The Pocket Part Blog

Pride Month 2023!

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June is LGBTQI+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Intersex) Pride Month! Originally celebrated as Gay Pride Day on the last Sunday in June to commemorate the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in New York City, Pride Month gradually became a month-long event.

The Stonewall site was declared a National Monument by Presidential Proclamation. The Stonewall uprising is regarded by many as the most important catalyst for the dramatic expansion of the movement to outlaw discriminatory laws and practices against LGBTQI+ Americans.

A  Proclamation on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Intersex Pride Month, 2023 was issued by President Biden to launch Pride month, “calling upon the people of the United States to recognize the achievements of the LGBTQI+ community, and to celebrate the great diversity of the American people…”

Stonewall Inn Johannes Jordan/Wikimedia Commons

Today, LGBTQ Pride Month events attract millions of participants around the world and has grown to a month-long series of events such as parades, picnics, parties and concerts, including some great events to check out right here in Connecticut:  https://www.ctvisit.com/articles/pride-month-celebrations-2023

Many legal changes for the LGBTQI+ community have been made since the police raided the Stonewall Inn nearly fifty years ago. However, continuing LGBTQ+ civil and equality rights issues remain relevant today.  HeinOnline features a LGBTQ+ Rights database.  This collection charts the gay rights movement in America, showing the civil rights codified into law in the 20th and 21st centuries, as well as the inequalities that still exist today.  To learn more about the newest database check out HeinOnline’s blog here and for additional research, check out UConn Law’s Research Guide, Sexuality, Gender Identity and the Law.

Westlaw, Lexis & Bloomberg Summer & Post-Graduate Access

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Summer is upon us!  Whether you are preparing for a summer internship or post-graduate plans, there are online resources available to you.  Here’s what you need to know about access to Bloomberg Law, Lexis, Westlaw and library databases. Need a dose of research help?  Research & Instruction librarians are available throughout the summer to assist with job or internship questions!

Westlaw

Returning Students

You may use your Westlaw account through the summer for noncommercial research, such as law school activities, research assistant assignments, work for a nonprofit, or in an unpaid internship.

Graduates

Graduates can register for Westlaw’s Graduate Elite Program, which provides for six months of access after graduation.  Graduates also have access to the Knowledge Center eLearnings and tutorials for 18 months after graduation.

In order to extend access you will need to opt into GRAD ELITE by logging into  www.lawschool.tr.com. Use the drop-down menu by your name to go to GRAD ELITE Status or go directly to https://lawschool.westlaw.com/authentication/gradelite.

Lexis

Returning Students

Lexis access continues through the summer with no restrictions on time or usage.

Graduates

You will have access to Lexis until December 31, 2023 with no registration required, or restrictions.  Use the same Lexis account log on credentials you used in law school.  If you are working for a nonprofit organization, you may be able to extend your access even longer through the ASPIRE Program.

Bloomberg Law

Returning Students

Bloomberg access continues through the summer, this access is automatic (no registration required) and is unlimited and unrestricted.

Graduates 

2023 graduates have continuous access for six months following graduation, through November 30, 2023. This access is automatic (no registration required) and is unlimited and unrestricted (if students register for Bloomberg Law access before graduation).  For any questions on using Bloomberg Law, students and graduates continue to have free access to our 24/7 Help Desk at (888) 560-2529 or help@bloomberglaw.com.

 Other Library Databases

Returning Students

Returning students have full access to all of our databases, such as Hein and Proquest throughout the summer.

Graduates

Alumni are always welcome to use the library and seek research help from the reference librarians.  If you stay in the area as you begin your legal careers, remember that the majority of our electronic resources can be accessed by any patron from within the library, including Westlaw. We look forward to see you back in the library!

 

Public Laws and Proclamations – Asian American, Native Hawaiian & Pacific Islander Heritage Month

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Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, celebrated in the month of May, originated in 1978 when Congress passed a joint resolution that became Pub. L. 95-419.  This law directed the President to issue a proclamation designating the week beginning on May 4, 1979 as Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week. Pub. L. 95-419 was amended in 1990 by Pub. L. 101-283  which expanded the observance of Asian/Pacific American Heritage week to the month of May in 1990.  Finally, in 1992, Congress passed Pub. L. 102-450 which permanently designated May of each year as “Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month.”

