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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.

Naked Cowboy Sues for Trademark Infringement

Sue Altmeyer, Electronic Services Librarian, sue.altmeyer@law.csuohio.edu | February 20, 2008 - 11:53

Times Square street musician the Naked Cowboy sued M&M Mars Inc. for trademark infringement (Lanham Act). The suit is based on a commercial where a blue M&M is dressed in briefs, cowboy boots and a cowboy hat, and is playing a guitar in Times Square. Dan Slater,Naked Cowboy's Lawsuit Drives M&M Outta Dodge The Wall Street Journal Law Blog, Feb. 15, 2008. Justia Dockets provides free basic information on the case, as well as a link to the PACER federal court docket. A Boolean search of the trademark registration database, TESS , for owner name = "Burck, Robert John" yields two registered trademarks.

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Hints for Legislative History Research Plus a New Research Guide

Sue Altmeyer, Electronic Services Librarian, sue.altmeyer@law.csuohio.edu | February 20, 2008 - 11:07

From yesterday's Legislative History research seminar, here are a few tips:

1. Be sure to check out the library's newly revised Legislative History Research Guide, which contains lots of how-tos on both federal and state legislative history research.

2. Some legislative history documents have more persuasive authority than others. See Chart - Most Persuasive Legislative History Documents, in Order. A recent article advocates that conference reports and committee reports are the only reliable legislative history documents. See Law Librarian Blog, Professional Reading: Should Some Forms of Legislative History be Excluded During Judicial Review?

3. Try to find a compiled legislative history, which are available for major legislation.

4. You will use different sources to locate legislative history for older (generally, pre-1969) acts than newer acts. The research guide sets out the Steps for both old and new acts.

5. Pending legislation can be tracked automatically by GovTrack.us (free) or by setting up a saved search of a bill tracking database on Lexis or Westlaw.


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Online Bluebook Available for Purchase

Sue Altmeyer, Electronic Services Librarian, sue.altmeyer@law.csuohio.edu | February 20, 2008 - 09:55

An online version of The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation is available for purchase. Online order form. The cost is $25 for the first year and $15 for each additional year. Up to three years can be ordered for this price. Thanks to The Legal Writing Prof Blog, Online Bluebook Feb. 19, 2007.

For free citation information on the web, see Basic Legal Citation via LII. You may also find handy Cardiff Index to Legal Abbreviations.


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Why You Didn't Go To Med School

Amy Burchfield, Access & Faculty Services Librarian amy.burchfield@law.csuohio.edu | February 20, 2008 - 09:23

Science works its way into a surprising number of legal cases, and lawyers aren’t always ready to handle some of the most basic scientific information. Eric Drogin’s new book Science for Lawyers K487 .S3 S255 2008 can help scientifically-challenged JDs tackle the fundamentals of ballistics, chemistry, computer forensics, engineering, genetics, medicine, physics, statistics, even linguistics and dentistry. Drogin promises that the book will be “[a] non-threatening, even absorbing, half-hour read on the train to work” that will “reacquaint counsel….with dimly recalled undergraduate survey topics often comprising a personal list of “reasons I didn’t go to medical school.””

So go ahead -- relish the fact that you chose law school over med school and grab this book when in [scientific] doubt.


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