INTERNET LEGAL RESEARCH WEEKLY
July 14, 2002
Tom
Mighell
Welcome to Issue #75 of the Internet Legal Research Weekly, a newsletter that delivers relevant and timely legal research information, and other fun stuff, to your inbox every Sunday. If you like what you read, please forward this newsletter to anyone you think might be interested, and encourage him or her to do the same! To subscribe, all you have to do is send an e-mail to ilrw-subscribe@topica.com. It’s free!
No article this week – I’m just going to do a grab bag of Internet sites for you to peruse.
I’ll be gone the next two weekends – vacation next week, and giving a speech in Montreal the next! So look for your next issue of the newsletter on August 4.
Please read some important information at the end of today’s newsletter – I need your help!
And away we go…..
News Update – LOTS of news this week!
Ask a Librarian of Congress – Live!
The Library of Congress has expanded its “Ask a Librarian” service to include live chat (where you can talk to a librarian in real time) during certain hours of the day.New Hoaxbusters Page Online
The Computer Incident Advisory Capability Service of the U.S. Department of Energy has re-launched its “Hoaxbusters” page that contains some great information about Internet hoaxesA Case Where E-Mail Works TOO Well
The City of Liverpool, England has banned the use of e-mail between city employees – on Wednesdays only – in an attempt to get staff to start talking to each other:In response to my article two weeks ago about ADR on the Internet, S.M. of Florida writes to remind me that the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law has a terrific Center for Dispute Resolution, which is the “acknowledged leader in the promotion of dispute resolution theory and practice throughout the law school curriculum.”
Help DeskThe Microsoft Word tips just keep on coming! This week, be VERY careful before you attempt this tip. By default, Word behaves in certain ways when you open or create file. If you want to change these defaults, you’ll have to modify your Normal template. Normal is the default “style” template in Word, and you’ll find yourself typing in that style more often than not. Your “styles” are located on the Formatting Toolbar – there is a whole list of style templates for you to use when formatting a document. To change your Normal template, start by creating a blank document, and then change any format settings to the way you want Word to behave when you open a document. Then select Save As under the File menu, and save that document as “Normal.dot” (without the quotes, of course). Your own default settings should then be applied in all future documents.
Do you have a question about searching the Internet or your computer in general? Drop me a line at tmighell@swbell.net– I’ll post your question (don’t worry, I won’t use your real name) and try to get an answer for you!
Legally Relevant – Sites on the InternetSourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics
Brought to you by the University at Albany, the Sourcebook brings together data from more than 100 sources about all aspects of criminal justice. The data is divided into six sections: Characteristics of the Criminal Justice Systems, Public Attitudes Towards Crime, Nature and Distribution of Known Offenses, Characteristics of Persons Arrested, Judicial Processing of Defendants, and Persons Under Correctional Supervision. All information is provided in PDF format. You can also buy the print version for just $9 in the US (it’s $39 for Canadians, for some reason).
The National Priorities Project
The NPP has provided “Data for Democracy Since 1983.” What that REALLY means is that the site helps the public understand the federal budget by providing analysis of budget issues, state and federal data, and tools for local action. There are some great tools here on understanding the federal budget and its various issues, as well as information on where you tax dollars go. For example, I learned that for the amount of money Texas citizens pay in income taxes that goes to spending for nuclear weapons, we could hire 19,287 teachers. An eye-opening site.
Voir Dire Base ($$)
Although I don’t try many cases, one of the things I dislike about the process is coming up with the right questions to ask the jury panel. The Voir Dire Base aims to help people like me out, with a collection of over 2,500 voir dire questions in 200 different categories. Unfortunately, such information does not come free – it’s $295 for a yearly subscription. There are sample questions from five categories, so you can get an idea of what a subscription will bring you. There are also two free resources on successful voir dire that seem to be useful. The site is sponsored by Zagnoli McEvoy Foley, Ltd., a company that teaches lawyers and others “how to persuade all audiences.”
Criminal Law Resources on the Internet
Another of those terrific link compilation pages, this one from the University of Buffalo Criminal Law Center. Here you get a list of links to criminal codes and criminal procedure rules from the 50 states and other countries around the world. It’s regularly updated, too.
This site is part of Cornell University’s Program on Employment and Disability. The goal here is to provide information on how to make the workplace accessible to everyone, but particularly to hearing and vision-impaired individuals. There are some extremely useful resources here, including Implementing the ADA, Management Concerns, Workplace Tools and Tips, specific case studies, and a description of “What the Law Says” about reasonable accommodation. There’s also a nifty list of other resources on assistive technology, the ADA, and dispute resolution.
