KU Law Blog

FantasySCOTUS

So how did your Fantasy Football League do this past season? What about your Supreme Court Fantasy League?

Wait, what?

Yes, you heard me right.

FantasySCOTUS is a free online Supreme Court Fantasy League. Last year, over 5,000 attorneys, law students and other avid Supreme Court followers made predictions about all cases that the Supreme Court decided. On average, members of the league correctly predicted the cases nearly 60 percent of the time and accurately predicted that Elena Kagan would be nominated as the 100th Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. Justin Donoho, who received the highest score out of 5,000+ members, was nominated and confirmed as the inaugural Chief Justice of FantasySCOTUS.

FantasySCOTUS is brought to you by the Harlan Institute. The Harlan Institute’s mission is to bring a stylized law school experience into the high school classroom to ensure that our next generation of leaders has a proper understanding of our most fundamental laws. By utilizing the expertise of leading legal scholars and the interactivity of online games, Harlan will introduce students to our Constitution, the cases of the United States Supreme Court and our system of justice. Harlan’s long-term strategic goal is to develop condensed law school courses that can be taught at no cost in high schools across the country using engaging online programs.

For more information, check out this video:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAbz_ffQsAE?fs=1]Blake Wilson, Instructional & Research Services Librarian

Remember the Otters

When I was 10, my paternal grandparents subscribed to HBO. “Clash of the Titans,” followed by “The Beastmaster,”followed by another showing of “The Beastmaster” made for quite a day … day after day.

But HBO didn’t cater only to the sword and sorcery crowd. The fledgling cable TV network showed it had a heart by airing “Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas” each holiday season.

The Gift of the Maji-inspired program tells the tale of a poor widow otter and her plucky son Emmet. They scrape out a living in Frogtown Hollow on Ma’s income from doing laundry and Emmet’s odd jobs.

A local talent contest on Christmas Eve offers a $50 first prize. Ma desperately wants to buy Emmet the guitar of his dreams, coincidentally priced at $50. And Emmet longs to purchase his mother a piano.

In order to obtain a proper dress in which to compete in the talent contest, Ma Otter hocks Emmet’s tools to buy fabric. To join a band also hoping to win the contest, Emmet pokes a hole in Ma’s washtub to make a washtub bass.

Neither Ma nor the jug band take home the money, as they’re both upstaged at the talent contest by the heavy metal stylings of The Nightmare, a band made up of hooligans from River Bottom.

But as Ma, Emmet and his band mates dejectedly walk home on the frozen river, they begin to sing together. The owner of a local restaurant hears them and invites them to perform (for compensation!) that night. The gig presumably turns into a regular one, and Ma and Emmet’s fortunes rebound.

I bought the show on DVD about eight years ago and have been watching it every December since (along with “Love Actually” and “It’s a Wonderful Life” — man, I’m hokey). Last year, I watched “Emmet Otter” with our 8-week old son, Alex, and this year’s viewing is scheduled for tomorrow.

The painfully obvious segue to law school?

Take a moment over the next few weeks, regardless of your religious beliefs or affiliations, to be thankful for the bonds you share with friends and family. Things don’t always go smoothly in law school or in the practice of law, but the kindness and generosity shared among fellow students, valued co-workers, friends and family buoys the spirit and promotes a resilient attitude.

Finally, a brief plug for the good work done by members of our community to ensure that local families have a brighter holiday season. Several nonprofit agencies in Lawrence are working to help roughly 400 families. For more information on how to donate, see this article. Donors are asked to provide a new clothing outfit for each member of the family, gift items for the adopted household and a gift card for a holiday meal.

Happy Holidays!

Todd Rogers, Assistant Dean for Career Services

Extradition 101

Unless you have been living in a cave in the Himalayas or too busy studying for finals, you have heard the name Julian Assange tossed around. For those who don’t know, Julian Assange is an Australian journalist who is best known as the editor of the whistle blowing website, WikiLeaks. Quite a few countries would like to charge Assange with crimes related to leaking secret information.

