Latest & Greatest – NewSpace Commercialisation and the Law

Edited by Md Tanveer Ahmad & Jinyuan Su

Published by McGill Centre for Research in Air and Space Law

KZD 1141 .M36 2017

A collection of papers presented at the 3rd Manfred Lachs International Conference on NewSpace Commercialisation and the Law held in Montreal, Canada, NewSpace Commercialisation and the Law presents a snapshot of the current status and future of global space exploration as well as the issues and challenges facing space law, policies, and regulations. The term "NewSpace" refers to the movement associated with entrepreneurial endeavors surrounding commercial human space flight and the development of technologies to assist governmental and private space activities. This book aims to address emerging issues and problems that confront both commercial and governmental space programs. Written by scientists, legal experts, and academics, the papers presented in this book cover such diverse topics as space governance, legal aspects of private space stations, satellite miniaturization, avoiding harmful contamination in the exploration and use of outer space, active debris removal, and commercial satellites for military purposes.

The reality of space exploration and the technologies associated with it are no longer merely something you read about in a science fiction novel. The future is here, and the future is now. Read about it in NewSpace Commercialisation and the Law.

Latest & Greatest – The Invention of Legal Research

By Joseph L. Gerken

Published by William S. Hein & Co., Inc.

KF 240 .G47 2016

Have you ever wondered about the evolution of legal research and how the seed for finding the law germinated and bloomed into the system that we now employ to find relevant case law and statutes? Author Joseph L. Gerken did, and the result of his curiosity is The Invention of Legal Research. Noting that no new legal research methods were developed or conceived until computer-assisted research appeared in the 1980s, the author focuses his examination upon what it was about the so-called “golden decades” from 1870 to 1890 that revolutionized the way legal research was performed and the methods by which cases were located. He begins his analysis with a discussion of some of the early pioneers in legal publishing: Francis Hopkinson, the editor of Judgments in the Admiralty of Pennsylvania; Ephraim Kirby, the editor of Reports of Cases Adjudged in the Superior Court of the State of Connecticut; James Kent, author of Commentaries on American Law, and the seven nominative Supreme Court reporters. Of course, no discussion of legal publishing visionaries would be a complete without a mention of John West and his contribution to the formation of legal research with his National Reporter System. Gerken remarks that West’s system rose to prominence and dominated the world of case reporters because he fashioned a true nationally-focused reporter system.

This increase in the number of reporters inevitably led to the creation of the case digest and the legal citator. Digests are almost synonymous with Benjamin Vaughn Abbott and his brother Austin, who developed a system based on the holdings of the cases, rather than the cases themselves, as well as a classification scheme based on legal topics. Frank Shepard is credited with developing his eponymous citator, a work known for its accuracy, reliability, and currency. In a later chapter, the author examines the causal relationship between case reporting and case finding and the advent of the doctrine of stare decisis. Gerken attributes the stress on the precedential value of cases for the shift in the primary purpose of legal research.

Gerken also delves into the history of statutory law in the 19th century and how the notion of codification was at the forefront during this era. Two men of note in this regard are Jeremy Bentham, the inventor of the term “codification” and a staunch advocate for the adoption of an encompassing code for statutes emanating from the federal government and from individual states, and William Sampson, who kept the issue of and need for codification at the center of the legal world. Both of these men (although more so Sampson) are credited with influencing the drive to create the first American legal code, the New York Revised Statutes. The author presents a lengthy discussion of the New York Revised Statutes of 1829, historically significant for its organization of disparate laws into one place. he also speaks of the Field Code and its adoption and the first codification of federal statutes, which eventually were published as the United States Statutes at Large.

Gerken rounds out his book with a discussion of law reviews and how they influenced the law. From the earliest law journals written by lawyers and other legal professionals to the modern-day law reviews edited and published by students, Gerken examines how these periodicals “contributed to the development of legal doctrine” and defines how these journals fit into the grand scheme of legal research.

Lastly, Gerken explores the parallels between law and librarianship in the late 19th century and how both developed into sciences.

For the legal researcher, the law librarian, the legal scholar, or anyone who has in interest in the development of the methods by which legal research is carried out, The Invention of Legal Research provides a glimpse into those “Golden Decades” from 1870 to 1890 when modern-day legal research had its heyday and became “the way” of finding the law.

Latest & Greatest – Veterans Benefits: A Legal Research Guide

By Lauren M. Collins

Published by William S. Hein & Co., Inc.

KF 7709 .C65 2017

Throughout the month of February, the Harris County Law Library is featuring legal research and writing resources. Today's blog post highlights a resource that doesn't show you how to perform legal research but rather helps you find specific sources to get you the answers you need. The 69th volume in a collection of research guides, Veterans Benefits: A Legal Research Guide provides researchers with a resource for locating benefits that available to veterans and their families. From the outset, author Lauren M. Collins stresses the need for a research strategy prior to embarking upon a search of this kind because of the difficulty involved with finding information regarding benefits. She notes that the most common resources available are secondary sources, specific federal statutes and laws, and relevant state laws and programs and provides some examples of each type of resource. She briefly explains the procedural steps for filing a claim for benefits and for filing an appeal should the request be denied. She also describes some benefits that are available for family members of veterans and some benefits that are provided by federal agencies other than the Department of Veterans Affairs and how to locate them. Ms. Collins also points out several internet resources, including government websites, websites maintained by advocacy groups, blogs, online training resources, and news alerts.

Although not meant to be a comprehensive guide, Veterans Benefits: A Legal Research Guide provides some of the tools necessary to locate the benefits that veterans need and deserve. Stop by the Harris County Law Library to have a look at this vital research tool.