The Pocket Part: UConn Law Library Blog

National Library Week: Ready, Set, Library & The Game of Life

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National Library Week (April 7-13, 2024) is a celebration of libraries and library workers. The theme for this year’s library week is “Ready, Set, Library” which “illustrates the idea that in our always-online world, libraries give us a green light to something truly special: a place to connect with others, learn new skills, and focus on what matters most…. no matter where you find yourself on the roadmap through life’s journey—preparing for a new career, launching a business, or raising a family—the library provides an inclusive and supportive community where everyone belongs.”  

The same is true for our law library, no matter where you find yourself on your legal journey, the UConn Law Library has resources to assist as well as provide an inclusive and supportive community. Much like the iconic board game of life, the journey is an adventure filled with discovery, knowledge, and endless opportunities for growth. 

Ready: Legal Research Help

The law library is here to offer everyone legal research assistance. Every member of the Connecticut community, alumni, law students, students of all ages, are encouraged to ask us reference questions. If you are experienced or new to legal research, or someone in between, contact us via phone (860-570-5200), email (refdesk.lawlib@uconn.edu) or visit us in person and we will help you.  

If we are not available, our Research Guides are a great place to consult and provide information on many topics including on Connecticut Law, Free Online Legal Research and a Student Toolkit.  

Set: Navigating the Legal Landscape 

As we set foot in the library, amidst the shelves lined with books, online resources, and digital archives, we have the power to expand our horizons, deepen our understanding, and transform in profound ways. Even though you will face unexpected twists and turns, we can assist you overcome those obstacles with specialized resources and knowledge.  

For all researchers we have specialized legal databases. These include HeinOnline, which has many resources including bar journals, complications of state laws, and government documents as well as Westlaw, which is a comprehensive full-text legal database that includes primary and secondary legal materials, legal news, and law related documents. We will help you find the right resource for your question.  

Library: The Heartbeat of Community  

Much like the game of life, the practice of law is an ever-evolving adventure, filled with twists and turns, challenges and triumphs. Our library serves as a hub of community engagement and information exchange. Like gathering around the game of life board with friends and family, we come together in the library to connect and exchange ideas. 

Join us this week in celebration of Library Week. Check out our Game of Life Book display for the variety of resources available to you at any stage of your journey! Play the game, ‘UConn Law Library: How Do we Help You?’ and come to the main desk to collect your prize!  

April Fools’ Day! When Media Mischief Means Litigation!

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Next Monday is April 1st, a.k.a. April Fool’s Day! If you are thinking about pulling a prank or see something suspicious in a media outlet, remember what starts out as a practical joke sometimes ends up with legal trouble.  

In Connecticut, a joke went too far when April Fools’ Day story published by a local newspaper parodying a commercial developer struck a nerve and led to a lawsuit. The case,  Victoria Square, LLC v. Glastonbury, brought forth claims of defamation, invasion of privacy by false light and violation of the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act (CUTPA). The Superior court held that the newspaper article discussing a planned development with a huge Wal-Mart, a Hooters facing a church and school, and a helicopter launching pad, was clearly a parody of the newspaper’s usual content and not defamatory. 

Other media outlets such as radio stations should remember that broadcasters need to be careful with any practical jokes or pranks prepared especially for the day.  The FCC’s rule against broadcast hoaxes, Section 73.1217, prevents stations from running any information about a “crime or catastrophe” on the air, if the broadcaster (1) knows the information to be false, (2) it is foreseeable that the broadcast of the material will cause substantial public harm and (3) substantial public harm is in fact caused.  

Bottom line: think before you prank and if a story sounds too good to be true, take a deeper dive!

Online Exhibit! We March On: 100 Years of Women’s Suffrage

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UConn Law Library is highlighting Women’s History month by showcasing resources focusing on women and the law.

We March On – Celebrating 100 Years of Women’s Suffrage Exhibit was designed to commemorate the 100th anniversary of this achievement.  The online exhibit features a historical narrative, recognizes the efforts of the suffrage movement in Connecticut, and showcases contributions to women’s equality by women at UConn School of Law.

Originally produced as six large banners, which were on display at the UConn Law Library,  We March On was intended as a traveling exhibit. The online version was created during COVID so that more people could learn about these important individuals and events. Accompanied by stunning period photos and powerful quotes, it’s a riveting view of this movement.

The We March On research guide contains additional information about women at UConn Law, the Equal Rights Amendment and a multitude of resources dedicated to this subject.

Database Spotlight! Women and the Law (Peggy) from Hein

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March is Women’s History Month and UConn Law Library is celebrating by highlighting some of its resources focusing on women and the law.

