Holiday and Semester Break Hours

Pace Law Library is open 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM on Monday Dec. 21 and Tuesday Dec. 22. Wednesday Dec. 23 we are open from 9:00 AM to noon. We will be closed from Thursday Dec. 24 through Sunday Jan. 3, reopening at 9:00 AM on Monday Jan. 4. Library hours are available here, and at 914-422-4272. Happy Holidays to all!

New Addition To Laws And Regulations At USA.gov

One of USA.gov sites dedicated to Laws and Regulations has been updated with a link titled Open Congress.

Open Congress brings together official government data with news coverage, blog posts, public comments, and more.

Open Congress is a free, open-source, not-for-profit, and non-partisan web resource with a mission to make Congress more transparent and to encourage civic engagement. Open Congress is a joint project of the Participatory Politics Foundation and the Sunlight Foundation.

See About OpenCongress to read more about this project's mission. And see How To Use OpenCongress.

Don't forget that you can subscribe to the USA.gov automatic updates via email or RSS feeds.

Notes From Copenhagen

Follow daily updates from the Copenhagen Conference by a Pace Law School Dean Emeritus, Richard L. Ottinger, as he writes about his experiences from the conference. Happy reading!

New Releases from Bureau Of Justice Statistics

The following are some of the new releases by the Bureau Of Justice Statistics (BJS).

Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2009

Presents data on crime and safety at school from the perspectives of students, teachers, and principals. A joint effort by the Bureau of Justice Statistics and the National Center for Education Statistics, this annual report examines crime occurring in school as well as on the way to and from school.

Prisoners In 2008

This report presents data on prisoners under jurisdiction of federal or state correctional authorities on December 31, 2008, collected from the National Prisoner Statistics series. This annual report compares changes in the prison population during 2008 to changes from year end 2000 through year end 2007. These are the only comprehensive national-level data on prison admissions and releases. Findings cover data on decreasing growth in state and federal prisons through declining admissions and increasing releases; imprisonment rates for prisoners sentenced to more than 1 year by jurisdiction; the number of males and females in prison; age, race, and gender distributions; the number of inmates in custody in state and federal prison and local jails; and custody incarceration rates.

Probation and Parole In the United States, 2008

This report presents the number of adults under community supervision (probation or parole) at year end 2008 and the growth rates in these populations during the year and since 2000. The report examines factors associated with changes in the probation and parole populations, such as the number of entries and exits, the rate at which probationers and parolees exit supervision, changes in the populations within jurisdictions, and compositional changes in both populations.

Jails In Indian Country, 2008

Presents findings from the 2008 Survey of Jails in Indian Country, an enumeration of 82 jails, confinement facilities, detention centers, and other facilities operated by tribal authorities or the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The report includes data on the number of adults and juveniles held, type of offense, number of persons confined on the last weekday of each month, average daily population, peak population, and admissions in June 2008.

HIV In Prisons, 2007-08

Presents year end 2007 and 2008 data from the National Prisoner Statistics and the Deaths in Custody series, including data on the number of female and male prisoners who were infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or had confirmed AIDS. Findings include the number of AIDS-related deaths in state and federal prisons, a profile of those inmates who died in state prison, and a comparison of AIDS rates between prison inmates and the general population.

Capital Punishment, 2008 - Statistical Tables

Presents characteristics of persons under sentence of death on December 31, 2008, and persons executed in 2008. Preliminary data on executions by states during 2009 are included. Tables present state-by-state information on the movement of prisoners into and out of death sentence status during 2008, status of capital statutes, and methods of execution. Numerical tables also summarize data on offender characteristics such as gender, race, Hispanic origin, age at time of arrest for capital offense, legal status at time of capital offense, and time between imposition of death sentence and execution.

Prof. Leslie Garfield Is Featured On Legal Theory Blog

Article titled Don't Count Them Out Just Yet: Toward the Plausible Use of Race-Preference Student Assignment Plans by professor Lesli Garfield, Professor of Law at the Pace University School of Law is featured on the Legal Theory Blog.

