Interested in listening to cases during your morning commute? How about freshening up your knowledge with chapters from a treatise or hornbook during your afternoon run? When juggling hefty casebooks or attempting to use your iPad on your run is just too much, convert your material to audio and listen on the go!  The KIC Scanners located in the Law Library Copy Room and Microform room not only create high quality scans of the materials you need, but will also convert text to natural language audio. With this feature, you can create scans of cases, listen to them on the go or follow along as you read.

To create text-to-audio simply scan the document using the KIC Scanner or ADF scanner as you normally would. Before saving the file to a flash drive (recommended) or sending it by email be sure to select the “More Output Options…” tab. You’ll notice the option to save your file as a

• Searchable PDF: creates a PDF using OCR (optical character recognition) to create a PDF that is searchable and able to accept highlighting and underlining using a PDF reader

• Quick PDF: this is the default setting; a standard PDF scan

• JPEG / PNG: creates image files for manipulation using a photo editor such as Photoshop or Gimp

• Rich Text: creates a document much like an unformatted Microsoft Word or Notepad document

• Audio: creates an mp3 of the selected text as described in this article.

Once you select the “audio” option the KIC Scanner will open a dialogue box where you can select the body of text you wish to be converted to audio. This option eliminates headnotes, footnotes and page numbers from being read aloud and allows you to focus on the material at hand. After you’ve selected what text should be sourced as audio, simply export the file to a flash drive (recommended) or send it via email for listening later.

The quality of the audio produced is less than Siri but more advanced than Microsoft Sam and hopefully will improve with future builds of the KIC Scanner software. If you cannot get over the voice produced by the KIC Scanner, consider converting scans into “Rich Text” and using a desktop-based audio conversion program such as Natural Reader or many other online text-to-speech services. If you have questions or get stumped, feel free to stop by either the reference or circulation desk and we’ll step in and save the day!

This week, the Law Library and University Library are celebrating national Fair Use Week. This annual celebration highlights the doctrine of fair use, which is one of the exceptions of U.S. copyright law that allows teachers, students, and researchers to use copyright materials without permission from the copyright holder.

In celebration of Fair Use Week, the Law Library will be holding a program on fair use in the classroom.

• Program Title: What kinds of content can I use in my course? Working within the law and BOR Policy.
• Speaker: Gwen Spratt of Georgia State University’s Legal Affairs Office
• Location & Time: Thursday, February 26, from 3 – 4 p.m. in Room 170 of the Urban Life Building.

For more information on fair use, see the following:

• Fair Use Week
• GSU Library Blog
• Association of Research Libraries

The Public Interest Law Association (PILA) will hold its annual auction at the Georgia Freight Depot on Saturday, Feburary 28th. The auction raises money to provide scholarships to students who take public interest internships. Auctions items typically include tickets to events, free nights at a beach or mountain house, and dinner with a faculty member.

As has been a tradition for many years now, the Law Library will put one study room up for auction. A group of up to six students will have the chance to win the reservation rights to a study room for the rest of the semester.

flickr photo by roxweb

Back on this day in 1908, the 16th President of the United States of America was born in Hardin County, Kentucky. Abraham Lincoln is regarded as one of the greatest U.S. Presidents of all time. He is also well known for the Emancipation Proclamation and the Gettysburg Address. But did you know that he was a lawyer in Illinois prior to becoming President?

At 29, he was admitted to the Illinois Bar (Richards 16). At the time of his admittance, he was in his second term in the Illinois legislature (Richard 19). Lincoln would go on to try a variety of cases, many in front of the Supreme Court of Illinois (Richards 19, 22). He also tried many cases in federal trial courts latter in his practice (Frank 7). Lincoln would eventually argue a case before the Supreme Court of the United States (Frank 79). The case was Lewis v. Lewis, 48 U.S. 776 (1849), which was cited in footnotes of a case as recently as 1999, Rogers v. U.S., 180 F.3d 349 (1999). You can  locate the transcript of Lewis v. Lewis using Making of Modern Law: US Supreme Court Records and Briefs, 1832-1978, located on the Law Library’s Database List.

