Watch CALI Videos on YouTube

CALI has a YouTube Channel that you can subscribe to. The CALI YouTube channel will replace the CALI Blip.TV channel.

For more information, you can read this post from CALI!

Volunteers Needed for the We the People State Competition

Attention Legal Eagles:

The North Carolina Bar Association Foundation’s Law-Related Education Advisory Committee invites you to volunteer for the We the People State Competition to be held on Friday, March 11, 2011 at the North Carolina Central University School of Law in Durham from 8:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

This year, we are expected to have nine schools competing and eight showcasing teams. Please consider volunteering to be a judge, facilitator or timer. This is a great opportunity to network while giving back!

For more information, visit the NCBA-LRE website. If you decide your interested, please send an email to lre@ncbar.org with your intention to participate and include your contact information.

Sit Back & Relax

Law school is stressful. From time to time, everyone needs to take a break to make sure they can continue processing information properly. If you are feeling a little stressed, I challenge you to take 2 minutes to sit and do nothing. Don’t touch your computer. Don’t chat to someone next to you. Just relax and be still.

If you need some help doing so, click here and enjoy two minutes of peace and calm.

Prof. Frances Bynum Secures Settlement in School Gang Policy Suit

Congratulations to Prof. Frances Bynum!

Prof. Bynum filed a class action lawsuit in 2006 claiming that the school system's policy on gang-related clothing was a violation of student civil rights. The case recently settled and the school district has re-written the policy.

The full article can be read here.

The Law Pod

The Law Pod develops apps for law students to use on their iPhone®, iPad®, iPod Touch®, and/or Blackberry®.

One of the pod's latest apps is LawLibe. LawLibe functions as a free mobile law library! To download LawLibe, go to the app store.

You may also want to browse the other apps available from the Law Pod because when you purchase any of the apps, you support a good cause. The Law Pod donates a portion of the revenue from the sale of its applications to provide grants and scholarships to law students in need.

"How To Succeed As a Summer Associate 2011 "-Free Seminar

Join the Practising Law Institute (PLI) and get a wealth of information.

The PLI's Law School Divison is currently offering:

1. Free and Low Cost Seminars to Law Students and Practitioners,
2. Law Student Scholarships,
3. A $950.00 Discount on a Patent Bar Review Course and
4. Access to PLI's Newsletter and Blog.

If you are interested in joining go to http://pli.edu/

Fun and games at the US Supreme Court

A new study published in the Communication Law Review entitled 'People Did Sometimes Stick Things in my Underwear': The Function of Laughter at the U.S. Supreme Court finds that Justice Scalia is the funniest justice on the bench. Justice Breyer and Chief Justice Roberts round out the top three. The study, conducted by a Texas litigation consultant, analyzed court transcripts in both print and audio formats to find where and when the court laughed. The jokes weren’t only at the expense of terrified attorneys standing before the court either – Justices also poked fun at each other, governmental institutions and agencies, and themselves. The ABA Journal highlights one of these events with the following statement made by Justice Breyer (and where the title of the study comes from). “In my experience when I was 8 or 10 or 12 years old, you know, we did take our clothes off once a day, we changed for gym, okay? And in my experience, too, people did sometimes stick things in my underwear—(Laughter). Or not my underwear. Whatever. Whatever. I was the one who did it? I don’t know.”

It’s comforting to know the Justices, in their seats of power, can have a good laugh.

Changes to Lexis & Westlaw

Starting this semester, you will notice changes to the LexisNexis interface. While the content hasn't changed, Lexis hopes the new interface will be more user-friendly and enable users to find what they need in a shorter amount of time.

In addition to the new look of Lexis, you will also notice that you now have access to WestlawNext. WestlawNext is a new legal research system designed to make the process simpler, faster and more efficient.

First-year students will receive training on the new LexisNexis interface and WestlawNext as a part of their Legal Research and Persuasion course this semester. Upper-level students will be invited to attend trainings with our LexisNexis and Westlaw Account Representatives toward the middle of the semester. In the meantime, you may contact the Lexis/Westlaw student representatives during their office hours for assistance.

For more information on the new LexisNexis interface and to access tutorials, please go to: http://www.lexisnexis.com/lexisenhancements/. For information on WestlawNext and to access tutorials, go to: http://west.thomson.com/westlawnext/default.aspx.

Lastly, please be aware that you will not be able print to the Westlaw printers while using WestlawNext. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at yharrison@nccu.edu.

Help the Law Library...

...by taking this survey. The Law Library is a member of the Federal Depository Library Program. This survey will be used to help us better meet your needs in regards to accessing depository materials, services, and Federal government information. Please take a few minutes out of your day and lend a hand to the library by participating. Thank you!

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/hslcrrb

Snow Day Study Break

Ever wonder if the mutants from comic books and movies were a protected class under anti-discrimination laws? Or perhaps if flying superheroes need to worry about FAA regulations? Maybe not, but in a blog called Law and the Multiverse, two attorneys are asking and answering those types of questions using real law applied to the comics. While the blog doesn't necessarily add to academic legal research resources, it does provide readers with a humorous take on areas such as constitutional law, contract law, criminal law, and others. So if you need a study break but don’t want to lose your legal mindset, give Law and the Multiverse a read.

Introducing Jonathan Beeker: Access Services Librarian

This semester, the NCCU Law Library is happy to welcome Jonathan Beeker as the new Access Services Librarian. Originally from Wilmington, NC, Jonathan earned his BA in English from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2003 and his MLIS from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 2007.

Prior to joining the team at the Law Library, Jonathan served as Librarian at ECPI Colleges of Technology in Manassas, VA and Raleigh, NC, where he managed all library services and helped create a tutoring facility in the library. Professionally, he is interested in information literacy, transliteracy, and the production of learning tools that foster and enhance both.

Mr. Beeker is excited to tackle new challenges here at NCCU, and he looks forward to meeting and working with the students and faculty at the School of Law.

Welcome Back Students!

We look forward to working with you this semester.

Spring 2011 Library Hours

Circulation Desk
Monday - Thursday: 7 a.m. to 12 a.m.
Friday: 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Saturday: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Sunday: 1 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Reference Desk
Monday - Thursday: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Friday: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Saturday: CLOSED
Sunday: 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

West Mobile Apps & Websites!!!!

Jump start your Spring Semester with some new Westlaw Mobile Apps & Websites

Featuring:
-Black's Law Dictionary
-Norton Bankruptcy Dictionary
-Sum & Substance Audio Series (excellent resource)
-Barbri Challenge (FREE!!!)
-WestlawNext
If you are interested go to:
http://west.thomson.com/products/services/mobileapps/default.aspx