Heafey Headnotes

February 2007

 
Westlaw: Quick Print v. Print, where your print job goes
February 28, 2007 at 2:11 PM
Within the last year Westlaw added another printing option to their system; you now can choose between:

- "Quick Print" the icon is second from the left with red on the printer image, or
- "Print" the next icon to the right, all in black and white.

Your choice determines the destination of your print job.

If you select Quick Print, a box pops up asking you to select a printer. You will notice all the selections relate to your default setting of the attached network printer; you won't see the Westlaw printers that print your job for free. If you send the print job this way, it will go to the SmartPrint printers; you would then have to release the job - and pay - to have it printed.

However, if you select the plain Print icon one over to the right, your job will go to the Westlaw printers in the room just down the hall. After a short wait - as it works through Westlaw's immense network - your free print job will appear.


What if you mistakenly sent it using Quick Print?

- If you don't release the job from the SmartPrinter, you don't have to pay for it and it will be cleared from the system within a few hours - no harm, no foul.

- Once it's gone to the SmartPrint system the folks at Westlaw CANNOT redirect the print job.

- However, you can resend the print job by logging back onto Westlaw, opening the Research Trail, and resending the documents to the free, Print option Westlaw printers.

 
 
Journalist Shield Laws
February 27, 2007 at 9:53 AM

From The Faculty Blog at the University of Chicago Law School, see Professor Geoffrey Stone’s posting We Need a Federal Journalist-Shield Law NOW, which also appeared as an op-ed in the February 21st New York Times.

For additional online information about shield laws, see the Journalists’ Rights Tracker from the Poynter Institute.

 
 
ICJ Genocide Decision
February 26, 2007 at 10:10 AM

The International Court of Justice released its judgment today in the Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Bosnia and Herzegovina v. Serbia and Montenegro). The Court concluded that Serbia did not commit genocide but failed to fulfill its obligations under the Convention to prevent genocide in Srebrenica and did not cooperate fully with the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia.

In a statement to the press, the Court’s President, Judge Rosalyn Higgins, explained details of the judgment. In addition to her remarks and the complete text of the judgment, the ICJ website includes an MP3 file of Judge Higgins reading the judgment’s operative clause. Reuters coverage includes a video from the court.

 
 
Canadian Supreme Court Decision
February 23, 2007 at 2:37 PM

In a decision released today, the Supreme Court of Canada unanimously invalidated anti-terrorism provisions of Canadian immigration law as a violation of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The decision – Charkaoui v. Canada, 2007 SCC 9 – is available online. The invalidated provisions, regarding a security certificate program that allowed authorities to detain suspected terrorists indefinitely, are part of Canada’s 2001 Immigration and Refugee Protection Act: chapter 27, sections 33, 77 to 85, 112, and 115. U.S., Canadian, British, and French media provide additional details.

 
 
Tobacco Decision
February 20, 2007 at 10:08 AM

Today’s United States Supreme Court opinion in Philip Morris USA v. Williams is available at the Supreme Court website. The 5-4 decision invalidates a $79.5 million punitive damages award to the widow of a man who died from lung cancer. Jurors in the case were not explicitly instructed that they could not use a punitive damages award to punish the defendant for harm done to non-parties. A 2006 Oregon Supreme Court decision had upheld the award because of "extreme and outrageous circumstances."

 
 
Google Copyright Decision
February 15, 2007 at 8:45 AM
See the Google Blog for information about the Copiepresse decision, a Brussels court’s ruling that Google violated Belgian copyright law by posting snippets and linking to the full text of French- and German-language newspaper articles. A copy of the February 13th decision from the Tribunal de Première Instance de Bruxelles is available at the Copiepresse website, in French. Also available from Copiepresse is the September 2006 Google-Copiepresse decision by the same court, in both French and English. For additional information, see the February 14th New York Times article by Thomas Crampton  – Google Said to Violate Copyright Laws – and copyright blogs.
 
 
Tax Information
February 13, 2007 at 10:47 AM

The Tax Policy Blog from the Tax Foundation today has statistical information about varying tax burdens, organized by state, county, congressional district, and major metropolitan area. Additional tax data and research is available at the Tax Foundation website, along with podcasts on tax topics and .pdf copies of assorted Foundation publications.

Federal income tax forms and publication are available at the IRS website, which also includes information about the Free File program for taxpayers with an adjusted gross income of $52,000 or less.

California income tax forms, general tax information, and information about the CalFile (free online filing) program, are available at the website of the Franchise Tax Board.

 
 
Law Librarianship Opportunity
February 09, 2007 at 10:02 AM

The University of Arizona, Rogers College of Law Library has an exciting opportunity for law grads seeking to become law librarians.  They are offering three to four two-year fellowships in law librarianship.  The fellowships offer a stipend, benefits and free tuition.  .  

Fellowship in Law Librarianship
The University of Arizona School of Information Resources and Library Science (SIRLS) and the Law Library of the James E. Rogers College of Law offer a two-year fellowship in law librarianship for lawyers seeking to become law librarians.  Successful applicants will work 20 hours a week in the law library while pursuing a M.L.S.

Requirements:    
-  J.D. degree from an ABA accredited school.
-  Admission to the University of Arizona School of Information Resources and Library Science.
-  Preference given to students with Spanish language skills.

SIRLS Application process: 
- Application for Admission to Graduate Study
- Written statement of Introduction
- LSAT or GRE score
- Official Transcript from each college or university attended       
- Resume of educational and work experience
- Two letters of recommendation

See Prospective Students at http://sir.arizona.edu

Fellowship Application:       

Cover letter and resume. 
Deadline April 1, 2007.

 

Send to:
Professor Mike Chiorazzi, Assoc. Dean Information Services
Law Library
University Arizona James E. Rogers College
of Law
1201. E. Speedway Blvd.
Tucson, AZ 85721

 

It is also necessary to apply online through the University’s HR department.   

Fellowship information:

The successful applicant will work twenty hours a week in the law library.   The salary is $11,000 a year.  Benefits and tuition remission are included.  (In the current fiscal year the fellowship recipient would pay a fee of $79 per semester and have the remaining tuition and fees waived.)

 

 
 
International Law Careers
February 08, 2007 at 9:42 AM
Among the MP3 files that can now be downloaded from the Law Career Services  website is an October 2006 International Law Panel, international practitioners describing their work and career paths.

Webpages listing resources on International Law Careers are available from  the University of Minnesota Law Library, the Gallagher Law Library at the University of Washington School of Law, and from Professor William B. Slomanson at the Thomas Jefferson School of Law.

In January 2007, the American Society of International Law hosted a webinar on Careers in International Law. Slides from the webinar can be viewed at the ASIL website, which also links to a list of student resources. The ASIL publication Careers in International Law is available in the law library (KZ1237 .C37 2001) and in career services.

 
 
Chief Justice Roberts
February 06, 2007 at 9:28 AM
Today’s Washington Post includes an article by Robert Barnes about Chief Justice Roberts’s February 1st address to law students at Northwestern University School of Law, including his advice for those practicing before the Supreme Court: Chief Justice Counsels Humility. A recording of the speech itself is available at Northwestern’s website.