Photo by Flickr user Mr. T in DC.

On Tuesday President Obama issued a proclamation naming November 22, 2012 a day of thanksgiving. The Thanksgiving proclamation was a practice begun by President Washington; however, there were no proclamations from 1815 to 1861.

President Lincoln restarted the tradition of the Thanksgiving Day proclamation in 1863, and a new proclamation has been issued every year since. Like other presidential documents, the proclamations are published in the Federal Register. You can also view all of the proclamations that have been issued thanks to the Pilgrim Hall Museum.

Image by Flickr user martha_chapa95

The library will have shortened hours during the upcoming Thanksgiving break. Our hours will be:

• Wednesday, Nov. 21: 8 a.m. – 6 p.m.
• Thursday, Nov. 22: Closed
• Friday, Nov. 23: Closed
• Saturday, Nov. 24: Closed
• Sunday, Nov. 25: 10 a.m. – 11 p.m.

We hope you all enjoy your Thanksgiving holiday!

Need a mental break from contracts or torts?  Want to test your gaming skills against your fellow study group members?  You are in luck!   Circulation now has the following games on reserve for students to check out:

• Chess/Checkers Set (2 available)
• Playing Cards (4 decks available)
• Apples to Apples (1 available) 
• Scrabble (1 available)
• Cribbage (1 available) 
• UNO (1 available)
• Phase 10 (1 available) 
• Dice (1 pack available)

By Stephen Adams

Tomorrow it will all be over. Heck, I love politics and I’m already ready to stick a fork in this election cycle. While I haven’t reached the level of young Abigael Evans, I must admit that her actions look somewhat cathartic. (Although that may or may not have something to do with my upcoming Evidence final.)

Now, I really want you to know that it will all end tomorrow. Seriously, look at me, take a deep breath and repeat after me: “This will all be over tomorrow.” Half of us will be crying in front of the television, while the other half will celebrate. (Probably in the other half’s faces; I have no shame in admitting that I will be one of those people if my guy wins. This stuff is better than football.) But I need you to know something: this could actually keep going.

You and I both know about the nightmare scenario. We all talk about it every four years, and we laugh it off and think about how it hasn’t happened since 1824, and how silly we are for even thinking about it. It’s only those fringe journalists that bring it up just so they can think they look cool and edgy. Well, unfortunately for you, I was one of those journalists in undergrad, so you’re stuck with the story.

ABC News has outlined five specific paths to a 269-269 tie in the Electoral College, and Bloomberg News has reflected on what would happen if the election was punted to Congress. But we’re in law school, so it’s all about the lawyers. NPR reports that, of course, both major candidates have teams of lawyers ready to descend upon whatever swing state happens to be too close. (Why do I get a feeling that there are a few pre-purchased one way tickets to Columbus already?)

If you think you may, someday, become one of those folks anxiously awaiting the call to fly to Ohio, Florida, Colorado, or whatever state it will be next time, here’s some resources to help you study election law.

Research Guides

Library of Congress Research Guide – Hey, it was the government that got us into this mess, the least they can do is help guide your research.

University of Chicago LibGuide – Why not use the school where President Obama taught Con Law?

University of California-Irvine – They’ve got the most electoral votes, so why not?

News/Journals/Blogs

Election Law at Moritz – How ironic that the Ohio State University Moritz College of Law maintains a non-profit election law research program.

Election Law Blog – Rick Hasen’s election law blog is a must-read for election law folks.

VoteLaw Blog – Lesser known and less-frequently updated, but still features smaller stories that have fallen through the cracks about smaller, more local elections.

Image by flickr user expressmonorail

Congratulations to all our 1Ls for completing your first law school exam! If you’re looking for ways to relax this weekend and take your mind off the test, we humbly offer a few suggestions:

1. If you’re still clinging to Halloween, there are still two nights left of Netherworld.

2. For a bit more sophistication, there’s a European wine festival starting at 7 p.m. tonight.

3. Chomp and Stomp, a bluegrass/5K run/chili cookoff event, happens tomorrow in Cabbagetown.

4. A bunch of movies are opening this weekend (natch), including Wreck-It Ralph, Flight, and The Man With the Iron Fists.

5. And speaking of movies, remember to watch V For Vendetta in anticipation of November 5.

And, if all else fails, stay home and relax! You made it!

When you think Halloween, you often think about delicious candy and costumes.  But what about the law?  What impact does Halloween have on the legal profession?

A Buffalo attorney, Daniel B. Moar, wrote an interesting article for the New York State Bar Association Journal on this very topic.  The article, entitled “Case Law From the Crypt,” discusses situations were common Halloween traditions, like haunted houses and provocative costumes, have landed some people in hot water.

Here are just a few of my favorite cases from Moar’s article:

• Haunted House:  “In Mays v. Gretna Athletic Boosters, Inc., the plaintiff was so startled by a haunted house ‘monster’ that she ran straight into a cinder block wall, crushing her nose.  The plaintiff argued that the lack of lighting and darkened wall presented an unreasonably dangerous condition that the defendant owed a duty to protect her from. The court disagreed, noting that the conditions complained of were the very attributes of a haunted house.”
• Provocative Costumes:  “In Devane v. Sears Home Improvement Products, Inc., a female sales employee filed a sexual harassment lawsuit based in part on comments made by a male manager regarding her doctor costume.  Specifically, upon seeing the employee’s costume, the manager unbuckled his pants and while pointing to his groin, said ‘here Doctor. It hurts here.’  The Court of Appeals of Minnesota affirmed the district court’s judgment against the employer for sexual harassment and hostile work environment.”
• Egg Throwing: “Courts have also imposed civil and criminal liability on egg throwers. For example, in one case a married couple made the ill-advised choice to ignore trick-or-treaters that visited their house, with the inevitable result that their house was then pummeled with eggs.  However, the couple identified one of the egg throwers as a neighborhood child (specifically, the child who lived directly next door to them). The child was convicted of felony vandalism and ordered to pay civil restitution.”

For more interesting stories of Halloween intersecting with the law, checkout Moar’s article.

Image by Flickr user mars_discovery_district

In Italy, six researchers and a government official have been convicted of manslaughter in connection with the April 6, 2009 L’Aquila earthquake. Prior to the earthquake, the city had been experiencing 2-3 minor shocks each day for four months. The group was called in to give their assessment of the risk of a possible earthquake, and the reports seemed to suggest the possibility of an earthquake was low. A week later, the city was hit by a 6.9 quake that killed 309 people. The group members now each face 6 years in prison. While citizens of L’Aquila seem to agree with the verdict, the scientific community has expressed wide-spread dismay. The group currently plan to appeal the conviction. [Full story from the BBC]

The library has a number of books on the Italian legal system, as well as access to electronic resources, like the Italian Yearbook of International Law. You can also get a quick primer of Italian law on Foreign Law Guide and Globalex.

Image by Flickr user Ashitakka.

On October 24, 1945, the Charter of the United Nations entered into force, and October 24th has been recognized since 1948 as U.N. Day.  The United Nations celebrates U.N. Day with various activities, including a concert that is broadcast for free on the web. (This year’s featured performer is Stevie Wonder.)

The United Nations is a vast organization which works in numerous areas, including in human rights, children’s rights, international security, international trade, and environmental issues. The U.N. is also diligent about posting its documents online in the U.N. Official Documents System; the ODS contains documents from 1993 to the present, and documents from before 1993 are added daily.

The United Nations is also the home of the largest repository of international treaties in the world. The U.N. Charter requires that member states deposit their treaties with the U.N. Secretariat; the Secretariat, in turn, must publish the treaties it receives. These treaties have been published in the United Nations Treaty Series, which is freely available online in the United Nations Treaty Collection. This collection contains not only the text of treaties deposited with the Secretariat, but also includes such important information as the dates of accession/succession/ratification for each member state and any reservations or declarations made by a signatory country.

The U.N. also has its own folk tales, the most enduring of which may be the story of Nikita Khrushchev banging his shoe on a desk during a U.N. General Assembly meeting in 1960. Which, like many good folk tales, may or may not have actually happened.

by Joe Brock

Image found at: http://www.stmarytx.edu/law/index.php?site=advocacyPrograms#loneStarClassic

I think congratulations are in order for the GSU Student Trial Lawyers Association (STLA) team that placed second at the Lone Star Classic this year. Team members Lauren Smith, Joshua May, Alex Galvan, and Lynette Jimenez did an outstanding job in the competition that featured Baylor, Brooklyn, Buffalo, Cumberland, Denver, Emory, Faulkner, Florida Coastal, Fordham, Houston, Loyola of Los Angeles, Michigan State, South Texas, Stetson, and University of Texas.

As many of you law students have probably noticed, GSU boasts an impressive resume in trial advocacy, which is evidenced by the numerous awards that adorn the entry to our school. The coaches and members of the team Tom Jones, Paige Boorman, Joe Burford, Alison Burleson, Cheryl Champion-White, Rebecca Davis, Rudjard Hayes, Kristen Spires, and faculty advisor Professor Gable put in a great deal of time preparing for the competition. And while the accomplishment is certainly outstanding for the team members we should all be proud because GSU did a great job in front of some outstanding schools, including our in-state competitor, Emory.

So, if you see any of these folks around campus make sure to say congrats. They did a fantastic job representing all of us.

Back in the good ole days, before libraries had computers and fancy online catalogs, librarians  used card catalogs to organize and locate books.  Fast forward to today, and most people have never used one except when they were a small child.  While card catalogs may go the way of the dinosaurs in libraries, they still have a few uses in a home or apartment setting…

Like a mini bar:  http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/an-old-card-catalog-as-a-minib-82087

A bookshelf: http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/look-card-catalog-bookshelf-an-78031

Or a kitchen island: http://www.homejelly.com/one-of-a-kind-repurposed-kitchen-islands/

So the next time you think about throwing out that old card catalog, or you see one at a yard sale, remember that there is more to this little jewel than simply organizing books.