The Goodson Blogson

Yesterday, the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia heard a challenge to the Canadian province's anti-cyberbullying law , which was passed in 2013 following the suicide of 17-year-old Rehtaeh Parsons. Parsons, a victim of sexual assault, had been harassed for several months by students at her school after a photo of the attack was circulated online. In response to her tragic death, Nova Scotia lawmakers enacted the Cyber-safety Act , which prohibits "electronic communication […] that is intended or ought reasonably [to] be expected to cause fear, intimidation, humiliation, distress or other damage or harm to another person’s health, emotional well-being, self-esteem or reputation." Under the Act, victims of cyberbullying may be entitled to civil damage awards from their harassers, or from the parents of minor children who engage in online harassment. Robert Snell, who was accused of cyberbullying by a former business partner, has challenged a protective order issued against hi...

[This is a guest post by Reference Librarian and Senior Lecturing Fellow Marguerite Most .] Whether you're returning to Duke after a summer away, or you're new to Duke Law School and just beginning your legal career, you'll soon learn that a new 20th edition of The Bluebook has arrived. The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation is the legal citation manual followed by journals at Duke Law School, taught in the LARW course required of all 1L students, and used at most law schools nationwide. Print copies of the 20th edition are available on reserve at the Circulation/Reserve desk and the new electronic (subscription) version is available for purchase online . For a practical introduction to the 2015 edition of The Bluebook , see the Goodson Blogson post of June 5 which announced this new 20th edition, highlighted several significant rule changes and linked to a list of differences between the 19th and 20th editions. A change that will surely please law review editors...

Last week, a county court filing by Staten Island attorney Richard A. Luthmann became an unexpected media sensation. Luthmann is being sued by creditors of a former client, who allege that the attorney advised their debtor to liquidate assets in order to avoid a judgment collection. It’s not the sort of case which usually garners such widespread publicity, but Luthmann also isn't a typical defendant. In a July 24 reply affirmation , he derided the plaintiffs' "moronic" legal argument and "thug tactics," called opposing counsel's visualization of the case timeline "a glorified comic book piled on top of pure and adulterated extortion," and ended with a formal demand for a Trial By Combat . What's a trial by combat, some may ask? You'd be forgiven for not knowing, since a recorded example has not occurred in centuries. Also known as "judicial combat" or "the wager of battle," a trial by combat allowed the outcome of ...

Over the last few months, Caitlyn Jenner has shared details of her life as a transgender woman in media interviews and her reality television program I Am Cait . Jenner was well-known around the world as the 1970s star Olympic athlete Bruce Jenner, and gained new fame in the late 2000s as a part of the E! television series Keeping Up With the Kardashians , which followed the lives of Jenner's family with now ex-wife Kris Jenner. In April, Jenner disclosed her identity as a transgender woman during an ABC News interview , and revealed her new first name and physical transformation on the July cover of Vanity Fair . Caitlyn Jenner's story has increased the visibility of transgender persons in America. Surveys have estimated that about 0.5% of Americans identify as transgender, and a poll conducted by the advocacy group GLAAD indicated that only 8% of Americans personally know a transgender individual. Jenner (and other high-profile transgender celebrities, like Emmy-nominated ...