Comedian Wins Defamation Suit Over Mother-in-Law Jokes

Comedian Wins Defamation Suit Over Mother-in-Law Jokes. The class action lawsuit is much less likely now.

From Barco 2.0.

Chesapeake Project's "Link Rot" Study

The study analyzed the disappearance of functional links to digital legal information. The take away:

In other words, link rot increased from about one in every 12 archived
titles in 2008, to one in every seven titles in 2009, and finally to about one
in every 3.5 titles in 2010.

Facebook and Privacy

An interesting article about privacy issues with Facebook in Wired.

From Barco 2.0.

PACER's New Look

A new look for PACER.

Elena Kagan Information Pages

The University of Michigan Law Library has created a helpful informational web page for the latest nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court, Solicitor General Elena Kagan. The Georgetown Law Library has also updated its Supreme Court Nominations Research Guide with information about the new nominee. The Harvard Law Library, as you might expect, also has a great site for all things Kagan.

Changing Role of Academic Libraries

An interesting article about the changing role of academic libraries in the latest issue of Harvard Magazine.

Kagan Nominated to Supreme Court

President Obama has nominated Elena Kagan to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Legal Problems Arising from Social Media

An interesting list of legal problems related to social media on the Legal Informatics Blog.

From the Law Librarian Blog.

HouseLive.gov

The United States House of Representatives is now offering live streaming video at the new HouseLive.gov web site going back to the 111th Congress (January 6, 2009). Users can browse House floor proceedings or search by keywords or dates. Users can also use keyword searches and construct custom RSS feeds.

Google’s Government Requests Tool

Google recently announced the launch of its Government Requests Tool. The purpose of the tool is to provide information about the requests for user data or content removal that Google (and the Google-owned YouTube) receives from government agencies around the world. The web site contains a map, which can be ordered by requests for data or requests for content removal. Google is using data from July-December 2009 and intends to update the data in 6-month increments.

Criminal Libel Suit Over Book Review

The Chronicle of Higher Education is reporting that Joseph H.H. Weiler, editor of the European Journal of International Law, is facing a criminal libel suit in France over a review that he published on a web site that he edits.

From Barco 2.0.

Franklin County Purchases E-Filing System

The Columbus Dispatch reports that Franklin County is purchasing an online filing system for county courts. Civil suits will go online first, likely in about 13 months. Other courts, including Probate Court, Domestic Relations Court, the 10th District Court of Appeals will follow.

From Cleveland Law Library Weblog.

19th Edition of the Bluebook to be Released this Month

The newest edition of the Bluebook will be released this month. According to Wisblawg (quoting Hein):

the 19th edition retains the same basic approach to legal citation
established by its predecessors. The layout has been updated to make information
easier to access. Some citation forms have been expanded, elaborated upon, or
modified from previous editions to reflect the ever-expanding range of
authorities used in legal writing and to respond to suggestions from the legal
community.

The Case of the $18,000 Phone Bill

A dispute in Massachusetts over an $18,000 phone bill.