Have you spent this entire picture-perfect weekend trapped inside, immersed in the minutiae of never-ending outlines and the stress of exams?

If so, take half a minute to appreciate Hudson Hongo’s list of Court Cases With Which I Am Familiar.

Harvard Law School’s faculty has voted unanimously to join the Faculty of Arts & Sciences in implementing an open access publication policy and institutional repository for works published by faculty members.  Incoming Vice Dean for Library and Information Resources John Palfrey’s blog provides details, including the text of the policy.  The Chronicle of Higher Education blogged the decision as well.

What does it mean for you?  Well, in essence, Harvard law faculty members’ new publications will be available for non-profit, research use to anyone who can access the internet.  (Unless the faculty member chooses to opt out of the system, which the policy gives the faculty member the right to do.)

As HLS Dean Elena Kagan says “Our decision to embrace ‘open access’ means that people everywhere can benefit from the ideas generated here at the Law School.” Harvard University Professor and Director of the Library Robert Darnton hailed the vote: “That such a renowned law school should support Open Access so resoundingly is a victory for the democratization of knowledge. Far from turning its back to the outside world, the HLS is sharing its intellectual wealth.”

As Stuart Shieber, a major advocate for the policy has noted,

"Librarians have been very involved with these issues, and with the work on this policy. There was important library representation on the Provost’s Committee on Scholarly Publishing, which developed this proposal, and involvement of librarians at many points, including an open forum with librarians on the motion.”

Mildred Loving, whose 1967 Supreme Court victory brought an end to laws prohibiting interracial marriage in the United States, passed away on Friday at the age of 68.

Much has been written about Mrs. Loving and her husband, Richard. Of particular note for legal scholars are last year’s Howard Law Journal symposium commemorating the 40th anniversary of Loving v. Virginia and Phyl Newbeck’s 2004 book.

From BoingBoing comes the news that the dispute we blogged about last month between Oregon and would-be net publishers (or, as they call themselves, “archivists") Justia and Public.Resource.Org continues.  Oregon insists on its copyright, and has offered the publishers a “public license.” To no avail - BoingBoing quotes Karl Olson of the firm Levy, Ram & Olson LLP, Attorneys, as responding that

My clients respectfully cannot agree to the Public License. First, and most fundamentally, it would require them to acknowledge that portions of the Oregon Revised Statutes (ORS) are protected by copyright, and they respectfully but vigorously disagree that portions of the ORS are protected by copyright.

William Patry, (senior copyright counsel for Google - so perhaps with his own agenda) offers this delightfully-titled analysis “Oregon goes wacka wacka huna kuna" on his blog. 

Hat tip: WisBlawg

HLS 3L José Klein has created the Learned Handmade Plates, a series of dishes commemorating significant U.S. Supreme Court decisions and current Justices of the Court.

The Learned Handmade Plates web site shows images of each of the 31 plates and includes detailed information about each case and judge that is depicted.

According to the HLS student newspaper, Klein’s work satisfied his 3L writing requirement.

The plates are available for purchase. Looks like there are also some magnets for sale.

For those students who endured the Ames Competition researching third-party actions involving guns, yesterday the U.S. Court of Appeals dismissed a case citing the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act.  Read more in the New York Times.

Your family will be here for graduation in a few weeks. You’ll want to have an enjoyable and relaxing visit with them, and also deceive them into thinking that you took full advantage of the surrounding cultural and historical resources during your time here. But how?

One way is to take the clan on a digitally-guided walking tour of Old Cambridge. From now until June 1st, you can get a free download of “Beyond the Yard: A Guided Tour,” from the Cambridge Office for Tourism (after June 1st, they’re charging for it). Among the stops on the tour: the Longfellow National Historic Site, Cambridge Burying Ground, Christ Church, and JFK Park.

The tour features insights from local historians and other community leaders, and is narrated by a Harvard alumna and travel writer. Both a 60-minute version and a 90-minute version are available.

From Less Than the Least Blog:

I learned through the grapevine yesterday that Bill is one of a small handful of law fellows (the others are Justice Stevens and six law professors) who have just been elected to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. This is an incredibly high honor, and couldn’t have been more deserved. Congratulations, Bill.

Indeed, congratulations, Prof. Stuntz.  And Professor Elizabeth Warren, as well!

The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing April 30 on the subject of “secret law.”

“Secret law is an abomination,” wrote Professor Kenneth Davis in his classic treatise on Administrative Law. Chaired by Sen. Russ Feingold, this hearing will explore the extent to which secret law has become more common.

LexisNexis and Westlaw provide only limited access to students during the summer between June 30th and August 1st.

Students wishing to use their LexisNexis and Westlaw student accounts for a qualifying academic purpose may register to extend their access through the summer. Full access for continuing, non-graduating students will be restored on August 1st. See LexisNexis and Westlaw Student Summer Access for more information.

The Law Library is currently conducting a brief (emphasis on the word “brief") survey of students that have been involved with any of the student-edited journals over the past academic year.  We’d like to know how we are doing! It should take less than five minutes to complete the survey, which you can do by clicking here.  (You’ll need to enter your Harvard ID and pin.) If you have any questions, please contact .

The survey will remain open until midnight on Friday, May 2nd, and we thank you in advance!

The Old Bailey, also known as Justice Hall, the Sessions House, and the Central Criminal Court, is probably the most famous criminal court in the world.  It hears cases remitted to it from all over England and Wales as well as the Greater London area. 

Transcripts of 210,000 trials from across four centuries are now freely available online through a new website: The Proceedings of the Old Bailey, 1674-1913. The website also includes 195,000 digital images and contemporary maps, images of the courtroom and information on the historical and legal background to the Old Bailey court.

Thomson Reuters SDC Platinum 3.0 is now available for download and installation.

Thomson Reuters encourages users of versions 2.3b and earlier to upgrade to take advantage of the many new features and enhancements offered by version 3.0. See the HLSL SDC Platinum download & installation page for detailed instructions. (HLS email username and password required)

Thomson Reuters SDC Platinum is a software-based tool for analyzing corporate finance and capital markets transaction information. We have subscribed to the SDC Platinum Global New Issues and Mergers & Acquisitions databases. Interested in finding out more about data resources available to you? See HLSL Data Resources for a listing of data resources useful for legal research.

The editors of the Bluebook are soliciting input on how to improve the next edition (which will be the 19th) of the Bluebook.  This is your chance to make your ideas be heard!  Please take a moment to complete the survey by clicking here.

As a special bonus, ten responses will be randomly selected to receive a free copy of the Nineteenth Edition, as well as a year-long subscription to The Bluebook Online. That could be quite a savings!

Please note, completed surveys must be received by the editors by June 30, 2008, to be considered for the Nineteenth Edition. Comments and suggestions are always welcome at .

Does anyone else out there remember what edition they used when they were in school? I’m not embarrassed to admit it - I used the 15th. That doesn’t make me too old, does it?

A genetic propensity to commit murder, mitigating or aggravating factor? Familial DNA searches, open to constitutional challenge?

Genes and Justice, a series of special reports from the Washington Post, explores the growing use of DNA testing in the U.S. legal system. The first article in the series, DNA Tests Offer Deeper Examination Of Accused, Washington Post, April 20, 2008, explores new and expanding uses of DNA testing in the courtroom. The second article, From DNA of Family, a Tool to Make Arrests, Washington Post, April 21, 2008, explores the use of DNA testing in law enforcement.