Federal case files that are closed are transferred from the Courts to the National Archive. From the 1960s onwards, regional archives store transcripts, pleadings, exhibits, dockets, and any other proceedings from the Federal Courts of Appeal, Bankruptcy Court, Civil and Criminal Courts.

Arizona Federal case files are stored at the National Archive center in Riverside, CA. For a fee anything can be obtained and delivered to the legal researcher. You can also gumshoe your way to Riverside to access the case archive in person. This same system is administered by the National Archives nationally so closed case files from any jurisdiction can be accessed.

See NARA Info: http://www.archives.gov/pacific/frc/riverside/court-records  

Here is an example of legal research not typically conducted online, but some of these documents are being scanned and added to databases like Westlaw.  

Holistic Law

Think that legal practice must be confrontational?

Alternative approaches include holistic law, a tradition that teaches lawyers to be helpers and healers. There is an International Association with focus on prevention and collaboration rather than confrontation. Holistic law and closely related themes such as therapeutic justice and restorative justice are discussed by Wright in the book Lawyers as Peacemakers (2010).  

For more information, the book Lawyers as Peacemakers is in the PSL Library.

Hello everyone!

Here is a listing of events the law library is conducting for the week of September 6th, 2010:

Monday 9/6/10:
    Library CLOSED!

Tuesday 9/7/10:
    Noon, LP1 SRU Workshop: Secondary Sources
    3pm, LP2: Court Documents
    4:30pm, LP1 SRU Workshop: Secondary Sources
    5:50pm, Mini SRU: Library Catalog

Wednesday 9/8/10:
    11:50am, Mini SRU: Library Catalog   
    Noon, LP1 SRU Workshop: Secondary Sources
    5pm, LP1 SRU Workshop: Secondary Sources
    6pm, LP2: Court Documents
   
Thursday 9/9/10:
    11:50am, Mini SRU: Library Catalog
    Noon, LP1 SRU Workshop: Secondary Sources
    3pm, LP2: Court Documents
    4:30pm, LP1 SRU Workshop: Secondary Sources
    7:40pm, LP1 SRU Workshop: Secondary Sources

Friday 9/10/10:
    11am, LP2: Court Documents
    Noon, LP1 SRU Workshop: Secondary Sources
    1pm, LP1 SRU Workshop: Secondary Sources
    2pm, LP2: Court Documents
    3pm, LP1 SRU Workshop: Secondary Sources
   

Please visit our workshop calendar to RSVP (no RSVP needed for the Mini SRUs). For descriptions of these workshops, click here.

Questions? Call (602) 682-6898.

Picture source: MorgueFile

Don't forget! The Law Library will be closed on Monday, September 6th 2010 in observance of Labor Day! Students please note: the building will be shut-down as well in observance of the holiday, so you will be unable to access other areas of the building to study.

Saturday, September 4th and Sunday, September 5th will be regular hours, with no reference hours. On Tuesday, September 7th we will resume all regularly scheduled programming! :)

For more information on our special hours please visit http://www.phoenixlaw.edu/libraryhours

We hope you all have a fantastically restful weekend!

Are you missing out? The Phoenix School of Law Library has been conducting Special Research Unit (SRU) workshops this week on a couple of topics. There are still seats available if you want to attend!

For Lawyering Process 1 (LP1) students, this week's workshop is about Digests & Reporters. In this workshop, students will review the structure of reporters, headnotes, keynotes, and how to use a digest.

Workshops left on this topic this week:
 Thursday 9/2/10: Noon and 7:40pm
 Friday 9/3/10: Noon, 1pm, and 3pm 

RSVP for these workshops here.

For Lawyering Process 2 (LP2) students, this week's workshop is about Legislative History/Statutory Interpretation. In this workshop, students will learn how to find legislative history and review the canons of construction. Find out what the creators really meant when they passed that law!

Workshops left on this topic this week:
 Thursday 9/2/10: 3pm
 Friday 9/3/10: 11am and 2pm

RSVP for these workshops here.

And finally, the law library is also conducting lighter versions of SRU workshops, called Mini SRUs. This week's topic is about the Library Catalog. Students can learn how to find their Library Account online to renew items or see what they have checked out. Also, students can review how to get to the catalog and search by title, author, or keyword. Mini SRUs are conducted for 15 minutes at a Knowledge Bar.

Workshops left on this topic this week:
 Thursday 9/2/10: 8:15am, Knowledge Bar 3rd Floor Tower 
 Friday 9/3/10: 8:15am and 2:45pm, Knowledge Bar Building D and 3rd Floor Tower, respectively.

RSVPs are not needed for the Mini SRUs.

Questions? Contact us! 602-682-6898 or email.