One of Lincoln’s most well known cases was People v. Williams “Duff” Armstrong (1958), also known as the “Almanac Trial” (Steiner 46). A witness in the Almanac Trial testified that he was able to see Armstrong strike the fatal blow “because the moon was high overhead” (Stiener 46). Mark Steiner states that Lincoln “helped secure an acquittal for his client by producing an almanac for the year that showed the moon was near the horizon at that time of night” (Steiner 46).

For further information about the life of Lincoln and his background as a lawyer, consult the following sources:

• Abraham Lincoln, the lawyer-statesman by John Richards
• Lincoln as a laywer, by John Frank
• Lawyer Lincoln, by Albert Woldman
• Abraham Lincoln, Esq., edited by Roger Billings and Frank Williams
  • “Does Lawyer Lincoln Matter?,” chapter by Mark Steiner
• People v. William “Duff” Armstrong, Illinois State Bar
• Abraham Lincoln, History.com
• Abraham Lincoln Papers, Library of Congress
• Lincoln (2013), Law Leisure Collection (DVD)

By Andrew Vazquez

Starting in the 2015 Fall semester, the in-house clinics will expand from 3 credit hours to 4. This includes the Philip C. Cook Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic, Health Law Partnership (HeLP) Legal Services Clinic, and the Investor Advocacy Clinic.

On Wednesday, February 11, 2015, from 12 PM – 1 PM and 5 PM – 6 PM, the College of Law will be hosting an experiential fair to inform students about the clinics. This event will be held in the second floor lobby and will feature representatives from each of the clinics. This is a good opportunity to ask the professors and students any lingering questions you have about the clinics.

As a former Tax Clinic student I can attest that it is well worth the time to join. Clinics are great because they allow you to put to practice what you have learned in the classroom and put it to actual use. Also, you are able to help real life clients and make a real difference. In the Tax Clinic, for example, I was able to help resolve tax issues that my clients had with the IRS. This included writing legal briefs, negotiating with representatives from the IRS, learning how to interact and interview clients, and file and time management. Even if you realize that you have no interest in tax or health law, the clinics still help you develop the skills that are important to being a lawyer.

When you get into the clinic and have to start doing research, make sure you check out the Law Library’s Research Guide to help you through it!

Upcoming Events

image by Flickr user x-ray_delta_one

The law library has recently purchased several new databases that you might be interested in using. Links are included for both on campus access and off campus access for Georgia State Law students and faculty.

• ABA Law Library Collection Periodicals – This collection is part of our HeinOnline subscription and provides full-text versions of more than 100 ABA magazines. This includes current issues, as well as past ones, of dozens of magazines previously only available to ABA members. On Campus | Off Campus (available to all GSU community members)
• Art Law & Cultural Property – This is actually two collections, one which covers ownership and export legislation from dozens of countries, and one which covers case law addressing art theft, fraud, and breach of contract, and other related topics. On Campus | Off Campus
• Leadership Library Online – This powerful tool provides information about employees of law firms, government agencies, media outlets, and more. It’s a great tool for your job hunting. On Campus | Off Campus

These are just a few of our more recent database purchases. Keep an eye on our Legal Databases page for more updates. Have a suggestion for a database we should purchase? Let us know!

by Meghan Starr

Image from Wikimedia Commons

Photographers will be making the rounds next week (February 9^th – 15^th) in an effort to document how the law school building is being used.  Student volunteers will be taking approximately 100 pictures each hour.

This Photographic Survey is part of a 3-year research project to evaluate the impact of the new building on law students and faculty, as well as the community in general.

We’re still in need of law student volunteers too, especially after 4 p.m. on weekdays and on the weekend. If you are a law student and wish to volunteer, each shift will follow a set route which takes approximately 30 minutes to complete.  You will be provided with a map that reflects each photograph location.  For each shift you take, your name will be entered into a drawing for a (yet to be announced) prize. To volunteer, submit your name on the Google spreadsheet linked to in your email from Dean Sobelson.

For more information about the project, you can also contact Prof. Doug Yarn.

flickr photo by annalynnc

By Nirvi Shah

On January 30, 1781, Maryland was the thirteenth and final state to ratify the Articles of Confederation, which took effect on March 1, 1781.  In comparison to the current U.S. Constitution, the Articles of Confederation designated less control to a central government, leaving most of the power with state governments.  Due to the need for a stronger central government, the U.S. Constitution replaced the Articles of Confederation on March 4, 1789.

