Extra OT

The end of June usually marks the conclusion of the U.S. Supreme Court's October Term, when the Court issues the last of its opinions in cases argued since the start of the term in the previous fall. Last term, with disruptions to Court operations and argument sittings in the spring of 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Court's final ten opinions of OT19 were issued in July.

This week, the Court has five opinions left to issue from the 2020 October Term. Will they successfully conclude the term before the end of the month, or push into July for the second year in a row? Court-watchers will be following the activities at One First Street closely this week. To join them, you can visit SCOTUSblog, which live-blogs order and opinion release days at the Court beginning at 9:30 am Eastern time.

SCOTUSblog's FAQ page on Announcements of Orders and Opinions provides some additional detail about the process. Although the Court highlights opinion release days on its public calendar, the Court does not announce ahead of time which opinions will be released, or even how many opinions will be released on that particular day. Because opinions are announced in reverse seniority order (meaning the opinions drafted by newer justices are released first, working up to the opinion written by the most senior justice on the Court for that day's release), Court-watchers can deduce which opinion will be the last for a particular day by the appearance of a number that indicates the release day's opinion order for the published U.S. Reports volume.

Once released, the latest slip opinions are posted to the Court website and, of course, made available on the various legal research services like Westlaw and Lexis. Commentary and analysis of the latest opinions can be found on SCOTUSblog, in The United States Law Week (on Bloomberg Law), the ABA Journal and mainstream news outlets like the New York Times and the Washington Post. The American Bar Association also publishes the Preview of United States Supreme Court Cases, whose eighth issue in each volume reviews the entire previous year's Court term.

For additional information and resources about researching the Court, check out the library’s research guide to the U.S. Supreme Court or Ask a Librarian.

Resources and Services for Law Alumni

Congratulations to the class of 2021! As new Duke Law alumni, you are eligible for continuing access to a number of library resources. As we shared in our post from March 26, recent Law School graduates can access Bloomberg Law, Lexis, and Westlaw following graduation, with different restrictions set by each research service.

There are many other campus library resources available to all alumni, not just recent graduates. An important first step is to register for a Duke OneLink Account. Any campus resource available to alumni will have a Duke OneLink login in addition to a NetID login.

 

Alumni with OneLink accounts can access research databases like ProQuest, JSTOR, and several e-book platforms via the Duke Alumni Library Online Access page. While alumni are welcome to use the online catalog to determine whether Duke has access to a resource, online databases are only available to alumni via the special alumni access portal. Alumni can also create a RefWorks account to use this citation management software.

While Law School access is still restricted, 2021 graduates who registered through the Office of Academic Affairs have building access through the end of July. The Law School reservation system has been updated to allow 2021 graduates to book study spaces in the library, and classroom space can be reserved by contacting the Events Office. The scanner on the third floor of the library is available by reservation as well. Information about printing is available via Academic Technologies.

Borrowing of library materials and GoodScan/interlibrary loan services are available only to current Law School students, faculty, and staff. Alumni may be able to obtain interlibrary loan service for books, articles, and chapters through their local public library, which will generally offer similar interlibrary loan service to community residents with a library card.

Our team of research librarians is also available to help all our alumni with questions about database access, library resources, and general legal research guidance at ref@law.duke.edu.

--Rachel Gordon, Associate Director for Public Services