Monthly Archives: January 2013

Gideon 50 Years Later

Fifty years ago, on January 15, 1963, the US Supreme Court heard oral argument in Gideon v. Wainwright and unanimously ruled later that year on March 18 at 372 U.S. 335 that states had the obligation to provide counsel for defendants who are unable to afford an attorney, extending the Constitutional right to counsel in criminal cases to poor and low-income people. By highlighting the responsibility of the government to provide legal counsel to low-income Americans, Gideon was a landmark case in the equal justice movement in the United States, paving the way for the creation and expansion of the public defender system in the country. Audio files and transcripts of the case are available online at the Oyez Project. 

The landmark case is included in Illustrated Great Decisions of the Supreme Court by Tony Mauro (KF4549 .M334 2000) located in the Brooklyn Law School Library Main Collection. The BLS Library also has in its collection the print and video versions of Gideon’s Trumpet which tells the story behind the case which began in a Florida state court when the defendant Clarence Gideon was charged with a felony for breaking and entering. 

Marking the 50th Anniversary of the decision in March of this year, BLS Law Professor Susan Herman will be the keynote speaker at a two day seminar sponsored by the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. The session, called Gideon v. Wainwright, March 18, 1963: A Day Worth Celebrating, will feature several other speakers including Assistant Federal Public Defender Paul Rashkind, Public Defender, Sixth Judicial Circuit Bob Dillinger, Stetson University College of Law Prof. Bruce Jacob, and others.

Lunch & Learn Sessions for Spring 2013

lunch_and_learn_with_knife_and_forkThe Library will again offer a series of Lunch & Learn sessions in Spring 2013.  All sessions will be held from 1:00pm to 1:50pm in Room 113M of the Library.  A maximum of 20 people may sign up for each session.  Lunch will be provided.  The topics and dates for all sessions are below.  Please use the links below to register for each session.  See you there!

Mobile Apps:  Lexis, Westlaw & HeinOnline, Wednesday, February 6, 2013.  

Court Documents, Wednesday, February 13, 2013.

Federal Legislative History, Wednesday, February 20, 2013.

New York Legislative History, Wednesday, February 27, 2013.

Financial Legal Research, Wednesday, March 6, 2013.

Asset Forfeiture

Included in the 49 titles in the Brooklyn Law School Library’s most recent New Books List is Asset Forfeiture Law in the United States (Call #KF9747 .C37 2013) by Stefan D. Cassella, one of the federal government’s leading experts on asset forfeiture law. A former Senior Counsel to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, the author has a J.D. from Georgetown University. The second edition of this book which has 1204 pages is divided into four Parts: Part I – Overview and History; Part II – Administrative and Civil Forfeiture; Part III – Criminal Forfeiture Procedure; and Part IV – What Is Forfeitable? The 28 Chapters provide an Overview and Development of Asset Forfeiture Law in the United States; Administrative Forfeiture under the Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act of 2000 and Judicial Review of Administrative Forfeiture and other topics on the innocent owner defense.

The US federal government has used the tactic extensively in its forty year old “war on drugs.” The possibility for abuse is great. Many local government agencies increasingly rely on “civil forfeiture” to bolster their strained budgets. Use of asset forfeiture is part of a “policing for profit” trend. See the March 2010 Institute for Justice Report Policing for Profit: The Abuse of Civil Asset Forfeiture. Based on a legal fiction that enables law enforcement to take legal action against inanimate objects for participation in alleged criminal activity, regardless of whether the property owner is guilty or innocent—or even whether the owner is charged with a crime, asset forfeiture has generated much criticism. Nonetheless, it has become one of the most effective legal tools in the prosecutor’s arsenal allowing the government to seize and gain title to property obtained through criminal activity or used to further a criminal conspiracy. Criminal asset forfeiture can be used against drug producers and traffickers to cripple their operations and claim their profits. It can also be wielded in civil proceedings. In states implementing medical cannabis programs, personal property gained from or used for the sale of cannabis is subject to seizure due to the supremacy of federal laws prohibiting narcotics sales.

