ZiefBrief

Katrina Disaster and the Posse Comitatus Act

The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina saw both National Guardsmen and regular Army personnel being used to provide police services in the disaster area. News reports included incidents where members of the US Army 82nd Airborne badgered and threatened members of the media covering the recovery of bodies in the flooded city of New Orleans (see the news story from San Francisco Chronicle,  "As Bodies Recovered, Reporters Are Told, 'No Photos, No Stories'.")

While the presence of regular military personnel undoubtedly lead to the restoration of order in the post-hurricane chaos, it still is uncertain whether the use of such troops is legal. The Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 prohibits the use of the regular armed forces to execute or enforce civilian law unless "expressly" authorized by the Constitution or Congress. In 2003 Stephen Young (reference librarian at The Catholic University of America, Kathryn J. DuFour Law Library) presented a fairly exhaustive overview of the law in post-9/11 America. Individuals interested in the Posse Comitatus Act should check out his article,  The Posse Comitatus Act: A Resource Guide, at the excellent web site LLRX.com.

First-of-a-Kind: Contract Litigation Practice Guide

Now, for the first time, there is a California practice guide devoted entirely to litigating contract cases. The two-volume Matthew Bender Practice Guide: California Contract Litigation thoroughly covers all the main issues that might arise in a contract case, and even spares a few chapters to deal with breach of warranty and with the sale of goods. The particulars are:

Crompton, Charles, Matthew Bender Practice Guide: California Contract Litigation (Newark, NJ: LexisNexis, 2005- ). KFC 225 .C76 Law Reserve.

It's also on Lexis as the source "Matthew Bender Practice Guide: California Contract Litigation."

And there's even a USF School of Law connection: Jennifer Siegel, '02, wrote Chapter 3, "Determining Jurisdiction and Venue in Contract Actions."

Not asking the right questions at the Roberts Hearings?

Wired magazine has had its editorial ups-and-downs but it still manages to provoke a little thought about the intersection of technology and the law. In a recent article columnist Bruce Schneier posits that the Senate should have quizzed Supreme Court nominee John Roberts about some of the concerns that the Court will be facing in the future such as privacy expectations an individual should have in his or her genetic materials and the unprecedented wholesale surveillance of an individual by the government. To read the article (and respond in the Rants & Raves section) go to the complete article "A Sci-Fi Future Awaits the Court."

Can Lawyers Write English?

Can legal writing and clear, plain English co-exist peacefully?  Wayne Schiess thinks so, and makes a good case in his blog, Plain Legal Writing. In it, Schiess, the Director of Legal Writing at the Univ. of Texas School of Law, supplies advice, encouragement, and plenty of examples of effective and ineffective legal writing. And as one might hope from an expert in writing well, his posts are a pleasure to read.

Schiess's more un-blog-like publications include various article, and two books, Writing for the Legal Audience and Better Legal Writing.

[Thanks to Howard Bashman's How Appealing for the tip!]

New Research Expert Joins Zief

There is a  new research expert on the Zief Library reference staff! Terry Cullen, a graduate of the Univ. of Texas schools of law and library and information science, has just begun a stint as a part-time temporary reference librarian.

Terry joins the existing crew of research specialists—Angela Moore-Evans, John Shafer, and Lee Ryan.  She brings extensive experience working with students and faculty in academic law libraries, and will be generally be available two weekdays and Saturday each week.

Catch the Latest USF Law School News

All the latest USF Law School news appears in the September 19 issue of FYI, the online law school newsletter.  This issue features:

• a promotion for the BALSA⁄Law in Motion blood drive on September 28
• an invitation from the IP Law Bulletin to potential contributors
• an schedule of campus-wide events in  USF's "Campaign to End Homelessness in San Francisco
• an announcement of the students selected for advocacy teams for the 2005-2006 advance moot court competitions

Transcripts of the Roberts Nomination Hearings

A quick and easy way to get transcripts of the John Roberts confirmation hearings is to visit the University of Michigan Law Library's Hot Topics: Information on John Glover Roberts, Jr. page.

There, in the Confirmation Hearings section you'll find links to the Federal Document Clearing House's verbatim transcripts of the Judiciary committee hearings.

Supreme Court Nominations - Source Documents

The tireless folks at the Library of Congress's Law Library Reading Room have just launched these two collections of source documents on recent Supreme Court Nominations. The documents include floor debates (Senate debate while in Executive Session), votes, hearing transcripts, and Senate statements (statements made about the nominees outside of Executive Session).

• Supreme Court Nominations - Not Confirmed (covering Robert H. Bork, G. Harrold Carswell, Clement F. Haynsworth, and Homer Thornberry)
• Supreme Court Nominations - Confirmed (covering current justices plus Sandra Day O'Connor and the late William H. Rehnquist)

Beware! These documents are all in PDF format and some are quite large.

[Thanks to Emily Carr, Legal Reference Specialist at the Law Library of Congress, for the tip!]

An Op-Ed Piece from Prof. Dibadj

Professor Reza Dibadj's latest op-ed piece, "Government is bad, isn't it," appeared recently in the San Francisco Chronicle.  In the context of Hurricane Katrina, Prof. Dibadj reflects on the role of government in building and maintaining infrastructure.

[Articles and op-eds by Professor Dibadj are listed on the Zief Library's Faculty Publications page. The USF Law School web site has this profile of Professor Dibadj.]

Podcasting comes to CALI & the NYPD

Do you feel sensory deprived if you don’t have some sort of noise blasting through your earbuds at all times? Are you trying to block out annoying neighbors, housemates or family members? Or are you just interested in maximizing your commute time with some top-drawer podcasting? If you answered yes to any of the above then you might be interested in two new recently introduced podcasts.

CALI Radio.  From the good folks that bring you Computer Assisted Legal Instruction (CALI). You can download these episodes and listen to them while commuting or otherwise away from your books.  A new weekly podcast of law school faculty who (according to the CALI web site), “provide insight and tips on mastering  areas of the law, their CALI lesson, or understanding key cases.” To learn more and to start taking part in the fun go to the CALI website.

NYPD. That’s right “New York’s Finest” (you know they are because it says so right on their web page) are getting into the podcasting business. The inaugural offering discusses impending road closures, identity theft, and the 300 NYPD officers down in New Orleans. All delivered in that delightful accent that is unique to the Big Apple. To subscribe to this podcast or to listen  to the latest offering through your web browser go the NYPD web page.