Summer Access to Westlaw

Wondering if you can use Westlaw this summer?

Password extension for acceptable uses is available at www.lawschool.westlaw.com.

Find the button above on the Westlaw landing page (see bottom right of page) and click GO.  Follow the instructions on the Password Extension page.  If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Mary Susan Lucas, Reference Librarian, at mlucas@charlottelaw.edu.

Happy researching!

Questions about LexisNexis summer access?

Check out our earlier blog here.

~Mary Susan Lucas~

Thar’s Gold in them Thar Asteroids! But Who Owns It?

If you managed to snag an asteroid and tow it back to Earth, is it yours?  What are the laws about space resources?  Is Space Law the final frontier?

You may laugh, but this science fiction movie plot is coming closer and closer to becoming reality.  Planetary Resources is backed by Google billionaires Larry Page and Eric Schmidt, billionaire Ross Perot, Jr. and director James Cameron, among others.  The mission of Planetary Resources is to “apply commercial, innovative techniques to explore space. We will develop low-cost robotic spacecraft to explore the thousands of resource-rich asteroids within our reach. We will learn everything we can about them, then develop the most efficient capabilities to deliver these resources directly to both space-based and terrestrial customers. Asteroid mining may sound like fiction, but it’s just science.”

In plain English, they are going to mine asteroids for valuable resources.

The latest issue of Popular Mechanics features an article by Space Law expert, Glenn Harlan Reynolds, who reviews the questions surrounding the ownership of asteroids:  What is at stake?  Potentially trillions of dollars per large asteroid.  The 1967 Outer Space Treaty prevents national appropriation of celestial bodies but is silent on private appropriation and it fails to define “celestial bodies.”  Scholars are starting to weigh in on whether or not asteroids are celestial bodies.  Andrew Tingkang argues in Seattle University Law Review that if it can be moved, it isn’t a celestial body.  The full title of his Jedi Master-inspired work is These Aren’t the Asteroids You Are Looking For: Classifying Asteroids in Space as Chattels, Not Land.  If you don’t get it, go watch Star Wars:  A New Hope.

Reynolds agrees with Tingkang’s classification and analogizes to the distinction on Earth between “real” and “personal” property.  Real property stays put.  As he points out, a supertanker the size of a city can be personal property and it can move.

There are more questions than answers now and it will take many years for the situation to evolve and resolve but won’t it be fun to watch?  Do we have a new Wild West with the 21^st century version of Forty-Niners?

For more information, check out the ABA newly published guidebook on Space Law or the ABA Space Law Committee.

For a humorous take on asteroid mining, take a look at this Jon Stewart segment from the Daily Show.

~Mary Susan Lucas~

Unlimited Access to Your Lexis Advance® ID this Summer

Worried about lack of access to legal databases this summer?

This is your LUCKY day!

LexisNexis has announced that your law school Lexis Advance ID will remain active during the summer and that you will have unlimited access to the content available to you in law school to be used for your academic, as well as any summer associate or internship/clerkship purposes.  This is a huge departure from past policy where you were forbidden from using your Lexis Advance ID for paid work.

This summer, for the first time ever, you can use your Lexis Advance ID for all research you perform for a firm, agency, or court. You simply need to be registered for Lexis Advance.

Stop by the Reference Desk at Suttle if you have any questions or need an ID.

Registering for Summer Access

• If you’re already a registered Lexis Advance user, you don’t need to do anything else to get Summer Access. Your current ID is all you need.
• If you aren’t a registered Lexis Advance user yet (or aren’t sure), click here for assistance from your Account Executive.

~Mary Susan Lucas~

24/7 Access to Study Aids Has Arrived!

West Study Aids:

Looking for practice exams or review questions?  Need an outline or an in-depth explanation of something that has eluded you?  Need help before midterms or finals?

Check out what West Study Aids has for you!

It’s easy:

(1) Sign on to Westlaw at www.lawschool.westlaw.com.

(Visit the Library Reference Desk at Suttle or Gateway if you need a login id or assistance).

(2) Click on the “Study” box or “West Study Aids Subscription” located in the middle of the page.

(3) Get started!

☑Search by keyword

☑Browse by subject, material type, or study aid series

☑350+ titles in 11 series

☑Take notes and highlight as you would in a book

☑Print select pages or notes

There are types of study aids for everyone:

Case Briefs   •   Academic Success   •   Outlines

Overviews   •   Exam Preparation   •   Career Guides

West Study Aids Subscription includes the following series:

High Court Case Summaries  

   Gilbert Law Summaries

Black Letter Outlines

Nutshells

No waiting in line.  No stalking your classmates waiting for them to return the study aid you need.

