Library Highlights

Summer CLE

noreply@blogger.com (WSLL Web) — Tue, 14 May 2013 13:29:00 +0000

Two of our popular CLE legal research classes are coming up in June and July.

Learn tips for how to research legislative history in Researching Wisconsin Legislative History: Sources and Strategies, scheduled for June 18th. Get a comprehensive survey of free public records resources in our July 23rd class, Finding Wisconsin Public Records.

Find out more about each class and sign up at our legal research classes page: http://wilawlibrary.gov/learn/classes.html

Downtown Madison Map and Guide

noreply@blogger.com (Wisconsin State Law Library) — Tue, 07 May 2013 20:44:00 +0000

Find the Wisconsin State Law Library in the new downtown Madison map and guide from the Madison Central Business Improvement District. Find us listed under "Museums and Libraries."

Free maps are available at the circulation and reference desks. Stop by and pick one up!

WSLL at Your Service: May 2013

noreply@blogger.com (WSLL Web) — Wed, 01 May 2013 22:00:00 +0000

New classes are announced in our May newsletter. Be sure to sign up before classes fill up! Other news items include:

Law Day 2013

noreply@blogger.com (WSLL Web) — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 21:46:00 +0000

May 1st is Law Day and is being marked by a number of events across Wisconsin. Do you have plans for Law Day?

This year is the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation. To salute this milestone, the American Bar Association (ABA) has designated this year's theme as Realizing the dream: equality for all:

"This year’s theme recognizes the inextricable link between freedom and equality, the importance of living up the promise of equality under the law enshrined in our nation’s founding documents, and the challenges that remain in realizing that ideal."

Information for teachers and students can be found on the ABA website. For more information and links to additional resources, visit the ABA Law Day 2013 page.

On Wednesday, May 1st, the Dane County Bar Association (DCBA) is putting on a day of programming at the Dane County Courthouse. Events include 3 free CLE programs, a Pro Bono Fair, a demo of the DCBA's new website, and mock trials. The full agenda can be viewed by clicking on the image below.

Click to enlarge flyer

The Milwaukee Bar Association is celebrating law day on Saturday, May 4th. More information and locations can be found on their law day flyer.

National Park Week

noreply@blogger.com (WSLL Web) — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 01:00:00 +0000

This week is National Park Week - that wonderful week when admission to national parks is free! Even if you don't have plans to travel out to any of our 401 national parks, you can be an armchair tourist through the National Park Service website.

I did my own armchair tour of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. The official page has all the travel information and photos you could want.

However, for a more personal and timely touch, I recommend visiting the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore Facebook page. Here you can look at current pictures and videos - and even read a poem!

For those wishing to learn more about the laws that created these parks, the National Park Service maintains a page of legal history. This page links to laws on:

Archeology
Historic Preservation
Maritime
Museums & Archives
National Park Service
Native Americans & NAGPRA
Tax Incentives for Historic Preservation
Transportation

The Apostle Islands National Lakeshore was established by Public Law 91-424 on September 26, 1970. The lakeshore was created to "conserve and develop for the benefit, inspiration, education, recreational use, and enjoyment of the public certain significant islands and shoreline of the United States and their related geographic, scenic, and scientific values ... in Ashland and Bayfield Counties, Wisconsin." You can read the originating act which created the lakeshore in our library or use HeinOnline to research remarks in the Congressional Record. Statements you'll find include the following summary of the lakeshore:

"The area is an excellent one for a national lakeshore, containing beautiful beaches, 20 islands in the lake on which many animal species live, and much geological evidence of the glacial period, including caves, caverns, and arches carved out thousands of years ago." (116 Cong. Rec. 31210 (1970))

The Gaylord A. Nelson Apostle Islands National Lakeshore Wilderness Act can be read online, as part of Public Law 108-447. You can also read the current law for the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore online.

Happy Earth Day!

noreply@blogger.com (WSLL Web) — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 14:12:00 +0000

The 2013 theme for Earth Day is the face of climate change. How do you plan to celebrate?

If research is on your agenda, head to our Environmental Law page for links to a number of agencies and guides relevant to environmental law.

