CMLawLibraryBlog

Recent and Forthcoming Scholarship from C|M|Law Faculty

amyburchfield — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 11:55:40 -0500

Several C | M | Law faculty members have recent and forthcoming scholarship; some articles or abstracts are available for downloading through SSRN or other electronic sources.

Prof. Chris Sagers’s article Much Ado About Probably Pretty Little: McCarran-Ferguson Repeal in the Pending Health Reform Legislation will be published in 28 Yale Law & Pol’y Rev. (forthcoming 2010). He has also accepted an offer to publish Understanding the Recurrent Crisis in Legal Romanticism: Two Criteria for Coherent Doubt in 2 Wash. U. Jurisprudence Rev. (forthcoming 2010). Prof. Sagers recently posted Too Big to Fail: The Role for Antitrust and Bankruptcy Law in Financial Regulation Reform, Part II to the SSRN. [download paper]

Prof. Brian Ray’s article Residents of Joe Slovo Community v Thubelisha Homes and Others: The Two Faces of Engagement will be published in the Human Rights Law Review, an Oxford University Press journal.

Prof. Karin Mika’s article Games in the Law School Classroom: Enhancing the Learning Experience appeared in the Fall 2009 issue of Perspectives, a West periodical devoted to teaching legal research and writing.

Prof. Dena Davis published an “op-ed” piece on embryo research and the Dickey-Wicker Amendment in the Society Scholars section of the American Society of Law, Medicine and Ethics website.

Prof. Mark Sundahl has posted an abstract of his article Export Controls and Human Spaceflight: A New Age of Reason? to SSRN. [read abstract]

Prof. David Barnhizer has posted his article Redesigning the American Law School to SSRN. [download paper]

The Procrastination Stage of Tax Time - Frivolity

MarieRehmar — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 17:00:01 -0500

We’re expecting to get our tax returns in, but in case we feel the need to explore some different arguments, the IRS has already considered many of them. To save you time getting to, and reading about, different contentions, and the IRS’s take thereon, see Frivolous Tax Arguments. For the tax practitioners among us, the IRS lists some of the more common Frivolous Arguments in Collection Due Process Cases, and, thoughtfully, also includes an overview of Penalties.

New ALR - ALR International - on Westlaw

MarieRehmar — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 16:00:48 -0500

We’ve all used the content of the different series of ALR & ALR Federal, but Westlaw has a new creation: ALR International, (ALR-INTL). The annotations are “written by U.S. authors and international contributors” and include cases from the U.S. and other countries. The 1^st annotation of the 5 in the 1^st volume is titled “Construction and Application of United Nations Convention on Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards, June 10, 1958, 330 U.N.T.S. 38, also known as "New York Convention"-Global Cases: Jurisdictional Issues, Construction of Essential Terms, Applicability of Convention to Action, Impact of Other Multilateral or Bilateral Agreements Upon Applicability of Convention, and Reciprocity Issues.”

Other annotations in Vol. 1 concern Construction and Application of the Hague Convention on the Taking of Evidence Abroad in Civil or Commercial Matters; the U.N. Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods; Freedoms of Speech and Expression (Arts. 18-20) and Right to Marriage (Art. 23) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; and Article 1A of the U.N. Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees

Plagiarism Checking Software Available via Lexis

suealtmeyer — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 12:21:59 -0500

Using Lexis SafeAssign, faculty can easily upload student assignments and check them for originality against a huge collection of articles, including the ProQuest ABI/Inform database and the Internet. A course page needs to be created on Lexis in order to access SafeAssign. For quick tutorials on how to create a course page and use SafeAssign, log onto Lexis, click on the Course Pages tab and click on Webinar Recording & Interactive Tutorials. Or, contact one of the research librarians to help you set up a course page and use SafeAssign.

Multitasking and Learning

LauraRay — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 10:47:35 -0500

Think you can multitask with the best of them? Think you can read or write effectively while listening to music, running on a treadmill, or hanging at your favorite local coffee shop? Maybe yes, but recent research suggests probably not. Check out Digital Nation: Life on the Virtual Frontier at 9pm tonight on PBS' Frontline. This program examines "the implications of living in a world consumed by technology and the impact that this constant connectivity may have on future generations." Contrary to many people's assumptions about the brain's ability to manage tasks, "[i]t turns out multitaskers are terrible at every aspect of multitasking, ... [t]heir memory is very disorganized, ... and they're worse at analytic reasoning." Other topics in this provocative program include the technological support of teaching and social relationships, as well as the technological transformation of warfare.

NFL vs. New Orleans showdown over "Who Dat"

jelias — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 09:41:22 -0500

Super Bowl week is here and unbelievably the Browns are not one of the teams participating. One of the teams, the NFC champion New Orleans Saints, are in a dispute over their famed "Who Dat" chant. The NFL just recently registered a trademark for the chant. Gee golly, I wonder if this has anything to do with the Saints making the Super Bowl and the NFL trying to make some good coin off of this? Merchants in New Orleans have been giving the good old cease-and-desist orders by the NFL and obviously those merchants are not to happy about the situation, yet the NFL carries out no cease-and-desist to a certain fan base wearing these awful black and gold colors waving yellow towels. Here is the article for your reading enjoyment, and since the Browns once again are not in the Super Bowl here is Josh Cribbs running over some steelers for your viewing pleasure. Just in case you were wondering the Browns won that game 13-6.

Stephen Colbert's Prece-don't

suealtmeyer — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 09:27:32 -0500

Watch the video clip The Word - Prece-don't - Stephen Colbert's humorous commentary on the Supreme Court decision in Citizen's United v. Federal Election Commission . This 7 minute video contains a brief synoposis of the decision, some Supreme Court history, the definition of precedent and an intellectual look at the future of legal precedent.

Thanks to Professor Karin Mika.

For a serious discussion of the Citizen's United case, read Ira Glasser: Understaning the Citizens United Ruling from the Huffington Post. (Thanks to Professor Lloyd Snyder)

Professor Mika Recognized as Transformation Leader at AALS

suealtmeyer — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 11:31:50 -0500

LexisNexis recognized Professor Karin Mika as a leader in legal education at the AALS Conference this January for her use of cutting edge classroom technology. The LexisNexis Exhibit booth featured the display depicted in the photo to the right, describing Professor Mika's contributions towards advancing legal education.

The display says:

Innovative leader creates online tools for students to enhance their education
Her sites contain syllabi, assignments, powerpoints, video, podcasts and CALI lesson links.
Employs innovative gaming technology for her legal writing class.
Encourages other professors to use technology.

Professor Mika's web sites are created and maintained by the library. The library can help any professors interested in creating or enhancing their course pages.

Claim Haiti Donations on Your 2009 Federal Tax Return

suealtmeyer — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 17:14:56 -0500

The IRS news article Ten Facts About Claiming Donations Made to Haiti sets out the rules for deducting cash donations for Haitian relief on 2009 federal tax returns. The accelerated benefit is allowed by Public Law 111-26.

Thanks to Karen Zima.

Student Writing Competition: Warren E. Burger Prize

amyburchfield — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 12:50:30 -0500

From the promotional poster --

“You are invited to participate in the 2010 American Inns of Court Warren E. Burger Prize writing competition. To apply, please submit an original, unpublished essay of 10,000-25,000 words on a topic of your choice addressing the issues of legal excellence, civility, ethics, and professionalism.

The author of the winning essay will receive a cash prize of $5,000 and the essay will be published in the South Carolina Law Review. The 2010 Warren E. Burger Prize will be presented as part of the American Inns of Court Celebration of Excellence at the Supreme Court of the United States on October 23, 2010.

For more information, please contact Cindy Dennis at cdennis@innsofcourt.org or (800) 233-3590 ext. 104.

Submission deadline: June 15, 2010.”