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Law Library News

Law Library News Archive

May 1, 2006.
Kristy Moon, editor.

Casemaker & Loislaw Session

Bring your lunch on Tuesday, May 2, 12:30-1:20 to Room 119 and learn about low-cost alternatives to LexisNexis and Westlaw. A reference librarian will demonstrate Casemaker and Loislaw, and answer your questions.

11th Annual Bridge the Legal Research Gap

The law libraries of Seattle University and University of Washington are once again sponsoring this popular half-day legal research program for all law students working in the Seattle area this summer.

When & Where

 Wednesday, May 24, 2006
8:30 a.m. – 12:30 pm.
Seattle University School of Law
901 – 12th Ave., Sullivan Hall		 Wednesday, June 14, 2006
1 – 5 p.m.
University of Washington School of Law
William H. Gates Hall

Courses

 Research in the Real World
Legislative History Research
Administrative Law Research
Advanced Internet Legal Research
Lawyers’ Practice Materials

Cost

 FREE! Light snacks will be provided.

Register

 Register online. Bring your lunch and laptop (optional)

Directions & Parking

 To Seattle University
 

Questions

 Contact Ann Hemmens if you have any questions (206-543-7672).
We hope to see you there!

Trial Ad Blog

Interested in trial practice? Thinking about becoming a litigator? Take a look at Trial Ad Notes.

This blog is primarily for the UW law students and faculty in the Trial Advocacy program, but anyone interested in trial practice (with a Washington focus) could find the news, case summaries, and tips helpful. You can visit the site from time to time to browse what's new, or you can subscribe by email and get new postings sent to you.

A recent improvement in tagging lets you now look for posts about particular topics (e.g., DNA, legislation). Simply use the drop-down menu to select a category (on the top right of the homepage), or find a posting and click on the links at the end of the posting to see others in the category.

Book of the Week: On American Soil

--Mary Whisner, from Trial Ad Notes
 

 On American Soil: How Justice Became a Casualty of World War II (D805.5.F66H36 2005 at Classified Stacks) tells the story -- or stories -- of a violent incident at Fort Lawton in Seattle and the ensuing investigation and court martial. Jack Hamann, a journalist and documentary filmmaker, has written a gripping and thought-provoking tale, exploring issues of race, war, justice, and military bureaucracy.

The description of the book from his website says:

***

On a hot August night in 1944, a terrified Italian prisoner of war was lynched at a sprawling US Army fort in Seattle.

After a tumultuous two-month criminal investigation, the Army charged three U.S. soldiers with murder and forty others with rioting.

All forty-three were African Americans.

What followed was the largest and longest Army court-martial of World War II, and the only trial in American history where black men stood accused of a mob lynching. The Army prosecutor was Leon Jaworski, later of Watergate fame. The entire true story is an engrossing tale of pride, power, duplicity, and redemption.

I heard Mr. Hamann speak at the Innocence Project Network Conference last month here at the UW Law School and immediately went out and got the book. It is really good.

Some Seattleites may not even know about Fort Lawton which was a big, active military base during World War II. It was where Discovery Park is today.

A UW connection is that the lead defense attorney, Major William Beeks, was a UW Law School graduate ('32). When he was twenty-four, he wanted to go to sea in the merchant marines, but his wife persuaded him to stay in Seattle, where he instead attended law school and became a maritime lawyer. He joined the Army after the U.S. entered World War II. After the War, he joined Jaworski in Germany prosecuting war crimes. He was a U.S. district court judge (Western District of Washington) from 1961 until his death in 1988.

Moved by the story, Rep. Jim McDermott introduced H.R. 3174, to direct the Secretary of the Army to review the cases of the twenty-eight men who were convicted. The bill now has a few dozen co-sponsors.

Mr. Hamann is currently working on "Generation IX," a documentary about the national champion UW women's volleyball team and its upcoming trip to China -- something to watch for!

For more on information, see these entries from HistoryLink.org, "the online encyclopedia of Washington State History":