Criminal Law Library Blog

February 5, 2009

The Future of Sentencing in New York State: Recommendations for Reform

A Report of the New York State Commission on Sentencing Reform, dated January 30, 2009 and released on February 3, 2009.

The Report, Future of Sentencing in New York State, calls for reforms to New York Stae drug laws; determinate sentencing, graduated and sanctions for parole violators are among the other recommendations offered.It provides the Governor, Legislature and Judiciary with several different options for historic reform.The State Commission on Sentencing Reform is a bi-partisan panel that has spent nearly two years studying New York States sentencing statutes before releasing this Report

Also see the Press Release announcing release of thr Report and New York State Executive Order Number 10 (March 5, 2007) under which the Commission was created:

February 3, 2009

ABA: Standards for Criminal Justice

by David Badertscher

“The “black letter” Standards for Criminal Justice are available on the Standards homepage at www.abanet.org/crimjust/standards/home.html Standards that heve been published with commentary since 1991 are also available in book format on the Web site as well as in hard copy. Listed below are the individual sets of Standards and the dates of publication.”*

Collateral Sanctions and discretionary Disqualification of Convicted Persons (published 2004)

Criminal Appeals (published 1980, 1986 supp.)

February 2, 2009

ABA: Judges’ Journal Winter 2009 Issue

by David Badertscher

A Quarterly of the Judicial Division of the American Bar Association Winter 2009. Volume 48 No. 1

Each issue of this journal contains featured articles and standing columns all of which relate in some way to a broad theme selected for that particular issue. The theme selected for this particular issue Winter 2009 is “The Art of Judging in the 21st Century”. As Judge Sophia H. Hall observes in the Forword, “Judges of the twenty-first century must be ready to learn everything , in the words of H.G. Wells, ‘Adapt or perish, now as ever, is Nature’s inexorable imperative’ “.

The Feature articles in this issue are:

January 30, 2009

Testing of Search Engines for Grant Project

by David Badertscher

I received the following e-mail from Scott Frey on January 29 and am posting it here for those who are interested. If you are interested please contact Scott directly as noted below:

I’ve received a grant from the Wolters Kluwer Law & Business Grant Program to develop a search engine for law-related public domain electronic books (http://www.aallnet.org/news/newsdisplay.asp?nid=146). As part of the project, I’m seeking law librarians and other legal researchers to provide feedback on the search engines’ interfaces and results.

I envision that the initial test in April 2009 would take about 30 minutes, followed by tests of similar length in May, August, September, and potentially October. (I figure that 30 minutes would be sufficient for good testing and feedback, without impinging unduly on people’s busy schedules.) I might call or email some testers for clarification or elaboration of their feedback.

January 30, 2009

CLLB Information Security Newsletter. January 2009 Volume 2 # 1.

by David Badertscher

January 2009 Volume 2 # 1

Challenge or Secret Questions

From the Desk of David Badertscher

January 30, 2009

ABA Publication: Criminal Mental Health and Disability Law Evidence and Testimony

by David Badertscher

New: (February 2009) Criminal Mental Health and Disability Law, Evidence and Testimony: A Comprehensive Reference Manual for Lawyers, Judges and Criminal Justice Professionals
This Comprehensive Reference Manual examines both criminal mental health and disability discrimination law from the points of view of lawyers, judges and other professionals within the criminal justice system. The manual builds on established resources within the ABA, including the Mental & Physical Disability Law Reporter, Mental Disability Law, Evidence and Testimony and Disability Discrimination Law, Evidence and Testimony. It synthesizes the best and most recent information at the ABA on mental health and discrimination law that specifically pertains to criminal justice matters. It also references the ABA’s Criminal Justice Mental Health Standards. Regular: $110; $93.50 discounted. 458 pages.

For additional information, click here.

January 30, 2009

Billable Hours Giving Ground at Law Firms

by David Badertscher

New York Times article by Jonathan Glater, published January 30, 2009.

“Lawyers are having trouble defending the most basic yardstick of the legal profession – the billable hour…”

See article at:

January 29, 2009

Brief Summary of American Library Association Midwinter MARBI Meetings

by David Badertscher

George Prager, Head of Cataloging at New York University Law School Library has sent his summary of the ALA Midwinter MARBI meetings to members of the American Association of Law Libraries Technical Services Special Interest Group. With his permission I am also posting it here along with his opening comments:

COMMENTS:

I have added a brief summary of each proposal and discussion paper presented at the American Library Association Midwinter MARBI Meetings, whhich took place January 24-25, 2009. A more detailed analysis of the papers will be available in my 2008/2009 Annual report, which will appear on the TSIS Website shortly before the AALL 2009 Annual Meeting, and later in TSLL.

January 29, 2009

Seeking a Consultant to Assess a Law School Library’s Collection and to Develop an Acquisition Strategy

by David Badertscher

Charlotte School of Law would like to assess its library collection and subsequently develop an acquisition strategy. At this initial stage, we’re seeking qualified consultants who can respond to a more detailed RFP after signing a confidentiality agreement.

Objective

Our objective is to assess the library collection and to develop a collection enhancement strategy that will be used to guide future acquisitions. More specifically, we would like to: