This Week in the Law Library …

This week in the Law Library we’re teaching cost effective legal research and research using low cost and free legal resources, as well as Advanced Legal Research. We’re turning the spotlight on resources for legal writing and citation, reminding you about all of the great resources you can access to study for final exams, celebrating Arab American Heritage Month, and previewing Ohio Supreme Court oral arguments.

This Week’s Research Sessions

Monday, Apr. 11, 2022

Advanced Legal Research

Legal Technology & Research Instructional Services Librarian, Shannon Kemen & Electronic Resources​  & Instructional Technology Librarian Ron Jones
1:30pm – 2:55pm
Room 100A

Tuesday, Apr. 12, 2022

Advocacy, section 6

Legal Technology & Research Instructional Services Librarian, Shannon Kemen
Cost Effective Searching
10:40am – 12:05pm
Room 100B

Advocacy, section 1

Associate Dean of Library Services, Michael Whiteman
Low Cost & Free Legal Resources
1:30pm – 2:55pm
Room 204

Advocacy, section 3

Legal Technology & Research Instructional Services Librarian, Shannon Kemen
Cost Effective Searching
1:30pm – 2:55pm
Room 100A

Advocacy, section 5

Electronic Resources​  & Instructional Technology Librarian Ron Jones
Low Cost & Free Legal Resources
3:05pm – 4:30pm
Room 104

Wednesday, Apr. 13, 2022

Advanced Legal Research

Legal Technology & Research Instructional Services Librarian, Shannon Kemen & Electronic Resources​  & Instructional Technology Librarian Ron Jones
1:30pm – 2:55pm
Room 100A

Thursday, Apr. 14, 2022

Advocacy, Sec. 4

Associate Director Susan Boland
Cost Effective Searching
10:40am – 12:05pm
Room 100B

Oral Argument Help

As you begin oral arguments in your Advocacy class, be sure and check out the resources on our Oral Advocacy Guide and our previously featured resources!

Legal Research Competency & Legal Technology Competency programs

The Law library is pleased to announce the launch of two new learning opportunities for UC law students. The Legal Research Competency and Legal Technology Competency programs are designed to provide UC law students with additional skills to build their resume. Successfully completing one, or both, of these programs will show potential employers that you are ready to handle complex legal research issues, and that you are skilled in using the technology tools that are prevalent in today’s practice of law.

Legal Technology Competency Guide

Featured Study Aids

Legal Citation in a Nutshell

Available via the West Academic Study Aid subscription, this nutshell provides a useful reference resource to aid students in formulating citations. Learning legal citation is one of the difficult (and sometimes admittedly annoying) tasks that students new to the law face. This book is designed to ease that task. It initially focuses on conventions that underlie all accepted forms and systems of legal citation. Building on that understanding and an explanation of the process of using citations in legal writing, the book then discusses and illustrates the particular rules of The Bluebook and the ALWD Citation Guide for citing cases, statutes, and all other major legal sources.

Legal Writing: Examples & Explanations

Available via the Aspen Learning Library, this study aid covers different types of legal writing. Part IV covers revising and rewriting.

Skills & Values: Lawyering Process, Legal Writing & Advocacy

Available via the LexisNexis Digital Library, Chapter 7 in this text covers legal citation. It includes practice exercises. Chapters 8 & 9 cover writing, editing, and proofreading.

Featured Guide

Bluebook Citation 101 — Academic Format

If writing a seminar paper, you will need to provide correct attribution to your sources. Failure to do so can result in plagiarism issues! This guide covers Bluebook rules and styles for academic legal writing.

Featured Treatise

Scholarly Writing for Law Students

Available in the Law Reserves KF250 .F35 2011, this book teaches law students how to write scholarly papers for seminars, law reviews, and law-review competitions and how to have their work recognized. It helps novices and more experienced scholars alike to write papers with a minimum of anxiety and a maximum of creativity. Employing a process theory of writing, the text first describes the enterprise of scholarly writing and then discusses techniques for brainstorming topics and theses, researching, drafting, and revising for substance and style. It covers both traditional doctrinal topics and newer areas like empirical studies. There are also chapters on footnotes, avoiding plagiarism, law review practice, and dissemination of student work through publication and submission to national writing competitions. Appendices provide a sample law-review competition paper, answers to in-text exercises, sample syllabi for scholarly writing courses, and a rubric for evaluating and editing scholarly papers and articles.

Featured Website

Introduction to Basic Legal Citation

This online publication is indexed to both ALWD and Bluebook citation manuals. The content of this guide is also available in three different e-book formats: 1) a pdf version; 2) a version designed specifically for use on the full range of Kindles as well as other readers or apps using the Mobi format; and 3) a version in ePub format.

Featured Video

Citation Tips & Tricks for Moot Court: Brief Formatting & Citation Tools

This video looks at using Word and citation tools such as Lexis for Microsoft Office to help you with Bluebook citation. It is 6:54 minutes long and features closed captioning and a table of contents.

Celebrate Arab American Heritage Month

April is National Arab American Heritage Month (NAAHM) and celebrates the heritage, culture, and contributions of Arab Americans. Immigrants with origins from the Arab world have been arriving to the United States since before our country’s independence and have contributed to our nation’s advancements in science, business, technology, foreign policy, and national security.

