Valentine’s Day Info Hunt- Can you find love in the Library?

The Valentine’s Day Info Hunt is back! Can you find love in the Library?

With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, here’s the Library’s sweet treat for you: an opportunity to WIN study aids, Lexis points, NYLS swag, and Starbucks gift cards. Just answer any 3 of the 6 Valentine’s Info Hunt questions. Your answers don’t need to be perfect—just close!

Click here to access the questions. Each slide includes just one question, along with step-by-step instructions to get you to the answer.

Print the PDF answer sheet (or pick up a copy at the Reference Desk) and drop it in our Reference Desk Raffle Drum by 3pm on Wednesday February 14th, and then join us outside the library at 5:45 for some sweets and the prize drawing at 5:45pm.


Follow Election News

The presidential election is just a few weeks away.  The first debate between the major candidates is set for Monday, September 26, 2016.  Are you looking for news and political information?  The Library has many sources for your reading and research pleasure.  Check out E-Journals A – Z  under Research Tools on the Library’s home page to find links to many newspapers and magazines . . . including the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the multiple newspaper files available on Westlaw and Lexis.


Celebrate Constitution & Citizenship Day

September 17 marks the annual celebration of Constitution Day, commemorating the date on which 39 of the Philadelphia Convention’s delegates signed the Constitution in 1787. This year, it will be observed on September 16, and will include forty federal judges across the country swearing in new citizens during special naturalization ceremonies held at national historic landmarks. Chief Judge Robert A. Katzmann, of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, will preside at an Ellis Island ceremony.

Constitution Day was created in 2004 to encourage public schools and governmental offices to promote a better understanding of the Constitution, the world’s longest surviving written charter of government.

The original document is held at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. You can read the Constitution online, or pick up your own pocket-copy at the library’s reference desk! For deeper coverage, you can also download the Library of Congress’s free app containing the official, annotated version of the United State Constitution, U.S. Constitution: Analysis and Interpretation.

 

For more information about the day, visit the National Constitution Center’s web site.



The PATRIOT Act

On Oct. 26, 2001, President George W. Bush signed the USA PATRIOT Act, giving authorities unprecedented ability to search, seize, detain or eavesdrop in their pursuit of possible terrorists.

If you’re interested in more details, read this excerpt from Professor Michael Roffer’s new book, The Law Book: From Hammurabi to the International Criminal Court, 250 Milestones in the History of Law

On September 11, 2001, four passenger planes hijacked by al-Qaeda terrorists crashed into the World Trade Center towers, the Pentagon, and a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, killing a total of 2,977 victims. In the wake of that horrific tragedy, Congress passed the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism (USA PATRIOT) Act. For years it has polarized a nation struggling with concerns for security on the one hand and threats to privacy on the other.

Once described as “perhaps the longest, broadest, most sweeping piece of legislation in American history,” the USA PATRIOT Act reflected unified congressional

effort to combat terrorism by enhancing law enforcement agencies’ surveillance and investigative powers. Congress passed it with overwhelming support: 357–66 in the House and 98–1 in the Senate, but critics have challenged the unorthodox nature of its passage. It had little federal agency review, no public hearings, no committee markup, no Conference Committee Report, little floor debate, and almost no time for review of the final bill before Congress voted, imparting a legacy of controversy to the legislation.

Two of the Act’s core and most controversial provisions gave law enforcement agencies additional powers to monitor and intercept electronic communications that might relate to terrorist activities. This provision enhanced powers long available under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and the Electronic Communications Privacy Act. The new act permits electronic surveillance where a “significant purpose”—as opposed to the sole or primary purpose—is to gather foreign intelligence. Second, it permits “roving”surveillance of individuals, not limited to a single telephone or computer.

So as not to grant law enforcement officials a perpetual license to spy on whomever they wanted, the Act also included a four-year sunset stipulation. In 2005, Congress enacted the USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act, which made permanent most of the expiring provisions of the original act and adopted a new sunset date for the two most controversial sections. At time of press, the current expiration date for those sections was June 1, 2015. The debate over the Act is sure to persist as the nation continues to negotiate a balance between civil liberties and national security.


