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Law Library News for Feb. 12, 2007

Law Library News Archive

Cheryl Nyberg, editor

Library Lifesavers

The sessions on Tuesday, Feb. 13th will address:

  • Is it on LexisNexis? Finding the Right Database
  • Word’s “Mail Merge” Tool

Come to Room 119 from 12:45-1:15pm and enjoy these short, informative descriptions.

Bluebook 101

In case you missed the recent Library Lifesavers sessions on basic Bluebook practices for citing secondary sources, statutes, and cases, visit our new legal research guide on the topic. Bluebook 101 links to a Word document and two PowerPoint slideshows.

And watch for more Bluebook sessions next quarter.

Do you have questions about citing a particular type of source? Email the reference librarians and we will be glad to offer a session on that topic.

Book of the Week: Adoption Law: Theory, Policy, and Practice

This casebook on adoption law is authored by our very own UW Law Professor Lisa Kelly and Professor Cynthia Mabry of Howard University School of Law. It is the first and only casebook of its kind and is already in use for courses such as “Adoption and Family Formation Seminar” at the Hofstra University School of Law.

Whether you have a personal interest in adoption or you are researching the issue for a paper, you will find this source easy to use. The book has a national scope and includes references to many state statues and cases. According to the book, every state and the District of Columbia have statutes and regulations dealing with the concerns of birth parents, adoptive parents, and adoptees.

The book addresses both the practical and theoretical sides of adoption law. Sample adoption forms are included and “problems” (often based on real cases) are included for class discussion or review.

Topics include:

  • prerequisites to adoption
  • the adoption process and attorney ethics
  • adoption by same-sex couples
  • transracial adoption
  • intercountry adoption
  • confidentiality of adoption records
  • wrongful adoption

Professor Kelly is Director of the Children and Youth Advocacy Clinic. She teaches Family Law and Child Advocacy.

The book is located in the Classified Stacks at KF545.A7M33 2006.

Supreme Court Box Scores

Where can I find statistics on past Court terms?

One source is the Harvard Law Review, which dedicates one issue a year to a review of the recent Supreme Court term. In addition to a feature article (or two) and a survey of the term’s leading cases, this issue contains statistical tables covering:

  • actions of individual justices (opinions written and dissenting votes)
  • voting alignments and patterns
  • disposition of cases
  • cases originating from federal and courts
  • number of disposition by subject

The most recent issue containing this information is Volume 120, number 1 (Nov. 2006). You can find the entire issue on the Internet and the statistics section too.