Pursuant to Pub. L. 102-450, American Presidents have annually issued proclamations designating May as “Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month.  On April 28, 2023, President Biden issued A Proclamation for Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, 2023.  

Presidential Proclamations are policy statements issued by the president to the public. Although often ceremonial, they can have legal effect (examples are proclamations regarding national emergencies, foreign policy, and federal land management). An example of this would be President Biden’s Proclamation 10315 (revoked on December 28, 2021) which suspended entry of certain individuals in countries where the Omicron variant of COVID-19 had been detected.

This informative CRS Report Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month Speech Resources: Fact Sheet provides excellent summary of both Public Laws and Proclamations pertaining to Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month.  Also by CRS, the publication, Presidential Directives: An Introduction, discusses the differences between presidential directives.

The Law Library display features an assortment of academic and leisure reading books selected in honor of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month for 2023.  Be sure to stop by and check one out for summer reading!  Have a great summer!

West Academic Study Aids – Now Online!

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Long commute? Want to “study” while cooking or exercising? Audio and video content is just one of the many features of our newly acquired Online West Academic Study Aids.

UConn Law Library now offers online access to over 500 study aids, including Hornbooks, Nutshells, and Gilbert Law Summaries, as well as Sum and Substance and Law School Legends Audio Content. Also included are case briefs, practice exams, and other material designed to supplement coursework.

West Academic Study Aids may be accessed at through our catalog here:  https://uconn-law.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01UCT_LAW/1694lnv/alma99394402802433.  Students can create a free account allows you to add and save notes and highlight text. Use your @uconn.edu email account when creating your account.

A good starting point are the dropdown menus immediately below the search with 1L subjects and 2L/3L subjects.

West Screen

There are numerous print study aids that can be checked out for four hours at a time on Course Reserve. For more information on study aid and a list of resource by topic – visit our research guide here: https://libguides.law.uconn.edu/c.php?g=345453&p=2327743#s-lg-box-7093685!

Wizard Law: The Magic of Legislative Process

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For those that think understanding the legislative process is unimportant, let what was nearly the nation’s first wizard law on the books convince you otherwise.  The year was 1995 in the State of New Mexico.  Their 42nd Legislature was in its first session and a bill dealing with psychologists and health facilities was introduced in the Senate.  SB 459 was referred to the Senate Standing Committees of Public Affairs and Corporation & Transportation.  Hearings were held and the bill passed out of committee and made its way to the Senate floor for consideration.  So far, so normal and not at all magical.  While the bill was up for final passage on the floor of the Senate, there was opportunity to debate or amend the text.  Senator Duncan Scott saw his chance and cast his spell.  Frustrated with the number of psychologists and psychiatrists testifying in legal trials he offered the following amendment:

 

Text of Amendment from Senate Journal

Shockingly, the amendment passed 30-0 and made its way onto the House where ultimately it was thankfully, or disappointingly depending on your love of magic, excised from the bill.  While Senator Duncan meant for the stunt to be satirical, we can see how important process is for all legislation.  Learning how to navigate process and find process generated documents can deepen your legislative history skill set and set you apart.

While many sources quote the full text of the amendment and discuss it, finding the actual text proved to be a bit more involved.  The New Mexico Legislature website lists bills but digital access to these only goes back to 1996 (so close, yet so far away).  Searching in Lexis, we can find the bill with the amendment included; however this paragraph was ultimately taken out and it’s hard to understand how exactly it all happened.  The New Mexico University School of Law has a research guide, which provided more information on how to search for legislation, but in the end, contacting the reference librarians directly was a great way to go!  The helpful librarians provided the original text of the amendment from the Senate Journal, which records action on the Senate Floor, and also an index from the journal that highlighted legislative moments of interest in the bill’s passage.  An instance illustrating that not everything is online, especially for state documents and those of an older vintage!   Abracadabra research!!