Here are a few books in the Law Library where you can learn more about U.S. History and the Articles of Confederation:

• The Articles of Confederation: An Interpretation of the Social-Constitutional History of the American Revolution, 1774 – 1781
  • By Merrill Jensen
• The Lure of the Land: A Social History of the Public Lands from the Articles of Confederation to the New Deal
  • By Everett Dick
• Understanding the Constitution: with comments on the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the Structure and Practices of American Government
  • By Edward S. Corwin and J.W. Peltason
• The U.S. Constitution and Related Documents
  • By Stephen Vincent Brennan
• The American Beginnings
  •  By Virginia Commission on Constitutional Government.
• The Original Argument: The Federalists’ Case for the Constitution, Adapted for the 21^st Century
  • By Glenn Beck and Joshua Charles

Here are some additional links to online sources:

• Text of the Articles of Confederation provided by Yale Law School
• A photo of the original Articles of Confederation
• A Background on the Articles of Confederation by the Library of Congress

We are already six days into the 2015 Session of the Georgia General Assembly. Even if you don’t have time to venture over to the assembly during this session, you can still keep track of legislation and proceedings using a couple few free and commercial resources.

Legislation Tracking

• Georgia General Assembly Legislation Advanced Search (FREE): The legislation advanced search will allow users to locate legislation from the current session and past sessions of the general assembly. Once you locate a bill or resolution of interest, click on the number, and you will find information on who sponsored the bill, which committees reviewed the legislation, the first reader summary, the status history, and current and previous versions of the bill.
• Composite Status Sheets (FREE): The sheets provide a consolidated listing of the status of all bills and resolutions introduced during the session.
• State Bar Legislative Program (FREE): The State Bar of Georgia’s Legislative Program provides a weekly update on the assembly, as well as information on legislative matters of interest to the Bar or affecting the practice of law.
• WestlawNext Georgia Bill Tracking (Commercial): This database provides summaries and status information concerning current and recently-ended Georgia legislation. A WestlawNext username and password is required to access this database.
• Lexis Advance GA Bill Tracking Reports (Commercial): This database contains a summary and legislative chronology of all pending Georgia legislation in the current legislative session. A Lexis Advance username and password is required to access this database.

Viewing Floor Proceedings

• Georgia General Assembly Live Video of Both Chambers (FREE)
• Georgia General Assembly Live Video of House Chamber (FREE)
• Georgia General Assembly Live Video of Senate Chamber (FREE)
• GPB Lawmakers (FREE): The Lawmakers program, a product of Georgia Public Broadcasting, provides commentary and analysis on assembly proceedings each day. In addition to the Lawmakers program, this website also provides archived video of the house and senate floor proceedings.

King John Posts the Magna Carta to His Facebook Wall, by Mike Licht

The year 2015 marks the 800th Anniversary of the signing of the Magna Carta by King John. The Magna Carta, or the Great Charter of Liberty, is widely viewed as the foundation for individual liberties and the rule of law. The history of the document is storied and murky, including multiple reaffirmations of the principles by monarchs facing an unhappy ruling class and the annulment of the Charter by Pope Innocent III. However, the concept of the liberties outlined in the Magna Carta has persisted through the centuries, particularly in America and Great Britain. America’s Founding Fathers looked to violations of the rule of law by the British king as justification for founding a new country. These ideals of freedom and democracy echo in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the European Convention of Human Rights. Even 800 years later, we are still learning about the Magna Carta. Researchers at the British Library preparing for the anniversary recently discovered an account of the sealing of the Magna Carta at Runnymede in an obscure medieval work known as the Melrose Chronicle.

If you would like to learn more about the Magna Carta, Georgia State Law’s Professor Rowberry is organizing a CLE symposium for the Georgia Bar on the meaning of the Magna Carta and its relevance to Georgia. The event will be Monday, March 30, 2015 from 8:15am to 3:00pm at the State Bar of Georgia Conference Center, 104 Marietta St. NW, Atlanta, GA 30303. Symposium attendees will also get to view the American Bar Association’s exhibit on the Magna Carta. More details on the CLE will be available in mid-February. Check the seminar schedule on the ICLE website for more information.