Image source: By John McConnell, via Wikimedia Commons

On this page we list a number of library resources that may be of interest as well, including:

Current Critical Issues in Environmental Law
Green building and LEED certification information.
Environmental Law in a Nutshell
A survey of information, including natural resources, toxic and hazardous waste, GMO, and administrative and judicial decisions.
Environmental Liability and Real Property Transactions
Cleanup and sale of contaminated property.
Specialized Legal Research
Includes a chapter guiding researchers on environmental law and land use planning.
Waters and water rights
Private and public water rights, environmental controls, and agreements and laws ranging from local to international.
Environmental Resources
A list of other books in our collection related to environmental concerns.

WSLL Recommends: Law of Electronic Commerce

noreply@blogger.com (Wisconsin State Law Library) — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 22:00:00 +0000

As the volume of trade accomplished through electronic means continues to skyrocket, this area of the law is also developing and evolving at a staggering rate. To help practitioners keep pace with new cases, statutes, regulations, proposals, commentaries, and model laws, authors Jane Kaufman Winn and Benjamin Wright provide guidance on the implications of communications technology for both consumer and commercial transactions, as well as in the workplace.

The fourth edition of The Law of Electronic Commerce has been completely revised to reflect the explosive growth of the internet and the one-to-many network model that has replaced older forms of electronic commerce. Readers will find practice pointers and in-depth analysis of:

Electronic contracting
Electronic payments and lending
Intellectual property rights and rights in data
Privacy and collections of data
E-business regulation, including antitrust, trade practices, securities, and banking
Taxation of electronic commerce
Computer crime and computer security
Electronic records in litigation, including authentication and the best evidence rule
Employer liability with regard to electronic communications and devices in the workplace
Developing a records management program
Liability of service providers

Author Wright also maintains both a blog and a Google+ page. His recent posts include:

How to Confiscate a Mobile Device
Attorney-Client Confidentiality: Data Security Breach
Taxes, Regulation and E-Commerce Innovation
Corporate E-mail Archives: Unwanted Liability or Searchable Asset?
Negotiating By Way of the Cloud Gathering Mobile Legal Evidence

WSLL at Your Service: April 2013

noreply@blogger.com (WSLL Web) — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 09:00:00 +0000

Get the scoop on our National Library Week events in our latest newsletter, now online. We announce a new mid-April CLE class, highlight updated and useful legal research books, and talk about our new in-library WestlawNext access.

Visit our National Library Week events page at http://wilawlibrary.gov/special/connect/index.html

BadgerLink Scheduled Maintenance

noreply@blogger.com (WSLL Web) — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 21:00:00 +0000

BadgerLink databases, like Academic Search Premier and Newspaper Source Plus, may be unavailable between Sunday (4/7) at 5 p.m. and Monday (4/8) at 4 a.m. During this time, scheduled server maintenance may make databases unavailable for one to two hours.

This maintenance will not affect access to the Hein Online Law Journal Library or LegalTrac. For a list of all databases available with your library card, see our Articles & Journals page.

In a Nutshell

noreply@blogger.com (Wisconsin State Law Library) — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 01:00:00 +0000

A recent blog post on popular idioms from the OxfordWords blog brought up the origin of the phrase in a nutshell. This idiom for summing up something concisely, they explain, has history back to the late sixteenth century where:

"Shakespeare's Hamlet uses it to mean something compact when he says, 'I could be bounded in a nutshell, and count myself a king of infinite space, were it not that I have bad dreams'."

Good ol' Shakespeare!

At the law library, we're very used to seeing this idiom in the context of the the popular Nutshell series. Nutshells are intended to provide a short summary of the law and pertinent resources on particular topic areas.

Some of our most checked out Nutshells are currently:

Some of our newest Nutshells include:

Vote April 2nd!

noreply@blogger.com (Wisconsin State Law Library) — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 16:14:00 +0000

Don't miss election day on Tuesday, April 2. The offices of Supreme Court Justice and Superintendent of Public Instruction are on the ballot throughout the state. Locally, many areas are holding elections for local official and school board offices.

Check MyVote.WI.gov to find your polling place location and to see a sample of your local ballot.

Photo ID is currently not required to vote. Check the Government Accountability Board's website for more information about this month's election.

