This week in the Law Library we’re teaching advanced legal research, looking at resources for the Week of Abolition, and celebrating Women’s History Month.
This Week’s Research Sessions
Monday, March 4, 2024
Advanced Legal Research Criminal Law
Associate Dean Michael Whiteman and Instructional & Reference Services Librarian Ashley Russell
Room 107
2:00pm – 2:55pm
Tuesday, March 5, 2024
Advanced Legal Research Civil Litigation
Associate Director Susan Boland & Instructional & Reference Services Librarian Laura Dixon-Caldwell
Room 135
2:00pm – 2:55pm
Wednesday, March 6, 2024
Advanced Legal Research Ohio
Electronic Resources Instructional Services Librarian Ron Jones
Room 107
2:00pm – 2:55pm
Featured Study Aids
Examples & Explanations: Criminal Procedure 1 The Constitution and the Police
Available via the Aspen Learning Library subscription, this study aid provides provides an overview of Criminal Procedure, together with examples that illustrate how these principles apply in typical cases. The text gives students a sense of the theoretical flow and logic of law enforcement by following police procedural order. New to the 10th edition: Fourth Amendment limits on cell phone and computer searches; police accountability and the limits of the exclusionary rule; and the recent cutback on Miranda as a constitutional doctrine. A series of problems at the end of each section or chapter assist you in testing your understanding. Answers are provided for these problems.
Examples & Explanations: Criminal Procedure II From Bail to Jail
Available via the Aspen Learning Library subscription, this study aid provides an overview of Criminal Procedure, together with examples that illustrate how these principles apply in typical cases. The text additionally contains information on non-criminal trial remedies for prosecutorial misconduct; treatment of ABA standards, especially those relating to effective assistance of counsel; emphasis on the continuing struggle with rules of discovery, both as a constitutional matter, and as a matter of court rules, both federal and state; the expansion of the right to counsel, in Rothgery and other cases; and the Court’s willingness to impose on counsel, but not on judges, the duty to provide defendants prior to entry of a guilty plea of important information on collateral matters. A series of problems at the end of each section or chapter assist you in testing your understanding. Answers are provided for these problems.
Principles of Criminal Procedure
Available via the West Academic study aid subscription, this study aid gives you everything you need to know about basic criminal procedure principles. It includes references to recent, relevant decisions handed down by the United States Supreme Court. In addition, Principles of Criminal Procedure contains helpful study devices such as “focal points” at the beginning of each chapter, and “points to remember” at the end of each section.
Understanding Civil Procedure
Available via the LexisNexis Digital Library study aid subscription, this study aid is premised on the assumption that the key to understanding the principles of civil procedure is to know why: why the principles were created and why they are invoked. The treatise is written to answer these questions as it lays out the basic principles of civil procedure. Although they discuss important civil procedure cases in the text, thus supporting the most widely used civil procedure casebooks using these same cases, they also provide useful references to secondary sources and illustrative cases for the reader who wants to explore further.
Featured Guide
Exam Study Guide: Criminal Procedure
Did you know the Law Library can help you prepare for class and law school exams? Consult this guide for our criminal procedure resources.
Featured Treatise
Wright & Miller’s Federal Practice & Procedure
Available via Westlaw, this multi-volume treatise covers the federal rules of civil, criminal, and appellate procedure as well as the evidence rules, judicial system, personal jurisdiction, and more.
Featured Video
A Deeper Look into our Justice System
This TEDxUCincinnati features Prof. Mark Godsey discussing how innocent citizens end up with convictions and how we can minimize or even eliminate the high number of wrongful convections that happen in the United States each year.
Featured Website
The Sentencing Project
The Sentencing Project advocates for effective and humane responses to crime that minimize imprisonment and criminalization of youth and adults by promoting racial, ethnic, economic, and gender justice.
Week of Abolition
For the 2024 Week of Abolition (March 3 – March 9), the National Lawyers Guild Law Schools have decided to organize around the theme “Free Them All: Abolition and Political Prisoners.”
UC College of Law Events
Monday, March 4, 2024
NLG Week of Abolition Tabling, 12:15 – 1:15pm, Atrium
Swing by NLG’s table to learn more about current issues in abolition, decarceration, and general social justice. You will also be able to contribute to several of these causes through email and phone banking and donations. Through your contributions, you will earn ‘tickets’ in a raffle to win one of five copies of Freedom is a Constant Struggle by Angela Davis! Freedom is a Constant Struggle will also be NLG’s next Book Club book– more details for which will be announced at a later date.