Celebrating Black History Month 2023

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black history month

February is Black History Month, and the theme this year is Black Resistance.  Maybe the first thing that comes to mind is resistance through protest, but there are so many ways that Black people have resisted – and continue to resist – oppression.  One story of resistance that I would like to share here is about Dr. Carla Hayden, currently serving as the first woman and first African American Librarian of Congress.  Before she was appointed to that position by President Barrack Obama, Dr. Hayden was the CEO of the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore, MD.  In 2015, when the death of 25-year-old Freddie Gray while in police custody sparked a massive protest against police brutality in the city, Dr. Hayden made the decision to keep the public libraries open as a refuge and safe place for the community.  I had the honor of meeting Dr. Hayden (and her mother!) when I was a library student about six months later.  I listened as she spoke about her experiences, how she kept all of the branches of the library open, how she set up and coordinated reading groups and other educational opportunities for children whose schools had been closed, and how proud and afraid she was when her mother came to the main branch of the library to help distribute water and food to protesters.

This month, I encourage everyone to learn more about people like Dr. Hayden, to support projects like The Baltimore Uprising Archive, and to do something to help resist the racism that still affects Black lawyers (and librarians) today.  Check out our library's Black History Month display for some suggested reading.

The Return of the Great Pizza Wars

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Hold onto your aprons as the tri-state pizza front has grown hot again following the introduction of a bill in Connecticut’s senate to declare pizza the state’s official food.  It’s only been a few years since the governors from Connecticut and New Jersey engaged in vicious battle over twitter, after Governor Lamont declared that we had the best pizza in the United States.  A while later, Connecticut Senate Democrats returned fire after Governor Murphy announced that New Jersey was the pizza capital of the world.  In the wake of these ongoing hostilities, the Connecticut Legislature took its first shot at enshrining pizza’s status here in the Nutmeg State into law, introducing a bill in the house.  The world took notice with celebrities from Stephen Colbert to Dan Rather weighing in.   While the bill passed out of the house, it died in the senate and the pizza war went cold.  That is until just a few weeks ago with the senate’s bold new action sure to reignite the passions of pizza partisans everywhere.

To conduct pizza legal research of your own here in Connecticut, your best bet is taking advantage of the search functionality of the General Assembly’s website: https://www.cga.ct.gov/default.asp.  There you can run an Advanced Bill and Document Search by clicking the Bill Info tab and selecting it under the Search heading.  From there you can specify what materials you want to search and decide what years you want to cover.  Doing so for all Bills and Related and for the word Pizza in the Document Text for the last 5 years helped me find the two bills mentioned above.  Do your part in the great pizza wars and learn how to follow legislative action as part of your research toolkit.  Visit us at the reference desk to learn more!

Introducing Westlaw Precision!

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Westlaw homepage

As you are returning for the Spring semester, you may notice some changes when you log into Westlaw.  Westlaw Precision is now integrated right into Westlaw Edge.  Your account will automatically convert to this update and will include a new interface and 6 new features.  The underlying content of the subscription (secondary sources & primary law) will remain the same. 

A major difference you will notice on the homepage is the Precision Research feature.  Otherwise, you will see the same content categories available. 

Westlaw Precision allows you to search and filter by legal issue and outcome, fact pattern, motion type and outcome, to quickly find a core set of highly relevant cases.  

 Other highlights include: 

  • KeyCite Cited With: Shows related cases that have a pattern of being cited together even if neither cites the other.  
  • KeyCite Overruled in Part: Indicates, via a new red-striped flag, that a case has been overruled in part and enables navigation directly to the language in the case discussing the point of law that has been overruled. 
  • Graphical View of History: Displays a graphical visualization of research history, mapping out each step and highlighting the searches and documents with more research interaction.  
  • Keep List/Hide Details: Allows users to save cases of interest and hide cases they have determined are not relevant to current research.   
  • Outline Builder: Enables users to organize research by dragging and dropping text into a customizable outline. Linked and formatted citations and KeyCite information integrate automatically, and the outline can be exported to begin drafting a brief.  

      Want more info?  Check out the YouTube tutorials below: 

        Let us know if you have any questions at refdesk.lawlib@uconn.edu, and happy researching! 

        It’s a Wonderful Life….How a Copyright Glitch Created a Christmas Cult Classic

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        It's a Wonderful Life movie posterThe 2022 holiday season marks the 76th Anniversary of It’s a Wonderful Life.  Based on Philip Van Doren Stern’s short story The Greatest Gift, the 1946 Frank Capra film tells the tale of a despondent man (James Stewart) who contemplates suicide on Christmas Eve.   His guardian angel grants him a chance to see what life for his friends and family would be like if he had never been born.   Although a now a holiday favorite, the film was a box office flop and a major blow to director Frank Capra’s reputation.

