INTERNET LEGAL RESEARCH WEEKLY
December 22, 2002
Tom MighellWelcome to Issue #93 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 visit Inter Alia and filling out the subscription form -- it's free!
Again this week, an issue of ILRW-Lite, just in time for the holidays! Have a safe and merry Christmas!
And away we go…..
News Update
Let the 2002 recaps begin...
The New York Times Magazine offers its Ideas of 2002, with some pretty interesting articles. Learn about stench warfare, enhanced clothing, remote-controlled rats, and more.Those wily Nigerians are at it again
Now that more people are aware that those e-mails from former high-ranking officials of the Nigerian government are hoaxes, the scammers have turned their attention to another scheme: fraudulent purchases of big-ticket items, like automobiles. The "buyer" sends a check to the unsuspecting seller, who then wires "transportation fees" to the seller -- only to find the check is counterfeit. There's also a link to a support group started by victims of the hoax.Learn about spiders and fuzzy searching
If you have ever wondered what some of those search engine terms used here and elsewhere on the Internet mean, you're not alone. SearchDay provides a nice set of links to glossaries that help you make sense of the search engine lingo.HotBot makes a comeback
HotBot, a search engine that doesn't get much play on this website, relaunched this week, this time with the power searcher in mind. It's essentially a front-end for FAST Search, Google, Inktomi, and Teoma, and it allows you to quickly compare search results between those four engines. You also have access to the Advanced Features of those search engines, so you can modify your search.The dangers of too much knowledge
A few months ago I signed up for the Accurint service, and it is terrific -- I can access background information on opposing parties, or my own clients. When I registered for the service, I was told that Accurint reserved the right to audit my records to make sure that I was using the service for a legal purpose -- and now I know why. A Minnesota mom faces a Fair Credit Reporting Act trial for checking the credit report of her daughter's prospective son-in-lawBest of the Web
Bob Ambrogi, host of the Lawsites weblog, has this nice roundup of some of the best new legal websites of 2002. Included in the article are many sites mentioned here and in the Internet Legal Research Weekly, including How Appealing, SCOTUSBlog, the Legacy Tobacco Documents Library, the Women's Law Initiative, Chilling Effects, and Creative Commons. All the sites in the article are worth visiting.Those dadgum Orbitz popups just got meaner
I know I'm preaching to the choir here, but I really, really hate popup ads. I currently use PopNot to stop the madness, and it works reasonably well. Unfortunately, it just can't stop those Orbitz travel ads. Now, it seems the devious marketing minds at Orbitz have come up with a new scheme; popup ads that take you to the website just by moving your cursor over the ad. ARGGGH!Moving South, one district at a time...
A few weeks ago I reported on the Southern District of New York's move to electronic filing. Now New Jersey's federal courts have caught the e-filing wave.
Help Desk
A Google tip for you this week: if you're looking for a map to an address, just type it into Google's search field. If Google recognizes the entry as an address, the first results will contain links to maps at MapQuest and Yahoo! Maps. Most of the time all you'll really need is an address and the city for Google to make a match.
Do you have a question about searching the Internet or your computer in general? Drop me an e-mail– 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 Internet
Cybercrime
The U.S. Justice Department has made cybercrime one of its top targets for the coming year, so it's only natural to have a website devoted to the subject. The site itself is not all that sophisticated, but it's packed with useful information. Check out policy, cases, laws, guidance, and documents for both computer and intellectual property crime, and read press releases, speeches, testimony, letters, reports and manuals on the issues. There's a listing of recent and pending cybercrime cases, and a new, revised search and seizure manual available as well!Legal Dockets Online ($$)
Legal Dockets Online claims to be the largest court docket portal online, and that's probably true; there aren't a whole lot of court docket portals online in the first place. You have to pay to use this site -- $120/year -- but all it really gets you is a collection of links to court dockets that are currently available online. The LLRX Court Rules, Forms, and Dockets page does almost as good a job, and for free. I understand LDO offers a few more features, such as case information, calendars, new filings, and inmate listings. I just wish it would also show a current listing of its offerings, so I could make up my own mind.Medical Reference for Non-Medical Librarians
This website is primarily designed to help non-medical librarians intelligently direct their patrons to medical information, but the sites listed here are useful for anyone doing healthcare research. Links are provided on such topics as Access to Health Care, Child Health, Chiropractic, Senior Health, Drugs, Mental Health, and others. There's also a great step-by-step process for you to use when evaluating the quality of medical websites.NewsNow ($$?)
I hate to cheat on my favorite news search site, Google News, but NewsNow deserves a quick mention. This site has evolved into more of a commercial venture, offering news search capabilities to companies and individuals, for a fee. However, you can still find news headlines from around the world, with a concentration on British headlines. The home page has a selection of headlines in six categories, but more headlines are available by checking out the NewsWires on the right side of the page. Also, if the black background annoys you (as it did me), you can change that easily with a click of your mouse.PsycLine
A german psychologist owns and runs this website devoted to finding psychology and social science journals on the Internet. There are 1,994 journals in the database, which you can search by keyword or topic. Beware -- most of these journals are not online -- most of the links lead you to information on ordering or purchasing the particular journal. There are only about 114 "e-journals" available, but that's still pretty good. This is a nice place to start your psychology research.
And now for some Christmas fun:
Ever wonder where a Christmas Wish List FedExed to Santa Claus at the North Pole winds up? Would you believe Snowmass, Colorado? Check out Fun with FedEx.
I have always known that eggnog was a love-it-or-hate-it kinda drink, but I never figured the passion was intense enough to create the No Nog Weblog.
While Sober Santa is not the most "Christmas-like" game you'll play this season, it's fun navigating Santa around a snowy rooftop while he downs glasses of champagne. Hey, if you had to fly around the world in 24 hours, wouldn't you hit the bottle?
If you use RealPlayer, NPR has some fun Christmas stories for your listening pleasure: first, hear about Young Saint Rick, otherwise known as Hunky Santa, the surfer dude son of the man with the bag. And if your ears can stand what is probably the worst rendition of O Holy Night I have ever heard (among others), check out this year's edition of Annoying Music for the Holidays.
Finally, a tobogganing game for your to download or play online.
Well, that’s it for Issue #93 – 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
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