Tuesday, March 5, 2024
Week of Abolition: Beyond Guilt with OJPC, 12:15 – 1:15pm, Room 140
Ohio Justice and Policy Center attorneys Professor Mark Vander Laan and Elijah Hack will be on campus to discuss OJPC’s Beyond Guilt project. Beyond Guilt aims to do for over-punished prisoners who admit guilt what innocence projects have for wrongfully convicted persons who claim actual innocence. Beyond Guilt is one answer to criminal legal system reform efforts that focus narrowly on a more palatable side of the reform movement—freeing innocent prisoners and people convicted of low-level, non-violent offenses at the expense of individuals convicted of more serious offenses, including violent crimes. Food will be provided
Week of Abolition: Screening of The Farm: Angola, USA, 6:00pm, Room 230
Enjoy some popcorn and other movie theater snacks with NLG for a viewing of The Farm: Angola, USA. The Farm is a groundbreaking documentary from 1998 that tells the story of seven inmates from the infamous Louisiana State Penitentiary. This Prison came to be known for its brutal conditions and modern-day slave labor. It sat on the land of a former plantation, and was commonly referred to as Angola in reference to the origin of the many slaves who were forced to labor there.
Wednesday, March 6, 2024
NLG Week of Abolition Tabling, 12:15 – 1:15pm, Atrium
Swing by NLG’s table to learn more about current issues in abolition, decarceration, and general social justice. You will also be able to contribute to several of these causes through email and phone banking and donations. Through your contributions, you will earn ‘tickets’ in a raffle to win one of five copies of Freedom is a Constant Struggle by Angela Davis! Freedom is a Constant Struggle will also be NLG’s next Book Club book– more details for which will be announced at a later date.
Thursday, March 7, 2024
Week of Abolition: Discussion with Professor Daniel J. Canon, 12:15 – 1:15pm, Room 140 or via Zoom
Join NLG for a discussion about abolition and the law with NLG Scholar Daniel J. Canon. Canon is a civil rights lawyer, educator, writer, and activist based in the Midwest. His research is focused primarily on the intersection of the labor movement and the criminal legal system, and the role of lawyers in creating social change. He is best known as lead counsel for the Kentucky plaintiffs in the landmark Supreme Court case of Obergefell v. Hodges, which brought marriage equality to all fifty states. Join in person or via Zoom. Food will be provided for in person attendees.
Friday, March 8, 2024
NLG Week of Abolition Tabling, 12:15 – 1:15pm, Atrium
Swing by NLG’s table to learn more about current issues in abolition, decarceration, and general social justice. You will also be able to contribute to several of these causes through email and phone banking and donations. Through your contributions, you will earn ‘tickets’ in a raffle to win one of five copies of Freedom is a Constant Struggle by Angela Davis! Freedom is a Constant Struggle will also be NLG’s next Book Club book– more details for which will be announced at a later date.
Selected Resources to Learn More About Mass Incarceration
Jeffrey Bellin, Mass Incarceration Nation: How the United States Became Addicted to Prisons and Jails and How It Can Recover (e-Book)
The United States imprisons a higher proportion of its population than any other nation. Mass Incarceration Nation offers a novel, in-the-trenches perspective to explain the factors – historical, political, and institutional – that led to the current system of mass imprisonment. This book examines the causes and impacts of mass incarceration on both the political and criminal justice systems. With accessible language and straightforward statistical analysis, former prosecutor turned law professor Jeffrey Bellin provides a formula for reform to return to the low incarceration rates that characterized the United States prior to the 1970s
Andrew Skotnicki, Injustice and Prophecy in the Age of Mass Incarceration: The Politics of Sanity (e-Book)
Why do the UK and US disproportionately incarcerate the mentally ill? Via multiple re-framings of the question – theological, socioeconomic, and psychological – Andrew Skotnicki diagnoses a ‘persecution of the prophetic’ at the heart of the contemporary penal system and society more broadly.
Katherine Beckett, Ending Mass Incarceration: Why It Persists and How to Achieve Meaningful Reform (e-Book)
In this book, Katherine Beckett explains how and why mass incarceration persists despite growing recognition of its many failures, plummeting crime rates, and widespread efforts by state legislators and others to reduce prison populations. Beckett identifies three primary forces sustaining incarceration rates in this country: political dynamics around violence, resistance to criminal legal system reform in suburban and rural counties, and the failure of popular drug policy reforms to reduce the reach of the criminal legal system. Most reform efforts to date have limited themselves in ways that are politically palatable but do little to curb key drivers of mass incarceration. Drawing on extensive research, she argues for political and policy shifts that would significantly reduce the scale of punishment while also addressing the underlying social problems to which those extreme penalties are a misguided response.