Look for our upcoming series of blogs that will highlight study aids available for all of your required classes and many of your electives.

Any questions?  Contact any reference librarian!

~Mary Susan Lucas~

Stolen Valor Act Unconstitutional: Overbroad and Infringes on First Amendment Free Speech

 

The Supreme Court of the United States ruled on June 28, 2012 that the Stolen Valor Act of 2005, 18 U.S.C. §704, was unconstitutional because it infringed on freedom of speech guaranteed by the First Amendment.  The plurality opinion was authored by Justice Kennedy with Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Ginsburg and Sotomayor joining said opinion.  Justices Breyer and Kagan concurred in the judgment with a separate opinion.  Justices Alito, Scalia and Thomas dissented.

Little attention was given to this case initially because it was decided on the same day as the landmark healthcare case.  Few outside of military watchers paid attention until the healthcare case had been discussed and picked apart.  Now with elections looming, lawmakers are anxious to re-visit an issue that has wide bipartisan appeal.

Justices Kennedy and Breyer left the door open for new legislation that would correct the deficiencies of the original act that passed Congress with a unanimous vote.  Last year, Senator Scott Brown (R-Mass.) and Representative Joe Heck (R-Nev.) anticipated the Court’s ruling and introduced the Stolen Valor Act of 2011 (H.R. 1775; S.1728) including the language “with intent to obtain anything of value.”  Other lawmakers have joined the fray including the sponsor of the original act, Senator Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), who would like to revise the original act to meet constitutional muster.  Senator Jim Webb (D-Va.) introduced the Military Service Integrity Act of 2012 on July 11, 2012 with the language “with the intent of securing a tangible benefit or personal gain” directly in response to comments of the Justices.

Fraud, perjury, libel, incitement to violence and treason remain the only speech that can be constitutionally criminalized.  Lying about military honors with intent to get something of value is likely to soon join that list.

~Mary Susan Lucas~

UPDATED: Summer Access to Lexis Advance & More

Have you heard the news?

Lexis Advance will be available all summer for students engaged in the following pursuits:

•          Summer course preparation and assignments

•          Research associated with Moot Court, Law Review, or Law Journal

•          Research associated with pursuing a grant or scholarship

•          Service as a paid or unpaid research assistant to a professor

•          An internship, externship or clinic position for school credit or graduation requirement

•          Study for the bar exam

•          Research skill improvement for educational purposes

Students do not have to do anything extra to “register” for summer access besides just registering their Lexis Advance ID like many have already done.  If you need any help in registering, stop by the Reference Desk in the Library or contact our Lexis Representative, Carmela Orsini at carmela.orsini@lexisnexis.com or 678-646-8721.  See the Policy on Use of LexisNexis Law School Educational IDs for more information.

UPDATE: Students may also register for Lexis.com (Lexis Classic) for summer access for the same academic reasons as Advance.

Here’s the full policy:

Full Access to Lexis Advance™ this Summer for Academic Purposes
We are happy to announce that you will have full access to Lexis Advance™ to complete your research this summer. You simply need to be registered for Lexis Advance and use it for educational purposes only.

Registering for Summer Access

• If you’re already registered for Lexis Advance, you don’t need to do anything else to get Summer Access.
• If you aren’t a registered Lexis Advance user, click here for assistance from your Account Executive.

Guidelines for Summer Access
You may use your Lexis Advance ID from June 1 – August 1, 2012 for academic purposes** which include, but are not limited to:

• Summer course preparation and assignments
• Research associated with Moot Court, Law Review, or Law Journal
• Research associated with pursuing a grant or scholarship
• Service as a paid or unpaid research assistant to a professor
• An internship, externship or clinic position for school credit or graduation requirement
• Study for the bar exam
• Research skill improvement

Register for Summer Access to lexis.com®
If you require access to lexis.com for educational purposes this summer, you must complete the lexis.com registration form. This form will grant you full access to lexis.com from June 1, 2012 – August 1, 2012.

Rewards and Support throughout the Summer
Continue your research throughout the summer with your Lexis Advance ID – and earn LexisNexis Rewards points. In June and July, complete the monthly Spotlight YouTube video and quiz and you will earn 200 points for each.

Your school’s LexisNexis Account Executive is available to you during the summer for training and support. Feel free to contact him or her early to let them know your summer research goals.

You also have access to 24/7 customer support for help with Lexis Advance, summer access or research questions at 1-800-45-LEXIS (53947).

