Financial Bailout Bill Rejected by House

Reuters reports that the House has rejected the Financial Bailout bill by a vote of 228-to-205. Read the text of the proposed Financial Bailout Bill here.

Will YouTube Video Result in Support for Dissenting Judge's Opinion?

The ABA Journal Law News Now reports that the public may judge for itself whether a recent unpublished decision by 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is correct. The court ruled that a deputy’s tasering of a handcuffed suspect was not an excessive use of force that violated the Constitution. The dissenting judge clearly stated objections to the ruling. Members of the public may find themselves agreeing with the dissenting judge after watching the video recorded in by the deputy's in car video camera. The video is available on YouTube.

Hat tip to Legal Blog Watch

Debate on Legality of Federal Bailout

The legality of the federal bailout of AIG has recently been the topic of much debate in the legal blogosphere. Visit Legal Blog Watch for a summary of some of the postings on this topic.

Additional space available in Reference Wing

The Law Library Staff recently relocated materials previously located in the Reference Wing to Lower Level South. The staff also shifted materials within the Reference Wing. This project facilitated opening additional space in the Reference Wing through the removal of two ranges of shelves. In place of the shelves, two additional tables were added to facilitate student use of materials and group study. We hope you find the additional space useful.

PDA has a new meaning

PDA previously meant a public display of affection. These days apparently PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants) means a lack of affection. According to a work-life survey from Sheraton Hotels & Resorts, as Reported in a Chicago Sun-Times article, 35% of professional responded that they would pick their PDA over their significant other.

Hat tip to Law Librarian Blog.

New Rule 502 to be included in Federal Rules of Evidence

On September 8, 2008, the House of Representatives passed S. 2450, a bill adding a new Rule 502 to the Federal Rules of Evidence. The Senate had earlier approved the bill. The bill has been forwarded to the President and now awaits the President's signature.

The legislation, which protects against inadvertent waiver of the attorney-client privilege and also provides work product protection, is identical to the version of the rule approved by the Judicial Conference of the United States. The Judicial Conference transmitted the proposed rule to Congress in September 2007.

Hat tip to Electronic Discovery Law.

Google Server Log Retention Policy Adjuested to Increase User Privacy

On September 8th Google announced a new server logs retention policy. As the Official Google Blog explains, Google will now "anonymize IP addresses on our server logs after nine months." Google retention policy change, which shortens the retention period from eighteen months, is intended "to address regulatory concerns and to take another step to improve privacy for our [Google] users."

Hat Tip to Law Librarian Blog