Cuil Search Engine

Ex-Google employees have launched Cuil (pronounced "cool"), a new search engine. Cuil developer Anna Patterson believes that the new search engine indexes three times as many web sites as Google, although Google still claims to have the largest site index. Cuil presents search results in a more magazine-like, multi-column display, rather than the traditional list of results. Images and additional page content are also provided. Unlike Google, Cuil promises not to retain user information, which is a nice feature for users concerned about privacy.

Open Secrets: 527 Groups

527 groups are tax-exempt organizations that engage in political activities. These groups are able to use unlimited "soft money" contributions for advocacy purposes. The Open Secrets: 527 Committees web site provides information about the expenditures and contributors of these organizations. It's always interesting to see where the money is coming from and where it's going.

From Librarians' Internet Index.

Diagram: White House Crimes and Misdemeanors

See Slate's interactive diagram showing who was involved in the Administration's high-profile crimes and misdemeanors.

Most Librarians Prefer Westlaw

Two librarians from Stanford Law School, J. Paul Lomio and Erika V. Wayne, have published their study analyzes law librarians opinions of LexisNexis and Westlaw. Bottom Line: law librarians prefer Westlaw, by a lot. Read the study to find out why.

From WisBlawg.

Google Election Video Search Gadget

BeSpacific has this post on Google's new election video search gadget, which transcribes the text of political videos into searchable, indexed text.

Fair Use for Online Video

Law Librarian Blog has this post about (and links to) a code of best practices for use of online video.

International Moot Court Videos Available, Free, Online

Legal Research Plus reports that The University of Hong Kong Digital Initiatives Department has posted videos of past international moot court competitions held at the University of Hong Kong Faculty of Law. Oral arguments are available here for Jessup International Law Moot, LawAsia Moot, and the Red Cross International Humanitarian Law Moot. Dates of coverage are 1984 to 2007.

JD Supra: Give Content. Get Noticed

JD Supra, beta version, is a web site for legal professionals to create a public profile and submit their work product to share with others -- hence, the "Give Content. Get Noticed" subtitle to the site. The site is free to use, and looks pro and easy to use. While it's not clear how much content currently exists, you can be sure that it takes users to create the content. So give it a try.

Simplification of Ohio's Criminal Sentencing Laws Proposed

The Columbus Dispatch Online reports that the the Ohio Criminal Sentencing Commission has completed a report suggesting changes to Ohio's criminal sentencing statutes. The changes would reduce the Ohio Revised Code by more than half a million words -- roughly the size of Tolstoy's War and Peace. The proposed changes are intended to make the statutes more understandable to judges, lawyers, and citizens.

As the Court Recesses, So Does Greenhouse (But Her, Permanently)

The Supreme Court is now in summer recess. And so, too, is long time Supreme Court beat reporter at the New York Times, Linda Greenhouse. She has retired from the NYTimes. I missed this story when it broke way back in February, and for those of you who did, too, here it is.

Laptop Ban Not Just for Law Students

While the debate about laptop bans in law school classrooms rages on here, the Parliament of Bhutan has made the definite decision to ban legislators from bringing their laptops to the Parliamentary floor. Why? Because they are allegedly distracted playing computer games, of course!

Another List of Top 100 Blawgs

Another list of top 100 legal blogs has been posted. This time by a group called Criminal Justice Degrees Guide. I see some glaring errors (e.g., SCOTUSblog and Sentencing Law and Policy are not included), but the list is helpful in that it presents the top few blawgs by subject area, such as Law Professors, Law Students, Judiciary, Environmental Law, Criminal Law, and Foreign Law. In addition, the criminal justice perspective is different from the academic legal perspective we normally see.