Picture source: Fastcase.com

Come learn all about FastCase! This SRU Workshop open to all students, faculty, and alumni, will help you discover an affordable alternative to Westlaw and Lexis that firms use to conduct research of a variety of legal resources including cases, statutes, and secondary sources. FastCase is also free to those who are members of the State Bar of Arizona.

Details: Wednesday, October 20th 2010 at 4:00pm in the Teaching/Computer Lab on the 2nd floor of the Tower.

Questions? Email or call (602) 682-6898.

Picture source: MorgueFile

Wish we had leaves that changed color here... don't you just want to go jump in those leaves?

Hello everyone! Welcome back! We hope you enjoyed your fall break! Here are dates & times of Law Library events for the week of October 18th, 2010:

At various times, to be announced later, we will have an SRU workshop for Lawyering Process 1 students on Westlaw & Lexis Searching. Check the library's calendar for times as they may change. Please note: there will NOT be any SRUs this week for LP1, as the librarians will be presenting in the LP1 classes for Westlaw & Lexis searching. Thanks!

Tuesday 10/19/10:
 9:30am- 1pm BNA Table Day in Building D (no RSVP required)
 
Wednesday 10/20/10:
 4pm, Fastcase
 

Please visit our workshop calendar to RSVP. For descriptions of these workshops and others, visit http://www.phoenixlaw.edu/libraryworkshops.

Questions? Call (602) 682-6898 or email.

Picture source: The New York Times, Copyright 2010 The New York Times Company

Social media is affecting many areas of our lives, as well as changing the definition of media in courtrooms. Journalism is being altered, and no longer is there a delay in providing information to readers and TV viewers.

An article from the New York Times today, discusses how Twitter was used in a recent trial in Connecticut. A journalist interviewed at the trial explained how "with the unlimited capacity of the Internet, she could paint a word picture of every aspect of the trial" through sharing tweets on Twitter. According to this journalist, "it was just a matter of how fast [she] could type." This creates an issue with the immediate decisions these journalists have to make about what to tweet and what is inappropriate. There is no editor there to filter their tweets, which could include disturbing testimony of violence and sexual assault. Besides this issue, there is concern with the "play-by-play" openness of the tweeting and how it shifts the view from "a horrific trial to entertainment."

Below are more articles that discuss the issue of social media in the courtroom, not only pertaining to journalists tweeting but jurors and lawyers using social media as well:

• Social Media Crashes Courtroom via NPR
• Getting Social: Social Media in the Courtroom (PowerPoint presentation) via Laura Click on SlideShare
• Trial Judges Impose Penalties for Social Media in the Courtroom via Citizen Media Law Project
• Colorado Judge Allows Twitter in Courtroom and Kansas Federal Judge Allows Twittering Media in Courtroom via Social Media Law Student
• Courtroom Bans on Social Media Spreading Across the United States via the First Amendment Coalition

Also, read up on the Rules of the Supreme Court of Arizona that describe Electronic and Photographic Coverage of Public Judicial Proceedings.

Should tweeting be banned in the courtroom? Give us your thoughts in the comments below! 

Picture source: Amazon.com

According to Amazon: "Pinky (Jeanne Crain) a black woman who works as a nurse in Boston, finds she able to "pass for white." Afraid her heritage will be discovered, she leaves her white fiance (William Lundigan) and returns home to Mississippi. There, she helps her ailing grandmother (Ethal Waters) by caring for her employer (Ethel Barrymore), an important plantation owner. When she names Pinky heiress to her estate, the community rises in resentment, triggering a sensational court trial."

From Wikipedia: "Because of its subject matter, Pinky was a controversial movie, and was even banned by the city of Marshall, Texas, where W. L. Gelling managed the Paramount Theater, a segregated theater in which African-Americans sat in the balcony. Gelling booked Pinky for exhibition in February 1950. In 1950, the First Amendment did not protect movies (Mutual Film Corporation v. Industrial Commission of Ohio). The City Commission of Marshall “reactivated” the Board of Censors, established by a 1921 ordinance, and designated five new members who demanded the submission of the picture for approval. The Board disapproved its showing, stating in writing its “unanimous opinion that the said film is prejudicial to the best interests of the citizens of the City of Marshall.” Gelling nonetheless exhibited the film and was charged with a misdemeanor. Three members of the Board of Censors testified that they objected to the picture because it depicts (1) a white man retaining his love for a woman after learning that she is a Negro, (2) a white man kissing and embracing a Negro woman, (3) two white ruffians assaulting Pinky after she has told them she is colored. Gelling was convicted and fined $200. He appealed the conviction all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. After Gelling filed his appeal, the Court decided the landmark free speech case of Joseph Burstyn, Inc v. Wilson that extended First Amendment protection to films. The Court then overturned Gelling’s conviction."

"Pinky was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Actress in a Leading Role (Jeanne Crain), Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Ethel Barrymore) and Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Ethel Waters)." (Source: Wikipedia)

Available in the law library for check out.

References:

"Gelling v. State of Texas, 343 U.S. 960 (1952)" (http;//supreme.justia.com/us/343/960/case.html).

Wikipedia: Pinky (film)