Under the modern international system, each county is sovereign within its own boundaries. This makes it difficult to arrest a person in one country for crimes committed in another. In such a case, the only way to get someone located in another country into your courtroom is to use that country’s authority to seize him and have him turned over. This process is called extradition and it requires an extradition treaty between the two countries.

So let’s say you would like to have someone extradited. How do you do this?

Look up the extradition treaty with the country in which the fugitive is hiding. Usually these treaties are individually negotiated with each country and each will likely contain different terms and procedures.

The U.S. Department of State’s website contains an electronic version of their publication, Treaties in Force. A simple browse will show you whether or not we have an extradition treaty with a certain country. Alternatively, you can look under 18 U.S.C. § 3181 which provides a list of countries along with their TAIS (Treaties and Other International Agreements) number, a UST citation (United States Treaty) or even its citation within the Statutes at Large (Stat.). If the treaty was entered into after 1967, you can obtain an electronic copy from the Library of Congress’s Thomas website. HeinOnline carries many older treaties.

Verify that the crime is included. Treaties specify which crimes for which they will extradite. As a general rule, countries won’t expedite unless the offense is illegal in the extraditing country, the crimes are considered political or military by nature, or if the fugitive is likely to face inhumane treatment which may include torture or the death sentence.

Draft and submit your petition. The treaty should give you instructions as to what you will need to include and to whom you must submit the petition.

Here I would normally say, “That’s about it,” but rarely is that “about it.” As with the Assange case, things can get complicated when you have more than one country seeking extradition for offense that may or may not be illegal.

For more information, see Congressional Research Service: Extradition To and From the United States: Overview of the Law and Recent Treaties by Michael Garcia, John Doyle.

W. Blake Wilson, Instructional and Research Services Librarian

The changing legal marketplace

Last month, the ABA Journal posted an article by Patrick Lamb of Valorem Law Group, a Chicago-based litigation firm known for its alternative fee arrangements.

In the midst of his observations about the future of the delivery of private legal services, Mr. Lamb references Richard Susskind’s 2008 book, The End of Lawyers? Rethinking the Nature of Legal Services. In urging that all those interested in how the legal profession is changing read this book, Mr. Lamb notes:

What the changes are to be is not entirely clear, but it is likely that there will be myriad models instead of the one model that has dominated the landscape for the last 50-plus years. Doesn’t it seem bizarre that everyone isn’t devoting more time and study to the changing landscape to figure out how they will have to change to survive?

The paperback version of The End of Lawyers?, with a 36-page introduction that updates what has transpired in the marketplace since the manuscript was submitted in late 2007, came out last month.

A six-part series of excerpts from the original publication can be found here.

Worth a look.

Todd Rogers, Assistant Dean for Career Services

Library resources abound for finals prep

Now that you are stuffed with turkey (or Tofurkey), it’s time to stuff your brains for finals! Don’t forget to let the Wheat Law Library help you put on your outlining caps and start preparing. Here are a few resources you just might find useful!

CALI (The Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction)
http://www.cali.org/

CALI is computer-based, interactive tutorial that is free for KU Law Students. You login to the website and choose a lesson. These lessons by topic, author or, even cooler, casebook. Once you choose a topic, CALI will provide you with a brief description of a legal concept. Once the concept has been spelled out, CALI will provide you with a scenario and then ask you a question. If you get it wrong, CALI will tell you why. If you get it right, CALI will ask you to type in why you are right and then compare it to a model answer. Pretty slick, no? If you think you would like to check out CALI, contact me for an access code.

Course reserves on Blackboard
https://courseware.ku.edu/

Did you know that the Wheat Law Library has old exams on reserve? It’s true! To access them, you simply logon to Blackboard. One of the courses you are subscribed to should be titled Course Reserves. Once you are in there, you may browse for old exams by either subject or professor. While not every professor has an exam available, it can still be useful practice.