Franklin E. Zimring, The Insidious Momentum of American Mass Incarceration (e-Book)
The phenomenal growth of penal confinement in the United States in the last quarter of the twentieth century is still a public policy mystery. Why did it happen when it happened? What explains the unprecedented magnitude of prison and jail expansion. Why are the current levels of penal confinement so very close to the all-time peak rate reached in 2007? What is the likely course of levels of penal confinement in the next generation of American life? Are there changes in government or policy that can avoid the prospect of mass incarceration as a chronic element of governance in the United States. This study is organized around four major concerns: What happened in the 33 years after 1973? Why did these extraordinary changes happen in that single generation? What is likely to happen to levels of penal confinement in the next three decades? What changes in law or practice might reduce this likely penal future?
Anthony B. Bradley, Ending Overcriminalization and Mass Incarceration: Hope from Civil Society (e-Book)
Mass incarceration is an overwhelming problem and reforms are often difficult, leading to confusion about what to do and where to start. Ending Overcriminalization and Mass Incarceration: Hope from Civil Society introduces the key issues that need immediate attention and provides concrete direction about effective solutions systemically and relationally. In this work Anthony B. Bradley recognizes that offenders are persons with inherent dignity. Mass incarceration results from the systemic breakdown of criminal law procedure and broken communities. Using the principle of personalism, attention is drawn to those areas that directly contact the lives of offenders and determine their fate. Bradley explains how reform must be built from the person up, and once these areas are reformed our law enforcement culture will change for the better. Taking an innovative approach, Anthony B. Bradley explores what civic institutions need to do to prevent people from falling into the criminal justice system and recidivism for those released from prison.
March Is Women’s History Month
This month is Women’s History Month and the Law Library will be celebrating all month with our display, candy, and blog postings. Women’s History Month had its origins as a national celebration in 1981 when Congress passed Pub. L. 97-28 which authorized and requested the President to proclaim the week beginning March 7, 1982 as “Women’s History Week.” Throughout the next five years, Congress continued to pass joint resolutions designating a week in March as “Women’s History Week.” In 1987 after being petitioned by the National Women’s History Project, Congress passed Pub. L. 100-9 which designated the month of March 1987 as “Women’s History Month.” Between 1988 and 1994, Congress passed additional resolutions requesting and authorizing the President to proclaim March of each year as Women’s History Month. Since 1995, Presidents have issued a series of annual proclamations designating the month of March as “Women’s History Month.”
The 2024 Women’s History theme is “Women Who Advocate for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.” According to the National Women’s History Alliance, “During 2024, we recognize the example of women who are committed to embracing everyone and excluding no one in our common quest for freedom and opportunity. They know that people change with the help of families, teachers and friends, and that young people in particular need to learn the value of hearing from different voices with different points of view as they grow up.”
UC Events Celebrating Women’s History Month
Law Library Women’s History Month Display
Stop by in the next few weeks to view our exhibit, curated by Rhonda Wiseman, spotlighting alumni, women leaders, and monographs from our collection that focus on the history and journey of women’s rights and women’s contributions to the legal community and beyond. Of particular note is the special section of the display honoring Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, who visited UC Law to dedicate the refurbished Taft Hall and delivered the fourth William Howard Taft Lecture on Constitutional Law.
Women in Law Donation Drive for Women Helping Women, Library
Women in Law is collecting donations to support Women Helping Women (a local organization working to prevent gender-based violence and support victims). Items to be collected include:
Diapers (sizes 4-6)
Feminine hygiene products
Full size and travel size toiletries (especially body wash and shampoo)
A donation box will be located in the library from March 4 until March 8 (at noon).
Women’s History Month at the UCBA Library
This year’s selections highlight the 2024 theme for Women’s History Month – “Women Who Advocate for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.”
UC Clermont Frederick A. Marcotte Library Digital Display for Women’s History Month
Women as Artists, Patrons, and Rulers in Renaissance Europe at DAAP March 7 to April 8, 2024
Co-curated by Christopher Platts, UC DAAP assistant professor of art history, Elizabeth Meyer, head of the DAAP Library and Mike Ruzga, an independent art conservator, the exhibition focuses on Hemessen, the most famous woman artist of the Northern Renaisssance, her signed painting of Christ’s Passion from 1556 and her patron, Mary Hungary, Governor of the Netherlands.
