Moritz Legal Information Blog

The ABA Law Journal brings us this headline: Prisoner exonerations are at an all-time high, and it’s not because of DNA testing , which states "Of the 87 known exonerations in 2013, 27 were cases in which no crimes had taken place. Almost half of the no-crime exonerations were for nonviolent-crime charges, mostly drug convictions." Law professor Samuel Gross have created a National Registry of Exonerations . Professor Gross and his colleagues primarily find exoneration cases through news articles. Curious to try your hand at finding cases with exonerated defendants by looking at newspaper articles? We have a number of resources here in the law library for electronic versions of newspapers. In our Accuracy Check Resource research guide, for example, we've listed a number of them . The research guide also includes a link to all of the newspaper databases to which OSU has subscribed. Factiva , Press Display ,  LexisNexis , Westlaw , and BloombergLaw are also online sourc

Many law students excelled as undergraduates.  Law school brings new challenges, however, and the library has gathered together a number of resources on law school academic success in a research guide  to help you meet these challenges. This guide incorporates the West Study Aid collection we described yesterday as well as subject-specific study aids, books about exam taking, books about navigating law school, and OSU resources for study and learning strategies. 

Maybe it's too early to think about studying. That's probably true. But it helps to know your options when the time does come to buckle down and learn a thing or two, and now you have more options than ever. We still have tons of study aids in print, including seven of the ten series The National Jurist identified as most popular. We also carry the Westlaw Study Aid Subscription , so you can use e-books when you need them:     To access this online collection, simply log in to Westlaw and click on MYePRODUCTS.

Welcome back to a new school year. Though classes are a week away, the entire university has been preparing for students' return. One fun news feature comes from The Ohio State University's main page, Hidden gems on campus , which highlights history here on campus and emphasizes that these landmarks are a way to connect with generations of students. In other words, if you're a student here, Ohio State history is now your history. We in the law library have been digitizing your history. A part of this work can be seen in the Moritz College of Law Class Composites (i.e., old class photos). Keep an eye on the OSU Knowledge Bank and this blog as more law school history (like the Buckeye Barrister ) is digitized.

If you're one of our law students, you're getting ready for your return to Moritz. As you meet new people this year, remember that one day they will be your colleagues---for better or worse. One of my favorite things about meeting new students is learning where they are "from," a sometimes-loaded question if they've moved around over the years. Hearing the myriad ways people pronounce crayon, rural, and roof can amuse me for hours too. As you prepare to meet your new classmates, take a look at this chart from the New York Times : Where We Came From, State by State.  Here's the lowdown on people who were born in Ohio: Ohio is another state with negative domestic migration. Since 1980, the number of residents born in neighboring Pennsylvania and Kentucky has fallen by a quarter million. The state's population growth is driven mostly by people born here. In 1990, 74 percent of Ohioans (i.e., people living in Ohio) were born in Ohio. That number is curr

The airline industry is heavily regulated, which makes sense if you think about that whole interstate commerce thing. For Pete's sake  (pardon the swear), the Commerce Clause is seemingly older than dirt . Some may be opposed to what they consider too much government intervention, but here's a great thing to come of it: the Air Travel Consumer Report , brought to you by the U.S. Department of Transportation . The data in the report can help you determine which airlines are late most often and why. Slate.com, for example, brings an analysis of why Southwest is late so often, then proposes a solution. So next time you're booking a flight, look to the DOT for info on consumer complaints (p. 46), on-time arrival and departure percentages by airport (p. 27), and mishandled baggage (pp. 40-42).

We have loads of information in the law library about hunting for jobs, interviewing, and what it's like when you actually get the job. Our newest item: Career Resources , an online legal research guide. In addition to the classic job-search resources, the guide features tips on researching employers and alternative legal careers. Check out my favorite alternative legal career here .