        Indeed, this movie might have been a forgotten footnote in film history if not for a filing error with the U.S. Copyright Office.  Then-copyright owner Republic Pictures missed filing the renewal application, causing the film to lapse into the public domain.  This oversight enabled TV networks, who were looking for cheap holiday-oriented content, to program it heavily for more than two decades without paying any royalties to its producers. It was during this near-constant airplay that the film was rediscovered by the American public – earning its status as a holiday classic.

        So how did this happen? The The US Copyright Act of 1909 governs copyrightable works created before 1964. The Act created two distinct copyright terms for each individual work: a 28-year initial term and a 28-year renewal term. The initial term applied automatically, but the copyright owner had to file a renewal application with the U.S. Copyright Office to acquire the second term. If the owner failed to file a renewal application before the first 28-year term expired, the work automatically entered the public domain. This was the case in 1974, when 28 years had passed, Republic Pictures failed to file a renewal for the film’s copyright protection. The upshot of this was that since the film was in the public domain,  anyone could show the film without obtaining permission or paying royalties.

        However, in 1993, Republic Pictures claimed that although they had failed to renew copyright over the film in 1974, they still retained rights to the original story, The Greatest Gift, (available in most public libraries) upon which the screenplay for It’s a Wonderful Life is based.  As a backup, in 1993, it purchased the rights to the film’s musical score by Dimitri Timokin from his family, which had been copyrighted separately.  Relying on the Supreme Court case Stewart v. Abend, 495 U.S. 207 (1990), which held that only the copyright owner of a story has the right to exploit derivative works such as films, Republic Pictures regained control of the picture.

        Equipped with the Supreme Court decision concerning the underlying story and with the copyright in the music for the film’s soundtrack, Republic Pictures alerted all television networks to stop playing It’s a Wonderful Life without the payment of royalties. They then entered an licensing arrangement with NBC, where It’s a Wonderful Life is shown a few times each December.  Others may also license the film for broadcast. On the local front, you can catch a viewing on the big screen at Cinestudio, located on the campus of Hartford’s Trinity College from December 19th – December 24th.

        The film’s days of 24 hour free programming may be over, but thanks to the film’s revival from those those decades of repeated airplay, It’s a Wonderful Life gained a new cult status.  It is now available for streaming on Amazon Prime, making it poised to capture the next streaming video audience.  The film’s message of kindness, community and hope is timeless. Thankfully, a new generation can now receive Capra’s message anytime, on demand.

        Veterans Day, November 11, 2022

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        Despite the discord and uncertainty that we that we have all faced over the past few difficult years, it is important to take a moment to remember that it is because of veterans that we are able to express our thoughts and emotions freely, have meaningful debates on vital issues, strive for positive change, and exercise our rights as Americans.  In the words of President Biden, “In every generation, America’s veterans have been willing to give all for that which we hold sacred — freedom, justice, and democracy.  They have served selflessly, sacrificed greatly, and shouldered the burden of freedom quietly, asking no glory for themselves.  Today, let us honor them by living up to their example — putting service before self, caring for our neighbors, and working passionately to build a more perfect Union worthy of all those who protect our lives and liberty.”   

        As Governor Lamont said, “There are thousands of veterans of the United States military who call Connecticut their home, and we are indebted to the sacrifices they have made in service to their nation and the protection of our great country.”  In the words of Lt. Governor Susan Bysiewicz, “There will never be enough words or the right words to express the gratitude we feel toward our Connecticut veterans. . . . Every day, we should take the opportunity to thank those who served, not just on Veteran’s Day. It’s important to remember that we are able to enjoy the freedoms we have today because of their courage, their bravery, and their sacrifice.” 

        So please take a moment to thank all of our veterans for their service. Learn about why we celebrate Veterans Day on November 11, how you can volunteer to help veterans in your neighborhood, how you can get involved with UConn Law’s VALOR (Veterans and Armed Forces Legal Out Reach) Society, or how UConn supports veterans and their families. 

        At the library, we asked our patrons to honor individual veterans by adding their names to our display. The UConn Law Library, along with UConn students, faculty, and staff, thanks all of our veterans for their courageous service, including those listed in the picture here. 

        Veterans Day, November 11, 2022