Mendik Matters » Legal News

Racial Justice Project Files Amicus Brief with United States Supreme Court

Mendik Library — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 20:23:13 +0000

Congratulations to the NYLS Racial Justice Project, which recently filed an amicus brief on behalf of Congressman John Lewis in Shelby County v. Holder. The case challenges the constitutionality of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and will be argued before the Supreme Court on February 27. The brief attests to the high price many paid for the enactment of the law and discusses the mechanisms that continue to suppress, dilute, and infringe upon minorities’ right to vote. Hats off to co-authors Associate Dean Deborah Archer; Professors Tamara Belinfanti, Erika Wood and Aderson Francois of Howard University; and Civil Rights Clinic students Sondah Ouattara, Cortney Nadolney, Jeremiah Rygus, Jason Sender, Joycelyn Pittard, Shantal Sparks, Vanessa Craivero, Megan Crespo, Jacob Korder, Sonia Tapryal and Will Lemon.

LASIS Blog Wins Again

Farrah Nagrampa — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 15:59:42 +0000

For the second year in a row, NYLS’s LASIS blog was named a fan favorite in the ABA Journal’s annual list of the top 100 law blogs (The Blawg 100). This year, LASIS was voted number 1 in the News/Analysis category, besting a host of other blogs, including Above the Law, The Volokh Conspiracy, the Wall Street Journal’s Law Blog, The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times, and The Am Law Daily. It received nearly 100 more votes than the nearest competitor. Continuing congratulations to all the folks at LASIS!

See our previous posts here and here.

Research Guide for Supreme Court Affirmative Action Case

Michael Roffer — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 22:20:05 +0000

Oral arguments are scheduled today (October 10) in Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin, 631 F.2d 213 (5^th Cir. 2011), cert. granted, 132 S. Ct. 1536 (Feb. 21, 2012). The case is a challenge to UT Austin’s consideration of race as a factor in undergraduate admissions and will be the first time the Court addresses affirmative action in higher education since Grutter v. Bollinger, 539 U.S. 306 (2003). The NYLS Racial Justice Project filed an amicus curiae brief in the case on behalf of the National Black Law Students Association. (See our previous post.)

The reference librarians of the Tarlton Law Library at the University of Texas have assembled a research guide for the case. The guide includes the text of selected court documents filed with the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5^th Circuit, and the U.S. Supreme Court; news coverage and law review articles about the Fisher case; and some basic information on UT student body profiles and statistics since 2008. Tarlton’s librarians will continue to follow the case and update the guide as new articles are published.

First Monday in October

Farrah Nagrampa — Sun, 30 Sep 2012 17:27:52 +0000

The United States Supreme Court’s new term begins today (October 1, 2012), the first Monday in October. The 2012-2013 docket thus far includes at least one case of particular interest to members of the NYLS community: In Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin, involving a challenge to the University of Texas at Austin’s consideration of race as a factor in undergraduate admissions, New York Law School’s Racial Justice Project has filed an amicus brief on behalf of the National Black Law Student’s Association. (See this previous Mendik Matters post for additional details.) Fisher is set for argument on October 10, 2012.

Two great sources for learning about the new term are the ABA’s Preview of the United States Supreme Court Cases and the SCOTUS Blog. Preview is published eight times during the term, providing a concise analysis of cases granted review. The Preview website links to a list of the cases granted certiorari for the 2012-2013 term and provides links to the merits briefs filed in each case. The SCOTUS Blog provides comprehensive coverage and discussion of the Supreme Court and generally reports on every merits case before the Court at least three times: before argument; after argument; and after decision.

In preparing for the new term, you may also want to look back at earlier terms. At the end of each term, a number of journals and blogs provide a wealth of information on the types of cases heard by the Court, a breakdown of cases by major subject areas, analysis of key cases and opinions, and discussion of voting trends. For example, Preview devotes its last issue each year to a review of the newly completed term. The Harvard Law Review (also accessible via HeinOnline) devotes its November issue to coverage of the completed term, and the SCOTUS Blog provides a comprehensive end-of-term statistical analysis. End-of-term reviews are a great way to keep up with and learn more about the work of the nation’s highest court.

Celebrate Constitution Day!

Farrah Nagrampa — Fri, 14 Sep 2012 16:32:08 +0000

Constitution Day (September 17) commemorates the day the members of the Philadelphia Convention signed the United States Constitution. Of the three delegates from New York, only one participated through to the end and affixed his name: Alexander Hamilton. Revolutionary War veteran and lawyer, Hamilton was also a co-author of The Federalist Papers and the first Secretary of the Treasury. Aligned with the Federalists, the rival party to Thomas Jefferson and James Madison’s Democratic-Republicans, Hamilton founded the New York Post in 1801 with other Federalist Party members. In 1804, he successfully opposed Aaron Burr’s bid to become governor of New York, a bitter dispute that led to the fatal duel, and Hamilton’s death, in July of that year. (An interesting historical footnote: Aaron Burr was a cousin of Theodore Dwight, whose grandson Theodore W. Dwight, a major figure in the history of American legal scholarship, played the central role in the creation of New York Law School in 1891.)

