First Year Required Computer Assisted Legal Research II (CALR II) Training Classes

First Year Required Computer Assisted Legal Research II (CALR II) training classes will be taught by the staff of the Mendik Library beginning on Wednesday, January 23rd and running through Monday, February 18th, 2008.

Each CALR II session is 90 minutes long and the training is a course requirement of Legal Research and the Writing Program.

Since seating in each session is limited, you are required to sign up in advance for the session you wish to attend.

Advance Sign Up for CALR II will begin the morning of January 14th (the first day of the spring semester).  At that time a binder containing all the advance sign up sheets will be placed at the Reference / Circulation Desk of the Mendik Library (4th Floor of 40 Worth Street).

You must sign up in person and it is not possible to sign up prior to the morning of Monday, January 14th.

To help you choose a convenient CALR II session to attend, a list of all 53 sessions follows:

 

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

1:15 – 2:45

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

4:15 – 5:45

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

7:50 – 9:20 pm

 

 

Thursday, January 24, 2008

9:15 – 10:45 am

Thursday, January 24, 2008

12:15 – 1:45

 

 

Friday, January 25, 2008

11:15 – 12:45

Friday, January 25, 2008

4:15 – 5:45

Friday, January 25, 2008

6:00 – 7:30 pm

 

 

Saturday, January 26, 2008

2:00 – 3:30

Sunday, January 27, 2008

1:00 – 2:30

 

 

Monday, January 28, 2008

9:15 – 10:45 am

Monday, January 28, 2008

2:30 – 4:00

Monday, January 28, 2008

4:15 – 5:45

 

 

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

9:15 – 10:45 am

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

11:15 – 12:45

 

 

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

1:15 – 2:45

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

4:15 – 5:45

 

 

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

7:50 – 9:20 pm*

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

7:50 – 9:20 pm*

 

 

Thursday, January 31, 2008

9:15 – 10:45 am

Thursday, January 31, 2008

12:15 – 1:45

 

 

Friday, February 01, 2008

11:15 – 12:45

Friday, February 01, 2008

4:15 – 5:45

Friday, February 01, 2008

6:00 – 7:30 pm

 

 

Saturday, February 02, 2008

1:00 – 2:30

 

 

Monday, February 04, 2008

9:15 – 10:45 am

Monday, February 04, 2008

2:30 – 4:00

 

 

Monday, February 04, 2008

4:15 – 5:45

 

 

Tuesday, February 05, 2008

9:15 – 10:45 am

Tuesday, February 05, 2008

11:15 – 12:45

 

 

Wednesday, February 06, 2008

1:15 – 2:45

 

 

Wednesday, February 06, 2008

4:15 – 5:45

Wednesday, February 06, 2008

7:50 – 9:20 pm

 

 

Thursday, February 07, 2008

9:15 – 10:45 am

Thursday, February 07, 2008

12:15 – 1:45

 

 

Friday, February 08, 2008

11:15 – 12:45

Friday, February 08, 2008

4:15 – 5:45

Friday, February 08, 2008

6:00 – 7:30 pm

 

 

Saturday, February 09, 2008

12:00 – 1:30

 

 

Sunday, February 10, 2008

2:00 – 3:30

 

 

Monday, February 11, 2008

2:30 – 4:00

Monday, February 11, 2008

4:15 – 5:45

 

 

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

9:15 – 10:45 am

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

11:15 – 12:45

 

 

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

1:15 – 2:45

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

4:15 – 5:45

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

7:50 – 9:20 pm*

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

7:50 – 9:20 pm*

 

 

Thursday, February 14, 2008

9:15 – 10:45 am

Thursday, February 14, 2008

12:15 – 1:45

 

 

Friday, February 15, 2008

11:15 – 12:45

Friday, February 15, 2008

4:15 – 5:45

 

 

Monday, February 18, 2008

6:00 – 7:30 pm

 

 

 

 

*Please Note that two sessions are being offered at 7:50pm on Wednesday, January 30th and Wednesday, February 13th.

 

 

 

 

LIBRARY INTERSESSION SCHEDULES:

Please note the special Library schedules for the
intersession period between the end of final exams and the beginning of the
Spring Semester: Saturday, December 22 through Sunday, January 13. Library areas on the 14th floor
are closed for this entire period.

CLOSED: The Library is completely closed for the long
weekend of Christmas: Saturday through Tuesday, December 22-25; the long
weekend of New Years: Saturday through Tuesday, December 29 – January 1; and
the weekend of January 5 & 6.

4th & 7th FLOORS OPEN: These
Library areas are open with all services from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Wednesday –
Friday, December 26-28; and from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays beginning January
2. Also open with all services from noon
to 8 p.m. on the weekend of January 12
& 13.

West Enhances Key Number System Access

West has recently released a new tool that is sure to enhance legal research using the West Key Number System.  Here is an excerpt of an announcement from West:

The Search for Key Numbers tool, released November 10, 2007, offers a lightning-fast solution: Type a short description of your issue and click Search. Key numbers—each with a link to a jurisdiction-specific Custom Digest result—are provided for you.

Done.

This new feature instantly identifies the key numbers assigned to your legal issue and retrieves on-point cases via the Custom Digest. To access the new Search for Key Numbers tool, click Key Numbers at the top of any Westlaw page or on the site map. A page is displayed that contains the Search for Key Numbers text box, as well as links to the West Key Number Digest outline and to KeySearch®.

To use the Search for Key Numbers tool, type a description of your issue, e.g., landlord duty of care to trespassers, in the text box. To select a jurisdiction, click Change Jurisdiction and use the check boxes provided. (If you don’t select a jurisdiction, the default jurisdiction is your home state.) Using West’s exclusive CaRE® technology, the same technology behind the scenes of ResultsPlus®, the Search for Key Numbers tool displays key numbers potentially relevant to your issue. Click a key number, and you retrieve jurisdiction-specific headnotes classified under the key number.