Women and the Law (Peggy), is a collection on HeinOnline that brings together more than 3,600 fully searchable books, biographies, and periodicals dedicated to the role of women in society and the law.

This collection provides a platform for users to research the progression of women’s roles and rights in society over the past 200 years.  It also includes titles from Emory University Law School’s Feminism and Legal Theory Project which provide a platform to view the effect of law and culture on the female gender.

HeinOnline has created a LibGuide with more information on the collection.

And if you are wondering why the collection is also called Peggy, take a look at the collection’s homepage for the story!

How do I access Women and the Law (Peggy)?

  1. Go to the Library website
  2. Click on Databases A-Z under the Top Library Tools section on lower right
  3. Scroll down to  HeinOnline Women and the Law (Peggy)

Women’s History Month Display at UConn Law Library

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Women’s History Month has been recognized in the United States since President Reagan issued Presidential Proclamation 5619 on March 16, 1987, with all the succeeding presidents following suit on an annual basis.  In 2024 President Biden’s Proclamation  urged us to recognize “the long, storied history of great women helping to realize our Nation’s founding promise and highest aspirations.”  Biden’s Proclamation also called upon Americans to celebrate International Women’s Day, celebrated within Women's History Month on March 8th every year.

The first International Women’s Day gathering was in 1911 and is now celebrated by more than one million individuals.  Read more about the history here.  Be sure to stop by the library to check out our print resources in honor of both Women’s History Month, and International Women’s Day.  Also check out UConn Law Library's own research guide, We March On, which features an online exhibit highlighting the women's suffrage movement, UConn Law women and Connecticut's role in the movement.

Leap Year and the Law

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2024 is a Leap Year, where an additional day (the 29th!) is added to February every four years.  

For leapers, born on February 29th, there are annoyances and medical challenges in their lives. On the legal front, complications caused by that extra day affect areas such as age determination disputes, statutes of limitation, and criminal sentencing.  

In the Nutmeg state, a quick search resulted in several cases that reflect the myriad of logistical and legal problems associated with this extra day. In Lorusso v. McClain the plaintiff argued that she commenced her action in a timely manner due to the definition of the word “year” which is not limited to 365 calendar days during a leap year (2016), thus permitting the plaintiff to deliver the writ, summons and complaint to the marshal on the 366th calendar day. The court determined that in the context of computing the statute of limitations and unless expressed otherwise, the 29th day in the month of February during a leap year is to be counted with the 28th day of February of the same leap year. 

To learn more about the leap year and the law, check out this blog post from Thomson-Reuters: 

Take Your Child to Library Day! Saturday 2/24!

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Join us on Saturday, February 24th, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. for a morning of fun at the library!

The UConn Law Library is joining a nationwide initiative that encourages families to take their children to the library and raises awareness of the importance of libraries for children and families.  We will have coloring, story time, create your own bookmarks and a self-directed scavenger hunt. We hope kids and the young at heart will join us and enjoy the library space.

Graphic of Rabbits walking to library

Database Spotlight! NAACP Papers

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This February, in honor of Black History Month , UConn Law Library is featuring 3 important digital resources: the NAACP Papers as produced by ProQuest.  The collection is organized into the following groups:

NAACP Papers: The NAACP’s Major Campaigns – Education, Voting, Housing, Employment, Armed Forces

Major campaigns for equal access to education, voting, employment, housing and the military are covered in this module. The education files in this second module document the NAACP’s systematic assault on segregated education that culminated in Brown v. Board of Education in 1954. Files from 1955 –1965 focus on the NAACP’s efforts to implement the Brown decision as well as to combat de facto segregation outside of the South.  Click here to go to the LibGuide page for this module

This NAACP module consists of the working case files of the NAACP’s general counsel and his Legal Department staff for the period from 1956 to 1972. The files document the NAACP’s aggressive campaign to bring about desegregation throughout the United States, particularly in the South.  In total, this module contains over 600 cases from 34 states and the District of Columbia. The cases in this module pertain to school desegregation, abuses of police procedure, employment discrimination, freedom of speech, privacy, freedom of association, and housing discrimination.  Click here to go to the LibGuide page for this module

One of the highlights of this NAACP module are the records on the Scottsboro case, one of the most celebrated criminal trials of the 20th century. This module also contains the key NAACP national office files on the campaign against lynching and mob violence, and NAACP efforts to fight against discrimination in the criminal justice system. Click here to go to the LibGuide page for this module

The NAACP Papers contains excellent material to support the law school community’s research projects on social justice and civil rights topics. If you have any questions about this content, contact our reference team!

Clear that Snow From Your Car! Laws from New Year’s Past and Present

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Last week’s ice storm prompted a reminder of Connecticut's law which requires drivers to clear snow and ice from the roofs of their vehicles.  Connecticut is one of a handful of Northeast states with a law regarding snow and ice removal from vehicles. 

