Monday April 22 is Earth Day

Continuing with its A Billion Acts of Green® movement, a “people-powered campaign to generate a billion acts of environmental service and advocacy . . .” that began in 2011, the folks at the Earth Day Network are now looking to reach 2 Billion Acts of Green. The total reported as of the morning of April 19, 2013 was 1,019,860,805 (and counting).

One easy Act of Green you could pledge would be to turn off the library study table lamps and carrel lights whenever you leave.  Or, you could use the stairs instead of the elevators between floors.  We will thank you and so will the Earth.

Another suggestion:  By drinking your coffee, tea, or other beverage from a spill-proof, reusable mug, you can transform a single Act of Green into an ongoing one, helping continually 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 $.50 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.

For complete information about Earth Day, visit Earth Day Network.


Library Study Hall

Effective Monday April 15, all study areas and computer labs in the Mendik Library will remain open late night and early morning hours.  The late hours extend to 2 a.m. every day, and the Library space reopens at 7 a.m. every morning.  This Study Hall schedule will remain in effect through the end of the exams period.

During Study Hall all areas behind the Circulation Desk, including the Reserve Collection and the Reserve Reading Room, will close at 11 p.m. on Monday through Thursday, and 10 p.m. on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  The Library opens for business at 8 a.m. on weekdays, and 9 a.m. on weekends.

During late night and early morning Study Hall hours there are no librarians on duty; security guards patrol Library rooms and study areas.  All Circulation transactions, including borrowing and return of books, as well as charge-out and charge-in of Reserve materials, must be completed by regular closing time.  Policies regarding food, drink and quiet study remain in effect.

Late and early Study Hall is for NYLS students only; you’ll need your NYLS OneCard ID to stay at closing time, and to enter the Library after closing. Please have your ID ready to show the guard.

Students will be required to leave the Mendik Library when the facility closes at 2 a.m.  Study areas elsewhere on campus remain open 24 hours.


Tax Season—Tax Forms—Tax Resources

It’s that time of year again! Are you looking for tax forms?  You can find federal forms on the IRS site here.

The IRS also provides a list of free resources to help you file your taxes.

If you are looking for New York forms, find them here.  If you need forms from other states, there are links to all state tax forms from the Federation of Tax Administrators.  The Journal of Accountancy has also compiled a list of additional tax filing resources for the year 2012.

Categories: tax

Gideon v. Wainwright

On March 18, 1963, the Supreme Court handed down the decision in Gideon v. Wainwright, a case that made significant changes to the face of criminal law in the United States.

Charged with breaking and entering into a Florida pool hall, Clarence Earl Gideon could not afford an attorney. After being convicted and sentenced to five years imprisonment, he appealed and asserted that his conviction was unconstitutional because the trial court refused to appoint counsel. The Supreme Court’s unanimous decision, written by Justice Hugo Black, found that the Sixth Amendment gives criminal defendants the right to counsel when charged with a serious offense, even if they cannot afford it. Gideon was subsequently retried and acquitted.

In ruling that states are required to provide attorneys to indigent criminal defendants, the Supreme Court effectively created the public defender system that is today accepted as an integral part of the legal community.

Further reading:
Gideon’s Trumpet (Book)

Gideon’s Trumpet (Movie)

Kyung M. Lee, Reinventing Gideon v. Wainwright: Holistic Defenders, Indigent Defendants, and the Right to Counsel, 31 Am. J. Crim. L. 367 (2004). (Article mentions The Bronx Defenders.)

Bruce R. Jacob, Memories and Reflections about Gideon v. Wainwright, 33 Stetson L. Rev. 181 (2003). (The author is the former Florida Assistant Attorney General who argued the case before the United States Supreme Court.)

The Right to Counsel and Privilege Against Self-Incrimination: Rights and Liberties Under the Law


April Foolin’

Happy April Fool’s Day from the Mendik Library! As a springtime treat, here’s an easy opportunity to be entered into a drawing to WIN valuable study aids, texts and other prizes.

Click here to access the April Fool’s Day Info Hunt (works best with Internet Explorer).  Each slide includes one question (there are only 6) and easy, step-by-step instructions. Press Enter to reveal each step.  Click here to access an answer sheet, or pick up a copy at the Reference Desk.  Drop your completed answer sheet in the Raffle Drum at the Reference Desk or e-mail it to reference@nyls.edu by 5:00 PM on Thursday, April 4. The drawing will take place outside the library entrance on April 4 at 5:40 PM. You need not be present to win, but an additional entry form will be added for each student who does attend!