Best Guide to Canadian Legal Research
Although it’s an excellent site, the “Best” in its title does not refer to the quality of the resources provided. The site is maintained by Catherine Best, a Vancouver attorney, and she has done an outstanding job of putting together basically all you need to conduct Canadian legal research, both on- and offline. There are hundreds of links to Electronic and Statutory Canadian resources, as well as areas for other countries like the US, United Kingdom, Australia, European Union, and international law. There’s also a great section on essentials for the beginning researcher.
CongressLink “provides information about the U.S. Congress -- how it works, its members and leaders, and the public policies it produces.” This is part of the Dirksen Center Government site, and it offers tremendous resources. You can find all contact information on how to get in touch with any Congressman or Committee, a detailed history on the workings of Congress, schedules of upcoming hearings, resources for teaching about government, and I’m just getting started! This is a wonderful site for obtaining basic information on Congress for both adults and kids.
FreedomInfo presents information on freedom of information initiatives around the world, offering lessons learned and information on how freedom of information laws around the world were drafted and implemented. There’s a hefty report on the world state of freedom of information available here in PDF, as well as up-to-date news on the topic. Information is a little sparse in other areas, but there are some pretty impressive links to other websites that contain freedom of information law data.
The home page of the Immigration Portal is a good example of many portals today; it’s very busy, with lots of links crammed into one place. Pay attention, though, and you’ll find it’s divided into just a few very informative areas. The site offers over 25,000 free pages on immigration law, including immigration information and forms. There are regular chats scheduled with immigration lawyers – these are primarily for potential clients with immigration questions. You can also subscribe to Immigration Daily, a newsletter for immigration attorneys with over 9,000 subscribers. Immigration lawyers can register for the ILW Directory, to receive potential referrals from clients seeking your services.
Lawyers’ Committee For Civil Rights Under Law
This group was formed in 1963 at the request of President Kennedy, to involve the private bar in providing legal services to address racial discrimination. There are several projects sponsored by the Committee, including Voting Rights, Housing, Lending and Community Development, Education, Environmental Justice, and Employment Discrimination Projects. There are also pro bono opportunities available for lawyers who are interested. Recent news is updated regularly on the site’s home page.
Penultimately, some fun and useful sites for you this week (mostly fun). The useful site this week is terrific for those of you who do your shopping online. Current Codes keeps track of the Promotional Codes of over 270 online stores (including Amazon, Best Buy, Gap, J.C. Penney, and more) – these codes can help you save serious money when you’re shopping at participating stores.
A lot of fun sites this week. First, learn what animal type you are. I am either a beaver or an owl.
If it’s too hot to play miniature golf outside, play a cool miniature golf game online.
And if miniature golf is too complicated for you, then try your hand at Scroll Bar Racing. Just bet on which scrollbar is going to win, and watch them race!
And finally, some important news. I have to confess that I am sick and tired of the name Internet Legal Research Weekly. It’s so plain and boring! So I’m thinking of making a name change, but I need your help. My thought is that the title should be clever and hip, not corny or cheesy. It should also bear some resemblance to the law. Here are some ideas I have come up with:
1. Inter Alia (Among Other Things)
2. Res Ipsa (or Res Ipsa Loquitur, or Lex Ipsa) (which mean, in order, “The Thing Itself,” “The Thing Speaks for Itself,” and “The Law Itself”)
3. Abuse of Discretion
4. Jurisprude
5. Legaldegook
6. Obiter Dicta (incidental, nonbinding opinion)Here’s where I need your help. Please reply to this newsletter and either 1) Vote for one of the six ideas above; 2) tell me you don’t like ANY of them; or 3) fire up your creative juices and suggest some ideas of your own for the new title. If I end up naming the newsletter after one of your ideas, I’ll send you an Internet Legal Research prize! Please give me some input here – I value your opinions!
Well, that’s it for Issue #75– I hope you liked it! If you did, pass this along to anyone you think might be interested, and encourage him or her to subscribe. Also, feel free to drop me an e-mail any time if you have questions, or if you have websites or other topics you want included in a future issue.
Tom Mighell
Subscription Information: If you want to keep on receiving issues of the Internet Legal Research Weekly, send an email to tom@inter-alia.net, or visit Inter Alia sign up there! If you no longer want to receive the newsletter, just send me an e-mail at tom@inter-alia.net and I'll remove you from the list.
Archives: Miss an issue? You can read previous issues of the Internet Legal Research Weekly in the Archives.
Questions? New websites? Just want to talk? Send me an e-mail at tmighell@swbell.net.