The Goodson Blogson

It's hard to believe, but the summer break is only a few weeks away! Once you've navigated the obstacle course of final exams, it's time to get ready for summer employment. Prepare to Practice training If you missed the library's recent presentation in the Career Center's 2L Research Refresher Series, " What to Know Before You Go, " you can access the slides and handout on the Library Workshops and Instruction page. This session gave helpful tips about beginning any research assignment, including: brainstorming search keywords, formulating advanced searches, locating background information in secondary sources, and keeping current with the latest developments in your practice areas. Lexis , Westlaw , and Bloomberg Law will also offer "prepare to practice" or "summer certification" trainings over the next few weeks in the Fite Room, on level 2 of the library. View the Training Calendars and sign up: Bloomberg : April 5-7 Lexis...

In recent years legal scholars and historians have begun mining justice of the peace manuals and related early court records as a way to understand the role lower courts played in the development of American law. The manuals were used by lay judges to address the day-to-day dealings of ordinary folks. They explained English common and statutory law in layman's terms, and helped justices of the peace settle trespass and hunting disputes, fine the keepers of alehouses, punish the foul-mouthed and blasphemous, address family matters such as marriage, adultery and divorce, and provide forms the local population could use to make contracts, deed land and write wills. This guest post by Marguerite Most is a brief introduction to early justice of the peace manuals, which are a focus of the Goodson Law Library's special collections . While the focus of the collection is on manuals of colonial America, especially manuals published in the antebellum south, the collection also include...

On Friday, a Florida jury awarded $115 million to former professional wrestler Terry Bollea , better known as his 1980s alter ego, Hulk Hogan. Bollea had sued the online news outlet Gawker Media and two of its individual managers for invasion of privacy, related to the 2012 posting of a sex tape involving Bollea and the wife of a former friend. The recording, which Bollea alleged was made without his knowledge or permission, also included a conversation in which the wrestler used racial slurs. Other news outlets published summaries of the tape and the racial remarks , but only Gawker.com included an excerpt of the actual video. The jury's verdict included an award of $55 million for economic injuries, and another $60 million for emotional distress; the jury is currently deliberating additional punitive damages. [ Update : punitive damages of $25 million were awarded on Monday evening.] Gawker Media plans to appeal. Terry ("Hulk Hogan") Bollea, former professional wres...

Spring appellate brief writing assignments mean that dictionaries are in high demand around the library. But what dictionaries are the best to cite in a legal writing project? Which dictionaries are the most commonly consulted by courts? And what are your options for locating the full text in the library or online? Specialized Legal Dictionaries If you need the definition of a legal term, you'll want to begin with a law dictionary , rather than a basic English dictionary. There are three well-known U.S. legal dictionaries, and the current edition of each is electronically available on one of the major legal research services. Black's Law Dictionary is the most-cited legal dictionary in U.S. case law, by a wide margin. Currently in its tenth edition (2014), the latest version of Black's can be consulted in the Reference and Reserve collection on Level 3 of the library; as well as online in Westlaw . Previous editions of Black's can be found in the Superseded R...