First Monday in October

The Friday night announcement of Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death prompted national mourning. Over the weekend, hundreds gathered on the steps of the United States Supreme Court, and at courthouses around the country, to celebrate the life of this trailblazing jurist. This week, the Justice will lie in repose at first the Court steps, and then at the U.S. Capitol.

To learn more about Justice Ginsburg's remarkable life and career, the Duke University community can access the 2018 documentary film RBG online. Additional biographical resources can be found in the Duke Libraries catalog with a subject search for "Ginsburg, Ruth Bader". The "Available Online" filter will limit your results to e-books and video links; the Duke community may also request circulating print materials via Takeout service.

Justice Ginsburg's death has prompted not only an important national conversation about filling a vacant Court seat during a presidential election, but legal analysis about the potential impact of her absence on the Court's upcoming term, which is scheduled to begin on Monday, October 5. Although the date has fluctuated in the Court's history, the "first Monday in October" has marked the opening arguments for a new term since 1917. (For historical background on the Court's opening session dates, check out section 1.2(f) of the treatise Supreme Court Practice: For Practice in the Supreme Court of the United States, 11th ed. 2019, online to the Law School community in Bloomberg Law).

In a press release, the Court announced that all October oral arguments will take place via teleconference, a practice that began in May due to the coronavirus pandemic. The remote teleconference will include a live audio broadcast for media and the public, once again allowing real-time access to Court proceedings. The Court has not yet decided how November and December oral arguments will be conducted.

SCOTUSblog provides summaries and filing links for cases on the October Term 2020 docket, sorted by argument date. The Court's own website also includes links to argument calendars and docket filings at Calendars and Lists. Up first this Term is Carney v. Adams, a First Amendment case involving Delaware's state constitutional provision limiting the number of state high court judges affiliated with particular political parties. For additional case analysis throughout the Term, the American Bar Association's Preview of United States Supreme Court Cases (via HeinOnline) publishes seven issues that analyze upcoming cases and an eighth summary issue following the end of the Term.

SCOTUSblog will undoubtedly provide ongoing analysis of not only the Court's OT20 term, but the developing nomination and confirmation process ahead. For additional resources on the operations of the U.S. Supreme Court or biographies of justices, check out the library research guide or Ask a Librarian.

Constitution Day 2020

This Thursday marks the 233rd anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Constitution. Constitution Day and Citizenship Day are recognized together, as described in 36 U.S.C. § 106(b) to "commemorate the formation and signing on September 17, 1787, of the Constitution and recognize all who, by coming of age or by naturalization, have become citizens."

While the restricted library building access and quarantine protocols mean we can't provide our usual pocket Constitutions to visitors for the time being, the Government Publishing Office's Constitution of the United States with Index and the Declaration of Independence, Pocket Edition is available as House Doc. 112-129 (be sure to select "Booklet" if printing!). The text of the Constitution is also available in the Organic Laws of every print or electronic version of the U.S. Code, in the Library of Congress's Constitution Annotated site, and as a high-quality scan at the National Archives.

To learn more about the history behind the drafting and signing of the U.S. Constitution, try a search of the Duke Libraries Catalog for the subject heading "United States. Constitution -- Signers -- Biography." Although print materials are available for contactless Takeout requests, you can also use the "Available Online" filter to limit to electronically available texts. E-books containing biographical sketches of the Framers include John R. Vile's The Men Who Made the Constitution: Lives of the Delegates to the Constitutional Convention and the 1986 NARA publication Framers of the Constitution. An electronic version of Janice McKenney's Women of the Constitution: The Wives of the Signers is also available. This title expands upon a classic 1912 text "The Wives of the Signers," which can be found in Volume 3 of Pioneer Mothers of America (in HeinOnline).

For help with locating other U.S. constitutional law resources or with navigating print or online collections, be sure to Ask a Librarian.

The State of State Bar Association Benefits

Members of the state bars or bar associations in all fifty states enjoy free access to at least one online legal research service as a benefit of membership. Generally, these membership benefits provide access to either Fastcase or Casemaker; a few states offer access to both. These services each include state and federal case law, statutes, and regulations; each also offer some unique content courtesy of partnerships (law reviews through Fastcase's partnership with HeinOnline; foreign and international content on Casemaker via vLex).

Both services have been in the bar benefit market for many years, and occasionally jurisdictions will switch platforms. Today marks the first day of Fastcase's partnership with the Alabama State Bar, announced back in May. Members had previously received access to Casemaker.

The Goodson Law Library has tracked these changes to the landscape on our page Legal Research Via State Bar Associations. Current partnership lists for each research service are also posted at Fastcase and Casemaker, respectively. The services listed on these sites may also include county and local bar association benefits, which are not tracked on the Law Library's table.

Curious to check out the bar research benefit in your planned jurisdiction of law practice? The Duke University community has access to an educational version of Fastcase with a NetID and password (and can already test the new Fastcase interface, which will become the default later in September). You may also wish to investigate student membership options for bar associations in the locations where you plan to practice; they may provide student members with free or deeply discounted registration and access to member benefits, including legal research tools.

For help with navigating Fastcase or with other legal research tools that are available to the University and Law School communities, be sure to Ask a Librarian.