National Library Week: Get Ahead of the Pack @ WSLL

The Wisconsin State Law Library invites you to join us in celebrating National Library Week from April 14-18. We’ve planned several informative and entertaining events and activities to help you Get Ahead of the Pack when it comes to doing legal research.

Take a free class on using LegalTrac to “hunt down” law journal articles more efficiently. Take a free, guided “safari tour” of the library to become more familiar with the resources and services we provide. On the fun side, take our exclusive National Library Week Photo Safari to learn more about selected library “species.” While you’re here, you can also “track an animal” in the depths of the library “jungle” and enter our daily drawing for some neat prizes!

You’ll find all the details on our special National Library Week webpage. Check it out, and learn how you can Get Ahead of the Pack @ WSLL!

More Upcoming WSLL Classes

In addition to the National Library Week offerings mentioned above, there are still a few seats available in our other upcoming classes:

Corporate Information Online
Thursday, April 24, 2008, 10:00-11:30 a.m.
Looking for new clients or investigating an opposing party? Learn how to find company information online. This class covers how to locate background and financial data, litigation history, and more. Access Securities and Exchange Commission filings, navigate the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institution’s records service, and learn to research ratings, directories, and news sources. Fee: $50. 1.5 CLE credits applied for. Registration is limited to 8. Print registration form.

Wisconsin Briefs Online
Wednesday, May 14, 2008, 9:00-10:00 a.m.
Streamline your search for briefs! This class covers Wisconsin Briefs available on the Internet. Learn how to access Wisconsin Briefs on the UW Law Library's website, and gain a basic understanding of how to best use WSCCA in your search for Wisconsin Briefs. FREE Class. 1 CLE credit applied for. Registration is limited to 8. Print registration form.

DCLRC welcomes new Library Assistant

Kristin Garvey, part time Library Assistant at the Wisconsin State Law Library, has accepted an additional part time position as Library Assistant at the Dane County Legal Resource Center. A recent graduate of the University of Iowa, Kristin will begin classes at the UW-Madison School of Library and Information Studies later this year.

Congratulations, Kristin!

This is the first installment of a new, occasional column featuring resources on a particular legal topic that are available at WSLL or on the Internet. Items preceded by a relate to Wisconsin law.

For assistance in accessing these or other resources, please contact our Reference Desk.

Books Available @ WSLL

Foreclosure
KFW2530.5.F6 F671 2007
Shannon K. Cummings, et. al.
One volume, 188 pages; seminar material from Lorman Education Services, includes forms. (2007)

Foreclosures : Defenses, Workouts, and Mortgage Servicing
KF697 .F6 R36 2007
John Rao, et al. 
2nd ed.  774 pages; published by National Consumer Law Center. Includes forms and CD-ROM. (2007)

Real Estate Finance Law
KF695 .N45 2007
Grant S. Nelson and Dale A. Whitman
5th ed., two volumes; published by Thomson/West, includes forms. (2007)

Real Estate Finance in a Nutshell
KF695.Z9 B78 2004
Jon W. Bruce
5th ed., one volume, 274 pages; published by Thomson/West. (2004)

Effective Mortgage Foreclosure Techniques in Wisconsin
KFW2530.5.F6 E33 2002
Steven W. Moglowsky, et. al.
One volume, 156 pages; seminar material from National Business Institute. (2002)

Wisconsin Foreclosure and Repossession
KFW2530.5 F6 F67 2000
J. David Krekeler, et. al.
One volume, 241 pages; seminar material from National Business Institute. (2000)

Structuring Commercial Real Estate Workouts: Alternatives to Bankruptcy and Foreclosure
KF1535 .R43 S77 2000
W. Wade Berryhill, et. al.
2nd ed., one volume, updated with supplements, latest received in 2005; published by Aspen Law & Business. (2000)

Mortgage and Land Contract Foreclosures in Wisconsin
KFW2530.5.F6 G6 1989
John S. Goodland
One volume, 187 pages; published by UW Law School Continuing Education and Outreach; includes forms. (1989)

Wisconsin Mortgage Foreclosures
KFW2530.5 F6 M73 1989
Arthur M. Moglowsky, et. al.
One volume, 291 pages; seminar material from Professional Education Systems. (1989)

