I am in charge of the legal research instruction as part of the Lawyering Skills course. Over the past three years, I have heard (and read) several things students have said about legal research. Before we have a new batch of students start up this fall, I would like to go ahead and address these issues. Everything is available online.Surprisingly, …
Bureau of Justice Statistics website makes crime stats freely available
In need of crime statistics and don’t know where to look? Try the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Statistics! The Bureau of Justice Statistics (B.J.S.) was first established on Dec. 27, 1979, under the Justice Systems Improvement Act of 1979. Their goal is to: “collect, analyze, publish, and disseminate information on crime, criminal offenders, victims of crime, and …
Law.gov would be bold experiment in one-stop shopping for legal research
Have you heard about Law.gov? No? Well then, let me tell you! Law.gov is a proposed repository for legal materials, open-sourced and open to the public. Included would be all primary materials of the United States and international governmental bodies. Law.gov would be a portal for authoritative local, state, national, foreign and international legal and legislative information. Basically, we are …
Listbean website helps users organize life’s little details
When you prepare to study for class, get ready for vacation or create a budget, what’s the first thing you do? If you answered, “make a list,” then I have a website for you! It’s called Listbean, and it’s awesome! Unlike other list sites, it is completely free and jam-packed with pre-populated lists. Personally, I like the fact that these …
Happy Geek Pride Day from a Wheat Law librarian and self-proclaimed geek
My name is Blake, and I’m a geek. It’s true. For those of you who know me, this comes as no surprise. But for those who don’t, it’s not a difficult conclusion to draw. I am a law librarian. Trading in the courtroom for the library is tantamount to trading in Atticus Finch for Rupert Giles. I let it slip, …
Library’s Kagan page provides one-stop shop for information on the Supreme Court nominee
The University of Michigan Law Library’s informational Web page for the latest nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court, Solicitor General Elena Kagan, was created May 10 by reference librarian Kincaid Brown within hours of the announcement. It is available here. The Web page includes biographical information about Kagan, links to her authored works, transcripts of speeches and links to confirmation …