Moritz Legal Information Blog

The International Privacy Law Library on WorldLII has been expanded. The World Legal Information Institute (WorldLII) is a free, independent and non-profit global legal research facility developed collaboratively by the following Legal Information Institutes and other organizations (one of which should be quite familiar): Australasian Legal Information Institute ( AustLII ) British and Irish Legal Information Institute ( BAILII ) Canadian Legal Information Institute ( CanLII ) Hong Kong Legal Information Institute ( HKLII ) Legal Information Institute (Cornell) ( LII (Cornell) ) Pacific Islands Legal Information Institute ( PacLII ) Wits University School of Law ( Wits Law School )  The International Privacy Law Library includes 32 databases and court decisions from hundreds of courts around the world. More content will be added regularly. h/t LLRX

You have probably never heard of the National Technical Information Service (NTIS).   If Senator Tom Coburn has his way, this may be the last time you do.   The NTIS “ seeks to promote American innovation and economic growth by collecting and disseminating scientific, technical and engineering information to the public and industry, by providing information management solutions to other federal agencies.”   This agency sells many publications, including the Homeland Security Annual Privacy Report for April 2003-June 2004 – listed at $38.   You can also find this report at the Department of Homeland Security website – for free.   As simple Google searches often yield free versions of NTIS materials, Senator Coburn has introduced a bill entitled the “Let Me Google That For You Act” to abolish the NTIS.   So like any remaining NTIS users, consider multiple places to look as you research!

We've written previously about liability waivers for "brutal" adventure races like Tough Mudder, positing that "if a participant signed a waiver (that he or she may not have read), he or she may be out of luck if injured." Those liability waivers are being challenged in court with greater frequency. For a slide show on "times an adventurous outing went so wrong it spawned a court case," check out the ABA Journal .

With shooting rampages cropping up in the news every few months, you may wonder (as did an author at Slate.com ), "Under what circumstances can a family member, social worker, or law enforcement officer have a person involuntarily committed because they represent a danger to society? With the recent spate of shootings perpetuated by people with known mental illness, do those laws need updating?" The laws vary by state, but you can find them on a handy website here . To determine which states have the strongest or weakest laws regarding civil commitment, this site recently (February 2014) rated them.

We (Moritz Law Library) subscribe to receive microfiche from the Congressional Information Service (CIS). What is the stuff we receive? All kinds of federal legislative material. (Cleveland-Marshall's law library has created a handy guide on the topic.) You can find this material online through ProQuest Congressional (because CIS is part of ProQuest, a private company), but sometimes the fiche might be more useful or convenient. To search our fiche collection, just search the index  here . To get help with the fiche reader, check with the reference desk or ask for assistance at the circulation desk.

Supreme Court watchers have recently noted errors in opinions by two Justices, errors the Court has corrected.  The  Wall Street Journal reported that Justice Scalia mischaracterized a prior case. And the Washington Times reported that Justice Kagan made a historical error. These individual mistakes and the subsequent changes may seem minor -- they do not necessarily impact the outcome of the cases.  But it appears, as the New York Times reports, that the Supreme Court often edits opinions -- not always announcing these changes.  This New York Times interactive graphic illustrates several edits. A new task for the legal researcher:  look for alternative versions of SCOTUS opinions!

Coming from Michigan, I was surprised the first time I went to an Ohio wine tasting and found that I had to pay for the tasting samples.  But thanks to a new law, some beer and wine retailers will soon be able to hold free tastings. As always, you can check out every version of the new legislation (set to take effect on July 10th of this year) at the Ohio Legislature website : SB 173 (As Introduced) Fiscal Notes and Local Impact Statement Status Report And news coverage: WBNS-10TV Dayton Daily News