Law Library Reference's Weblog

Research Methods in International Law
It's a common plight: you need a European Court of Human Rights case, an ICJ decision, or a Nigerian statute. You find yourself standing in the middle of the Reading Room, staring at book after book with "U.S." on the spine, asking yourself, "Whatever happened to globalization?!"

Fear not! LAW 20196, Research Methods in International Law, is here to save the day (no matter which time zone you're in). This one-unit (credit/fail) course covers a wealth of sources, resources, and techniques. Topics include treaties and customary law; foreign law; dispute resolution; international business and trade; and international human rights. During the Fall 2006 semester, classes are from 4:10 to 6:00 on Wednesdays (seven sessions).

For more information, see the course description and syllabus on Blackboard. And sign up -- you'll be the envy of all your friends/amigos/amis/Freunde/朋友/φίλοι/amici/друзья/友人/친구/vrienden!*

*Course will also point out the pitfalls of using online translators.

Lingering Judicial Nominations
The Library of Congress THOMAS page allows you to search for judicial nominations -- give it a try. Enter "judge" in the Word/Phrase field.

You might notice that some nominations have been "returned to the President." Wondering what that means? The Standing Rules of the Senate explain the delay, in Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6.

Summer Survival Skills 2006
The reference librarians created the Summer Survival Skills web page in order to assist our students and faculty with the summer research needs. Whether you are trying to access a database from South Africa or trying to remember how to conduct legislative history research, this site will hopefully answer all your questions. If not, however, don't hesitate to contact the reference librarians at lawref@pantheon.yale.edu or 203-432-8023. Enjoy the summer!

International Arbitration
PricewaterhouseCoopers in association with the School of International Arbitration, Queen Mary, University of London, has published a unique study looking into corporate attitudes and practices surrounding international arbitration -- International Arbitration: A Study into Corporate Attitudes and Practices.

Hernandez v. Robles
You can find briefs and other documents in the New York same-sex marriage case at the Lamda Legal web site.

Law Library of Congress
The Law Library of Congress has a resourceful web site that includes links to legislative research, Supreme Court nomination information, and the new Global Legal Monitor, tracking changes around the world.

International Judicial Monitor
The American Society of Internationl Law and the International Judicial Academy have launched a now electronic publication entitled the International Judicial Monitor.

Library Exam Hours & Access

Responding to requests from law students, the Law Library will again be open 24 hours a day during Law School reading/exam period (May 5 through May 19) and we will restrict non-law student access during this period and undergraduate reading/exam period.

Effective the evening of Monday, April 24 and continuing through the afternoon of Friday, May 19, admission to the Law Library will be limited to Law School affiliates, University faculty, and Law Library pass holders. (Passes will be given to non-law students doing legal research and presenting a letter from a faculty member or college dean.)

During this restricted period, law students must show their ID card with the Law School sticker every time they enter the library to gain admission to the Law Library.

The library monitors will be intending conscientiously to enforce this policy so please help them by having your card when you come to the library. If for some reason you do not have the Law School sticker on your card, you can get one from the Registrar's Office. In general, we ask for your cooperation with staff who will be implementing the rules in the stressful environment that exams create for all of us.

Restrictions must always be implemented with caution because we are committed to participating in the University community. If you have suggestions about these policies, please feel free to communicate them to Fred Shapiro, Associate Librarian for Collections and Access via email or at 203.432.4840.

SCt approves proposed RAP 32.1
Proposed Rule of Appellate Procedure 32.1 will allow the citation, in proceedings before federal appellate courts, of unpublished opinions. Read the rule here. The notice from the Administrative Office of the US Courts is available here.

Hamdan v. Rumsfeld
You can find the transcript of the Hamdan v. Rumsfeld oral argument before the U.S. Supreme Court here.

Finding Periodical Articles

There are several tools that you can use to find periodical articles on a particluar topic. We have listed some of the most common tools that you can use to find periodical articles. In a future post, we will discuss full-text searching versus index searching as a means for finding relevant articles.

