The Brennan Center at NYU Law School just released a report grading the Obama Administration on its transparency efforts.* There is a report card and a longer report at this link. http://www.brennancenter.org/content/resource/report_card_table _____________________________ * The above information is from an e-mail sent by Barbara Brandon of the University of Miami…
Articles Posted in Commentary and Opinion
University of Maryland Law School Movie Wins National ABA Award
“The Response”, a movie based on an actual transcript of a military tribunal hearing at Guantanamo Bay, has been selected by the American Bar Association (ABA) as the 2009 ABA Silver Gavel Award winner for “drama and literature”. It was made in collaboration with the University of Maryland School of…
OMB Watch: Summaries of the First 100 Days of the Obama Administration
OMBWatch has posted four useful documents summarizing the Obama Administration’s record at 100 days.* The first link is an assessment of improvements on the right to know front. The second link is to a brief YouTube summary on the topic from Washington NGOs. http://www.ombwatch.org/files/obamaat100daysrtk.pdf https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bp6AXSVBTR8&fmt=18 The second assessment is on…
Key Facts and Commentary About Swine Influenza (Swine Flu)
As you undoubtedly have heard, a new strain of influenza called Swine Flu or Swine Influenza apparently started about a month ago in Mexico. It has now spread, first to at least a few states in the United States and now may be spreading world wide. Art Bernardino who provides…
Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania Announces Switch to Democratic Party
Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, a Republican since 1966, said on Tuesday April 28 that he will switch to the Decmocratic Party and will run as a Democrat in 2010, thus presenting Democrats with a possible 60th vote and the power to break Senate filibusters. Here is a link to…
In Challenge to Integrated Library System Industry, OCLC Extends WorldCat By Launcing New Library System
BY Philip Y. Blue, Senior Law Librarian New York Supreme Court Criminal Term Library In a move that could reshape the library automation landscape, OCLC has expanded WorldCat Locals existing cataloging and discovery tools with new circulation, delivery, and acquisitions features. This new project, which OCLC calls “the first Web-scale,…
Legal Memoranda and Commentary On Issues Related to Interrogation and Torture
In response to litigation brought by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the Obama administration authorized the Justice Department to release four secret legal memoranda used by the Bush administration to justify torture. The memoranda were releasd on April 16, 2009. President Obama also issued a statement, emphasizing that “this…
ABA Journal Weekly Newsletter. April 17, 2009.
Top Ten Stories of the Week ending April 17, 2009: In-House Counsel Some Law Firm Clients Ban 1st-Years, Says Morgan Lewis Chair Apr 13, 2009, 05:49 pm CDT Law Practice Management BigLaw ‘Has Changed Forever,’ Says Womble Carlyle, Cutting Pay 10 Percent Apr 14, 2009, 06:06 pm CDT Careers Why…
New York Legislation: Update to Legislation Regarding Rockefeller Drug Law Reform
On March 30, 2009 we posted information on this blawg about the historic agreement reached by New York lawmakers regarding reform of the Rockefeller drug law. Since that time there has been significant activity related to his effort including the signing of Chapter 56 of 2009 by the Governor on…
Q&A: Serial Volumes Received with Accompanying Flash Drives: How Should Libraries Respond?
At least one publisher appears to be experimenting with issuing flash drives to accompany at least some of the serial volumes they publish. How, or should, libraries process flash drives received in this matter and incorporate them into their collections. Below is a question posed via e-mail by someone actually…