*Students and graduates (including December 2011 graduates) engaged in verifiable 501(c)(3) public interest work may apply for access to Cases, Codes, Law Reviews, Shepard’s, and Matthew Bender treatises on lexis.com through the ASPIRE 2012 program, which will be available in early April. Verifying documentation is required. Exclusions apply.

**“Academic purposes” do not include research conducted for a law firm, corporation, or other entity (other than a professor or law school) that is paying you to conduct research, or that is passing along the cost of research you conduct to a third party. These are deemed “commercial purposes.” LexisNexis is committed to ensuring that its educational IDs are used by authorized users for legitimate purposes. To ensure that the highest standards of consumer privacy and data security are met, LexisNexis regularly monitors search activity and reviews usage patterns. There can be consequences when inappropriate searches are performed.

 

Need summer access to Westlaw?   Go to Westlaw Password Extension for more information.

Come see us in the Library if you have any questions or concerns!

~Mary Susan Lucas~

Study Aids for OneLs Have Arrived!

You asked and we listened!  As a result of the Study Aid Survey conducted in the Fall, we have dramatically increased the quantity and quality of study aids available for the first year core classes.  Whether you need a little help with Property or Civil Procedure, Criminal Law or Torts, Contracts or Future Interests, we have the study guides that you need.

What are study guides?  Which ones do we have?  Check out the Law Library’s Academic Success LibGuide for answers.  Browse through the tabs on the LibGuide to see what is available.  We have study aids for visual learners, audio learners and those who prefer a format like flash cards.  Visit the Circulation Desk and talk to our student workers for their recommendations.  We are here to help!

Don’t wait until reading period to check out our newly revamped collection of study aids for the first year law students!

Coming up next!  Improving the study aids available for upper level classes.  We welcome your input and feedback.  Come see us in the library and share your comments and suggestions.

~Mary Susan Lucas~

Free Speech or Criminal Act?

Image from guernicamag.com

Does the First Amendment protect those who lie about having received a military award or honor?  Or does such a lie fall outside of First Amendment protection along with the likes of obscenity, fraud, defamation, incitement and speech integral to criminal conduct?

The United States Supreme Court heard oral argument on the Stolen Valor Act on Wednesday, February 22, 2012 to resolve a circuit split between the 9^th and 10^th Circuits.  A divided panel of the 9^th Circuit ruled that the Stolen Valor Act is unconstitutional, reversing the court below.  A divided panel of the 10^th Circuit ruled that the Act is constitutional, reversing the court below.  The Court granted cert to the 9^th Circuit case involving defendant Xavier Alvarez, a politician who lied about receiving the Medal of Honor.

Image from history.army.mil

The Act makes it a crime to falsely claim to have been awarded military honors or decorations and provides enhanced penalties for lying about the highest awards including the Medal of Honor.  Authored by a House Democrat, John Salazar, and co-sponsored by numerous Republicans and Democrats, the Act was passed in 2006 by unanimous consent in the Senate and a voice vote in the House after forty minutes of debate.  The “debate” consisted of consecutive speeches in support of the Act with more than one speaker referencing George Washington himself:  “Should any who are not entitled to these honors have the insolence to assume the badges of them, they shall be severely punished.”  (See Volume 152 of the Congressional record Pages 22574-22577 available at THOMAS.)

Many amicus briefs were filed for both sides of the case.  The arguments for finding the Act unconstitutional rely on First Amendment free speech protection and warn against the dangers of criminalizing speech and the slippery slope of doing so.  Opponents of the Act include many news organizations who argue that such lies are better handled by exposing them to the public and allowing shame and humiliation to be the punishment instead of fines and jail time.  They warn of the chilling effect on truthful speech.

Supporters of the Act argue that it serves a compelling government interest in “preserving the integrity of its military honors system and conveying to the public the government’s gratitude towards those who have sacrificed for the country and fostering morale and valorous conduct within the military.”  Amicus briefs detail an extensive list of pretenders including executives, politicians, police administrators and authors.

The Justices peppered both sides during oral arguments but it appeared to many commentators that defense counsel, Jonathan Libby, a federal public defender from California, fared the worst during arguments as he conceded more than one key issues.  Justice Kagan asked what truthful speech would be chilled by the Act and Libby replied, “Your Honor, it’s not that it may necessarily chill any truthful speech.”  After acknowledging that the government may criminalize lies that are intended to obtain something of value, Libby was asked by Chief Justice Roberts if Mr. Alvarez, a politician, benefitted from his lie.  He answered, “Perhaps, you Honor.”  Chief Justice Roberts replied that that was “an awfully big concession.”