Book Madness Tourney

noreply@blogger.com (Wisconsin State Law Library) — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 02:23:00 +0000

If you can't get enough brackets this month, be sure to check out the Book Madness Tournament from the UW-Madison Libraries.

http://www.library.wisc.edu/bookmadness/

In their first ever book tourney, a collection of 64 books in 8 genre divisions will be whittled down to JUST ONE champion book. We're just catching on to this now, but there's still time to get in votes for the second bracket!

WSLL Recommends: Will Contests

noreply@blogger.com (Wisconsin State Law Library) — Sun, 17 Mar 2013 22:00:00 +0000

Will Contests, by Eunice L. Ross and Thomas J. Reid, is a single volume treatise that delves into the "strange hybrid form of litigation" (Ross, 1-3) that is a will contest.

The first ten chapters cover substantive issues such as

historical background,
testamentary capacity,
undue influence,
other grounds for a will contest,
multi-party bank accounts as a lifetime transfer instrument.

The next phase of the book gets into practical considerations for bringing, or defending, a will contest. Pretrial planning techniques and pleadings, discovery and evidence, trial and post-trial practice are all supported by the additional content in the appendices. While the appendices provide helpful practice guides like complaints from 20 jurisdictions, interview checklists, and pattern jury instructions, the supplementary materials are based on a sensational fictional premise. This treatise comprehensively covers all facets of contested wills but does so in a playful sort of way, a throwback to your days in law school when professors invented creative scenarios to test your intellect.

Will Contests, last supplemented in October 2012 and updated annually, is available for check out from the Wisconsin State Law Library location.

Learn to Research Wisconsin Legislative History

noreply@blogger.com (Wisconsin State Law Library) — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 17:40:00 +0000

Sign up now to reserve a spot in our June legal research class: Researching Wisconsin Legislative History: Sources and Strategies.

When: Tuesday, June 18, 9:00-11:00 a.m.
Location: Wisconsin State Law Library training room

I need the legislative history of a Wisconsin statute. Where do I start? What do I do? Get answers to these questions and more by attending this class. Participants will look at the primary resources used to research Wisconsin legislative history, navigate the online Wisconsin legislative drafting files, and learn some time saving tips and tricks along the way.
2 CLE credits pending. Fee: $69. Registration is limited to 8.

WSLL at Your Service: March 2013

noreply@blogger.com (Wisconsin State Law Library) — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 15:16:00 +0000

Act now to sign up for our new webinars on using HeinOnline. These webinars are available at the low introductory rate of $20. Sign up for the 2 pm class this Thursday, or next week's 9 am Tuesday class.

While you're visiting our website, be sure to check out the latest WSLL at Your Service. Contents include:

What's New: Upcoming classes
This Just In…: New and updated titles at the library
Accessing Wisconsin Appellate Briefs: How to search for briefs on the WSCCA database.
Tech Tip in Brief: Safety tips for downloading free software
WSLL Recommends: Sautter's Employment in Wisconsin
Odds 'n' Endings: Updating links on our website

WSLL Recommends: Sautter's Employment in Wisconsin

noreply@blogger.com (Wisconsin State Law Library) — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 13:00:00 +0000

Employment in Wisconsin: A Guide to Employment Laws, Regulations, and Practices is a single volume work on state and federal laws that affect the employer/employee relationship and working conditions in the private sector. The author's purpose is to "provide a brief, plainly written summary," with each chapter focusing on an employment related topic:

Employment relationship
Employment-at-will and employment contracts, agreements and handbooks
Hiring and firing
Discrimination in employment
Wage and hours
Benefits
Safety in the workplace
Workers' compensation
Union organizing
Record keeping
Unemployment compensation

Attorneys and employers will appreciate this book's concise guidance on drafting documents, disclaimers, sample rules, policies, and procedures. Employment in Wisconsin, updated annually, was last supplemented in January 2013.

Rent a Meeting Room in Downtown Madison

noreply@blogger.com (Wisconsin State Law Library) — Sun, 17 Feb 2013 23:00:00 +0000

If you need an attractive meeting room in downtown Madison for a meeting, presentation, or event, consider the rooms at the Wisconsin State Law Library.

