
Library & Legal Resources News

Trying to come up with a topic can be one of the hardest parts of researching and writing a paper. To help, the Litigation Section of the Utah State Bar has recently initiated a topic bank focused on providing potential paper topics for law students in …

A Ruby Anniversary (40 years)
08 March 2011
In honor of 40th anniversary of the BYU Law School (announced March 9, 1971), the Hunter Law Library has a small exhibit on the second floor south of the Reference Desk. The display case shows a copy of the 1972 architectural rendering and …

Library Survey Winners
04 March 2011
Thanks to all of you who participated in the Law Library survey. We had over 200 participants and we are now in the process of looking over the responses. We value your feedback and will use it as we look for ways …

Remembering Goldsmith
03 March 2011
This coming Sunday would have been the late BYU law professor Michael Goldsmith's 60th birthday. He was born March 6, 1951 in Tel Aviv, Israel, and passed away Nov. 1, 2009 in Albany, New York from ALS. To celebrate, I've posted a short historical video …

Best Buy Law Schools
02 March 2011
BYU Law School was recently mentioned in a National Law Journal article on best buy law schools: "The cheapest [school] was Brigham Young University J. Reuben Clark Law School, which charged $19,960. It was ranked No. 47 on the Go-To list." The Go-To list …

U.S. Citizenship Test
28 February 2011
I thought this was an interesting article via Slate on the U.S. Citizenship test and some of its incorrect answers. The Problem with Question 36: Why are so many of the answers on the U.S. citizenship test wrong?

Baradaran on Pretrial Detention
25 February 2011
Professor Shima Baradaran has recently posted two of her latest articles on pretrial detention to SSRN. In Due Process, Predictive Justice & the Presumption of Innocence, Prof. Baradaran examines "how the Due Process Clause provides the constitutional basis for the presumption of innocence and …

Congressional Hearings Access
23 February 2011
In September, Stephen Colbert made news when he testified at a Congressional Hearing about farm laborers. While that hearing may not be something you'll need to find for a legal research project some day, there may be other hearings that require finding. The Law …

BYU Law Ranked #17
17 February 2011
BYU Law ranks 17th in Brian Leiter's recent rankings of Supreme Court Clerkship Placement, 2000 through 2010 Terms.

Historical Utah Senate Bills
17 February 2011
State legislative history can be a beast, especially when you have to go beyond the 1990s. Luckily, the Utah State Archives is working to make things a bit easier for Utah legislative history researchers. The Archives is digitizing Utah Senate Working Bill Files …

Legislative Process
10 February 2011
Understanding what happens on the floor of the House or Senate can be complicated. You've heard about filibusters and cloture, but there are a number of other particular rules and procedures followed on the House and Senate floors that are unique to …

Help Us Out
07 February 2011
The Law Library is currently conducting a survey of BYU law students and faculty to measure whether we're providing you with the services and materials you need. BYU law students and faculty who complete the survey by Friday, February 18 will be …

Baradaran on Banking
04 February 2011
Professor Mehrsa Baradaran's article, The ILC and the Reconstruction of U.S. Banking, has recently been published in the Southern Methodist University Law Review and posted on SSRN.

Google Scholar Legal Opinions by Court
02 February 2011
It's been over a year now since Google Scholar's addition of free, searchable legal opinions. This is a great option for law students and attorneys looking to do some cheap searching to find out what cases are out there before they hop …

Fastcase
19 January 2011
The Law Library has recently acquired access to Fastcase, a low-cost alternative to Westlaw and LexisNexis. As attorneys look to cut costs, legal research systems like Fastcase are becoming more popular. Currently 18 state bar associations (including nearby Nevada and Arizona) offer …

Leadership Library
11 January 2011
Looking for a government job? Need to find contact information for a judicial clerk? Want to find BYU graduates in Congress or the judiciary? Our new subscription to the Leadership Library is just the thing to help. With contact information for people …

New Look for Lexis
10 January 2011
If you've logged on to LexisNexis today, you've noticed it looks a bit different. A white background has been added to give it a cleaner look and a few things have been rearranged for easier use. Overall the core functionality is still …

Ask Us
07 January 2011
With a new semester upon us we want to remind you of your options for getting research help. Hopefully you are aware that reference assistance is available in person at the 2d floor reference desk from 8am-9pm M-F and from 9am-5pm on …