This week in the Law Library we’re looking at more bar exam resources, reviewing basic legal research skills for summer, and continuing to celebrate Pride Month.
Bar Exam Study Resources
Congratulations! You have made it through law school but now the bar exam looms. Don’t worry, the Law Library’s got your back. When you’ve caught your breath and you’re ready to start your bar studying, we have resources that can help. Check out our Bar Exam Research Guide.
The July 2024 bar examination will be administered at the Roberts Centre, 123 Gano Road, Wilmington, Ohio July 30-31, 2024. The Holiday Inn Roberts Centre room block opens on May 14, 2024, at 11 am. Learn more at: Ohio Bar Exam
5 More Resources to Help You Study for the Bar Exam
The Bar Exam is not a sprint, it’s a marathon so pace yourself! Check out this week’s Bar Exam Resource highlights below.
A Short & Happy Guide to the MPT
Available through the West Academic study aid subscription, this guide teaches you how to take advantage of test formulas and patterns by identifying the basic underlying formulas on which every MPT is constructed and the standard performance expectations. It then shows you how to develop a set of standard strategies, create a process for approaching any MPT, and accurately assess your performance. By learning the formula, developing an efficient and effective approach that comports with performance expectations, you will be prepared to score high on any MPT and no problem will take you by surprise.
MPT and MPT Point Sheets
These describe the factual and legal points encompassed within the lawyering task to be completed by applicants for each of the tests and outline possible issues and points that might be addressed by an examinee. These MPTs and Point Sheets are available online from the National Conference of Bar Examiners.
A Short & Happy Guide to Conquering the MBE
Available through the West Academic study aid subscription, this small volume will show you how to use practice multiple-choice questions to greatest advantage. That involves changing the way you approach those questions. Conquering the MBE gives you a step-by-step process for attacking every multiple-choice question in every MBE subject, with lots of examples. You will discover that most questions offer review of four concepts rather than just one, and they do so on concrete contexts, not in the abstract. You will also discover that when you do this step-by-step review, one answer, and only one answer, is correct.
Mastering Multiple Choice for Federal Civil Procedure MBE Bar Prep and 1L Exam Prep
Available through the West Academic study aid subscription, this fourth edition (expanded with new questions, new answers, and new explanations) encompasses material reflecting all Civil Procedure Rule amendments through December 2021, along with applicable new case law through February 2022. This multiple choice practice book is designed for: (a) bar exam takers, who are preparing to take the MBE multiple choice bar exam, and (b) 1L law students, who are preparing to take their course examinations. This practice book offers practical, easy-to-follow advice on multiple choice exam-taking strategies, clear suggestions on effective multiple choice practicing techniques, and a robust set of Civil Procedure multiple choice practice questions with answers and explanations (designed to simulate MBE-style questions). Tables help users decode the tested-topic for each practice question.
A Short & Happy Guide to the Bar Exam’s Multistate Essay Examination (MEE)
Available through the West Academic study aid subscription, this book is a one-source resource for what you need to maximize your performance on the MEE—not a generic essay writing guide, but a treasury of information, issue identification, and subject area frameworks tailored specifically for the MEE. This book teaches you about preparing for and taking the MEE to achieve the highest possible essay scores, beginning with how to use the individual Subject Charts (organized by MEE subject) and Table of Issues (organized by bar administration). These charts identify every issue and sub-issue tested on the MEE over the past 14 years, thus letting you see the frequency of tested topics and gain familiarity with how they are tested.
You can see the previous week’s featured bar exam resources on our June 17, June 10, May 28, and May 21 posts.
Summer Legal Research Tips
Previously, we looked at initial steps to take when you get a summer research project, secondary sources, researching statutes in annotated codes, statutory finding tools, and updating and validating statutes. Start by identifying the resources available to you at your place of summer employment and ask questions. Develop a research plan. Read more about developing a research plan on our Research Strategy & Documentation guide. Then you may need to do background research about your issue before jumping into primary sources such as statutes and case law. A good secondary source can explain the law around your issue and cite you to primary sources. It can save you a lot of time and effort! Learn more about researching in secondary sources in our Researching Secondary Sources Guide or watch our videos on finding and searching within the various secondary source types. If your issue is statutory, you want to use an annotated code. An annotated code is a great research tool because it offers editorial enhancements such as: (1) cross references to related statutes and regulations; (2) more detailed historical notes, secondary source references; (3) if it is a Thomson Reuters code you will get topic and key number references to help you find cases; and (3) the case annotations. Once in an annotated code, use the statutory finding tools like indexes, tables of contents, parallel reference tables, and the popular names table to find the statutory sections you need. Update and validate your statutes by making sure that you are working with the most current version of a statute when researching a current issue and using Shepards and KeyCite to validate your statute and to identify any pending legislation that may impact your statute. This week we will cover how to research historical codes. Learn more about researching statutes in our Researching Statutes Guide or watch our videos on using citators to validate statutes.
Effective Dates
You will need to connect the timeline of your cause of action or issue with the statute version that was in effect at that time. If the statute has been amended or repealed since the time in question, it is likely that the prior version is the one you will need to research. Always be aware of the timelines and any amendment history of relevant statutory provisions, including the date on which the amendment became or becomes effective!
The effective date is the date on which a statute becomes operative and enforceable. This date may or may not be the same date as the signing date or the date that a bill was passed. Generally, in the federal system, a law becomes effective when it has been enacted. There are exceptions to this since a law may have a specific effective date stated within it. The date of enactment is most easily located by looking at the list of session laws creating and amending a statute that are directly after the text of a statute in a code.
Many states have codified the effective dates for their statutes so that a law generally becomes effective on a certain date or number of days. For example, some states provide that laws become effective 90 days after signed. Other states provide that they become effective 6-months after being signed. Still others may provide a specific month such as October 1. Do be aware, however, that there are emergency effective dates for statutes. In Ohio, a signed act becomes law after 90 days. If the governor takes no action within 10 days of receiving the act, it becomes law without his or her signature. The Kentucky Constitution specifies that an act becomes law 90 days after the General Assembly Adjourns, unless the act contains a delayed effective date or an emergency clause.
Finding Historical Statutes
So where can you find historical statutes? HeinOnline has the United States Code going back to 1925. Govinfo.gov has the United States Code going back to 1994 as does Bloomberg Law. Fastcase has the United States Code going back to 2006. Westlaw’s USCA goes back to 1990 and the Lexis USCS goes back to 1992.
State code archives vary. HeinOnline has a library called State Statutes: A Historical Archive that covers superseded state statutes for all fifty states some going back until 1717. HeinOnline also has a library of state session laws that contains the session laws of all 50 U.S. states as well as Canada, Australia, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, and the D.C. Register. All states are current within 60 days of the printed publication, and all states are available back to inception!
Comparing Statutes
Lexis and Westlaw have features that allow you to pull up two statutory sections from different time periods and compare them. Use this feature to quickly compare any 2 versions of a statute to see where language has changed. In a Document view, you can click the Compare Versions button to compare the current version and a previous version of the statute. You can also do this through the History tab.
June Is Pride Month!
About Pride Month
Pride Month is commemorated each year in the month of June to honor the 1969 Stonewall uprising in New York City. The Stonewall Inn was a popular gay bar that police raided on Jun 28, 1969. The raid resulted in days of protest and the uprising is often cited as a catalyst for LGBTQ+ activism. Read President Biden’s 2024 Proclamation on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Intersex Pride Month.
Learn more about Pride Month and LGBTQ+ issues by checking out the resources below!
Pride Month at University of Cincinnati
The University of Cincinnati is a Premier Campus, earning 4.5 out of 5 stars in the Campus Pride Index, a national listing of LGBTQ-friendly colleges and universities. The index is an overall indicator of institutional commitment to LGBTQ-inclusive policy, program and practice. Additionally, in a recent national ranking the University has been ranked #52 among the top LGBTQ-friendliest colleges and universities.
UC Clermont, Frederick A. Marcotte Library Digital Display Pride Month
UCBA Library Pride Month Display
University of Cincinnati Alumni, Pride Month
Susan Helmick, Celebrating Pride Month in Cincinnati, The Graduate College News
5 Resources to Learn More About LGBT+ Issues and History
Learn more about Pride Month and LGBTQ+ issues by checking out the resources below!
Digital Collections of the GLBT History Museum
Founded in 1985, the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender (GLBT) Historical Society is recognized internationally as a leader in the field of LGBTQ public history.
LGBT Community Center National History Archive
The LGBT Community Center National History Archive is a community-based archive that collects, preserves and makes available to the public the documentation of LGBTQ lives and organizations centered in and around New York.
Library of Congress, LGBTQ+ Studies Web Archive
The LGBTQ+ Studies Web Archive collects and preserves online content which documents LGBTQ+ history, scholarship, and culture in the United States and around the world. Sites include domestic and international non-profit organizations, journalism and news, creative works and expressions, historical records, and more. Collection priorities include primary sources, first-hand accounts, coverage of significant events, and essential artifacts of cultural memory. This collection seeks to illuminate LBGTQ+ voices, from margin to center.
LGBTQIA+ Issues in Records at the National Archives
This collection documents the experience of the full range of our diverse society, with records that constitute a rich documentary history of the experience of LGBTQIA+ individuals.
LGBTQ Oral History Digital Collaboratory
As the largest LGBTQ oral history project in North American history, the Collaboratory connects archives across Canada and the U.S. to produce a digital history hub for the research and study of gay, lesbian, queer, and trans oral histories.