Internet Resources

Visit the Wisconsin State Law Library’s Legal Topics Page on Foreclosure for a growing list of links to Internet resources.  Here’s some of what you’ll find there: 

Federal Trade Commission’s Mortgages / Real Estate page; includes links to FTC’s publications:

• Mortgage Payments Sending You Reeling? Here’s What to Do
• How to Recognize a Foreclosure Rescue Scam

Housing and Urban Development “Tips for Avoiding Foreclosure”

Housing and Urban Development “You Can Avoid Foreclosure and Keep Your Home”

Wisconsin Foreclosure Resource from WHEDA

Wisconsin Statutes Chapter 846 Real Estate Foreclosure

This month’s featured titles include:

New! ABA Standards for Criminal Justice: DNA Evidence, by the American Bar Association Criminal Justice Standards Committee.
3rd Edition
The Association, 2007
KF 9666.5 .A33 2007

The General Principles of the ABA Criminal Justice Standards on DNA Evidence begin: “Consistent with the rights of privacy and due process, DNA evidence should be collected, preserved, tested, and used when it may advance the determination of guilt or innocence.”

This new book is one of a multi-volume set of publications containing ABA Standards on Criminal Justice on a wide range of topics. The "black letter" standards contained and discussed relate to collecting, preserving and use of DNA evidence, DNA testing, pretrial proceedings, trial, post-conviction, charging by DNA profile, and DNA databases. The "black letter" standards were approved by the ABA's policymaking House of Delegates in August 2006. The commentary was approved by the Criminal Justice Standards Committee in July 2007.  Although this publication is part of the Third Edition of the Criminal Justice Standards, this is the first volume relating to DNA Evidence.

The ABA has also made this title available on their Criminal Justice Section’s website, as both a full text PDF document and links to individual black letter standards minus the accompanying commentary.  The print title indicates that any revisions, additions, or deletions to the standards will be noted on the Criminal Justice Standards website.

Updated! Winning Attorneys’ Fees from the U.S. Government, by Joel P. Bennett.
Law Journal Press, 2008
KF 8995 .B46

Updated for 2008 with release number 24, this work by Washington D.C. attorney Joel Bennett serves as a practical guide in explaining federal fee-shifting statutes. It offers specific guidance on winning fees from the federal government under such statutes as the Equal Access to Justice Act; the Freedom of Information Act; the Civil Service Reform Act; the Civil Rights Laws; the Criminal Justice Act; and various environmental laws. Release 24 specifically covers the extraordinary activity of the U.S. Supreme court over the past year in interpreting various fee-shifting statutes such as the Equal Access to Justice Act, the Hyde Amendment to the Criminal Justice Act, and the Freedom of Information Act.

See our latest New Titles list for more new arrivals.

In response to last month’s tech tip column, reader Karla Gedell, Research Librarian at the Minnesota Attorney General Library, wrote to tell us about a quick trick she uses to magnify the view of webpages.

This technique requires a mouse with a scroll wheel. Hold down the Ctrl Key while also rolling the scroll wheel forward (scroll up). This magnifies whatever is on the screen, making it much easier to read small typeface. Use Ctrl-0 (zero) to cancel the effect. This trick also works in other applications, such as Microsoft Word. If you use the Firefox browser, use the same technique except scroll down on the wheel. Your success with this technique may vary, depending on the application and the specs of your computer.

Thanks to Karla for this very useful tip!

Spring Fever?!

April is tax season, but this year it’s not only tax preparers who are breaking into a sweat around southern Wisconsin. Several area communities are currently serving as filming locations for Public Enemies - starring Johnny Depp as John Dillinger -  so we’re also dealing with a local outbreak of “Depp Fever.” In observance of all these events, we thought it’d be fitting to note that the IRS recently made documents from the Al Capone tax evasion case publicly available.

Notables for April  

15th      Deadline for filing Federal and State Tax returns. See our Tax Legal Topics page for access to tax codes, forms, and other related resources.

23rd      Administrative Professionals Day

25th      Arbor Day

April 27 - May 3 is Volunteer Week