Monday, March 27, 2017

New Database for ACLU Archives

Since its founding in 1920, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has been involved in some of the most well-known constitutional law cases in American history. In the "Scopes Monkey Trial" of 1925 (which inspired the acclaimed play and film Inherit the Wind), the ACLU partnered with attorney Clarence Darrow to defend a biology teacher arrested for teaching evolution in his Tennessee classroom. In the 1960s, the ACLU provided free legal assistance to Richard and Mildred Loving, arrested for violating Virginia's ban on interracial marriage; the 1967 U.S. Supreme Court decision Loving v. Virginia subsequently struck down prohibitions on interracial marriage on equal protection grounds. More recently, the ACLU has challenged Trump administration executive orders concerning immigration and border security.

Researchers at Duke now have access to archival materials from the ACLU's work in the twentieth century. The Goodson Law Library has just subscribed to The Making of Modern Law: American Civil Liberties Union Papers 1912-1990. The searchable collection consists of legal case files and news clippings on ACLU activities, organized into two sub-collections:
  • The Roger Baldwin Years, 1912-1950, contains subseries with clippings and files on academic freedom; censorship; legislation; federal departments and federal legislation; state activities; conscientious objectors; injunctions; and labor and labor organization correspondence.
  • Years of Expansion, 1950-1990, encompasses foundation project files on the Amnesty Project, 1964-1980; the Lawyers Constitutional Defense Committee, 1964-1976; and subject files on freedom of belief, expression, and association; due process of law; equality before the law; international civil liberties; and legal case files, 1933-1990.
The earliest materials, which pre-date the official formation of the ACLU, include correspondence and news clippings on jail conditions, sedition trials, and conscientious objectors during World War I. the collections can be searched on the main screen, or browsed under "Explore Collections." Keyword searches for broad topics like marriage will return thousands of pages of ACLU research and legal documents; a search for a case name, such as Loving v. Virginia, will retrieve a narrower set of results, with the relevant pages within each result flagged in a sidebar.

The digital collection provides a fascinating view of American history through the work of ACLU lawyers. For more information about the history of the ACLU, try a subject search of the Duke Libraries Catalog for American Civil Liberties Union. For assistance with using the new database or with locating other ACLU materials, be sure to Ask a Librarian.

Monday, March 20, 2017

AILALink Immigration Database Now Available

Immigration law is highly complex, and involves a number of specialized resources. Fortunately, the Goodson Law Library has just subscribed to AILALink, a research database from the American Immigration Lawyers Association. Current Duke University students, faculty, and staff can access AILALink from the Law Library's Legal Databases & Links page, or directly here. (Access is limited to 3 simultaneous users; please click "Sign out" in the top right corner when finished.)

AILALink includes primary and secondary legal materials on immigration matters, such as the full text of Kurzban's Immigration Law Sourcebook (15th ed. 2016), a leading treatise for immigration law practitioners. Other books of interest include the Occupational Guidebooks series, including Immigration Options for Academics and Researchers and Immigration Options for Artists & Entertainers. Other AILA titles include Asylum Law Primer (7th ed. 2015), Essentials of Immigration Law (4th ed. 2016), and Immigration Law & the Family (4th ed. 2016).

Researchers should be aware that immigration law and policy can change quickly. AILALink provides supplements in the event of later changes, such as a chapter supplement to Immigration Law & the Family prompted by new agency guidance. However, primary law research is also essential to update the content of the book publications. The database also provides browseable and searchable versions of federal statutes, regulations, and agency materials related to immigration law and practice. Case law is available through AILALink's court opinions section, with an option to search Fastcase Premium for additional materials.

For further reading on immigration law, try a search of the Duke Libraries Catalog for the subject heading emigration and immigration law – united states. You'll find titles like the multi-volume treatise by Gordon & Mailman, Immigration Law and Procedure (also available in Lexis Advance) and study aids on Reserve like Immigration Law and Procedure in a Nutshell.

For assistance with using AILALink or with locating immigration law materials in the Law Library, be sure to Ask a Librarian.

Tuesday, March 7, 2017

New Research Guide to Arbitration

Although arbitration is generally intended to be a less complex option for parties than litigation, researching arbitration decisions and practice can present unique challenges. Because arbitration decisions are often private, an estimated 90% of them are unavailable – and while the practice of citing to past arbitration decisions is cause for controversy, researchers sometimes need to track down past decisions, arbitrator profiles, or more information about arbitration practice. Reference Librarian Jane Bahnson has created a new research guide to Arbitration on the Goodson Law Library website.

This guide compiles print and electronic sources for both domestic and international arbitration law and practice. Beginning with an overview of secondary sources, such as Elkouri & Elkouri's widely-cited How Arbitration Works, 7th ed. (KF3424 .E44 & online in Bloomberg Law), the guide also describes nine major domestic and international arbitration organizations, such as the American Arbitration Association (AAA) and ICSID (International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes). Additional sections cover researching arbitrator profiles and locating the full text of available arbitration decisions.

This new research guide to arbitration is one of many topical research guides on the library website. To view all available topics, visit the Research Guides page. For assistance with researching arbitration or other legal topics, be sure to Ask a Librarian.

Wednesday, March 1, 2017

Introducing Westlaw China

The Duke community now has access to two online research services for Chinese legal materials. In addition to en.pkulaw.cn (formerly known as Law Info China), the Goodson Law Library has just subscribed to Westlaw China. Both databases are available to the Duke University community, with a NetID and password required for off-campus access. The Legal Databases & Links page provides quick access to both services.

Both Westlaw China and en.pkulaw.cn offer bilingual access to Chinese statutes, regulations, case law, legal news, and journal articles, but each service has unique strengths and collections. A comparison chart prepared by the Chinese University of Hong Kong Library highlights these differences: Westlaw China and en.pkulaw.cn each include the full text of laws and regulations since 1949. However, Westlaw China's case law is only available in Chinese for full text, with headnote descriptions in English. Westlaw China contains more English-language journals and treatises, as well as model contracts and a legal glossary.

Of course, the Goodson Law Library collection contains additional books and other materials on Chinese law. To locate them, search the Duke Libraries Catalog for the subject heading Law – China, or more specific areas of law (such as criminal law -- china. For help with researching in both print and online resources, be sure to Ask a Librarian.