Flicker photo by silverlunace

Starting Saturday, December 22, 2012, the Law Library will be closed until January 7, 2013 for Winter Break.  The Law Library will reopen on Monday, January 7, 2013 at 8 am.

Winter Break/Spring Semester Hours:

• Friday, December 21, 2012:  8am – 6pm
• Saturday, December 22, 2012 – Sunday, January 6, 2013: Closed
• Monday, January 7, 2013 – Friday, January 11, 2013:  8am – 6pm
• Saturday, January 12, 2013 – Sunday, January 13, 2013:  10am – 6pm
• Monday, January 14, 2014: Spring Semester Begins, Regular Hours

For a complete list of library hours, check the Law Library’s Hours page.

Flicker photo by photosteve101

For many of you, this is the first time in the past four months that you haven’t had your day meticulously planned out.  No classes, study group meetings, student org events, or final exams.  What is a law student to do with all of this free time?  Here are a few suggestions:

1. Sleep.  Many of you were probably sleep deprived over the past couple of weeks of the semester.   Now is the time to hit snooze and make sure you get the doctor recommended 8 hours.  Naps are also encouraged!
2. Shopping.  If you’re like me, you probably put off all of your holiday shopping during exams.  Who has time to shop when you worried about your contracts final or a moot court brief?  Don’t fret, you can still find some great deals out there in the last few days.  If all else fails, drop people a big IOU and pick up something at a day after Christmas sale.
3. Bar Application.  If you didn’t get your Georgia Bar application in by December 5, no worries, you can still meet the final deadline of  March 6, 2013 (late fee required).
4. Read a book.  Reading may be the last thing you want to do right now.  However, think back to your time prior to law school when you used to actually read for fun.  If you need a few suggestions, check out our previous blog post for summer reading.
5. College Football.  Conveniently, classes let out right around the time college football bowl season begins.  Games started on December 15 and will last until January 17, 2013, the national title game.  You can keep up with all of the bowl coverage and find a complete schedule on ESPN’s College Bowl page.
6. Atlanta Botanical Garden.  If you need to get out and stretch your legs, one of the biggest holiday events going on in Atlanta right now is the Garden Nights Holiday Lights at the Atlanta Botanical Garden.   The holiday lights will last until January 5, 2013.  To get more information, check out the Garden Nights info page.
7. Atlanta Falcons.  Checkout the hottest team in the NFL right now, the Atlanta Falcons.  The Falcons are currently leading the NFC South division with a league best 12-2 record.  Don’t miss the chance to see the Falcons play their final home game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on December 30, 2012 at 1:00 p.m.   Game Day Preview
8. Atlanta Hawks.  The Hawks are putting together another solid year, currently bested in their division only by the Miami Heat.  There are several opportunities to see a home game over the winter break, so stop by “The Highlight Factory” and support your Hawks.  Hawks Schedule

Image by Flickr user futureshape.

Recently the ABA Journal named its 2012 “Blawg 100,” the 100 best legal blogs (or “blawgs”) out there. The list includes some of our old favorites, like Law and the Multiverse (seriously, love that blog), but some others that deserve mention:

Abnormal Use: Abnormal Use focuses on products liability litigation, including litigation about football turf and the Star Wars prequels.

The Careerist: The Careerist provides tips and advice on getting and managing a job in the law, including some helpful chats with partners at top firms about what they’re looking for when they hire.

Circuit Splits: Every student who makes law review hears it – “Circuit splits make great note topics.” The Circuit Splits blog provides an easy way to get the latest information on areas of the law where the circuits disagree.

Hollywood, Esq.: There are a lot of lawsuits in Hollywood. A lot. This blog from the Hollywood Reporter covers them all, whether they relate to movies, TV shows, music, you name it.

The Jury Room: Keene Trial Consulting provides practical advice and information on how to make the best impression on a jury, often using examples from their own cases.

LawProse: Want to know how to write more effectively? Follow this blog from Bryan Garner, the guru of legal writing. Garner provides a usage tip of the day and answers questions about usage and style.

Lowering the Bar: You can get a sense of what this blog covers from the post categories. Assorted Stupidity. Lawsuits (Ridiculous). The Inexplicable. Make sure to check out the Case Law Hall of Fame.

Screw You Guys, I’m Going Home: Covers information on any aspect of labor and employment law, including on just what can and can’t get you fired and myths about employment laws. It also may win the contest for best  blog name.

Supreme Court Haiku Reporter: Can’t read through the whole opinion? You can get a sense of it in three lines. (Note that reading haiku instead of the cases will not be enough to get you through being called on in class. Or your exams.)

ZombieLaw: Whenever zombies show up in legal documents, this blog is there, complete with pictures of senators, judges, etc. as zombies.

Image by Flickr user jasonlparks

Law school exams can do crazy things to your brain, but if you’re worried that you’ve been imagining the library staff wandering around and seemingly staring vacantly at the books lately, we just want to reassure you that you’re okay. Once a year, we go around the whole library, doing “shelf reading”. That’s a fancy way of saying we’re making sure the books are all in the right order and lined up nicely together so they’re easy to find when you go looking for them. We also look for books that may have been damaged, to see if we can repair or replace them. We go book by book and row by row. Yes, it is absolutely as thrilling as it sounds.

Although we only formally do this project once a year, we also keep an eye out for problems throughout the year, whenever we happen to be out in the stacks. If you ever notice a book out of order, or about to fall apart, just let us know, and we can take care of it.

Photo by Flicker user @Doug88888

With exam season in full swing, the Law Library would like to extend a helping hand to you as you navigate the maze of law school exams.  While we can’t take the exam for you, we can offer you a quiet place to study, access to the best study aids available, and last but not least, free coffee and hot tea.

The Law Library will have free coffee and hot tea for law students in the Law Library Conference Room on the following dates:

• Thursday, November 29th
• Monday, December 3rd
• Thursday, December 6th
• Monday, December 10th

Good luck on all of your finals!

Image by Flickr user aigle_dore

A recent study showed that looking at pictures of cute animals can help focus your attention more carefully. Since we here in the library want to do all we can to help you prepare for finals, starting Nov. 29, we’ll be displaying different pictures of cute animals on our digital screen. As you come in to study or to take your exams, take a quick gander at the screen near the library entrance for a few seconds of adorableness before diving into that Torts outline.

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.