Yesterday, in a pair of 5-4 decisions written by Justice Kennedy, the Supreme Court ruled that criminal defendants have a constitutional right to effective assistance at the plea bargaining stage of criminal proceedings.

The cases are Missouri v. Frye and Lafler v. Cooper. Justice Kennedy’s opinion in Lafler rejected the state’s arguments:

In the end, petitioner’s three arguments amount to one general contention: A fair trial wipes clean any deficient performance by defense counsel during plea bargaining. That position ignores the reality that criminal justice today is for the most part a system of pleas, not a system of trials. Ninety-seven percent of federal convictions and ninety-four percent of state convictions are the result of guilty pleas.

Writing dissenting opinions in both cases, Justice Scalia observed (in Lafler):

The court today embraces the sporting-chance theory of criminal law, in which the state functions like a conscientious casino-operator, giving each player a fair chance to beat the house, that is, to serve less time than the law says he deserves. And when a player is excluded from the tables, his constitutional rights have been violated. I do not subscribe to that theory. No one should, least of all the justices of the Supreme Court.

Commentators have noted the significance of the rulings. For example, see the coverage in Sentencing Law and Policy: here  and here and here.

As always, SCOTUSblog provides coverage, briefs and case information of Frye and Lafler.

As the world becomes ever more interconnected, the possibility, even the certainty, of having to research some element of foreign law becomes inevitable.  This introductory class will provide you with tools and strategies to start any research project dealing with a question of foreign law.  Hands-on exercises will confirm your understanding and sharpen your skills.

The class is offered on Monday March 26th and again on Friday March 30th at 1pm in room 334.  Both classes are currently on a wait-list so please contact Jennifer Ekblaw at jekblaw@bu.edu to be placed on the list.

The United Nations plays an important role in shaping international law, resolving conflicts between nations, and promoting worldwide efforts in such areas as human rights, anti-terrorism, sustainable development and disaster relief. This certification class will provide an introduction to the UN and its organization, how to locate documents (including General Assembly and Security Council resolutions), and to use the UN web site and related materials for research.

This session is offered twice (in Room 334): Tuesday, March 20 at 1pm, and Wednesday, March 21 at 1pm. Space is still available for the Wednesday session. To register, click here.

Have you ever been searching for a statute on a particular subject, only to realize you can’t come up with the right keywords?  Sometimes statutory research is easier to do in print because you are able to flip through helpful finding tools, such as indexes, popular name tables, and the table of contents.  Try your hand at print statutory research in one of these classes which will take place on Monday, March 19th, Thursday, March 22nd, and Friday, March 23rd, at 1 PM in Library Study Room 114.  All sessions are currently full, but feel free to e-mail me at jekblaw@bu.edu to get on the waitlist or for more information about the class.

In November 2011, the Supreme Court decided to hear appeals in a group of cases that raise issues about the validity of provisions in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). Scores of briefs have been filed and oral arguments are fast approaching (March 26-28).  (The Court recently expanded the argument period from a total of 5-1/2 to 6 hours.)

These are the cases: National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius, HHS v. Florida and Florida v. HHS.

For more information and ongoing coverage, consider these sources:

• Cornell’s Legal Information Institute for an overview of the issues
• Health Law Reporter (BNA), numerous stories (with links to documents) under the heading: Health System Reform
• New York Times Topic: Health Care Reform
• SCOTUSBlog for extensive coverage and analysis, and briefs and other documents via its Merits Cases section (see Nos. 11-393, 11-398 and 11-400)
• United States Department of Justice: Defending the Affordable Care Act (including court filings)
• United States Supreme Court:  Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Cases

And see the Federalist Society debate between Laurence Tribe and Paul Clement (lead attorney for the challengers of the PPACA).

This is expected to be the most important case (or cases) of the Court’s Term. Stay tuned.

Have a smart phone? An iPad? Another type of tablet? Some other cool gizmo entirely? If you do, you need to take a look at our new research guide on Apps for Lawyers and Law Students. Are we missing something? Let us know!

As we head into Spring Break, a bit of levity is in order.

While I take no stand on the author’s ranking nor opinions on the putative most poorly decided cases in US Supreme Court history, the vantage of hindsight certainly makes some of them a fascinating read!

Enjoy!

http://www.newsreview.com/reno/top-10-worst-supreme-court/content?oid=5378990

Dockets are a summary of proceedings in a case.   They provide a handy way of keeping track of what is happening (or what has happened) in a particular case and can also lead a researcher to the documents that were filed in that case.  A docket sheet will typically supply the names of the parties and attorneys, the docket number and the name of judge, and important dates (e.g., the date that the case was filed, when the last action occurred).

Most importantly, a docket will provide a list of actions that have occurred since the case was filed.  For example, you could see when documents such as pleadings, motions, or briefs were filed or served.  Some electronic dockets will also provide access to an electronic version, such as a PDF, of the actual filings.  PACER, for example, usually supplies links to many of the documents that are referenced on a case’s docket sheet.

To aid in finding these valuable resources, we have posted a new LibGuides research guide on Finding Dockets.

Hein Online, as you know, is a great resource for law review articles, statutes, and much more.  However, when you’re getting started with any resource, it’s helpful to have instructions to follow.  Hein has released new user guides to help you feel more comfortable with Hein Online.  In addition to Tim’s Tricks (which I highly recommend), there are library-specific guides for law journals, the Federal Register, the C.F.R., the U.S. Code, and congressional documents.  Check out the guides here.  You can also access them when you’re on Hein Online through the help link at the top of the page.  Hat tip to the University of Georgia Law Library.

The library has begun using a nifty platform called LibGuides to house many of its research guides.  We use LibGuides to teach many of our classes, but we also use it for straight-up research guides, like Legislative History, Copyright Law,  Health Law Resources, stuff for BU Journals, and even Using the Bluebook.  Take a look!