BOSTON COLLEGE LEGAL EAGLE

Jurors' use of social media during trials

2012-01-30T09:59:00.006-05:00

According to a report published by the Federal Judicial Center, district court judges are addressing concerns that jurors will turn to social media during their jury duty to research trial issues or to post comments about the trials. Judges were surveyed to determine their strategies used in restricting jurors' access to social media. The report includes sample jury instructions drafted

Top Massachusetts verdicts, awards and settlements of 2011

2012-01-27T09:16:00.002-05:00

The January 19th issue of Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly contains a useful article which highlights the top jury verdicts, bench verdicts, arbitration awards and settlements in Massachusetts during 2011. The case summaries are a lesson in placing a monetary value on life and health and are useful in evaluating cases with similar injuries and claims, in preparing settlement brochures and in

Government's attachment of GPS to vehicle is a 4th Amendment search

2012-01-24T09:42:00.003-05:00

Yesterday, the Supreme Court ruled in United States v. Jones, Case No. 10-1259, that the government's attachment of a GPS device to a vehicle and its subsequent monitoring of the vehicle's movements constitutes a search under the Fourth Amendment. Justice Scalia, who wrote the Court's opinion, employed a common law trespass analysis, rather than analyzing the respondent's reasonable expectation

Check out The Good Wife on DVD

2012-01-23T17:28:00.004-05:00

The law library has recently acquired Seasons 1 and 2 of CBS's hit show, The Good Wife on DVD. The show stars Julianna Margulies as Alicia Florrick, the wife of a scandal-ridden Illinois state's attorney, played by Chris Noth. After her husband is jailed on corruption charges, Alicia returns to work as a junior litigation associate at a medium-sized Chicago firm. The Emmy and Golden

E&R librarians begin teaching with iPads

2012-01-12T15:14:00.008-05:00

As part of a university pilot program on teaching with tablet computers, the E&R librarians have begun using iPad 2s in their upper-level legal research courses. Since the introduction of the original iPad, attorneys have quickly discovered the many benefits of using tablets for conducting legal research on-the-go, reviewing documents when away from the office, and keeping up with email. As

U.S. Supreme Court to hear important election law cases

2012-01-06T16:37:00.002-05:00

On Monday January 9, 2012 the United States Supreme Court will hear arguments in three election law cases from Texas which involve plans for voting districts drawn up by the Texas legislature and a three judge Federal court in Texas. These cases will likely involve ruling on the constitutionality of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Misuse of student Lexis and Westlaw accounts

2012-01-05T09:03:00.005-05:00

The Utah State Bar Ethics Advisory Committee has issued an opinion concerning attorneys who require law student employees to use their student Westlaw and Lexis accounts for law firm research. The opinion characterizes such policies as "criminal misuse" of the students' educational accounts and a violation of the supervising attorney's professional ethics. The opinion is Utah State Bar Ethics

Real Court TV Viewing

2011-12-21T15:41:00.002-05:00

Now that exams are over it’s time to relax and watch all those legal programs you didn’t have time for during the semester.If you want to see what real trials are really like, you should check out the Open Court Project Archive. You do need to register and sign in to see the archives, unlike the live courtroom, but I’m pretty sure they aren’t having a session on Christmas Day. If your

PACER mobile site

2011-12-16T14:37:00.002-05:00

PACER users now have access to the Case Locator feature on their mobile devices. Case Locator serves as an index tool for all federal district court, bankruptcy court and appellate court litigation.

Loss of Statistical Abstract of the U.S.

2011-12-06T09:06:00.003-05:00

Librarians and researchers rely on the Statistical Abstract of the U.S. as a trusted and in-depth look at the wealth of data collected by the federal government and other sources. Law students are always surprised to discover that their "impossible" questions about education spending, for example, can be answered with the Statistical Abstract. Due to federal budget cuts, though, the Statistical

Amendments to Federal Rules

2011-12-05T10:10:00.002-05:00

Amendments to key federal rules became effective on December 1, 2011 when Congress failed to act after the rules amendments were approved by the Supreme Court. The amendments include changes to Federal Rules of Evidence, Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure and Bankruptcy Rules. The full text of the amended rules can be found here.

ABA Commission on Disability Rights -- New Name, New Website Features

2011-11-21T09:26:00.002-05:00

The ABA Commission on Mental and Physical Disability Law has changed its name to the Commission on Disability Rights (CDR). Its mission is to "promote the ABA's commitment to justice and the rule of law for persons with mental, physical and sensory disabilities and to promote their full and equal participation in the legal profession". Along with the new name, the Commission is introducing a

SCOTUS to Review Constitutionality of PPACA

2011-11-18T10:36:00.002-05:00

On Monday, the U. S. Supreme Court granted review in 3 of the 6 pending petitions for certiorari on the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, P. L. 111-148. The Court granted review on 4 issues: 1) does Congress have power under Article I to enact the minimum essential coverage mandate in Section 1501 of PPACA, 2) is the minimum essential coverage mandate

Diversity Read - Vote for a title!

2011-11-16T11:32:00.000-05:00