Law Day 2011

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.

Food (and Drink) for Thought

For those of you who have been complying with the library’s Food and Drink Policy, thank you. Some limits on the food and drink allowed in the library are necessary to keep our beautiful new building clean and comfortable for many years to come. Remember: All beverages, excluding water, must be in spill-proof mugs. This includes soda, coffee, and juice. Only light snack and light meal items are allowed. No food is allowed in the Electronic Research Classrooms and drinks must be in a spill-proof mug. Unattended food and drink items will be discarded.

Unfortunately, a number of people continue to ignore the policy. So, beginning during the week of April 25, you will see more librarians walking more frequently through the library; they will ask you to dispose of any offending items immediately or to leave the library to enjoy them elsewhere. Your help is appreciated to avoid creating unnecessary confrontations and the resulting distractions to you and your fellow students who are trying to study.

Why do we have the policy we do? Because it represents an appropriate compromise between allowing students to eat and drink while studying and ensuring respect for not only the physical space but also the interests of other members (present and future) of the law school community. Beverages spill, rendering the immediate space unusable until it is cleaned. Spills spread, stain, and leave behind a sticky residue attractive only to vermin. Food that is smelly or messy or noisy disturbs and distracts everyone around you. Messy items provide more food for local vermin. You wouldn’t bring food or drink into the courtroom, or to a client’s office, or on an interview.

A spill-proof mug is all it takes to enter the library with any beverage you like. If you don’t have a spill-proof mug, pick one up at the circulation desk for $3.00.

Everyone will appreciate your cooperation.

Exam Prep Help!

Three important Library resources to keep in mind as you prepare for upcoming exams.

First:  The Library’s Exam Preparation Resources web page offers a host of materials containing practical advice and strategies designed to help you navigate the exam process.

Second:  The Library maintains an archive of previous years’ exams for most courses.  You can access these exams by course or professor name.  From the Library’s home page, click Find Sample Exams under How Do I . . . ?

Third:  CALI offers a variety of lessons and podcasts with helpful tips and advice from faculty on preparing for and taking exams. To access these materials, log in to CALI; under CALI Topics, click Legal Concepts and Skills and scroll down to one or more of these lessons:

Exam Taking Skills, Outlines, and Advice for Law Students (Panel 1 PodCast)

Exam Taking Skills, Outlines, and Advice for Law Students (Panel 2 PodCast)

Exam Taking Skills, Outlines, and Advice for Law Students (Panel 3 PodCast)

Tips for Multiple Choice Exams in Law School (Podcast)

Top 10 Tips for Successfully Writing a Law School Essay

Writing Better Law School Exams: The Importance of Structure

Celebrate Earth Day!

Friday April 22, 2011 is Earth Day.

This year’s theme is A Billion Acts of Green®, a “people-powered campaign to generate a billion acts of environmental service and advocacy . . .” in advance of the global Earth Summit in Rio in 2012.  One easy Act of Green you could pledge, adding to the 100,504,172-and-counting Acts already submitted, would be to turn off the library study table lamps and carrel lights whenever you leave.  We will thank you and so will the Earth.

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

24-hour Library Study Hall

Effective Monday April 11, study areas and computer labs in the Mendik Library at 185 West Broadway will remain open to NYLS students 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  This Study Hall schedule will remain in effect through the end of the exams period, except for the holiday week of April 18 – 24.

During the Study Hall period 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 overnight 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 complete by regular closing time.  Policies regarding food, drink and quiet study remain in effect.

Overnight 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.

Extended Study Hall hours are suspended for the holiday week, Monday April 18 through Sunday April 24.  24-hour Study Hall resumes at 8 a.m. on Monday morning, April 25.

Please Help Us Serve You Better

Earlier this week, NYLS students received an email message from Camille Broussard asking for your participation in a short nation-wide survey on how law students research and why they choose the research methodologies they do.  If you have not done so already, the Library would appreciate your taking the few minutes to complete the 12-question survey.  The results are all anonymous but the researchers will be able to send us a summary of the NYLS responses.  This information will be very helpful in how we plan our services, courses and workshops.

You can take the survey here.

Preparing for Your Summer Employment

Just a reminder that this coming Friday April 8, you can take your research skills up a notch (or two) by attending the annual Bridge the Gap Program, which this year is being held right here at NYLS.  Registration has been extended until Friday and you can register at the door for no extra cost.  All the details, including registration information and the schedule of sessions, are available here.

The program will enhance your research skills in a number of specific practice areas and it concludes with a panel discussion among a variety of law practitioners.  Panel members will describe the typical expectations for summer law student employees, and offer advice on how to be successful in a summer law job.

Bridge the Gap between Law School and Practice

Want to develop practical skills and strategies for success in your summer job?  Register to attend the Bridge the Gap, an educational program sponsored every year by the Law Library Association of Greater New York.  This year’s Bridge the Gap will be held here at New York Law School on Friday, April 8.  Click here for a PDF version of the detailed program announcement and registration form.

The full-day program will enhance your research skills in a number of specific practice areas (including Bankruptcy Litigation, Business/Company Research, Business Related Tax Issues, Consumer Credit/Bankruptcy/Mortgages, Domestic Violence, Immigration, Legal Process of Litigation, Securities & Corporate Law, and Transnational Aspects of Litigation.)  The program concludes with a panel discussion among practitioners from different legal venues. Panel members will describe the typical expectations for summer law student employees, and offer advice on how to be successful in a summer law job.

On This Day . . . 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  today is  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