The Law Library is pleased to announce that it now has four additional laptops (total of six) available for students, faculty and staff to borrow.
All laptops are equipped with wireless internet access and the full Microsoft Office Suite. Laptops may be checked out for 24 hours.
Professor Robert C. Hockett has been exploring the idea of using eminent domain as a way to relieve underwater mortgages in several of his recent publications. The research is more than just theory, as the city of Richmond, California took steps this summer to put such a plan into action, while several other municipalities are exploring the idea as well.
The Scholarship@Cornell Law repository is featuring one of Professor Hockett’s recent publications on this topic titled: “A Federalist Blessing in Disguise: From National Inaction to Local Action on Underwater Mortgages”, originally appearing in the Harvard Law and Policy Review earlier this year and co-authored with John Vlahoplus of the advisory firm Mortgage Resolution Partners.
The abstract describes the paper as:
Taking “the measure of the national mortgage debt overhang problem as a cluster of local problems warranting local action. It then elaborates on one form of such action that the localized nature of the ongoing mortgage crisis justifies – use of municipal eminent domain authority to purchase underwater loans, then modify them in a manner that benefits debtors, creditors, and their communities alike.”
For more on the latest scholarly articles from Professor Hockett and the rest of the law school faculty visit the repository at Scholarship@Cornell Law.
Despite the government shutdown the Supreme Court began its new term last week. To kickoff the start of the new session we’ve collected a few helpful resources and links for tracking the latest SCOTUS news and developments:
The Law Library will have reduced hours during fall break from October 12 -18.
Monday – Friday: 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Reference Hours: 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Weekends: Closed
Perhaps you’ve heard the federal government is currently shut down?
With budget negotiations at an impasse, and another debt ceiling battle looming, the Scholarship@Cornell Law repository is featuring two articles published by members of the law faculty that touch on these respective issues.
Professor Josh Chafetz’s essay “The Phenomenology of Gridlock,” turns the conventional dysfunction narrative on its head, arguing that the hunt for causes of gridlock are misguided. Originally appearing in Notre Dame Law Review’s 2012 “The American Congress: Legal Implications of Gridlock” Symposium, Chafetz argues that gridlock itself is not a phenomenon, but an absence of it, and that looking at why and how legislation occurs is the more fruitful course of action in determining institutional dysfunction.
Also, Professor Michael Dorf and George Washington University’s Neil H. Buchanan tackled the debt ceiling fight last year in companion articles “How to Choose the Least Unconstitutional Option: Lessons for the President (and Others) from the Debt Ceiling Standoff” and “Nullifying the Debt Ceiling Threat Once and for All: Why the President Should Embrace the Least Unconstitutional Option” appearing the Columbia Law Review and Columbia Law Review Sidebar respectively. In the papers, Dorf and Buchanan examine the recent history of the debt ceiling brinksmanship between Congress and The White House and examine the options the President may have to prevent the ceiling from becoming a negotiation tactic every time it needs to be raised. Additionally, visit Professor Dorf’s blog, Dorf on Law, where he’s been posting on the current budget negotiations.
For more on the latest scholarly articles from these authors and the rest of the law school faculty visit the repository at Scholarship@Cornell Law.
As job interview season approaches, Rooms B20A and B20B in the basement of the Law Library are now available to students for the purpose of conducting phone and Skype interviews in a private space.
Reservations can be made in advance at the Circulation Desk, and keys may be picked up at your allotted time from the same location.
Please contact Janet Gillespie with questions at jmg32@cornell.edu or 607-255-5854.
September 22-28 is Banned Books Week, an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. Started in 1982, the week brings together the entire book community to celebrate the free and open exchange of ideas and information.
According to the American Library Association 464 separate titles were challenged in the United States last year alone. Challenges to ban books over the years have included everything from To Kill a Mockingbird to Harry Potter. The top ten most frequently challenged books for the previous year include:
For more information check out bannedbooksweek.org and for additional lists of recent and classic titles that have been challenged or banned in communities across the country check out The American Library Association’s Frequently Challenged Books page.
The Law Library’s latest display highlights the laws and perspectives driving the debate over the balance of privacy and security in the era of Big Data.
The controversy surrounding the National Security Agency’s surveillance programs revealed this summer have sharpened the focus on issues regarding cybersecurity and its impact on civil liberties. The library’s display presents these topics in the context of scholarly articles and books with a variety of perspectives while also highlighting various laws and Congressional hearings.
New Display on Privacy and Surveillance
For those interested in the topic, be sure to also check out content from Harvard Law Review’s 2012 symposium Privacy and Technology featuring papers and video presentations.Additionally, the Senate Judiciary Committee’s site has a trove of witness testimony plus a webcast recording from a July 2013 hearing on oversight of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) surveillance program. For the most recent information regarding privacy and surveillance Cornell faculty and students can also access Bloomberg BNA’s Privacy Law Watch and Privacy Law & Security Report for daily and weekly updates on all things privacy law.
If you are on campus don’t miss the opportunity to attend The University Computer Policy and Law Program’s (UCPL) presentation Privacy and Cybersecurity taking place Wednesday, September 18, 1:30-3pm in the Statler Hall Amphitheatre. The featured speaker will be Lisa J. Sotto, managing partner of Hunton & Williams’ New York office and head of the firm’s top-ranked Privacy and Data Security practice.
Carrel signups will be next Tuesday and Wednesday, September 3 and 4. Carrels located on the first, fourth, new ground, and basement floors may be reserved for one semester at a time by 2Ls, 3Ls, LLMs, and exchange students. Carrels located on the second floor may not be reserved and are available daily on a first-come, first served basis. All carrels are numbered. A carrel map will be made available with the signup form for easy identification. Each carrel must be shared by two students. Students may select a carrel partner or choose to have the library assign one.
Students may reserve carrels in person at the Law Library on a first-come, first-served basis. The signup period will span two days:
Please see Janet Gillespie in room 352 between the hours of 8am-12pm and 1pm-5pm on the appropriate day. Questions may be directed to Janet at jmg32@cornell.edu or 607-255-5854.
Since classes begin next week, the Law Library will have new hours starting tomorrow. Fall semester hours are as follows:
