This week in the Law Library we’re teaching advanced legal research, advanced searching techniques, and helping students research this semester’s brief topic. We’re also celebrating Black History Month and previewing US Supreme Court oral arguments.
This Week’s Research Sessions
Monday, Feb. 26, 2024
Advanced Legal Research Criminal Law
Associate Dean Michael Whiteman and Instructional & Reference Services Librarian Ashley Russell
Room 107
2:00pm – 2:55pm
Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2024
Advocacy, Lawyering II, Cohort 1
Instructional & Reference Services Librarian Ashley Russell
Room 245
10:40am – 12:05pm
Help with Brief Research
Advanced Legal Research Civil Litigation
Associate Director Susan Boland & Instructional & Reference Services Librarian Laura Dixon-Caldwell
Room 135
2:00pm – 2:55pm
Advocacy, Lawyering II, Cohort 5
Associate Director Susan Boland
Room 245
3:05pm – 4:30pm
Help with Brief Research
Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024
Advanced Legal Research Ohio
Electronic Resources Instructional Services Librarian Ron Jones
Room 107
2:00pm – 2:55pm
Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024
Advocacy, Lawyering II, Cohort 2
Instructional & Reference Services Librarian Laura Dixon-Caldwell
Room 230
10:40am – 12:05pm
Advanced Searching
Advocacy, Lawyering II, Cohort 6
Instructional & Reference Services Librarian Laura Dixon-Caldwell
Room 230
3:05pm – 4:30pm
Advanced Searching
Featured Study Aids
Civil Rights Stories
Available via the West Academic study aid subscription, this book provides students with a three-dimensional picture of the most important cases that are addressed in civil rights courses. These stories give the students and faculty members a deeper understanding of the historical and cultural background of the cases and an insight into their long-term impact on the development of civil rights law.
CALI Lesson: Race and Equal Protection
Available via CALI, this lesson considers race under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment as well as under other constitutional provisions. It begins with an overview of slavery in constitutional law; Part II proceeds to the early cases under the Reconstruction Amendments; Part III concentrates on the development of the strict scrutiny standard; Part IV considers how seemingly neutral classifications may be deemed to be racial classifications; and the Conclusion in Part V contains questions to solidify the Lesson. If law students have not created a CALI account and need the school authorization code, contact a reference librarian.
Understanding Civil Rights Litigation
Available via the LexisNexis Digital Library study aid subscription, this book provides an overview of the doctrine, policy, history, and theory of civil rights and constitutional litigation under Section 1983 and its Bivens federal counterpart. It explores the doctrinal areas that have undergone substantial changes or challenges since the prior edition, including the retraction of Bivens; the extension, criticism, and cross-ideological calls for reform of qualified immunity; the narrowing of abstention; debates over the scope of injunctive relief; and the Supreme Court’s increasing engagement earlier in constitutional cases. It also includes new applications of long-standing doctrines, including controversies over when social-media companies and public officials act under color of state law in controlling who has access to sites and pages.
Featured Database
HeinOnline’s Slavery in America and the World: History, Culture & Law
Available via HeinOnline,
Featured Guide
Critical Race Theory Research Guide
Critical Race Theory “questions the very foundations of the liberal order, including equality theory, legal reasoning, Enlightenment rationalism, and neutral principles of constitutional law.” Richard Delgado & Jean Stefancic, Critical Race Theory: An Introduction (1997). This guide will help you find resources on CRT.
Featured Treatise
Civil Rights Actions
Available on Lexis, this treatise analyzes every aspect of civil rights — for background, insight, and perspective. It provides coverage as well as case-critical information, from statutes that Congress enacted in the late 1950’s to the latest developments in civil rights legislation. Learn from the authors’ discussion of absolute and qualified immunity, the relationship between state and federal courts, and the procedural framework of civil rights actions, as well as coverage of such specific areas as: The Americans with Disabilities Act; Employment discrimination; Age discrimination; Privacy issues; Property rights; Fair housing; Prisoners’ rights; and Voting rights. It also includes Use the practice forms for your civil rights matter.
Featured Video
What Critical Race Studies Teaches Us About Racism, Resistance & Policing
During this discussion panelists use a critical race analysis to examine racism, resistance, policing, and the current moment.
Featured Website
National Museum of African American History, Make Good the Promises: Reconstruction and Its Legacies
Reconstruction—the period following the Civil War—was a revolutionary moment in the nation’s history. For the first time, African Americans were recognized by the U.S. government as equal citizens. But due to white resistance, Reconstruction’s promise of racial equality was not fulfilled. Instead of full citizenship rights, African Americans experienced decades of discrimination, segregation, and terrorism.
February is Black History Month
This year’s theme for Black History Month is “African Americans and the Arts”. According to the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, “African American artists have used art to preserve history and community memory as well as for empowerment.”
White House Proclamation on National Black History Month
5 More Resources to Help You Celebrate and Learn During Black History Month
African American Newspapers: 19th century, Parts 1-5
This collection of African-american Newspapers contains information about the cultural life and history during the 1800s, and is rich with first-hand reports of the major events and issues of the day including the Mexican War, Presidential and congressional addresses, Congressional abstracts, business and commodity markets, the humanities, world travel, and religion. They also contain large numbers of early biographies, vital statistics, essays and editorials, poetry and prose, and advertisements all of which embody the African-American experience.