Is Mr. Alvarez a criminal or is he just a liar?  Is the interest of the government compelling enough to outweigh the protections of the First Amendment?  Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech?  Or shall it?  A ruling is expected by summer.

Image from wemeantwell.com

~Mary Susan Lucas~

File-sharing Is the Newest Religion in Sweden

Image from gawkerassets.com

The Missionary Church of Kopimism has been officially recognized as a church in Sweden.  The approval came shortly before Christmas on the group’s third try for official church status.  According to Isak Gerson, the founder of the church, “Information is holy and copying is a sacrament.”  The sacred symbols of the church include CTRL+C and CTRL+V and the group holds religious services called kopyactings where members of the religious community share information.  Membership exceeds 3000.

Some critics think that the group is trying to get around anti-piracy laws.  Some supporters say it is a step towards open sharing of information.  Gerkson adds, “Hopefully this is one step towards the day when we can live out our faith without fear of prosecution.”

The website has been up and down recently with all of the media coverage but here is a prayer from their website.  See if it sounds familiar:

Our copy, thou who art in computer

blessed be thy bits.

Internet come.

Your code be done,

in torrent, as it is on the disk.

Our daily bandwidth, give us today,

and forgive us for our closed ports,

as we forgive those who stop seeding,

and do not shut us out behind a firewall

but make us a port-forward to the torrent client.

For thine is the copy, our powr and top ten downloads.

In eternity.

 So what will be the impact on libraries in Sweden?  Will they now be de-facto houses of worship?  What about in America?  Time will tell if the “religious fervor” reaches our shores and the students at the copier aren’t just preparing for class but are instead engaged in worship.

Image from datachurch.com

~Mary Susan Lucas~

Planes, Rock Stars and Professional Athletes: Visit a Special Library in Charlotte

Did you know that there is a special aviation library located adjacent to the hangar area for private and charter flights in and out of our nearby airport?  Maybe you have seen the bomber plane visible from the Billy Graham Parkway that beckons visitors to the Carolinas Aviation Museum?  The museum has a nearby library with everything to delight those interested in aviation.

The Dolph Overton Aviation Library is an asset of the Carolinas Historic Aviation Commission (“CHAC”), a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation dedicated to preserving the aviation history of the Carolinas.  CHAC also operates the Carolinas Aviation Museum located at a nearby facility on First Flight Drive.   The Aviation Library is located on City-of-Charlotte-owned property adjacent to Charlotte/Douglas International Airport (“CDIA”) and the North Carolina Air National Guard.  The location of the library facility lends itself to providing an immersion experience for the visitor:  vibrations from nearby powerful jet engines and the distinctive sound and feel of helicopters starting warm-up routines all contribute to a special experience, almost as if a visitor was in an interactive library.  The windows of the Aviation Library look out on a CDIA runway and a taxi area for charter flights.  The staff of the Aviation Museum regularly witnesses the arrival and departure of professional athletes and rock stars.

 

Aerial view of Dolph Overton Aviation Library (Bing Maps)

Rows of aviation books are in the front room and clipboards on the end of the rows contain check-out sheets where CHAC members sign their name, phone number and a brief description of the material being checked out.  The process is very informal and there are no rigid rules about loan periods.  At the back of the front room is a wall of models of every imaginable type of airplane.  Models of military aircraft are suspended from the ceiling of the front room.  The uniform room is a fun place to visit.  There is a bomber flight suit!  Most branches of the military are represented as are many different time periods and wars.  The collection contains both commercial and military aviation uniforms dating back as far as World War I.

There is also a film room with 8mm training films and documentaries crowding every inch of shelf space in the room. Another room contains aviation equipment, some on shelves and some in the hundreds of boxes stacked floor to ceiling in the room.  Navigation equipment, cockpit parts and aircraft equipment crowd the limited space.

Adjacent to the equipment room is a work area for a model repairer who comes in once a week to restore models in the Aviation Library’s vast collection.  The library receives many donations of models and is unable to properly display them at this time.  The staff is hoping to receive donated display cases to accommodate the growing collection.

Journals take up the entirety of yet another room.  One journal pulled off the shelf dates back to 1913.  The window from this room looks out onto the private charter jet area mentioned above.  From this room, you can’t miss the start-up of the helicopters and the jet engines.  Other rooms contain photographs and artwork, some framed and some not.  Still more rooms are packed with training manuals and maintenance manuals.  Every room is packed with items, all of which have been cataloged.

For information about visiting or volunteering at the aviation library, check out their website.  Be sure to check out the Miracle on the Hudson at the nearby museum, too!

~Mary Susan Lucas~