President Biden Tweet

U.S. State Department Press Statement

According to the Arab American Institute, “Today, it is estimated that nearly 3.7 million Americans trace their roots to an Arab country. Arab Americans are found in every state, but more than two thirds of them live in just ten states: California, Michigan, New York, Florida, Texas, New Jersey, Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. Metropolitan Los Angeles, Detroit, and New York are home to one-third of the population.” Ohio has one of the fastest growing Arab populations in the country.

Selected Resources to Learn More for Arab American Heritage Month

Take the ABA’s 21-Day Practice on Creating Inclusive Spaces and Combating Islamophobia.The Practice invites participants to complete a syllabus of 21 daily, short assignments (typically taking 15-30 minutes), over 21 consecutive days, that includes readings, videos, or podcasts. The assignments seek to expose participants to perspectives on elements of the Muslim American experience, including perspectives on Muslim history, identity and culture, and the experience of anti-Muslim bias in America, there are assignments that focus on the unique experience of Muslim lawyers in America, as well as assignments that explore how lawyers of all races can and must share in the work of bringing greater racial equity to the legal profession. This syllabus is but an introduction to what we hope will be a rewarding journey that extends far beyond the limits of this project.

Arab American National Museum (AANM) – The Arab American National Museum (AANM) is the first and only museum of its kind in the United States devoted to recording the Arab American experience.

Arab American History and Culture, Smithsonian – In 1962, Dr. Alixa Naff set out to tell the story of Arab immigrants from Syria and Lebanon. In addition to investigating an area that had received little scholarly attention, her use of oral history as the basis of the research was innovative. In 1984, Naff donated her collection including the oral histories, archival materials, and artifacts to the National Museum of American History. You can read about her in “Voices from the past: Arab American Oral Histories” and explore items from her collection and others related to Arab American history and culture from across the Smithsonian. Faris and Guide to the Faris and Yamna Naff Arab American Collection.

The Arab American Historical Foundation – The Arab American Historical Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to promote research, preservation and dissemination of Arab American history and culture, enhancing and building better understanding of Americans of Arab descent.

Beatrice Alvarez, Celebrate Arab American Heritage Month, PBS (Mar. 31, 2022). Every April, PBS celebrates Arab American Heritage Month by sharing films about Arab American communities and documentaries by Arab American filmmakers.

April Oral Arguments at the Ohio Supreme Court

You can view the live stream of oral arguments on the Court’s website or see them after the arguments take place in the Ohio Channel archives.

Ohio Supreme Court Chamber

Tuesday, Apr. 12, 2022

State v. Lewis – whether a court of appeals lacks authority to make a de novo determination of the credibility of an affidavit filed in a post-conviction proceeding under Ohio Rev. Code 2953.21. Court News Ohio Oral Argument Preview

Disciplinary Counsel v. Judge Pinkey S. Carr – The Board of Professional Conduct recommended a two-year suspension for Cleveland Municipal Judge Pinkey Carr.Judge Carr objects to the proposed sanction and the decision about mitigating evidence related to her health. Court News Ohio Oral Argument Preview

State v. Barnes – whether a a defendant has a reasonable and legitimate basis to withdraw a guilty plea before sentencing after learning of evidence that would have changed the defendant’s decision to plead guilty. Court News Ohio Oral Argument Preview

State v. Bunch – (1) whether the defense lawyer’s cross-examination of an eyewitness, without consulting with or calling an expert to question the witness’ credibility, was ineffective assistance of counsel; (2) whether a child can be transferred to adult court without a finding that they are not amendable to treatment in juvenile court; (3) whether it is reversible error for the trial court to fail to state that it is holding the hearing pursuant to Ohio Rev. Code 2950.09(B); and (4) whether the trial court erred when it sentenced Chaz Bunch because the findings supporting consecutive sentences are clearly and convincingly not supported by the record and the sentence is contrary to law. Court News Ohio Oral Argument Preview

Wednesday, Apr. 13, 2022

Navistar Inc. v. Dutchmaid Logistics Inc. – (1) whether a claim that a contract was secured by fraudulent lack of disclosure be pursued if the claim contradicts the express disclaimer in the parties’ written contract; and (2) whether a party must prove they suffered damages from the fraud that are in addition to the damages from the breach when both a breach of contract and a fraud claim are brought in the same suit. Court News Ohio Oral Argument Preview

State v. Bollar (Case Nos. 2021-0756 and 2021-0769) – (1) whether a a trial court impose a prison sentence for an enhanced penalty, or “specification,” that is attached to an offense that the court merged with another offense at sentencing; and (2) whether state law authorizes cumulative punishments for multiple firearm specifications that were committed as part of one act. Court News Ohio Oral Argument Preview

City of Maple Heights v. Netflix Inc. – (1) whether Netflix and Hulu are “video service providers” under Ohio law, and must they pay franchise fees to municipalities enforcement program; (2) whether under the state’s cable competition laws, a municipality can file a lawsuit to enforce provisions of the state law, or does the director of the Ohio Department of Commerce retain sole enforcement authority. Court News Ohio Oral Argument Preview

Legally Speaking Blog Entries for This Week’s Oral Arguments

Prof. Marianna Brown Bettman,Oral Argument Preview: Can a Contractual Warranty Disclaimer Bar a Tort Fraud Claim Based on the Same Facts and Damages? Navistar Inc. v. Dutchmaid Logistics Inc. (Student contributor James Gravely)

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