UC Alumni Association Celebrates Women’s History Month
Ever since Winona Lee Hawthorne became the first female to earn a degree from the University of Cincinnati in 1878, women have built an impressive legacy as Bearcat students and alumnae. Today, women constitute the majority of each graduating class, and their achievements continue to elevate the institution, their communities and their chosen fields. For these reasons, the UC Alumni Association proudly marks Women’s History Month — celebrating the excellence of the past and present while eagerly anticipating the greatness that lies ahead.
UC PPGen – Women’s History Month Trivia
Monday, March 4, 2024
5:30pm-6:30pm
UC Women’s Center (571 Steger) from
Join UC PPGen to play Women’s History Trivia to celebrate WHM and win some Planned Parenthood merchandise.
International Women’s Day Panel
Tuesday, March 5, 2024
12:30pm – 1:30pm
UCBA Auditorium – Muntz 119
In honor of International Women’s Day imagine a gender equal world. A world free of bias, stereotypes, and discrimination. A world that’s diverse, equitable, and inclusive. A world where difference is valued and celebrated. Join the Business & Economics Department’s annual event to celebrate International Women’s Day-a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. Come Celebrate with these amazing women from our community and hear how they have set a trend in their industries and the importance of this year’s IWD Theme: #InspireInclusion.
International Women’s Day Celebration: UC Fems x BFC
Tuesday, March 5, 2024
4:30pm – 5:30pm
Women’s Center, 571 Steger
Come celebrate International Women’s Day with the UC Feminists and the Black Feminist Collective! Help create an IWD themed poster to hang in Steger, play games for prizes, and enjoy some free refreshments.
5 Resources to Learn More about Women’s History
ABA, Women Leading the Way (PDF)
Learn more about trailblazing women, especially those in the legal profession, in US history. View short bios and see highlights of women recently honored by the various ABA Goal III Entities, including activists, judges, and other trailblazers.
ABA Commission on Women in the Profession, 21 Day Grit and Growth Mindset Challenge
The ABA Commission on Women in the Profession created the Grit Project “to educate women lawyers about the science behind grit and growth mindset – two important traits that many successful women lawyers have in common.” Grit and growth mindset, in turn, help to build resilience and confidence. When combined with a sense of purpose, authenticity and community, these traits help to keep women in the profession – even while we work to address the larger systemic challenges that threaten to deplete the number of women practicing law. The 21 Day Grit and Growth Mindset Challenge was created to help you develop and enhance your grit and growth mindset by consistently engaging in short, daily challenges: reading thought provoking articles, watching videos, reviewing case studies, and taking concrete, habit-forming actions. Do them on your own, or form a Grit Group to unpack the challenges and learnings together.
ABA, Commission on Women in the Profession, Celebrating Women’s Leadership (Video)
This year, women are leading the majority of national bar associations across the United States. In celebration of Women’s History Month, the ABA’s Commission on Women in the Profession is proud to host many of these women presidents for a lively discussion. Join ABA President Deborah Enix-Ross and Commission on Women in the Profession Chair Hon. Maureen Mulligan as they lead a robust roundtable discussion about the history of the advancement of women in the legal profession as well as the lessons learned by this esteemed group as they carved their paths to the top of the profession.
In the legal profession, still largely dominated by male leaders, it isn’t easy for any woman to rise to the top. But women of color face even more significant hurdles and unique challenges. Among the major issues they face: pay disparities (gender and race), unconscious bias, and access to leadership training. In the first installment of the ABA YLD’s How Women of Color Can Overcome Challenges to Thrive in the Legal Profession Series, Wendy Shiba and Melissa Murray open up about what drives them, how they’ve overcome obstacles and their tips for success.
ABA, Commission on Women, Motherhood and Caregiving Bias in the Legal Profession: Dismantling the Systemic Barriers to Equity (Video)
What is the motherhood/caregiving penalty? Why is it still not recognized despite the value in weaving the human condition of caregiving into organizational culture? How do organizations implement procedures and decision-making for institutional change to ensure the success of mothers and caregivers? Join us for a lively discussion about dismantling the systemic barriers to equity and the perpetuation of bias, using an intersectional approach.