Contrary to conventional wisdom, the Supreme Court's recent decision in Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1 could serve to broaden the permissible use of race beyond the boundaries presently permitted by the Court. in this highly fractionalized decision, five justices ultimately agreed that the race-based student assignment plans before their review could not withstand judicial scrutiny. One of these justice, Justice Kennedy, agreed with the plurality's conclusion, but rejected the plurality's assessment that it is never permissible to use race-preference student assignment plans absent evidence of de jure segregation. His concurrence, when read together with the reasoning of the Court's four dissenting justices, offers a plausible scenario under which future courts could find precedential support to uphold challenged race-preference student assignment plans as constitutionally permissible.

The article is published in Rutgers Race and the Law Review, Vol. 10, p. 340-361, 2008/2009.

New Blogs From The U.S. Government

The Reference and General Government Blogs via the USA.gov website added the following new blogs:

• Office of the United States Trade Representative Blog covering U.S. trade issues.
• United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) where David Kappos, the director of the USPTO, discusses the work of the agency.
• White House Office of Public Engagement blog that aims to engage the American public in a dialogue with the current Administration.

The Environment, Energy, and Agriculture Blogs via the USA.gov website added the following new blogs:

• Energy Empowers blog where readers can learn more about building a new energy economy by improving efficiency, building sustainable businesses, and using old skills in new ways to generate clean energy.
• White House Council on Environmental Quality blog discussing the Council's efforts to coordinate Federal environmental efforts.

The Business and Economic Blogs via the USA.gov website added the following new blogs:

• Inside Adams is a blog from the Library of Congress that points readers to the Library’s collections of books, journals, prints, photographs, digital collections, finding aids, and Webcasts related to science, technology, and business.
• President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board Blog covers the efforts of the advisory board that meets periodically and solicits information and ideas to promote the growth of the economy, establish a stable financial and banking system, and create jobs.
• The Small Business Watchdog blog is the official blog of the U.S. Small Business Administration's Office of Advocacy providing the forum of discussion and inviting readers to post their thoughts, ideas, and comments regarding the small businesses across the US.

Don't forget you can subscribe directly to any updates and news via email or via RSS feeds. Happy reading!

Intersession Class at Pace: Advanced Health Law Research

Pace Law School is offering an intersession class titled Advanced Research Skills for Health, Disability, and Elder Law. Margaret Moreland, a Reference Librarian and Adjunct Professor of Law at Pace, will be teaching this class during the January intersession.

Don't hesitate and take advantage of this incredible opportunity to learn advanced research skills in the area of health law, spend one on one time with the expert in this area, and earn 2 credits over just six days. You can take this class to lower your load in the Spring semester, or you can take this class as an overload.

To learn more about this class or how to sign up, please visit our Podcast site and listen to the podcast discussing what this class is all about, contact Ms. Moreland directly or click the picture to the right.

Google Translation Dictionary

Google Dictionary translates to and from 27 different languages (so far) including: Arabic, Bengali, Bulgarian, Chinese (traditional), Chinese (simplified), Croatian, Czech, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Gujarati, Hebrew, Hindi, Italian, Kannada, Korean, Malayalam, Marathi, Portuguese, Serbian, Spanish, Russian, Tamil, Telugu, and Thai. It also provides dictionary definitions of words in the following languages: Chinese, Czech, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, and Russian. The response to a query includes the translation of the word and, where applicable, the web dictionary definition, derivative, audio pronunciation, related phrases, related languages, and synonyms. You can read more about the Google Dictionary.

What Makes a Good Law School Exam Answer?

From the WSJ law blog, law professors from around the country complete this sentence: A good law exam answer is ____________. Responses include

• "evaluative"
• "answers the question"
• "does more than tells me what the law is (more or less well) and applies the law to the facts (more or less well) and then stops"
• "honest and perceptive"
• "like a poem"

Pace Environmental Notes -- November

The latest issue of Pace Environmental Notes is now available.