Coverage: 1827 – 1876
African American Newspapers¸ 1827-1998 (Readex)
African American Newspapers¸ 1827-1998 provides online access to approximately 270 U.S. newspapers chronicling a century and a half of the African American experience. This unique collection features papers from more than 35 states including many rare and historically significant 19th century titles. Newly digitized¸ these newspapers published by or for African Americans can now be browsed and searched as never before. Supported by the Charles Phelps Taft Research Center.
Coverage: 1827-1998
AFRO American Newspaper Archives (Google Partnership Project)
The AFRO American Newspapers, in cooperation with Google, provide an extensive collection of digitally archived issues spanning over 100 years of history. The AFRO Archives feature various AFRO editions covering an impressive span of change, division and progress in African American History.
Library of Congress, African American Newspapers Digitized
Access the digitized African American Newspapers that are part of the Chronicling America project from the Library of Congress.
ProQuest Historical Newspapers
University of Cincinnati Events
Law Library Display
Explore some of the College of Law’s notable African American alumni as well as a few of history’s most impactful African American Lawyers and Legislators. Be sure to check out one (or two) of our display books!
UC Blue Ash Library Black History Month Display
Explore these select titles for Black History Month.
UC Clermont Frederick A. Marcotte Library Black History Month Display
UC Alumni Association Celebrates Black History Month
University of Cincinnati Department of Athletics Black History Month
Lift Every Voice Sing-A-Long
Every Monday
12:00pm
TUC Atrium
Join the AACRC Choir, The Black Faculty Association, and the Department of Africana Studies in paying homage to James Weldon Johnson’s eloquent poem-turned-hymn that was recognized in 1919 by the NAACP as the “Negro National Anthem” and is today still celebrated as the “Black National Anthem.”
Sisters Impacting Sisters & UC Black Women on the Move Sip & Paint
Tuesday, February 27, 2024
5:30pm – 7:30pm
AACRC Main Lounge
Lead Like a Leader: Black Excellence in Leadership
Wednesday, February 28, 2024
8:00am – 10:00pm
Steger Student Life Center
The Center for Student Involvement celebrates Black History Month by highlighting and celebrating leaders who have celebrated, advocated, and honored the experiences of the Black community. We will be offering information for three weeks (February 7-14, 14-21, and 21-28) about three different leaders, both globally and locally. You can come learn, reflect, and celebrate their contributions and how you can contribute to equality, equity, and unity in our community.
Family FEUD
Wednesday, February 28, 2024
11:30am – 1:00pm
UCBA Muntz Hall
Gather your friends and classmates and test your knowledge about Black History, fun facts and pop culture.
Drink-N-Think
Wednesday, February 28, 2024
6:30pm
Ludlow Wines
331 Ludlow Ave.
Ludlow Wines will host Dr. Holly Y. McGee every Wednesday in Black History Month for a 4-part lecture series on everything you’ve ever wanted to know about African American History but were hesitant to ask.
LIVE: Liberating Ideas (through) Voices (and) Expression)
Thursday, February 29, 2024
5:00pm – 7:00pm
Contemporary Arts Center; 44 E. 6th Street
Close out Black FUTURE Month 2024 with a LIVE poetry performance with the Charles P. Taft Research Center’s Postdoctoral Fellows!
8th Annual Black Feminist Symposium: Revolutionary Sisterhood
Friday, March 1, 2024
8:00am – 3:30pm
TUC Great Hall
The Symposium will feature papers, panels, workshops, round tables, and creative work from UC students, faculty & staff, and members of the wider community.
February Arguments at the United States Supreme Court
From SCOTUS Blog:
Monday, February 26, 2024
Moody v. NetChoice, LLC – (1) whether the laws’ content-moderation restrictions comply with the First Amendment; and (2) whether the laws’ individualized-explanation requirements comply with the First Amendment.
NetChoice, LLC v. Paxton – whether the First Amendment prohibits viewpoint-, content-, or speaker-based laws restricting select websites from engaging in editorial choices about whether, and how, to publish and disseminate speech — or otherwise burdening those editorial choices through onerous operational and disclosure requirements.
Tuesday, February 27, 2024
McIntosh v. United States – whether a district court may enter a criminal-forfeiture order outside the time limitations set forth in Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 32.2.
Cantero v. Bank of Amer. – whether the National Bank Act preempts the application of state escrow-interest laws to national banks.
Thursday, February 28, 2024
Garland v. Cargill – whether a bump stock device is a “machinegun” as defined in 26 U.S.C. § 5845(b) because it is designed and intended for use in converting a rifle into a machinegun, i.e., into a weapon that fires “automatically more than one shot … by a single function of the trigger.”
Coinbase v. Suski – whether, where parties enter into an arbitration agreement with a delegation clause, an arbitrator or a court should decide whether that arbitration agreement is narrowed by a later contract that is silent as to arbitration and delegation.