It's Halloween!

 

Happy Halloween!

In the spirit of Halloween, here are some spooky cases that will send shivers down your spine...

Stambovsky v. Ackley, 169 A.D.2d 254
Mrs. Ackley owned a fabulous - and haunted - waterfront Victorian home. Not one to be undone by the presence of poltergeists, Mrs. Ackley told her friends, her neighbors, the media, and anyone who would listen that her house was haunted. The one person she did not tell was Mr. Stambovsky, the man who eventually bought her home. Upon discovering that he would be sharing the house with the dearly departed, he sued to rescind the contract. The court found that Mrs. Ackley's promotion of paranormal phenomenon required her to disclose the supernatural activity to the buyer. So, if you see a spook and shout it out, who you gonna call?
The buyer!

Ferlito v. Johnson & Johnson, 983 F.2d 1066
Mr. and Mrs. Ferlito attended a costume party in homemade Halloween costumes. Mrs. Ferlito was the lovely Bo Peep and Mr. Ferlito was her lost little sheep. Tragedy ensued when Mr. Ferlito caught on fire after he lit a cigarette. The Ferlitos sued Johnson and Johnson on the ground that the cotton gauze used for the sheep costume was flamable; however, the court held for Johnson & Johnson based on the fact that the Ferlitos know that there was a flame hazard and that Mr. Ferlito was not paying attention when he lit the cigarette. Beware of smoking sheep...

Baribeau v. City of Minneapolis, 596 F.3d 465
Do zombies have constitutional rights? Sometimes. In Baribeau, a group of citizens contracted the disease of "mindless consumerism", causing them to turn into zombified versions of themselves. While the traditional method of dispatching zombies can be witnessed in several films (e.g. Dawn of the Dead and Zombieland), in Minneapolis the police opted for arrest and incarceration on the charge of disorderly conduct. The zombies brought suit, and the court found that the zombies were engaging in expressive conduct that did not give the police probable cause under the Minnesota disorderly conduct statue. So if you contract a zombie virus and you live in Minnesota, the police have to have probable cause before they arrest you....

Contribution by Miss Endia Sowers and Adrienne DeWitt

Spotlight on: Foreign Law Guide

So it happened. The moment you’ve dreaded – you’ve been tasked with locating the law and legislation of a foreign country. If you aren’t familiar with the legal landscape of that country, the task can be daunting. What will you do? One option is to turn to Reynolds and Flores’ Foreign Law Guide.

The Foreign Law Guide provides users access to information about the primary and secondary legal resources for over 170 countries. This information includes what those important legal resources are, where to find them, and how to use them. The Foreign Law Guide also provides users with web addresses to as many resources as possible. What does this mean for you, the researcher? This means the Guide will tell you where to locate civil, commercial, and criminal codes as well as session laws and court reports (just to name a few types of documentation) all while providing users with a link to those resources on the Internet if one is available.

The Foreign Law Guide also works to maintain a Subject Heading Index for each jurisdiction it covers. This means you can not only get an introduction to a jurisdiction’s legal history and judicial system, but you can also use the Subject Heading Index to locate the laws applicable to your specific subject.

If you have foreign law question, check out the Foreign Law Guide! You can locate it on the Law Library’s Electronic Resources page.

Law Library Halloween Research Contest

Interested in winning a $10 Target Gift Card? Between Oct. 25-Oct. 31, stop by the library and answer a research question. A new question will be available each day and completed questions can be turned in to our pumpkin. The more questions you answer correctly, the more entries you will earn towards winning the Target Gift Card!

Can you pass a social media background check?

Can you pass a social media background check? Do you really understand how privacy settings work? Do you want to learn more about marketing yourself using social media?

Then come to the Law Library’s Cyber-Stalking 101: Making Social Media Work for You workshop!

Prof. Dickerson will talk about how employers are conducting social media background checks, how privacy settings work with different social media tools, and provide tips on how to market yourself in the best possible way through social media.

Sign up in the Law Library, via the Law Library’s TWEN page today, or simply come to the Law Library Conference Room at 2pm on Monday, Oct. 24^th!