Last November, members of the Brooklyn Law School Students for Sensible Drug Policy, a chapter of Students for Sensible Drug Policy, participated in an Interview with Brooklyn Law School Students for Sensible Drug Policy, Part 3. Addressing recent marijuana legalization efforts in Colorado, Adam Scavone, BLS Class of 2013, noted that “Colorado seems to have worked out a system that can survive an attempt of repression by the Federal government . . . . to insulate people who want to enter that market from the tools that the federal government has on hand to shut down that market – the banking laws, asset forfeiture, and the old-fashioned handcuffs and federal prison. There are about 5,000 DEA agents in the country and 750,000 state and local law enforcement officers. More than 95% of the arrests made for drugs are made by state and local police officers. “

Business Boot Camp

This month, Brooklyn Law School conducted a Business Boot Camp to teach law students valuable skills for succeeding in the business world. The course which Professor Michael Gerber teaches is the first of its kind and involved over 200 students. Developed and taught by top business professionals and the School’s corporate and business law faculty, the program provided students with the skills and basic business literacy they will need to serve their clients. The classic law school experience is designed to teach law students to think like lawyers. However, practicing lawyers often need to think like business persons. Issues that confront business professionals include how to develop a business plan, how to keep track of money, how to value assets, how to raise the capital necessary to run their companies, and how to meet their business goals while also complying with the law.

The goal of the BLS Business Boot Camp is to introduce students to these issues from the business person’s perspective, and provide students with the vocabulary and framework they will need to communicate effectively with clients and evaluate their needs. The Business Boot Camp is being taught by a team of business and finance professionals from Deloitte Financial Advisory Services in collaboration with BLS faculty and alumni. The syllabus is based in part on an intensive course that Deloitte developed for first-year law firm associates, and includes topics such as the development of business plans; types and sources of financing; capital budgeting; valuation; how to read a financial statement; and the purchase and sale of businesses. Students participating in the Boot Camp do not need a background in finance or business law, as the Boot Camp is designed to help provide that background.

“As every seasoned lawyer knows, there are times when lawyers need to reach beyond their legal training to effectively advise and represent their clients,” said Professor Michael Gerber, who chairs the faculty group that helped to develop the course. “The ability to think like a business person as well as a lawyer is extremely useful, and we designed this course to enable students — even those who have never studied business, finance or economics — to do just that.”

The BLS Library has a number of items in its collection to assist law students in gaining basic business literacy including The American Heritage Dictionary of Business Terms by financial expert David L. Scott who defines more than 6,000 terms from all aspects of business in clear, understandable language. It covers the entire spectrum of business terminology. In clear language it defines over 6,000 terms drawn from the areas of investing, finance, marketing, law, real estate, management, economics, accounting, insurance, and international business. The dictionary is an indispensable reference for business professionals and investors at all levels of expertise.

Study Room Reservations Now Available All Year

Library study rooms may now be reserved at all times; not just during the reading and examination periods.  Reservations must be made on the Library’s study room reservations website.  The link to the “Study Room Reservations” site is on the Library homepage under “Related Links.”

The study rooms will be kept unlocked except during the reading & exam periods, and if not reserved, may be used by any student.  If you want to check whether a room has been reserved use the link to the Study Room Reservations.

Reservations may be made for the current day and two days ahead and may be reserved by groups of two or more students for 30 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours, 3 hours or 4 hours.  Students may reserve rooms for a maximum of four hours per day per student.

Sum & Substance CDs Now Available on Reserve at Circulation Desk

The Library recently purchased two copies each of the following West Sum & Substance CDs.   The CDs are on reserve and may be charged out at the Circulation Desk for two hours.   The following titles are available:

Civil Procedure by Professor Arthur R. Miller (9 CDs covering over 11.25 hours)

Constitutional Law by Professor Mary Cheh (10 CDs covering 12.25 hours)

Contracts by Professor Douglas Whaley (6 CDs covering 5.5 hours)

Criminal Law by Professor Joshua Dressler (7 CDs covering 7.9 hours)

Criminal Procedure by Professor Joshua Dressler (7 CDs covering 8 hours)

Property by Professor Julian C. Juergensmeyer (9 CDs covering 7.5 hours)

Torts by Professors Steven Finz & Lawrence Levine (7 CDs covering 8 hours)

These CDs should prove useful when reviewing any of the above subjects.