Although this law has been on the books for over 10 years, news outlets and police departments note that it bears repeating. Public Act 13-102 states that failure to remove accumulated ice/snow from a vehicle may result in fines that range from $75 to $1,250.  This should be deterrent enough to allocate the necessary time deicing and removing snow from cars.  

Speaking of....there are a number of laws that became active January 1st, 2024. Law are passed throughout the year at the state capital, but only a handful of the bills signed went into effect immediately.  Many kicked in Oct. 1, and more still become active on the first day of 2024. This year, new state statutes affect a wide variety of issues including early voting, minimum wage, online dating and healthcare records. 

Here are just a few summaries, and if you are interested in what happened before these were passed, check out our research guide which provides step-by-step guide on how to locate legislative history in Connecticut (nifty result, legislative history for PA 13-102 – see how it came to be!).  

Connecticut State Capitol Building at night in snow
Connecticut State Capitol Building, Hartford, Connecticut

Minimum Wage 

Connecticut's minimum wage will  increase effective January 1 from $15.00 to $15.69.  Made possible through legislation passed in 2019, which implemented five incremental increases in the minimum wage followed by future adjustments that are tied to the percentage change in the federal employment cost index. 

Artificial Intelligence (PA-23-16) 

This act concerning AI, automated decision-making and personal data privacy requires creation of an Office of Artificial Intelligence, and establishment of an AI task force and bill of rights. The law also requires Connecticut to examine the technology’s role and impact on state agencies. 

Under the same measure, the state will also work to protect the data privacy of individuals, including the case of targeted advertising. 

EARLY VOTING (PA 23-5)

Public Act 23-5 creates a framework for early, in-person voting requiring a 14-day early voting period for general elections, a seven-day period for most primaries, and a four-day early voting period for special elections and presidential preference primaries. Check out this Issue Brief from the Office of Legislative Research which explains Connecticut's Early Voting Law.
 
 ONLINE PRIVACY, DATA AND SAFETY PROTECTIONS (PA 23-56)

Makes various changes to laws on data privacy and related issues, including provisions on consumer health data, minors’ social media accounts and online services, online dating operators, and a task force on internet crimes against children. 

RESOURCES FOR PERSONS WITH AN INTELLECTUAL OR DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITY (PA 23-137)

This act contains many supportive measures, including the creation of a plan to establish a Transitional Life Skills College program to support certain people with IDD who are transitioning out of high school or to independent living.
 
WORKERS' COMPENSATION FOR POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS INJURIES (PA 23-35)

Expands eligibility for workers’ compensation benefits for post-traumatic stress injuries to all employees covered by the workers’ compensation law. 

The Connecticut General Assembly site list all Acts effective January 1, 2024 with a nifty tool for filtering by date.  Check them out and don’t forget to remove ice from your vehicle! Drive safely! 

Martin Luther King Jr. Day – Connecticut’s Connection

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Martin Luther King Day is observed this Monday, January 15, 2024. The holiday commemorates the holiday serves as a time for reflection, community service, and the celebration of Dr. King’s contributions to the civil rights movement.

Although now a paid federal holiday, the path towards recognition took fifteen long years. On November 2, 1983, President Ronald Reagan signed H.R. 3706, a bill that established Martin Luther King, Jr. Day as a federal public holiday on the third Monday of January. On January 18, 1986, President Reagan signed Proclamation 5431 (100 Stat. 4396), marking the first observance of his birthday a national holiday. Each president since President Reagan has issued a proclamation recognizing MLK Day as a day to acknowledge and celebrate the visionary work of Dr. King.

Connecticut was one of the first states to recognize MLK day in 1973 on Sundays (P.A. 73-648). In 1977, it switched to January 15 (P.A. 76-267). In 1986, it changed MLK day to the first Monday on or after January 15 annually (P.A. 84-56). Individual municipalities could opt to recognize it or not.

Connecticut’s role in Martin Luther King Jr.’s formative years, where he spent summer working on a tobacco farm in Simsbury, Ct is little known, as this experience opened a teenage Martin Luther King Jr's eyes to a world beyond the Jim Crow South.  Years later, his autobiography noted his experiences in Connecticut which helped heighten his awareness of the cruel injustice of segregation.  Simsbury will celebrate MLK's legacy this on Monday, January 15, 2024.

UConn Law Library will be open on Martin Luther King Day.  As future attorneys, legislators, judges and community activists, you will have the responsibility to uphold the law, provide access to justice and ensure that the justice system is equitable.  Take time to contemplate Dr. King’s legacy and how your future practice will advance the principles he stood for.