You can rent a conference room (pictured right), which seats 8-12 at one rectangular table or our gorgeous Rare Book Room, which can seat 32. A full list of features for each room are available on our Room Rental page.

The library's computer training room offers an intimate hands-on environment for those who need a place to hold training seminars. This room features an instructor's podium, projector, and 8 computers for hands-on training. See our Room Rental page for information on software and equipment features.

Everyone can use the individual user workrooms which are free on a first-come-first-served basis every day. However, if you're planning on doing extensive research at the library you can also rent a lockable workroom for extended use. Browse photos of the user workrooms and try one out during your next visit.

It's easy to reserve a room. Our online room rental and reservation form will walk you through the reservation steps – or you can contact Tammy Keller for more information. Internet and electrical outlets are available in each room and free wifi is available in many areas of the library. More features, photos, and policies are available from our Room Rental page.

WSLL at Your Service: February 2013

noreply@blogger.com (Wisconsin State Law Library) — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 13:00:00 +0000

Our annual year-in-review issue, the February WSLL @ Your Service newsletter is now online.

In this issue:

Looking Back, Moving Forward - by Julie Tessmer, State Law Librarian
MLRC: 2012 Busy as Ever, Exciting Developments in 2013
Another Good Year @ DCLRC
This Just In... - New & updated library materials
WSLL Recommends: Immigration Fundamentals
Odds 'n' Endings: Law Book Supplements: They're Like Frosting

Sonnet to a Supplement

noreply@blogger.com (Wisconsin State Law Library) — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 19:36:00 +0000

A book in our library has more to it than just its bound pages. We'll typically update 25 to 30 titles each week with looseleaf filing, pocket parts, or standalone supplements that get shelved next to their main volumes.

It's those last - individually bound supplements - that tend to get missed when a treatise is pulled from the shelf for reading or checkout. That's why our mission this month is to educate our users on those most useful and most-missed volumes. And so we bring you...

Sonnet to a Supplement

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

I love thee for the newest case law,

And your fresh legal argument mainstays

Bring updates to the useful book I saw.

Benchbooks stay current with lots of filing.

ALR’s pocket parts are beguiling.

But when you’re bound in a separate book

You can be very easy to overlook.

Corbin on Contracts, Wigmore on Evidence

Where would they be without a supplement?

Bound, shelved adjacent, you form a circle

For the researcher, law past to present.

When pulled from the shelf, there can be no doubt.

I shall love thee far better after checkout.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Wisconsin Mining Laws

noreply@blogger.com (Wisconsin State Law Library) — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 18:00:00 +0000

Are you trying to find out more about mining laws and proposed laws in Wisconsin? Visit our mining legal topic page for links to relevant agencies, current laws, and proposed legislation.

Recent additions to this page include a new Wisconsin Legislative Council memo on the recent ferrous metallic mining bill as well as links to the three bills currently in the Legislature.

Updates and a brief summary of events can be found on the Wisconsin Legislative Spotlight website. Interested researchers can also use RSS feeds to get updates on the current metallic/iron mining bills. Look for the small orange RSS icon at the upper right corner on each bill's page.

We are always on the lookout for new resources to help visitors when they reach our site. Visit our Mining (Metallic and Nonmetallic) legal topic page now and tell us what you think. If you have questions, please Ask a Librarian.

New Classes for 2013

noreply@blogger.com (Wisconsin State Law Library) — Sun, 03 Feb 2013 23:00:00 +0000

For more than ten years the Wisconsin State Law Library has offered on-site seminars for attorneys, legal professionals, and the public. Beginning this year we will also offer live CLE webinars. Webinars will allow us to reach participants throughout the state, from Racine to Rice Lake and beyond.

In addition to our new webinars, we continue to offer a steady list of on-site classes. If you've never tried a webinar or taken a class taught by our librarians, now is a good time to check it out. Through June, webinar classes will be $20.00 per CLE credit. Starting in July, the rate will return to $35.00 per credit.

