Moritz Legal Information Blog

And in other news, it's National Punctuation Day ! I have several favorite go-to websites for on-the-fly grammar and punctuation advice, including the following: 1. Grammar Girl 's quick and dirty tips (my favorite: the difference between less and fewer); and 2. Cornell's Bluebook , briefly. For those of you agonizing with footnotes by dealing with en dashes, em dashes, and the section symbol, do yourself a favor and customize your shortcut keys . When I was a journal editor in law school, I reassigned the keys so that the en dash was Ctrl + k and the section symbol was Ctrl + y. No more arduous, multi-step process to illustrate inclusive number sets! (Hmm...could this enthusiasm for grammar explain why I became a law librarian?)

If a person with religious beliefs and practices that could conflict with the restrictions of prison is sentenced, how are his or her beliefs and practices accomodated? Must they be? Slate.com offers a brief explainer in light of the Amish beard-cutting case. For analysis concerning the prisoner provisions of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA), check out Chapter 7 of the e-book Religious Free Exercise and Contemporary American Politics: The Saga of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons ACT of 2000 . Notably, the case that upheld the constitutionality of the incarceration provisions, Cutter v. Wilkinson , originated in Ohio.

After 37 hours of deliberations, the jury found Samuel Mullet guilty of conspiracy and hate crimes for exhorting his followers to cut off the hair and beards of other Amish .  Fifteen of Mullet's family members and other followers were found guilty of related crimes.  Sentencing will take place on January 24. Cleveland Plain Dealer New York Times CBS News

"Artists' books" are books that have been transfigured or conceived of as works of art. For some incredible examples, take a look here. If you're looking for a study break, wander over to Thompson Library next Tuesday, September 25, from 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. in Room 150A to see (and handle!) dozens of examples. For a little legal quiz, do these modifications of books violate copyright law ?

New York is now the first state to require pro bono work before an applicant may be admitted to the bar.  The rule requires 50 hours of pro bono service, none of which may be satisfied by partisan political activities. You can read the new rule here .  It is not scheduled to go into effect until 2015, so current 3Ls are exempt. ABA Journal Wall Street Journal Law Blog Above the Law

I just moved to Columbus and was on the verge of realizing my lifelong dream of living in a city with an NHL team when tragedy struck . If you're as frustrated by the NHL lockout as I am (or if you have no idea what the NHL is and want to know), I highly recommend The Law of Hockey   to get your bearings on the topic. The book covers everything you might expect (labor relations, player contracts, competition law), but it also includes sections on things that never crossed my mind: equality issues (e.g. aboriginal peoples, religion, and transgender status), television contracts, and "two cases of hockey homicide." In local news, The Dispatch reports on the impact the lockout will have on Columbus taxpayers as a result of the contract negotiated late last year. Sports Law is offered this Spring. Why not get a leg up on the national sport of Canada ?

We've written in the past about the child sex abuse case of Jerry Sandusky.  A date has now been set for his sentencing: three weeks from today, October 9. Sandusky was convicted of 45 counts relating to the sexual abuse of young boys, and faces up to 373 years in prison. Sentencing Law and Policy Detroit Free Press NBC Sports