Be My (Library) Valentine

What are you looking for this Valentine’s Day?  Love? Adventure? Excitement?   Head over to the Library and join the annual Find Love in the Library Info Hunt!  Joining is simple (and free).  Just answer 3 of the 6 questions, submit your answers either by email (reference@nyls.edu) or by dropping your answer sheet in the raffle drum at the Reference Desk.  Drawing is on Thursday, February 12, 5:30 pm.  Our prizes this year includes Amazon gift cards, OneCard guest cards, LexisNexis rewards points, research guides and study aids.  There will also be sweets and treats at the drawing. Hope to see you there!​


Back to Carnegie Hall!

Congratulations to the graduating class of 2014 and their upcoming Commencement Exercises—the Law School’s 122nd—on May 21st!

This year’s ceremony is particularly meaningful because it marks a return to Carnegie Hall, site of the Law School’s first Commencement, on June 7, 1892, and those for the following twenty-one years (through 1913).  

Commencement ceremonies enable us to celebrate our new graduates and to honor previous ones.  It’s always fun to view this slice of our history by looking back at our Commencement Exercises Programs. The Library has created two exhibits of NYLS Commencement Programs spanning three centuries!  We invite you to visit both.

•           In The Honorable Roger J. Miner ’56 Reading Room display case (L302) you’ll find programs from 1950, 1975, 1985, 1991, and 1997.

 •           In the display case near the Event Center (second floor of 185 West Broadway) you’ll find programs from 1892, 1894, 1899, 1900, 1903, 1906, 1913, and more . . . .

 Enjoy the Law School’s rich history!

 


The Real Cinco de Mayo

Yesterday was Cinco de Mayo (the 5th of May), and we hope you all found at least some time to celebrate and enjoy the day amidst all the hard-core studying.

Often mistaken for a celebration of Mexican independence, Cinco de Mayo commemorates the Mexican army’s victory in the Battle of Puebla during the Franco-Mexican War.  On May 5, 1862, General Lorencez and 6,000 French troops marched towards Puebla, Mexico.  Greatly outnumbered, the Mexicans fought and improbably defeated the French army at Puebla.

Now, Cinco de Mayo is widely celebrated in the United States as a celebration of Mexican culture and heritage.  Even Congress has officially recognized the holiday, passing a number of resolutions entitled “Recognizing the historical significance of the Mexican holiday of Cinco de Mayo.”  For example, S. Res. 128, 111th Cong. (2009),  H. Res. 230, 111th Cong. (2009), and H. Res. 347, 110th Cong. (2007).   This year, President Obama held a reception at the White House to celebrate Cinco de Mayo.

Check out these links from the Law Library of Congress for more information.


Celebrate Law Day

In 1958, President Eisenhower designated May 1 “Law Day, USA.”  Law Day celebrates the rule of law and its contributions to Americans’ many freedoms. Law Day 2014 is especially significant as we approach the fiftieth anniversaries of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.  The theme for this year’s observance is American Democracy and the Rule of Law: Why Every Vote Matters, urging every American to reflect on the importance of the right to vote, and challenging them to ensure that all citizens have the opportunity to exercise this right.  Additional information on Law Day can be found on the ABA’s Law Day web page.


Go Green for Earth Day

Earth Day this year (April 22) celebrates Green Cities, a campaign to help cities around the world become more sustainable and reduce their carbon footprint. Visit www.earthday.org/ for more details.

Here’s a suggestion from the Mendik Library:  By drinking your coffee, tea, or other beverage from a spill-proof, reusable mug, you’ll help to reduce the volume of plastic, Styrofoam, and paper cups piling up in landfills or requiring energy for recycling.  At the same time, you’ll be complying with the Library’s food and drink policy and earning our thanks! 

If you don’t have a spill-proof mug, pick one up at the Circulation Desk for $3.00.  Although we already sell these mugs at a loss, for every one purchased through the end of this semester’s exam period librarians will contribute $1.00 to Earth Day Network (www.earthday.org/), which works with over 22,000 partners in 192 countries to broaden, diversify and mobilize the environmental movement.

We’re counting on everyone to do the right thing.