!

Speaking of "free" -- the first UW law student, staff member, or faculty member who emails the reference office with the phrase "law-related humor" will win a small prize.

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Graphic: Photograph of President Truman sharing a laugh with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill aboard the President's yacht, the U.S.S. WILLIAMSBURG, during Churchill's visit to the United States, 01/05/1952, from the National Archives and Records Administration.

Human Rights Advocacy Stories

New in the library: Human Rights Advocacy Stories (JC571 .H86 2009 at Reference Area).

The 15 chapters cover topics as diverse as torture, sexual identity, indigenous land rights, and the death penalty. (The catalog record lists all the chapters and authors.)

If you were at the presentation on Tuesday night about the Rwanda tribunal (see post), you heard a little about the Akayesu case, which for the first time included rape in genocide charges. To learn much more, read Beth Van Schaack, Engendering Genocide: The Akayesu Case Before the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, pp. 193-227 in this volume.

Genocide Reading

Yesterday I posted a note about tonight's presentation of interviews from Rwanda. Today I'll list some things to read if you want to learn more about the issue:

• A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide by Samantha Power, HV6322.7 .P69 2002 at Classified Stacks. This book won the National Book Critics Circle Award in 2002 and the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction in 2003.
  


• The Legacy of Nuremberg: Civilising Influence or Institutionalised Vengeance?, edited by David A. Blumenthal & Timothy L.H. McCormack, KZ1176.5 .L44 2008 at Classified Stacks.


• The Genocide Convention: An International Law Analysis, by John Quigley, K5302 .Q85 2006 at Classified Stacks.
  
  
• The Contribution of the Rwanda Tribunal to the Development of International Law, by L.J. van den Herik, KZ1201.A12 H47 2005 at Classified Stacks.
• Nowhere to Hide: Defeat of the Sovereign Immunity Defense for Crimes of Genocide and the Trials of Slobodan Milosevic and Saddam Hussein, by Michael J. Kelly, K5301 .K45 2005 at Classified Stacks.


• My Neighbor, My Enemy: Justice and Community in the Aftermath of Mass Atrocity, edited by Eric Stover and Harvey M. Weinstein, K5301 .M9 2004 at Classified Stacks.


• Genocide in International Law: The Crimes of Crimes, by William A. Schabas, K5302 .S32 2000 at Classified Stacks.

New Titles on BNA

The Library's subscription to sources from the Bureau of National Affairs now includes access to:

• Alternative Investment Law Report, a weekly newsletter on legal, legislative, and regulatory developments affecting hedge funds, private equity, and similar investment vehicles
• EEOC Compliance Manual, a collection of laws and expert analysis
• Harmon on Patents: Black-Letter Law and Commentary, a new 1,000+ page treatise that "restates contemporary substantive patent law"
• Tax Planning International Corporate Restructuring, a monthly newsletter on international mergers and acquistions and foreign investment issues
• Web Watch, a weekly list of links to academic, government, and industry documents on today's hottest legal topics
• Workplace Immigration Report, a biweekly report on new developments and guidance for employers
• World Climate Change Report, a daily newsletter to help "legal, corporate, and government entitites monitor the changing business and regulatory climate.

Vist the Law Library's BNA page for links to these titles and a wealth of other resources covering topics ranging from Accounting to Trade & Commerce.

Witnesses to genocide: Program presents interviews with Rwandan tribunal

Tomorrow evening a program in Kane Hall will showcase a collection of video interviews with participants in the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. The program is free. Click here to register.

 

Prof. Batya Friedman from UW's Information School headed the team that visited Rwanda and Tanzania to conduct the interviews.

Friedman's team includes professional cinematographers, specialists in information systems and legal experts. The latter include former Washington State Supreme Court Chief Justice Robert Utter, former U.S. Attorney and Seattle University Law Professor John McKay, former King County Superior Court Judge Donald Horowitz, Seattle University Law Professor Ronald Slye and law students from SU and UW.

uweek.org | Witnesses to genocide: Program presents interviews with Rwandan tribunal, Jan. 22, 2009.

Update (Jan. 29, 2009): For a discussion of the information management challenges involved in the project, see A Tool to Verify Digital Records, Even as Technology Shifts, N.Y. Times, Jan. 26, 2009.

Update (April 29, 2011): The uweek.org link doesn't work.  Other UW articles:

• Mary Lynn Lyke, Dream Team Brings Information to Bear on Problem of Genocide, Information School iNews, Spring 2009.
• Catherine O'Donnell, Remembering Rwanda, Columns, Dec. 2009. 

Interview clips may be viewed at Voices from the Rwanda Tribunal. Material is still being added: the latest release was April 28, 2011.

Law-Wiki.com and Wex

I came across Law-Wiki.com, a site that collects student outlines and information about law firms in the U.S. and Canada. Like all wikis, it's still under development -- and, in fact, you could contribute.

Coverage is uneven and appears stronger for Canada than the U.S.

The course outline collection is just getting started. For instance, it has ten outlines from George Mason and just one each from Texas and Rutgers.

Right now the outlines are arranged by school. I think it might be more useful to see a subject arrangement. If you're looking for civil procedure and your school is represented, you might not care much where your outline comes from. Searching isn't necessarily the answer: when I searched for "civil procedure" I was taken to just one page, even though I had seen other pages with "civil procedure" in their titles.

Law-wiki is a work in progress. As it develops, it could become very useful. And if it has even one outline that works for you, it could be useful now.

A legal wiki with a different approach is Wex, from Cornell's Legal Information Institute. "Wex is an ambitious effort to construct a collaboratively-created, public-access law dictionary and encyclopedia." This isn't the place to look for an outline of all of civil procedure, but it is a darn good place to get an overview of jurisdiction, with links to the Constitution, title 28, state materials, and recent cases.

A list of Wex's topics is here.

Unlike, a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:About">Wikipedia, which anyone can edit, Wex screens contributors.

We are interested in contributors with

* demonstrated expertise in particular areas of law
* a desire to educate law novices
* the ability to communicate effectively with an extremely diverse audience.

Our criteria are fluid, but in general we prefer formal legal education and give preference to legal academics and distinguished practitioners. The idea is to build the most authoritative source we can with a minimum of re-editing and tussling over content. A primary concern is that the material be useful to novices in particular areas of law -- a group that takes in practitioners learning about a new area, law students, and the general public. A desire and an ability to teach diverse groups is essential.

Hmm, looking for expertise and the ability to communicate. Interesting approach...