This Week in the Law Library …

This week in the law library we continue our exam preparations and celebrate the final days of American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month.

This Week’s Library Sessions

Tuesday, November 30, 2021

Technology in Law Practice

Shannon Kemen, Legal Technology & Research Instructional Services Librarian
11:10am – 12:05pm
Room 208

Thursday, December 1 , 2021

Technology in Law Practice

Shannon Kemen, Legal Technology & Research Instructional Services Librarian
11:10am – 12:05pm
Room 208

Schwartz Lecture

Accidental Origins and Haphazard Construction of Tort

Tuesday, Nov. 30, 2021
12:25pm – 1:15pm
Professor Nora Freeman Engstrom, Ernest W. McFarland Professor of Law, Co-Director, Stanford Center on the Legal Profession, Stanford Law School
Professor Engstrom will argue that there is no God or Master Imminence who designed tort law, and, contrary to the view of many tort theorists, there is no meta-theory that explains it. Instead, similar to John Fabian Witt’s “contingency” account of tort law, she will argue that tort law’s invention and evolution was, fittingly, accidental. With that established, she’ll pivot to ponder the question: If not some meta theory, what does explain tort law, as it currently exists?

Final Exams Are Coming And We Can Help!

The Law Library has many resources to help you prepare for final exams. Be sure and see our Exam Study Guide for more information!

Fall 2021 Law Library Final Exam Preparation Workshop Video (video is accessible to UC Law students only through the Law School Sample / Practice Exams TWEN link so UC Law students unable to access the TWEN site should notify Susan Boland)

Did you miss the live session? Check out the video. Join Electronic Resources Instructional Services Librarian Ron Jones and Associate Director Susan Boland as we check out CALI, Lexis Overdrive, West Academic, & Wolters Kluwer study aids. We’ll look at which study aids are for general exam preparation, which study aids are for help in understanding material, which study aids are for help in case briefing, which study aids are for help in outlining, and which study aids are for help in essay vs multiple choice exam preparation. We will also cover study methods and learning theory.

Past Blog Postings on General Final Exam Preparation:

Study Tips & Law Library Resources for Outlining

Study Aids to Help You with Different Exam Formats & Study Aids for Exam Review

American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month

This month is American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month! In 1990, President George H.W. Bush signed a joint congressional resolution designating November 1990 as “National American Indian Heritage Month.” Similar proclamations have been issued every year since 1994. Celebrate with us as we explore the contributions and history of the Native people in the United States of America.

5 More Selected Resources to Learn More About American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage

Margaret D. Jacobs, After One Hundred Winters: In Search of Reconciliation on America’s Stolen Lands (2021) (e-Book)

After One Hundred Winters confronts the harsh truth that the United States was founded on the violent dispossession of Indigenous people and asks what reconciliation might mean in light of this haunted history. In this timely and urgent book, settler historian Margaret Jacobs tells the stories of the individuals and communities who are working together to heal historical wounds—and reveals how much we have to gain by learning from our history instead of denying it.

American Indian Law Deskbook

Available on Westlaw, American Indian Law Deskbook is a concise, direct, and easy-to-understand handbook on Indian law.

Kouslaa T. Kessler-Mata, American Indians and the Trouble with Sovereignty : Structuring Self-determination through Federalism (e-Book)

With tribes and individual Indians increasingly participating in American electoral politics, this study examines the ways in which tribes work together with state and local governments to overcome significant governance challenges. Much scholarship on tribal governance continues to rely on a concept of tribal sovereignty that does not allow for or help structure this type of governance activity. The resulting tension which emerges in both theory and practice from American Indian intergovernmental affairs is illuminated here and the limits of existing theory are confronted. Kessler-Mata presents an argument for tribal sovereignty to be normatively understood and pragmatically pursued through efforts aimed at interdependence, not autonomy. By turning toward theories of federalism and freedom in the republican tradition, the author provides an alternative framework for thinking about the goals and aspirations of tribal self-determination.

Reading American Indian Law Foundational Principles (Grant Christensen & Melissa L. Tatum eds., 2020) (e-Book)

The study of American Indian law and policy usually focuses on federal statutes and court decisions, with these sources forming the basis for most textbooks. Virtually ignored is the robust and growing body of scholarly literature analyzing and contextualizing these primary sources. Reading American Indian Law is designed to fill that void. Organized into four parts, this book presents 16 of the most impactful law review articles written during the last three decades. Collectively, these articles explore the core concepts underlying the field: the range of voices including those of tribal governments and tribal courts, the role property has played in federal Indian law, and the misunderstandings between both people and sovereigns that have shaped changes in the law.

William Norman Thompson, Native American Issues : A Reference Handbook (1996) (e-Book)

Native American Issues: A Reference Handbook explores the history, problems, and contemporary issues faced by peoples of Native American heritage. From the Indian Removal Act of 1830 to the “Twenty Points” platform advanced by the American Indian Movement in the 1970s to the massive budget cuts of the 1980s, readers will discover how the well-being of Native Americans has been affected by federal and state policies.

November Arguments at the United States Supreme Court

US Supreme Court - corrected

From SCOTUS Blog:

Monday, November 29, 2021

Becerra v. Empire Health Foundation — whether, for purposes of calculating additional payment for hospitals that serve a “significantly disproportionate number of low-income patients,” the secretary of health and human services has permissibly included in a hospital’s Medicare fraction all of the hospital’s patient days of individuals who satisfy the requirements to be entitled to Medicare Part A benefits, regardless of whether Medicare paid the hospital for those particular days.

Tuesday, November 30, 2021

American Hospital Association v. Becerra — (1) whether deference under Chevron U.S.A. v. Natural Resources Defense Council permits the Department of Health and Human Services to set reimbursement rates based on acquisition cost and vary such rates by hospital group if it has not collected adequate hospital acquisition cost survey data; and (2) whether petitioners’ suit challenging HHS’s adjustments is precluded by 42 U.S.C. § 1395l(t)(12).

Cummings v. Premier Rehab Keller, P.L.L.C. — whether the compensatory damages available under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the statutes that incorporate its remedies for victims of discrimination, such as the Rehabilitation Act and the Affordable Care Act, include compensation for emotional distress.

Wednesday, December 1, 2021

Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization — whether all pre-viability prohibitions on elective abortions are unconstitutional.

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