ZiefBrief

Federal Rules of Evidence Changes

There were changes to the Federal Rules of Evidence that went into effect on December 1, 2011, so Westlaw's Fall 2011 Federal Rules of Evidence books are no longer current.  You can download a PDF of the latest version of the FREs from the U.S. Courts website.

WestlawNext Tip: Search Folder Content

The WestlawInsider blog features a post this week about how to search WestlawNext folder content, complete with helpful screen shots to walk you through the process. If you're reading this post and wondering how the WestlawNext folders work, then this is the post for you.

California Courts Crack Down on Social Media

The SF Chronicle reports today that, beginning on January 1, all California state judges will be required to warn jurors of the prohibition on using social media and the Internet during a trial. Jurors who ignore the warning may face contempt of court charges, which could include a jail sentence.  The text of the legislation can be found on the California legislative information website.

Death Penalty Conviction Overturned Due In Part to Tweeting Juror

The Arkansas Supreme Court overturned a death row inmate's murder conviction, finding that one juror napped during the trial and another juror tweeted during the trial and deliberations.  This juror tweeted, "Its over," nearly an hour before the jury announced it had reached a verdict.  In addition to overturning the conviction, the court asked the Arkansas Supreme Court Committees on Criminal Practice and Civil Practice to consider whether "jurors’ access to mobile phones should be limited during a trial."  My prediction? In a few years, if you're sitting on a jury, you are going to have to turn in your phone before you take a seat in the box or enter into deliberations.

Professor Hing on Operation Gatekeeper

Professor Hing recently posted on Herman Cain's "electrified fences" proposal as a solution to undocumented immigration and the Border Patrol's use of Operation Gatekeeper.  Professor Hing argues that Operation Gatekeeper, which stepped up Border Patrol enforcement and route blockades in the San Diego sector, has forced undocumented immigrants to attempt crossings in areas with dangerous, hazardous terrain and weather conditions, leading to an increase in deaths among migrants.  Operation Gatekeeper can be viewed as the "moral equivalent" of Cain's electrified fences proposal.

USF Students May Make Research Appointments Online

USF law, graduate, and undergraduate students may now make individual research appointments with a Zief Law Library research librarian. (Appointments with Zief Law Library research librarians are only available to current USF students. Other authorized Zief Library users with research questions may visit the research desk in person, or call 415-422-6773.)

The major advantage to making a research appointment is that you will have the librarians un-divided attention and it is far less likely that you will be interrupted during your consultation.

Please use the link next to the names of the librarians - note that the URLs are case sensitive:

     Suzanne Mawhinney: www.goo.gl/wF0v5

     Lee Ryan: www.goo.gl/lZyCV

 

     John Shafer: www.goo.gl/KEu3k

     Amy Wright: www.goo.gl/Ms4v1

Freiwald's Fourth Amendment Arguments Sway Court

A U.S. District Court Judge has sided with compelling constitutional law arguments made by USF Law Professor Susan Freiwald and the Magistrate Judge in the decision below. In a single-page Order on Objections, Judge Lynn Hughes of the Southern District of Texas noted Professor Freiwald's amicus brief, along with a brief submitted by the EFF and ACLU, as an aid in arriving at his decision.

This most recent action arises out of an opinion by Magistrate Judge Stephen Smith of U.S. District Court in the Southern District of Texas. He denied the government access to a cellphone subscriber’s data absent a search warrant. Judge Smith's decision noted that cellphone tracking could allow the government to compile a "digital dossier" tracking a cellphone users movements and activities. To read the full decision click here.

The present Order is in response to the government's appeal of Judge Smith's decision. In her amicus brief Professor Freiwald urged the court to treat such records as deserving the full protection of the 4th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Such protected records could only be released to investigators who have received a warrant issued on probable cause. As the court put it, cell phone location records "... would show the date, time, called number, and location of the telephone when the call was made. These data are constitutionally protected from intrusion."

This decision is sure to generate discussion, starting with an entry in a Wall Street Journal blog: Judge Declares Law Governing Warrantless Cellphone Tracking Unconstitutional

Click here to read full order (.pdf).

Click here to read Professor Freiwald's full amicus brief (.pdf)

Google Introduces "Verbatim"

Google has introduced a new search option, Verbatim, for power searchers who want Google to search the exact words entered in the search box. If you don't use Verbatim, Google routinely will do all of the following: 

• suggest spelling corrections; 
• personalize your search by using information about sites you’ve visited before (many patrons are surprised when librarians' Google search results are different from their search results when the same search is entered, but Google uses your past searching behavior to customize results);
• include synonyms of your search terms;
• automatically search for grammatical variations of words, like including search results containing the word, "employing," when you enter the search term "employ."

To use Verbatim, click "more search tools" on the left side of any search results page, then click "Verbatim."  Type your Verbatim search into the search box and hit "enter."

New Databases

We've been adding online research tools steadily over the past year. We now have a searchable database of Chinese law with English translations (LawInfoChina). We've also subscribed to vLex, which provides access to foreign law with particular emphasis on Central and South America and Europe (on campus only). We've been adding content to HeinOnline steadily, including an extensive collection of intellectual property law materials and tax materials.  If you haven't checked out our A-Z list of law library research databases lately, take a look. We also have a "Resources by Topic" list.

HeinOnline App for iPhone & iPad

HeinOnline announced the arrival of its free iPhone/iPad app, which allows researchers to access HeinOnline content on these devices. The app allows you to view PDFs, access HeinOnline content by citation, browse by volume, navigate a volume's table of contents, and use advanced search. I experimented with the app on my iPad and found it very easy to use. One caveat: you do need to be on-campus and logged on to the campus network to access content.