There is no charge for using the Search for Key Numbers tool to identify key numbers. If you click a key number and retrieve headnotes via the Custom Digest, you are billed in the same manner as with any other Custom Digest search.

You can access more information about the Key Numbers Search Tool here.

Oral Arguments In Detainee Cases Available December 5

From Law.com

C-SPAN announced Monday that Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. has approved its request for same-day release of the audio of Supreme Court oral arguments set for Dec. 5 in Boumediene v. Bush and Al Odah v. United States. The cases, testing the habeas corpus rights of Guantanamo detainees, were deemed of sufficient public interest to warrant same-day release, rather than the traditional schedule of releasing oral argument recordings to the National Archives at the end of each Court term.

This exception from usual practice has been allowed once or twice a term, more or less, since 2000 in response to media requests for access to the audio, which makes broadcast coverage of oral arguments more complete.

Last term, the Court allowed same-day release twice, first in November in the partial-birth abortion cases, and then in December for the Seattle and Louisville cases on the use of race in public school class assignments. C-SPAN Radio will air the audio as soon as it becomes available, usually minutes after the oral argument, and the audio will be made available to other media for excerpting on radio, television and the Web.

The advocates who will be heard during the hourlong argument are among the best: former Solicitor General Seth Waxman for the detainees, and current SG Paul Clement for the Bush Administration.

Sweeping Changes Coming to FRCP

Sweeping changes are coming to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, effective December 1, 2007. The changes consist of comprehensive style amendments to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 1-86 and style revisions to the Illustrative Civil Forms. The changes are intended to clarify and simplify the rules without changing their substantive meaning. More information on the new rules and forms, including the text of the rules amendments, excerpts of reports of the Rules Committees, and a chart listing each instance where a current Civil Rule was renumbered in the Restyled Civil Rules, is posted at the United States Courts web site. The web site also addresses amendments to Appellate Rule 25; Bankruptcy Rules 1014, 3007, 4001, 6006, and 7007.1, and new Rules 6003, 9005.1, and 9037; and Criminal Rules 11, 32, 35, 45, and new Rule 49.1.

Categories: Law

A Message to All Students from the SBA

Fellow Students:

As final exams approach, keep in mind the importance of abiding by the Quiet Study Rules in Mendik Library reading rooms.  Even if you are the type of student who can study well in noise and commotion, remember that not everyone else feels the same way.  At this time of year, the volume of student noise complaints always rises dramatically.  Making noise – even a little noise for a short time – around your fellow students who are trying to study for finals is the height of rude behavior.

Please take note that all reading rooms and stack areas in the Library are Quiet Study Zones.  The only exception is the reading area next to the 4th floor Reference Desk.  Within Quiet Study Zones:

• Never engage in conversation.  A few words at a whisper should always suffice.  If you must engage in conversation, take it to the Library stairwells or outside.

• Don’t ever use your cell phone, and don’t put it on vibrate – mute it completely or turn it off.  Even a humming cell phone can disrupt your neighbor’s study.  If you’re waiting for an important call, you can study someplace else until you receive it.

• Cell phones aren’t the only electronics that make noise.  If your laptop has a sound card, don’t forget to mute it.  If you’ve got an IPod, make sure to keep the volume at a level that others can’t hear.

• When you enter or leave a Group Study Room, remember to close the door behind you.

• If you become aware of a noisy facilities condition – a squeaky door, a thumping photocopier, a rumbling equipment room – report it immediately to the Library staff at ext. 2332, or to Maintenance at ext. 2820.

During the finals period the Library gets very crowded, and tensions can mount.  The only way to maintain an appropriate study atmosphere is through student cooperation under these simple rules.  Please keep this in mind always, and especially at this time of year.

Best of luck with finals,

Your Student Bar Association

Extended Study Hall Hours

Effective Monday, November 12, all Library study areas and computer labs on the 7th and 14th floors of 40 Worth St. remain open extended Study Hall hours that run from regular closing time until 2:00 a.m. These same areas also open one hour early, at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

During the extended hours there are no librarians on duty, but the Study Hall areas are patrolled by security guards. Study Hall is for NYLS students only; please make sure to have your NYLS ID ready to show the guard.

The Library space on the 4th floor of 40 Worth St. is not open during the extended Study Hall hours, but rather functions on the regular semester schedule. Thus, the Library’s book collections, Circulation, and the Reserve Room will close at 11 p.m. on weekdays, and 10 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. All circulation transactions, including borrowing and return of books; and charge-out and charge-in of Reserve materials must be completed by regular closing time.

Extended Study Hall hours are suspended for Thanksgiving break, Wednesday November 21 through Sunday November 25. They resume on Monday November 26. The extended hours will then continue for the duration of the exams period.

10 Things You Didn’t Know About Each of the 9 Supreme Court Justices

U.S. News & World Report has compiled a series of "10 Things You Didn’t Know About [insert name of Justice]" pieces for each of the nine Supreme Court justices.  Among other things, you will discover that "a coffee shop near the Newark federal courthouse carries a blend named after Justice Alito: ‘Judge Alito’s Bold Justice Blend: a mix of Colombian, Java, and New Guinea with a bit of espresso;’" that "in school, Justice Ginsburg was a baton twirler, cello player in the orchestra, and member of both the pep squad and the honor society;" and that Justice Scalia "was only 50 when his nomination hearings took place, making him the youngest Supreme Court justice ever."  You can access all ninety tidbits through this link.