Party Platforms on your Mind?

Farrah Nagrampa — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 17:34:41 +0000

Well . . . not just any party or any platform – but, the Democratic and Republican Parties and the 2012 election platforms. Search no further . . . . The American Presidency Project, established in 1999 as a collaboration between John T. Woolley and Gerhard Peters at the University of California, Santa Barbara, has an archive of over 100,000 documents related to the study of the Presidency. The National Political Party Platforms section in the Documents area of the web site contains the platforms for political parties receiving electoral votes from 1840-2012.

Bluebook App Now Available!

Farrah Nagrampa — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 13:11:40 +0000

Good news! The Bluebook is now available for iPads, iPhones, and iPods. The app supports full-text searching, browsing, highlighting, bookmarking, and annotating. Among its features, the continuous display of the Table of Contents and hyperlinking of cross-references make navigation a breeze. You don’t have to worry about losing your Internet connection either. Once downloaded, the rules reside on your device for offline use. Give it a try! Here’s the link.

A few things to note: First, for the foreseeable future, the app is only available for the iPhone and the iPad – not for Androids or Blackberrys. If you have both an iPhone and an iPad, one purchase enables you to use it on both devices. Second, at $39.95, it is a little more expensive than the print Bluebook (which is $37.15 (new) at the NYLS bookstore). But for folks who want the convenience and search capability of digital access it may well be worth it. An added benefit is that all Bluebook updates between editions are automatically added to the app and you “own” the app; there’s no need to purchase it again unless you want to once a new edition is published. (New editions are published every five years, with the 20^th edition scheduled for 2015.) Comparing it against the Bluebook’s online version, the app’s pricing may still be more favorable. The online version is $32 for one year, with annual renewals priced at $15, although you can pay $42 for two years or $50 for three years with corresponding $15 renewals. But that is only available “online,” meaning on a PC or Mac, and you’ll need an Internet connection while using it. Remember: the Mendik Library has a subscription to the online Bluebook, which can be accessed from two PCs in the Library. Contact the Reference Desk for password information.

NYLS Law Students “Friend” the Supreme Court

Farrah Nagrampa — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 18:14:47 +0000

Congratulations to the students and faculty of the NYLS Racial Justice Project for completing and filing an amicus curiae brief in Fisher v. Univ. of Tex. at Austin, 631 F.2d 213 (5^th Cir. 2011), cert. granted 132 S. Ct. 1536 (Feb. 21, 2012) (No. 11-345) a case the U.S. Supreme Court will hear in October. The case is a challenge to UT Austin’s consideration of race as a factor in undergraduate admissions and will be the first time the Court addresses affirmative action in higher education since Grutter v. Bollinger, 539 U.S. 306 (2003).The brief was written on behalf of the National Black Law Students Association and responds to arguments in other briefs that race-conscious admissions programs demoralize minority students, exposing them to stigma and academic environments in which they are outmatched. A copy of the brief is attached here.

Hats off to students Matthew Hellman (’12), Christopher Binns (’12), Lailah Pepe (’13), Joycelyn Pittard (’13) and Xan Marshall (’13), and, of course, Professors Deborah Archer, Susan Abraham and Aderson Francois.

Celebrate Constitution Day

Mendik Library — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 14:24:48 +0000

September 17 marks Constitution Day, commemorating the 1787 date on which thirty-nine of the Philadelphia Convention’s delegates signed the new Constitution.

The Office of Academic Affairs will be handing out free, pocket-size constitutions (while supplies last) at the entrance to 185 West Broadway this Friday, September 16. (If supplies stop lasting, don’t despair; you can always get a copy at the Mendik Library Reference Desk.)

ConstitutionFacts.com has put together a variety of fun ways to test/expand your Constitutional knowledge.

Which Founding Father are you?

“Expert” level quiz. Harder than you think! This librarian only scored 43 out of 50.

Crossword puzzles.

Real or fake?

Famous quotes.

Law Day 2011

Mendik Library — Sun, 01 May 2011 22:16:35 +0000

Law Day, May 1, celebrates the fundamental principle of the rule of law and how it is connected to the many freedoms that Americans enjoy. President Dwight D. Eisenhower established the first Law Day through Proclamation 3221 in 1958. In 1961, Congress passed a joint resolution (now codified at 36 U.S.C. § 113) designating May 1 as Law Day and requesting each sitting president to issue a proclamation every year.

This year’s Law Day Theme, as established by the American Bar Association (ABA), is The Legacy of John Adams, From Boston to Guantanamo, which acknowledges John Adams as our first lawyer president and is designed to help us understand the role that lawyers have played throughout history in defending due process and the rights of the accused. The ABA provides an interactive map to show what Law Day Events are occurring throughout the U.S., Guam and Puerto Rico. The New York State Bar Association has a webpage dedicated to Law Day 2011 and has listed a number of events occurring throughout the state.

If you are interested in planning Law Day events for next year, take a look at this year’s guide for ideas on how to organize Law Day Events.