Books on reserve

The Wheat Law Library has many useful books on reserve available to be checked out for a short period of time. These include various Nutshell titles as well as some horn books and proprietary outlines. To browse which titles are available, see the blue binder at the circulation desk.

Bar review material

If you are looking for some practice questions or perhaps a different explanation of some concepts that you can’t quite grasp, you might want to try looking at some of the materials we have covering the Bar. Everything is located near the main entrance to the library, just past the reference desk.

And as always, should you have any questions, feel free to come in and chat with one of our reference librarians! We are always willing and able to help you locate whatever you might need to help you get through your finals.

Good luck!

W. Blake Wilson, Instructional and Research Services Librarian

Best places to study for finals

With finals just around the corner, finding the perfect place to study is essential. Personally, I read about a page an hour in the comfort of my own home, and find that I have to seek out spots more conducive to the learning experience. The Wheat Law Library provides a great studying environment, my own study carrel, and professors nearby, but unfortunately is only open until 11 o’clock at the latest. So for the night owl in you, I recommend the following places to study until night blends into day.

Spahr Engineering Library

Probably the best of the on-campus options, Spahr offers both Group (1st floor) and Quiet Zone (2nd Floor) areas open Monday through Friday night, with limited hours on weekends. The best part is that it is located about 50 yards north of Green Hall. There is a small snack bar open with standard fare on-campus items until 9 PM, and vending machines in an adjoining building. The only knock is that the bathrooms are also located in an adjoining building. Food delivery is hit or miss because there is no place for the delivery person to park. Large tables and conference rooms are available for group collaboration.

Study Quality: **** out of five
Munchies: *** out of five
Internet: ***** out of five (as long as you are a KU Student)

Anschutz Library

The newly remodeled Anschutz library offers a great set of couches and chairs, along with numerous floors with both Quiet Zone and Group Zone areas. During finals season, the library is open 24 hours a day (Except Sat-Sun), and also houses a snack bar with standard snack fare and drink. There are a limited number of personal study areas on the main floor, and a nearby place for delivery to park. I have two main problems with Anschutz. First, the group study areas are really more of a social area, and can get loud even into the night. Second, the wireless situation is really hit or miss. At capacity, sometimes my computer won’t connect. The University is working on the problem, but until it does, I can’t rate highly in that area.

Study Quality: ** out of five (Group), **** out of five (Quiet)
Munchies: *** out of Five
Internet: ** out of Five

Java Break

Located at 17 E. 7th Street off of Massachusetts Avenue, Java Break is very popular because it is a true 24-7 coffee shop. It has coffee house food like muffins and other baked goods, but the best part is the cereal bar. Internet is available, but requires a purchase. The clientele is a bit unique, but offers a great study environment with comfortable seating.

Study Quality: **** out of Five
Munchies: **** out of Five
Internet: *** out of Five

IHOP

The International House of Pancakes off 31st and Iowa provides probably the best late night munchies in town, at the cost of no free Internet. This can be a plus, but not for the purposes of this review. If you absolutely must have access, either bring an aircard, or login to the city’s pay service Wi-Fi, open in most places around town. The food is good, and power outlets are available, but the study environment is hit or miss. It is either dead quiet, or full of rowdy weekend bar exports.

Study Quality: ** out of Five
Munchies: ***** out of Five
Internet * out of Five

Munchers

Listed purely on the advice of fellow students is Munchers. Located at 925 Iowa Street, it is 24-7, and serves some great pastries and breakfast food fare. Some reviews say the shop has a very warehouse feel but there are plenty of tables, and some of the snack choices are an amazing value. While I can’t vouch for it myself, the City’s pay for use wireless should be available, but no Wi-Fi is provided onsite.

Study Quality *** out of Five
Munchies: ***** out of Five
Internet: * out of Five

Nathan Behncke, 2L

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