Nationwide Cell Phone Driving Ban Recommended

Exams are almost over, and it will be time to drive away for holidays and a well-deserved break. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) voted unanimously this week to recommend a nationwide ban on driving while using cell phones and other personal electronic devices. Their recommendation is for all 50 states and the District Of Columbia to pass laws prohibiting use of both hand-held and hands-free personal electronic devices for non-emergency use. While the NTSB has no power to implement such a ban, federal and state regulators and legislatures can act to carry out the recommendation. Many states have texting and cell phone use restrictions in place, and a recent rule bans the use of hand-held cell phones by interstate bus and truck drivers. A current table and maps of cell phone and texting laws across the country are provided by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC)

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC) is an agency of the United Nations established to assist Member States with issues concerning illicit drugs and international crime. UNODC’s online legislation legal library provides full text of drug control laws and regulations adopted by countries in support of international drug control treaties. It includes legislation adopted since 1948.
Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Google undocumented search operators

Well, it appears that some of the undocumented Google search operators are dated and may no longer work as they did in 2010. For updated information check out, Reference: Advanced operators for Web Search. Changes keep us on our toes.
Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

HeinOnline Session Laws Quick Locator Enhancement

The HeinOnline Session Laws Library is a great source for PDF's of the official bound session laws of all 50 states, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands and more. In order to make this vast amount of materials more accessible, HeinOnline has recently added the sessions law enhancement. This enhancement allows the user to now select a state, chapter number, enter a year or page number and quickly jump to the page they are looking for. This enhancement is also integrated at the individual state browsing level. Click here to learn more about this new enhancement.
Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Meow to Text

So, you know that I am a fan of Google. I just discovered the niftiest new tool for Google searching. You can speak (or meow, in my case) your search just by pressing or clicking on the little microphone icon in the search box. For iPhone users, download and use the free Google search app for your searching to use this feature.

In no time I found the ingredients I needed for my recipe while I was in the supermarket without having to type in anything. Typing with my paws can get tiresome.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

New York Legal Research Library

When you are researching New York law, don’t forget about a valuable resource that collects a good deal of information in one place: HeinOnline’s New York Research Library. The Library includes journals, statutes, reports, session laws, as well as a great deal of historical material, and is accessible via our online databases page.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Congress Debates Cameras in the Court

An earlier post this week focused on the pros and cons of whether U.S. Supreme Court oral arguments should be televised. Now Congress has gotten into the act, although it is unclear if Congress has the authority to require the Court to permit televised proceedings. The Senate introduced a bill on Monday that would permit televised coverage of all open proceedings, unless the Court determined that this would violate the "due process" rights of at least one party to the case. Yesterday, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing to debate the issue and the validity of such a bill. JURIST has a good brief summary of the bill and the hearing.
Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Restyled Federal Rules of Evidence

The Restyled Federal Rules of Evidence became effective on December 1, 2011. The Law Librarian's Blog offers commentary about the restyled FRE and two free and reliable e-text alternatives from Federal Evidence Review and Cornell LII-CALI.

Read about the restyled FRE here.

Read about e-text alternatives from Federal Evidence Review and Cornell LII-CALI here.


Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Google Guide

So you are familiar with Google's Advanced Search and are under the impression that this is the most sophisticated searching that can be done on Google. Turns out this is not the case and the Google Guide lists search operators beyond those offered by Google. This site is not affiliated with Google.

One of the interesting features is the "around(n)" term which functions as a proximity connector. Ex. doctor AROUND(5) malpractice returns pages where the two terms are in very close proximity to each other.

As an undocumented features, Google may always eliminate these options but in the meantime they are useful to know.

Hat Tip to Law Librarian blog.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Cameras in the Supreme Court

The New York Times recently published an article on cameras in the Supreme Court. Currently, cameras are not allowed in the Supreme Court. However, C-Span has made a recent request to televise five and a half hours of oral arguments scheduled by the Court to hear the constitutional challenge to President Obama's health care law. The article presents the arguments for and against cameras in the Court as well as thoughts of some of the Supreme Court justices. Read the full article here.
Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat