Moritz Legal Information Blog

The Ohio State Law Journal has launched a new online publication:   the Sixth Circuit Review .   The Journal aims for this publication to be a “digital public square,” a discussion of important questions arising in the Sixth Circuit.   Scholars, students, practitioners, and judges are all invited to participate. Afraid your comments will go unseen?   Chief Judge R, Guy Cole assures : “ Only through a frank and ongoing dialogue will our court ever achieve its fullest potential. I promise you this: the judges of our circuit and their law clerks will surely read in earnest whatever you write.” Begin the conversation by reading the inaugural issue and sending your own commentary to the Sixth Circuit Review editor .  In the inaugural issue, you will find James M. Hafner, Jr.’s case comment on DeBoer v. Snyder – a good preparation for next week’s oral arguments at the Supreme Court regarding the Sixth Circuit same sex marriage cases.   Other topics include ethics and professionalism

The Boston Marathon takes place today, and you can follow along to track the race leaders along the course. Two stories from the marathon world highlight the importance of race rules. First, the St. Louis Marathon has suffered from a young lady cutting the course and placing or winning two years in a row. Kendall Schler has twice been unable to prove through race photos or otherwise that she began and completed the entire marathon under USATF rules . It appears Ms. Schler violated at least two USATF rules in particular: Runner's identification shall consist of running numbers pinned securely on the front of each runner's uniform and displayed throughout the race. The registration list will contain each runner's name and running number. Any competitor who has been found by the Referee and/or Jury of Appeal to have gained an unfair advantage by intentionally shortening the route of the race ("cutting the course") shall be immediately disqualified from the co

You might need a snack of some sort to get you through the Internal Revenue Code, Treasury Regulations, Revenue Rulings, and the like.   So did Aimee Cvancara, who needed a Snickers to get through work one evening.   Cvancara listed the 89 cent Snickers bar as a business deduction, but the tax court disagreed , calling it a personal expense.   A short, but thrilling documentary , dissects Cvancara’s audit and tax court experience, all in under 5 minutes – an excellent study break (without the non-deductible expense of a Snickers). If you are inspired to learn more about business deductions – or need to because you are completing your taxes today – the IRS offers a helpful publication as well as a Q and A page .   Moritz students also have access to several tax specific databases , in addition to our major legal research databases.   h/t: TaxProf Blog

Libraries provide all kinds of things.  Including books , ebooks, databases of journal articles, images, and  music .  We also share our research expertise at reference desks and through research guides .  During national library week (April 12 - 18), we're asking you to tell us how libraries have helped you out the past year.  In return, you have a chance to win a gift certificate. You can celebrate national library week by sharing what you've made with help from your library, including Moritz, on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram using the hashtag #librarymade.  The American Library Association will award a $100 gift certificate to Maker Shed or Amazon to a lucky winner.  (Promotion details are available here .) Lexis has decided to celebrate national library week by donating coupons for free study aids.  The first two current Moritz Law students who email me  a short description of how Moritz Law Library has helped them will receive a coupon for a free  Lexis Q & A e

In a previous post , we highlighted the curious statistics that suggest it's not so hard to argue before the U.S. Supreme Court . . . if you've done it before. From that post, Reuters news service did a little research and produced The Echo Chamber, which concluded that in the last nine years, "66 of the 17,000 lawyers who petitioned the Supreme Court succeeded at getting their clients’ appeals heard at a remarkable rate. Their appeals were at least six times more likely to be accepted by the court than were all others filed by private lawyers during that period." But there may be more to the story when it comes to some legal issues. From the New York Times, The Case Against Gay Marriage: Top Law Firms Won’t Touch It .  That doesn't mean those arguing against gay marriage (or, possibly, in favor of states' rights) are from tiny mom-and-pop firms that have never stood before the Court before. In one case coming up on April 28, "the main lawyer opposi

Perhaps the best way to nurse the sorrow of a failed NCAA bracket is to embrace the start of baseball season. For a legal angle on the sport, take a look at one of our books on baseball law or on what it means to be a sports agent: The Little White Book of Baseball Law Baseball on Trial: The Origin of Baseball's Antitrust Exemption May the Best Team Win: Baseball Economics and Public Policy Legal Issues in Professional Baseball Legal Decisions that Shaped Modern Baseball How to Play the Game: What Every Sports Attorney Needs to Know Sports Agent Responsibility and Trust Act Representing the Professional Athlete And for fun, take a look at Malcolm Gladwell's 2010 article Talent Grab: Why Do We Pay Our Stars So Much Money?  Some interesting data from the article (with meaning for baseball players and lawyers alike): In baseball, between the mid-nineteen-forties and the mid-nineteen-sixties, the game’s minimum and highest salaries both fell by more than a third, in c

Commerce.gov has a newly-designed website intended to increase usability. "That's great!" you might be thinking, "but what on earth is Commerce.gov?" The answer, "It's the website for the Department of Commerce," may still leave you scratching your head a bit because what on earth does the Department of Commerce do ? "The mission of the Department is to create the conditions for economic growth and opportunity. As part of the Obama administration’s economic team, the Secretary of Commerce serves as the voice of U.S. business within the President’s Cabinet.  The  Strategic Plan is how the Department maintains its focus on achieving its Open for Business Agenda ." And so...? Well, the Department was established in 1903 with the goal of promoting economic growth, create jobs, and encourage sustainable development. From 1903-1913, the Department included commerce and labor until the Department of Labor was established in 1913. The