ZiefBrief

You Can't Vote Smart Unless You Know What You Are Voting For -- Cal LAO Posts 9/06 Ballot Proposition Analysis

Thomas Jefferson said: "Whenever the people are well-informed, they can be trusted with their own government..." (for much more on TJ check out the Jefferson Digital Archive maintained by the library at the University of Virginia) California voters rely on the Legislative Analyst's Office for unbiased information on pending ballot propositions. Policy wonks, lobbyists, and the politically impatient can now read the LAO's take on the November 7th, 2006 ballot propositions right now. For the historically minded the LAO also has collected their election-by-election analysis's back to March of 1996. This information is included in the full voter information guide distributed to each and every voter (the pending full guide is available from the California Secretary of States web site.)

Enliven Your Commute With a Legal Podcast

If the drive is too long and the traffic too congested, create a little diversion by firing up a legal podcast on the MP3 player of your choice. As you might expect from such a wordy profession, there are plenty of candidates.

Here are a few ways to see what's available:

• search iTunes, Podcast Alley, or Podzinger using generic terms like "law" or "lawyer" or "legal," or more specific terms like "supreme court."
• Browse the Blawg.org Podcasts - Plawdcasts category, or The Blogs of Law Podcasts category, or CALI Radio's podcasts for law students.
• Take a look at Jim Mille's legal podcaster Frappr! map.  [Thanks to Robert Ambrogi for the tip on this one.]

Westlaw's 50 State Regulatory Surveys - Relieving (Some of) the Pain of Multi-State Regulatory Research

Here in St. Louis, ZiefBrief got a first look at a brand new Westlaw database, "50 State Regulatory Surveys" (REG-SURVEYS).

Government executive agency regulations (the third leg of the primary law triad of cases, statutes and regulations) don't seem to get much exposure in the law school curriculum, yet out in law practice most clients' affairs will be subject to any number of federal and state regulations. And clients doing business across the country will be subject to regulations from all 50 states.

Yet searching state by state to identify rules and regulations affecting a client (or relating to an issue in an academic paper or article) used to be, well, beyond awful doesn't even begin to describe it.

Westlaw's REG-SURVEYS database alleviates much of the pain. The West editors have already searched out and listed the regulations from each state that bear on each topic. All you have to do is use the "table of contents" to browse the topics for the issue at hand, or enter a regular Westlaw search.

West launched REG-SURVEYS last Friday with about 60 surveys in 4 broad categories (blue sky laws, employment, health care, and insurance), and more surveys are in the works.

One warning for the folks who aren't lucky enough to qualify for a law school Westlaw account: proceed with fiscal caution. The scope information for the REG-SURVEYS contains the chilling (at least to a law firm librarian) advisory: "'Super Allfiles' billing rate applies to this Premier Advantage database." That's about as much as you can pay for Westlaw searching, so consult with your librarian or a West research attorney for cost-saving tips before wading in to the REG-SURVEYS.

[Update: 12.13.2006. If you are doing 50-state statutory research, see our post 50-State Statute Surveys - Making an Onerous Research Task a Little Easier.]

OMB to Fed. Computer Users: "Clean Up Your Act!"

In light of a number of boneheaded regrettable incidents involving laptop thefts that resulted in egregious security lapses the Executive Branch has sprung into action. Clay Johnson III, the Deputy Director for Management for the Office of Management and Budget has issued a strongly worded memorandum (link to the offical memo in .pdf format) for the edification of all heads of federal departments and agencies (that's Clay's picture to the left).

Clay has given the government 45 days to set up procedures to make sure that workers: "Encrypt all data on mobile computers/devices which carry agency data unless the data is determined to be non-sensitive, in writing, by your Deputy Secretary or an individual he/she may designate in writing; .... Allow remote access only with two-factor authentication where one of the factors is provided by a device separate from the computer gaining access; ... Use a “time-out” function for remote access and mobile devices requiring user reauthentication after 30 minutes inactivity; and ... Log all computer-readable data extracts from databases holding sensitive information and verify each extract including sensitive data has been erased within 90 days or its use is still required."

Thanks to BoingBoing for this timely tip.

Judging the Killing Fields of Cambodia - Khmer Rouge Trial Task Force

Cambodia has taken another step closer to trying former Khmer Rouge officials on charges of genocide, according to reports in today's news: Judges sworn in for Khmer Rouge (BBC); and Khmer Rouge genocide tribunal judges sworn in at Cambodia royal palace (Jurist Paper Chase).

Trials may begin in 2007, and will cover events that took place during 1975-1979.

Official information is available from the Khmer Rouge Trial Task Force web site, which includes relevant legislation, indictments, a chronology, and an introduction to the trials.