Legal Periodical Articles (Research Guide)

Indexes

• Jones/Chipman Index to Legal Periodical Literature (~1790-1920)
  
  
• ILP (search both indexes at once)
  
  Index to Legal Periodicals is a bibliographical database that cites articles from more than 615 legal periodicals. Online coverage begins in 1981, including law reviews, selected bar association journals, university publications, yearbooks, institutes, and government publications published in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Great Britain, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand. Periodicals are indexed if they regularly publish legal articles of high quality and permanent reference value. Articles must be at least five pages or two folio pages, and case notes, bibliographies, biographies, and notes of legislation at least two pages or one folio page in order to qualify for inclusion.
  
  Index to Legal Periodicals Retrospective cumulates citations from print editions of Index to Legal Periodicals published between 1918–1981 (1908-1918 to be added soon).
  
  Also available on Lexis in database LEXREF;ILP and Westlaw in database ILP from 1980-date.
  
  
• LegalTrac
  
  1980-date (also available on Lexis in database LEXREF;LGLIND and on Westlaw in databace CLI).
  
  
• CILP
  
  Useful for identifying the most recent articles. CILP does not cover as many periodicals as the other indexes and the indexing is not as in-depth, but it is produced much faster. (also available in a searchable form on Westlaw in database CILP).
  
  
• IFLP
  
  Indexes periodicals published outside North America. The online index starts in 1985. It is availab le in print back to the early 1960's in the Foreign/International Reference Collection.
  
  

Full Text Sources for periodicals

• Hein Online
  
  Hein Online contains approximately 650 legal periodicals in full-text from the inception of the journal until a few years ago.
  
  
• JSTOR
  
  JSTOR is an interdisciplinary collection of full-text periodicals. Periodicals included go back to their inception and are current to within a few years.
  
  
• Lexis
  
  Lexis contains approximately 600 legal periodicals in full-text. Coverage is back to the early 1980's at best, to the early 1990s for most titles. For title specific infrmation, check the title's scope note on Lexis.
  
  
• Westlaw
  
  Westlaw contains approximately 700 legal periodicals in full-text. Coverage is back to the early 1980's at best, to the early 1990s for most titles. For title specific infrmation, check the title's scope note on Westlaw.

ExpressO Anyone?
Did you know that you can submit your law review article to many different journals with one simple electronic submission via ExpressO. Simply create an account with your Yale email address, and you're ready to go!

Free Speech or Hate Crime?
Englishman and Holocaust denier Davind Irving was handed a three-year prison sentence today in Vienna, Austria for a speech he gave in 1989 wherein he asserted there were no gas chambers in Auschwitz. He was apparently shocked by the jail sentence as was his lawyer. Karen Pollock, CEO of the United Kingdom's Holocaust Educational Trust, supported the verdict and sentence, commenting, "Holocaust denial is anti-Semitism dressed up as intellectual debate. It should be regarded as such and treated as such." This case has sparked some debate in Austria in terms of the conflict between one's right to free speech and the crime of Holocaust denial. Several countries in Europe have the crime of Holocaust denial on the books, including: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Israel, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Switzerland. See the BBC's story here. Also, note the related links in the far right column.

House Katrina report available
The U.S. House of Representatives' report on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, A Failure of Initiative: The Final Report of the Select Bipartisan Committee to Investigate the Preparation for and Response to Hurricane Katrina is available here: http://katrina.house.gov and here: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/katrinareport/mainreport.pdf [PDF].

Economic Report of the President
From your Government Printing Office:
The Economic Report of the President is issued by the Executive Office of the President and the Council of Economic Advisers. It includes:

• Current and foreseeable trends and annual numerical goals concerning topics such as employment, production, real income, and Federal budget outlays;
• Employment objectives for significant groups of the labor force;
• Annual numeric goals;
• And a program for carrying out program objectives.

Also included is the Annual Report of the Council of Economic Advisers. Each year, the Council of Economic Advisers submits this report on its activities during the previous calendar year in accordance with the requirements of Congress as set forth in section 10(d) of the Employment Act of 1946 as amended by the Full Employment and Balanced Growth Act of 1978.

The Economic Report of the President, 2006 is available on GPO Access at: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/eop/.