 

Among the titles the winners will choose from are:

Acing Criminal Procedure

Federal Criminal Practice: A Second Circuit Handbook

Foundations of Labor and Employment Law

Foundations of Tort Law

Leading Constitutional Cases on Criminal Justice

Legal Writing: Ethical and Professional Considerations

Plain English for Drafting Statutes and Rules

Property: Examples and Explanations

Questions & Answers: Business Associations

Questions & Answers: Civil Procedure

Questions & Answers: Contracts

Questions & Answers: Criminal Law

Questions & Answers: Criminal Procedure

Questions & Answers: Torts

Understanding Islamic Law

 


Save Money!

Learn how to do cost effective legal research using WestlawNext and Lexis Advance.  It’s a vital skill that employers expect you to have and that you’ll want to tout.  Check the training calendars for Westlaw and Lexis and register while you can.  On Westlaw, select the Training tab at the top of the toolbar.  Then choose the Training at my school link. On Lexis, click the Training Calendar tab and follow the on screen instructions.  It’s never too soon to start saving money!


THOMAS and Congress.gov

THOMAS, the Library of Congress’s longstanding Web site for congressional and legislative research, is gradually being supplanted by a new research platform, congress.gov.  Although still in beta, congress.gov is intended to make searching for legislation easier and more convenient for the next generation of internet users.  The Web site’s responsive design adapts to tablet or smartphone screens and features an easy-to-locate, front-and-center search field.  As the Web site continues to be refined over the next year to improve functionality, public feedback is strongly encouraged.  Check it out!


Court-PASS: Online Database for NY Court of Appeals

On February 1, the New York Court of Appeals launched a free online document database called Court-PASS. Practitioners will be able to upload court papers and the database will serve as permanent digital archive of all cases filed after January 1, 2013. Researchers will be able to search or browse Court-PASS and view decisions, briefs, motion papers, criminal/civil case records, and videos/transcripts of oral arguments. For more information see the Court’s Notice to the Bar.


NYLS Site Linked with First African-American Newspaper

Freedom’s Journal, founded in 1827 to provide a voice against racism and intolerance, was the first newspaper published in the United States by and for African-Americans.  A number of sources place its home at 236 Church Street, which is today encompassed by NYLS’ 57 Worth Street building. This neighborhood was home to a large number of free northern blacks who, at that time, constituted a small minority in the city.

Freedom’s Journal denounced slavery and lynchings and advocated for black suffrage. It also published articles on how the U.S. legal and political systems helped to perpetuate slavery.  But the publication itself was not long-lived. Founding editor John Brown Russwurm published the last issue in 1829, shortly before emigrating to Liberia.

Read more about Freedom’s Journal in the Fall/Winter issue of New York Law School Magazine. You can access a copy of the article here.


Enter the Supreme Court Challenge

Bloomberg Law and the SCOTUSblog are offering cash prizes to the top three student teams in a competition to predict the outcomes of six Supreme Court cases and six cert. petitions that will be considered by the Court in March.  First prize — $3,500; second prize — $1,500; third prize — $1,000.  There will be cash bonuses for teams that “beat the experts.”  Details appear below.  Make sure to visit www.scotuscompetition.com for information and the official rules.  Note the deadlines for registering (February 28) and for submitting your picks (March 14).  Good luck!

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You are invited to participate in Bloomberg Law and SCOTUSblog’s Supreme Court Challenge! Teams of up to five law students from New York Law School will use resources available on Bloomberg Law (www.bloomberglaw.com) and SCOTUSblog (www.scotusblog.com) – including opinions, Supreme Court briefs, Justices’ profiles, and news – to perform any research needed to make predictions for merits cases and cert. petitions that will be considered by the Court in March 2013.

Prizes will be awarded to the three student teams with the most points as follows:

 *First prize is a minimum of $3,500, with an additional $1,500 awarded if your team also beats the experts at SCOTUSblog.

 *Second prize is $1,500 with an additional $1,000 if they beat the SCOTUSblog team.

 *Third prize is $1,000, with an additional $500 if they beat the SCOTUSblog team.

Blaise Woodworth and Eric Hanson, your Bloomberg Law Product Advocates, are available to answer any questions. Blaise & Eric will be at the Bloomberg Law table on the 5th floor every Tuesday & Wednesday from 11-4pm . They can also be reached at blaise.woodworth@law.nyls.edu / eric.hanson@law.nyls.edu.

All teams must be registered by February 28th and submit picks by March 14th, so visit www.scotuscompetition.com today for more information and the official rules.