
Library & Legal Resources News

On July 6, 2007 this blog was officially born. It's hard to believe it's been 5 years. The goal of the blog has always been to keep those interested in the BYU Hunter Law Library informed of resources, events, news, and information …

Utah Bar Journal as eBook
The Utah Bar Journal is an important resource for Utah attorneys to keep up to date with changes in Utah law and stay informed of activities and happenings in the local Bar. Students looking to practice in Utah should take a look …

Executive Privilege and CRS Reports
Executive privilege has been in the news lately as President Obama has asserted it for the first time in his presidency. The Wall Street Journal recently published a list of executive privilege assertions over the past 50 years. As a law librarian I …

Google Books to Library Books
Searching Google Books can often be an important part of research as it allows researchers to search the full-text of many books. However, researchers can only view portions of books that are still under copyright. Luckily, if you've found a useful book …

Lexis Advance
By now most of our students should be aware of Lexis Advance, Lexis's newest iteration and competitor to WestlawNext. In an attempt to get students to be more familiar with Lexis Advance, Lexis does not require students to do anything to extend …

Google Scholar Legal Documents
Earlier this week I retweeted a blog post on Internet for Lawyers detailing a change to Google Scholar and how it affects case law searching. I've had a chance to look at the change some more and had a few thoughts. I'm …

Where to Start Researching?
One of the common questions you'll face when receiving a new legal research assignment is "Where should I start?" There's a number of places that work as a good starting place, but one of the best is a legal treatise. Researchers today …

Banking and the Poor
Professor Mehrsa Baradaran recently took a new job at the University of Georgia School of Law. We're sad to see her go, but wish her good luck in her new position. Just before she left, Professor Baradaran posted her newest article, How …

Library Catalog Enhancements
The Law Library catalog is the place to go to find books (both print and electronic) in our collection. Recently a few more features were added to the catalog to make it more useful to you. The Library catalog can be accessed …

State AG Opinions
The Law Library has recently acquired access to the State Attorney General Reports & Opinions database on HeinOnline. This database has the AG reports and opinions for all 50 states as well as Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands back to the …

Congrats to Dale Swensen!
The Law Library's own Dale Swensen, Head of Technical Services and Digital Access, recently won the Utah Library Association's Special Recognition Award. The Law School has a nice piece up about Dale and his award. We're grateful to have him as part …

Race, Prediction & Discretion
Professor Shima Baradaran has recently posted her newest article, Race, Prediction & Discretion to SSRN. This article will be published in the George Washington Law Review. For more of Professor Baradaran's articles see her SSRN page.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory & the Law
Reading legal opinions and scholarship can be heavy. If I ever need a break and want some well-written, informative and humorous legal writing I turn to the Green Bag: An Entertaining Journal of Law (you can check out their archives here). I …

The Citator Gap
Using Shepard's or KeyCite to make sure the cases you rely upon are good law is an essential part of the research process. These citators, however, aren't perfect and I was reminded of that yesterday by a question from one of my …

Y Mountain Trail in Congress
On April 24 Utah Congressman Jason Chaffetz introduced a bill to the House of Representatives (H.R. 4484) that would enact the `Y Mountain Access Enhancement Act'. Under this law the federal government would convey a portion of the Y mountain trail to …

Govt Info for the Public for 4 Decades
Today, May 4, 2012, marks the Hunter Law Library’s fortieth anniversary as an official federal depository library. To mark the occasion, a small display is on the second floor near the reference desk. The display includes the following local newspaper clipping: Y. Library …

Court Pleadings on Bloomberg Law
As you research this summer, one of the things you may need to do is find trial court pleadings - a complaint, an answer, a motion. Attorneys often like to look for a similar case to theirs and then look at the …

Researching Municipal Law
One area of law that we generally don't have much time to cover in our first year legal research classes is local legislation. Municipal ordinances govern much of what we do on an everyday basis--from parking to pets to zoning--and is important …