Westlaw at WSLL
Wednesday, February 13, 10:00-11:00 a.m.
Location: Wisconsin State Law Library training room

HeinOnline: The Information Source You Need, Where You Need It
Thursday, March 7, 1:00-2:00 p.m.
Tuesday, March 12, 9:00-10:00 a.m.
Location: Online webinar

Researching Wisconsin Legislative History: Sources and Strategies
Tuesday, June 18, 9:00-11:00 a.m.
Location: Wisconsin State Law Library training room

Learn more and sign up for any of these classes now, or watch our classes page for additional classes.

How to Find Wisconsin Jury Instructions

noreply@blogger.com (Wisconsin State Law Library) — Sun, 27 Jan 2013 23:00:00 +0000

Where can I find the Wisconsin Jury Instructions online?

This is a frequent question we get at the reference desk. Unlike some other states, jury instructions for Wisconsin are not available anywhere online - either for free or through a subscription database. Wisconsin jury instructions are commercially published through the University of Wisconsin's CLEW (Continuing Legal Education for Wisconsin).

Wisconsin's jury instructions are divided into three titles: Civil, Criminal, and Children. Civil and criminal jury instructions are issued loose in 3-ring binders (Picture 1). The children's jury instructions are issued in annual paperbound volumes.

The Wisconsin State Law Library (WSLL), Milwaukee Legal Resource Center (MLRC), and Dane County Legal Resource Center (DCLRC) all have current jury instructions available for checkout, or reference copies are available for use at WSLL and MLRC.


Picture 2

In addition to current jury instructions, WSLL archives outdated jury instructions (Picture 2). Here is our coverage of superseded jury instructions:

Children: 1996-current
Civil: 1960-1967, and replaced pages from 1981 to current versions
Criminal: 1962, and replaced pages from 1980 to current versions

Copies of current or past jury instructions can be requested through the library's Order a Document service. Tell us which type of instruction you need (civil, criminal, or children) and the number (Picture 3).

Librarians can help you locate jury instructions if you don't have a direct citation. Each title has an index and table of contents, and the criminal set also includes a comparison table to look up jury instructions by Wisconsin statute citation. Do you need help locating a Wisconsin jury instruction? Ask a librarian for help!

Wisconsin Jury Instructions can be purchased from the University of Wisconsin's CLEW (Continuing Legal Education for Wisconsin).

Picture 3

WSLL Recommends: Immigration Fundamentals

noreply@blogger.com (Wisconsin State Law Library) — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 23:00:00 +0000

This month's recommended title is Immigration Fundamentals: A Guide to Law and Practice, by Austin T. Fragomen, Jr and Steven C. Bell

This concise, one volume treatise serves as a useful guide for any practitioner on immigration legal standards and procedures. With the most recent November 2012 update, the authors have fully incorporated all final rules and procedures resulting from the Immigration Act of 1990, the most comprehensive revision of the nation's immigration laws since the enactment of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952.

The authors provide in depth coverage of each of the major means to gain permanent residence in the United States:

Employment based immigration
Family sponsored immigration
Diversity based immigration

Also covered are nonimmigrant status, employment of aliens, refugees and asylum, administrative and judicial review, and naturalization and citizenship.
Commentaries throughout the treatise are especially useful in providing practice tips and amplifying information. Also included is an extensive list of annotated immigration forms as well as a table of cases and index.

Libraries Closed: Monday, January 21

noreply@blogger.com (Wisconsin State Law Library) — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 23:00:00 +0000

The Wisconsin State Law Library, Milwaukee Legal Resource Center, and Dane County Legal Resource Center will be closed on Monday, January 21st for the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday.

To submit a question to the Wisconsin State Law Library while we are closed, you may call us at 608-267-9696 or Ask a Librarian online.

We will respond to questions and requests on Tuesday, January 22nd.

The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Wisconsin State Law Library) — Sun, 13 Jan 2013 23:00:00 +0000

For those wishing to learn more about the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, commonly known as the fiscal cliff deal, we have a short list of resources explaining the provisions.

The “Fiscal Cliff” and the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (Congressional Research Service)
A summary of some of the provisions can be found in this USA.gov blog post: How Does the American Taxpayer Relief Act Affect You?
CCH Tax Briefing: American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (CCH)
Tax Provisions In The American Taxpayer Relief Act Of 2012 (Urban Institute and Brookings Institution)

The Act's legislative history can be found on Thomas.gov:

History of H.R.8, which became Public Law 112-240