Alexander Greenawalt On Radovan Karadzic

Alexander Greenawalt, Associate Professor of Law at Pace University School of Law, regularly contributes to the New York Times Microblog: Latest On Radovan Karadzic. You can view the microblog here or you can directly subscribe to it via RSS feed.

Exam Time

Getting ready for exams? Don't forget the availability of the following tools and assistance:

• Guide to First Year Law Students aiding new law students in preparing for the first year of law school, including books, audio and video resources, and websites on survival skills and first year courses.
• Food For Thought: Exam Prep is a short podcast discussing helpful ideas on how to get prepared.
• CALI Lessons offer number of great interactive exercises, organized by legal subjects, where students can test their knowledge and receive an immediate feedback. (Contact us via email for an authorization code, or visit the Pace Law Library on TWEN to get the authorization code).
• Property Tutorials for Exam Prep
• Old Final Exams Available under Pace Law Library on TWEN in the exam folder.
• Extended Library Hours
  

GOOD LUCK TO ALL!

2008 Emissions of Greenhouse Gases In the US

The December 2009 report on Emissions of Greenhouse Gases in the United States for the year 2008 is available.

This report—the seventeenth annual report—presents the Energy Information Administration’s latest estimates of emissions for carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and other greenhouse gases. Documentation for these estimates is available online at www.eia.doe. gov/oiaf/1605/ggrpt.

Get Involved in Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen

Via Official Google Blog, you can connect with the world leaders on climate debate.

[Starting on December 3, 2009], 192 countries will participate in the Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen — the first step in setting new international commitments for carbon reduction.

You can submit and vote on questions to ask world climate leaders during a televised town hall on CNN. With Google Moderator on YouTube for the first time, you can view, add and vote on video or text questions in one spot.

Questions will be translated into numerous languages using the Google Language API. Voting and submissions will be accepted until December 14. You can also track the conversation and vote on new questions.

CIETAC Arbitration And CISG Podcast

The Pace Law Library Podcasts has a new addition. Today we present an exciting round table discussion about the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC) and the CISG (UN Convention for the International Sale of Goods) titled CIETAC & the CISG. Kathleen Scanlon, Esq. moderated this engaging discussion with Prof. A. Kritzer and Prof. M. R. Shulman, the Assistant Dean for Graduate Programs and International Affairs, both from Pace Law School. Click here or the image to the right to access the podcast. Check it out and happy listening!

Copyright Watch

Copyright Watch is a new initiative to provide access to copyright laws around the world. According to the news release,

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), Electronic Information for Libraries (eIFL.net), and other international copyright experts joined together to launch Copyright Watch - a public website created to centralize resources on national copyright laws.

Copyright Watch is the first comprehensive and up-to-date online repository of national copyright laws. To find links to national and regional copyright laws, users can choose a continent or search using a country name. The site will be updated over time to include proposed amendments to laws, as well as commentary and context from national copyright experts. Copyright Watch will help document how legislators around the world are coping with the challenges of new technology and new business models.

Read more about the Copyright Watch, search for copyright laws, subscribe to the Copyright Watch blog, or contact Copyright Watch.

Google Scholar Offers Case Law

It has been talked about, written about on listservs, blogged about, and twittered since the word got out. Google Scholar now offers full text search of legal opinions and journals. Users can perform Google Advanced Search allowing full text searching with optional limits by federal and state jurisdictions intending to provide access to the governing laws of the country. Most opinions display pagination, which is very nice. Google also included a tab "How Cited" that displays subsequent judicial decisions citing the original opinion. Not quite Shepard's, but it can be found very helpful. Judicial opinions are full of citations to other cases and Google hyperlinked all of those that are available at Google, just for our convenience. Happy Searching!

The Library Newsletter For December

Click here or the picture to the right for the latest issue of D-Brief, the Pace Law Library Newsletter. Vicky Gannon, Head of Circulation and Reference Librarian writes about the study rooms and extended services during the exam time, the availability of Bar Journals on HeinOnline, the recycling efforts at Pace Law School, and in the end she adds a recipe for delicious Holiday Anisette Cookies. Enjoy reading!