Moritz Legal Information Blog

The United States now has its first official bookless library . Let us know if you'd like the reference librarians to start acting like Apple store employees!

If you open your own practice, you are effectively your own boss. This means you set your own schedule. Sounds great in practice, but in reality, you just might need a little scheduling help to stay on track, especially if you're still developing a client base. For those who think like artists but work as attorneys, why not try Storyline's free " Productivity Schedule ." If that doesn't hit the mark, try Time Management and Technology , Help Me Get Organized , or Project Management for Lawyers , all based on an Ohio State Bar Association CLE.

I'm sure you all watched the big game yesterday, Animal Planet's Puppy Bowl . I can't think of anything cuter, and the best part of all is that they now have a fantasy league . It's too much. From Variety : Puppy Bowl penalties include all the NFL puns you can think of, including paws interference (instead of pass interference), rough sides (instead of off sides) and dog-collar tackle; as well as some unique to Animal Planet, such as whining, napping, howling, illegal bathing and premature watering of the lawn. So you can see why I was thrilled to find out about the Cbus connection to this year's puppy bowl: Penguins on loan from the Columbus Zoo ! From the Dispatch : “They’re supposed to be the cheerleaders,” explained Heather Price, one of the zoo’s animal-program specialists. “They had pompoms and little megaphones and blocks of ice, even though they’re from Africa. If the thought of working with animals forever is appealing, consider checking out Caree

In the spirit of friendly competition, the Seattle Public Library and the Denver Public Library began a Twitter Reading Bowl . The library that can get the most people to Tweet what they are reading wins. To score points for Seattle, tweet the title and author of what you are reading to @SPLBuzz using the following hashtags: #SEAreads and #ReadingBowl To score points for Denver, tweet the title and #DENreads and #ReadingBowl. Seattle Weekly

Justin Bieber's travails bring us two interesting legal issues: on what grounds can a non-U.S. citizen be deported, and do those petitions to the White House really work? CNN asks "What crimes lead to deportation?" Though they provide some illustrations, as an attorney, you know you have to look for more formal sources than a news story. The news story is simply a source of keywords to get your research started. A legal research guide on immigration is one great place to begin your research, and Pace Law has two  good ones. The Ohio State Bar Association has useful CLE info (which we have in our collection ) on the topic. You could also try an e-book: The Social, Political and Historical Contours of Deportation . Outside the normal course of immigration law, can American petition to have Mr. Bieber deported? CNN again brings us the story: "A petition calling for the deportation of Canadian-born Justin Bieber surpassed the 100,000 signature threshold, meaning th

The Seattle Times brings yet another story of juror misconduct due to the lure of the Internet. We've brought you similar stories in the past. In this case, the jury foreman looked up the statute for first-degree rape and linked through to the crime's penalty as well. The trial had lasted five weeks and was already concluded. A new trial would mean the woman would have to testify again about being threatened, choked and bitten. A new trial would mean money wasted. [The defendant] speaks Somali. During the trial, the court spent more than $20,000 on interpreters alone. Ultimately, the judge ordered a new trial due to the misconduct.

A property to question to ponder on your day off:   Who owns a dinosaur fossil –those who discover it or the owner of the land on which it is found?   And what if the land in question had been put in trust with the federal government? These are the facts at issue in the documentary that kicked off this year’s Sundance Film Festival, Dinosaur 13 .  The film, directed by Ohioan Todd Miller,   features a dispute over the ownership of a Tyrannosaurus Rex fossil discovered in South Dakota, as explained by the Columbus Dispatch . Read the last in the line of court cases here .   To learn more, check out Tyrannosaurus Sue:  the extraordinary saga of the largest, most fought over T. Rex ever found or this BLM guide to paleontological laws and policies.