Cyber-Stalking 101: Making Social Media Work for You

When: Monday, Oct. 24^th, 2011

What time: 2:00pm

Where: Law Library Conference Room

October 20th is Conflict Resolution Day!

Conflict Resolution Day is an international event celebrated every third Thursday in October. This exciting occasion was established by the Association for Conflict Resolution in 2005 to: 

• Promote awareness of mediation, arbitration, conciliation and other creative, peaceful means of resolving conflict;
• Promote the use of conflict resolution in schools, families, businesses, communities, governments and the legal system;
• Recognize the significant contributions of (peaceful) conflict resolvers; and 
• Obtain national synergy by having celebrations happen across the country and around the world on the same day.[1]

The North Carolina Central School of Law Library has several resources available to assist you in fine tuning your conflict resolution skills. 

Stop by the main floor of the library to view a display of our Alternative Dispute Resolution resource collection. We also have an Alternative Dispute LibGuide.

For more information about Conflict Resolution Day visit http://www.acrnet.org/crday/

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[1] Association of Conflict Resolution, Conflict Resolution Day, http://www.acrnet.org/crday/ (Oct. 18, 2011).

Content submitted by Endia Sowers, JD/MLS 2012

Check out what's happening in the library this week!

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Getting to Know BNA Training Session! Tuesday, October 18th at 11:00 a.m. in the Law Library conference room. SNACKS! Also, Stop by the Information Table in the Fishbowl from noon -2:00 p.m.

AND

Exploring Job Search Resources: Tricks for Searching databases and the internet to find your dream job. Tuesday, October 18^th at 1:00 p.m. in the Law Library conference room. SNACKS! Also, all attendees will be entered into a drawing to win a Westlaw Portfolio case.

Other training opportunities from LexisNexis and Westlaw-

Westlaw Trainings-Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Advanced WestlawNext :

11:00 AM - 11:45 AM- Room 201

12:00 PM - 12:45 PM-Room 201

1:00 PM - 1:45 PM-Room 20

2:00 PM - 2:45 PM-Room 200

For other Westlaw training opportunities, see the NCCU School Training calendar.

LexisNexis Trainings –Wednesday, October 20, 2011

· 2:00 PM / Room 200 / 45 minutes

2Ls/3Ls: Legislative History Research: Efficiently complete thorough legislative history research.

· 3:00 PM/ Room 205/ 45 minutes

2Ls/3Ls: LexisNexis Refresher : Overview of general searching techniques, retrieving documents, formulating searches, Shepardizing, and more. (45 min )

· 4:00 PM/ Room 205/ 45 minutes

2Ls/3Ls: Seminar Paper Topic Selection & Research Tips for identifying and researching a unique paper topic

For other LexisNexis trainings, see the NCCU School of Law LexisNexis Training calendar.

Last Chance to get your Free NCCU Law Library Water Bottle

If you were unable to get your water bottle during our give away, you still have a chance. Students that did not get their water bottle can stop by Prof. Dickerson's office, room 222 in the law library and get their bottle. You must stop by Prof. Dickerson's office by Monday October 31 to claim your water bottle!

The Law Library Presents: Midterm Coffee & Tea Break

Feeling a little sluggish as you study for a midterm?

Need a little pick me up before you sit down to take an exam?

Then stop by the Law Library's Coffee & Tea Time!

Where: Outside of the Law Library
When: Tuesday, Oct. 11th from 5 to 7pm & Wednesday, Oct. 12th from 7 to 11am

Just remember to BYOM (Bring Your Own Mug!)

MIDTERMS!

Yes, it's already time for midterms. If you are looking for a study aid to help in your test preparations, be sure to stop by the library. We have several types of study aids on reserve for every type of learner. For example, there are Sum & Substance Audio CDs on various first year courses. We also have Law in a Flash flashcards to help you memorize legal elements. We have Crunch Time and Emmanuel outlines, and various Nutshells, Examples and Explanations, and Understanding the Law study aids. If you have questions on which study guide would be best for you, stop by the reference desk; we are more than happy to help.