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CMLawLibraryBlog

The CM Law Library Blog seeks to inform the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law community about key legal education, research, practice, and law library news, with a particular focus on Cuyahoga County and Ohio as well as faculty research interests.

Controversial Major Amendments to the Federal Civil Rules May Soon be in Effect

Sue Altmeyer, Electronic Services Librarian, sue.altmeyer@law.csuohio.edu | November 14, 2007 - 18:26

Every Federal Rule of Civil Procedure will be changed, effective Dec. 1, 2007, unless Congress acts otherwise. The changes include substantive changes, organizational changes (moving sections around) and stylistic changes. The stylistic changes are being made because the Civil Rules have been amended piece-meal over the years, and the language sometimes does not track from one rule to another. The rules contain arcane language. Although the stylistic changes are not supposed to change the meaning of the rules, some attorneys may base arguments upon subtle differences in the language. See West's five-minute video: Major Federal Civil Procedural Rules Changes Effective Dec. 1st, 2007.

Some legal scholars question whether changes in the language of the rules can be made without changing the meaning of the rules. These scholars believe the amended rules will create chaos in the courts, with little benefits. The Law Librarian Blog cites two articles which advocate the postponement of the effective date of the new rules, so the new rules can be studied further:

Thanks go to the Law Librarian Blog, which posted the following: Restyling the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and Thompson West Video on Revised Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.


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Westlaw Key Numbers Come Out of Hiding

Sue Altmeyer, Electronic Services Librarian, sue.altmeyer@law.csuohio.edu | November 14, 2007 - 17:02

At last! You can now easily get to the digest topic outline on Westlaw via a link on the top of the Westlaw page that says "Key Numbers". Before, you had to click on "Site Map" to get to the topic outline, which was not obvious.

Additionally, when you click on the "Key Numbers" link, you can do a term search to find relevant key numbers. This search will find key numbers in the entire West's Digest set for the jurisdiction or jurisdictions you select. An electronic search of the entire digest for relevant key numbers previously did not exist.

Kudos to the Out of the Jungle blog for bringing this to our attention.

For more on the West Key Number system in general, see West's Key Number System - The Key to Finding Good Law.


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Tips for Oral Arguments

Sue Altmeyer, Electronic Services Librarian, sue.altmeyer@law.csuohio.edu | November 14, 2007 - 13:03

The Illinois Trial Practice Weblog, written by attorney Evan Schaeffer, has lots of advice concerning appellate arguments. Check out his posts in the appeals category, the most recent of which is entitled Appellate Court - Never Read Your Argument. This post contains Schaeffer's personal oral argument preparation techniques. Schaeffer also has practical legal writing advice - see the Legal Writing category.

Source: Stark County Law Library Blog.


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