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Law Library News

Law Library News Archive

April 17, 2006.
Kristy Moon, editor.

Public Computer Terminals

Following a recent Law School Town Hall meeting, we disabled sound on all public computer terminals in the Library except for the four "legal research only" terminals in the Reference Area. We hope that this leads to a happier study environment for our law students. If you have any other concerns about the Library, please talk to a Library staff member or send your comments via the red "Email Reference" link on the Library’s homepage under the Law Students heading. (Note that we can only reply to messages if you give your email address.)

National Library Week -- Winners

The National Library Week events were a huge success thanks to all the faculty, staff, and students who participated. We received much positive feedback on our faculty profiles.

Two students, Erin Lennon and Danika Adams, correctly completed the Legal Research Crossword Puzzle and won $10 gift cards to the University Bookstore. There were 165 entries for the Candy Contest with the lowest guess at 100 and the highest guess at "a bajillion." The largest number of guesses fell in the 300 range and the next largest number of guesses fell in the 1000 range. The actual number of M&Ms in the jar was 853. Although eleven people guessed in the 800 range, no one guessed 853. Sarah Hale and Jeremiah Miller came the closest with 850 and, since there was a tie, we randomly picked one person to win the jar of candies and the other person to receive a bag of M&Ms. Congratulations to all the winners!

Trivia Contest Results

--Christopher O’Byrne, Law Library Intern

Thank you to all who participated in the Trivia Contest based on the book, Protocol: The Complete Handbook of Diplomatic, Official, and Social Usage. David Orange and Mike Coccaro correctly answered at least three of the questions and received small goodies from the Library. For those of you who are trivia buffs, see the answers below.

  1. How should an envelope be addressed when writing to the "Office of a Deceased Senator"?
    Office of the late Senator John Doe
  2. What are the proper dimensions of a female naval officer’s personal calling card?
    2-7/8 x 2
  3.  What are the only four valid excuses for refusing to accept an invitation to a White House function?
    A death in the family, illness, a wedding in the family, or absence from Washington or out of the country on the date.
  4. In the Appendix section entitled "Dealing With the Press" what advice do the authors give regarding the acknowledgement of "unpleasant circumstances" (e.g. divorce, alcoholism, arrest, etc.)?
    It is better to issue some kind of statement than to refuse to answer. Refusal will only lead to speculation and probably conjectures which are worse than the actual situation. Of course, if the situation is so bad that anything is better than the truth, that is another matter.
  5. What is the rank of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in the "Protocol Order of Precedence?" What is the rank of an Associate Justice?
    The Chief Justice is ranked #3 (after the Speaker of the House of Representatives and ahead of former Presidents of the United States). An Associate Justice is ranked #8 (after "Ministers and Envoys Extraordinary of foreign powers" and ahead of The Cabinet (other than the Secretary of State)).
  6. Do Retired Associate Justices of the Supreme Court retain their title? Do those who resign?
    Retired Associate Justices retain their titles, those who resign do not.
  7. What are the two proper forms of salutation for an Archdeacon (Protestant Episcopal)?
    Venerable Sir or Dear Archdeacon Doe
  8. Under what circumstances is it appropriate to request an invitation to a formal event for oneself?
     Invitations should not be requested for oneself to any function.
  9. When George Washington was inaugurated, the Supreme Court had not yet been formed. Who administered George Washington’s Oath of Office?
    Chancellor Robert Livingston
  10. How many guns are included in the salute honoring the Chief Justice of the United States? How many guns for an Associate Justice? What music should be played?
    Both the Chief Justice and Associate Justices merit a 19 gun salute. In both instances, the appropriate music to play is the "Admiral’s March."

Book of the Week

--Kristy Moon

William B. Stoebuck & John W. Weaver, Real Estate: Property Law and Transactions (2d ed. 2004). (Vols. 17 and 18 of Washington Practice Series, KFW80.W3 at Reference Area).

If you plan to practice law in Washington State, Washington Practice is a useful source to get to know. It is a practitioner-oriented treatise that explains Washington law in seventeen selected topical areas. Currently, the set is published as twenty-one individual titles with a different author for each title. Real Estate: Property Law and Transactions, found in volumes 17 and 18, is co-authored by UW Law Professor William Stoebuck. Volume 17 covers basic property law and land-use planning. Volume 18 covers conveyancing and development of land, including real estate financing. The two volumes were first published in 1995 and the second edition was released in 2004 by Professor Stoebuck and SU Law Professor John Weaver. The second edition contains two new chapters -- Chapter 10 on rights against other landowners and Chapter 18 on real estate transactions such as real estate contracts, deeds, mortgages, and deeds of trust.

Although Washington Practice tends to be popular for its sample forms and practice tips (and numerous footnotes that cite primary authority and secondary sources), this title also has a fair amount of legal theory with some commentary on how Washington law has developed or should develop. Researchers will find this a helpful source.

Each title within Washington Practice set has its own index in the last volume of the title (also look for a Table of Cases, and Table of Law and Rules in the last volume of each title). There is also a General Index at the end of the set. Because Washington Practice is published by West, it is available on Westlaw; however, the indexes and tables are not online.

To see a list of all Washington Practice titles, search MARIAN by keywords washington practice, limit it to the Reference Area, and sort by title. For more information about Washington Practice, see the May 20, 2002 Book of the Week entry, or the Chapter 4, Practice Materials, in the Washington Legal Researcher's Deskbook 3d (KFW75 .W37 2002 at Reference Area and Reference Office).

Many states have state-specific legal encyclopedias and/or state law treatises similar to Washington Practice. To find out whether a state has such a source, consult one or more of the following:

  • the online catalog of a law library in that state
  • state law encyclopedias and treatises available on LexisNexis and Westlaw
  • State Practice Materials: Annotated Bibliographies. KF1.S72 2002 at  Reference Area
  • Searching the Law, the States: A Selective Bibliography of State Practice Materials in the 50 States, 4th ed. KF240.D69 2003 at Reference Office