Libraries Closed on Thanksgiving Day

The Wisconsin State Law Library, Milwaukee Legal Resource Center, and Dane County Legal Resource Center will be closed on Thursday, November 28th for a state holiday. WSLL and MLRC will be open the next day on Friday, November 29th; DCLRC will be closed until the following Monday.

Thanksgiving postcard circa 1900. Creative Commons

To submit a question to the Wisconsin State Law Library while we are closed, you may call us at 608-267-9696 or Ask a Librarian online. We will respond to questions and requests on Friday, November 29th.

WSLL Recommends: Determining Economic Damages

The recommended title this month is Determining Economic Damages. Published by James Publishing, Inc., this looseleaf volume with accompanying CD is a litigator's treasure chest. The authors are Gerald D. Martin and Marc A. Weinstein, both highly respected and experienced forensic economists.

This start-to-finish guide is the perfect source for:

• Determining past and future income loss
• Adjusting for personal consumption 
• Computing the value of fringe benefits
• Converting future losses to their present values
• Locating an expert
• Preparing your case and expert for trial 
• Deposing and cross examining the opposing expert

Also especially helpful for the legal practitioner are the easy-to-use worksheets for estimating case values, checklists for obtaining data and testifying in court, and sample work agreements and letters.

A unique feature is the chapter on authoritative legal opinions from the U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. District Court and State Appeals Courts – all annotated by economists.

The accompanying CD, which requires no special software or installation, contains the full text of the printed volume and is keyword searchable by case name, topic or form name. The forms are conveniently formatted in Microsoft Word for easy editing.

We invite you to check this book out!

Finding Pending Legislation in Wisconsin

Frequently news stories will discuss legislation currently pending in the Assembly or Senate without giving specific details - like a bill number or exact title. One of our favorite tools for tracking down legislation is the Legislative Reference Bureau Library's Subject Index to Legislation. The subject index can be found by going to the Legislature's website. Select the Documents link from the home page and look for the Bulletin of Proceedings Indices heading at the bottom of the page. Select the Subject Index to Legislation to search or browse for legislation that has been introduced in the Legislature but not yet become law.

In trying to find the "revenge porn" bill that recently passed the Assembly we can approach the subject index in a couple of ways.

Keyword search the index

Use the search box at the top of the page as a quick way to pull up legislation. "Revenge porn," "photos," or "photographs" didn't pull up the legislation directly. However, searching "photograph" turned up "Nudity or nude photograph" which directs to the "Obscenity" subject heading. The recent revenge porn legislation was listed under this topic.

Be sure that you are looking under the heading in the search results for the most recent legislative session!

Browse the index

To browse the index it can be useful to break down the bill's topic. What are the main parts of the bill? From news stories, we know that the revenge porn bill is intended to respond to cases where nude photos are distributed without the photo subject's consent.  In this case, looking under "P" for "photographs" yielded nothing. Checking under "N" for "nudity" directs to "Obscenity" where the pending legislation was found.

Last Chance for CLE!

There is still space available in our popular Wisconsin Briefs class this Thursday, November 14th. Sign up online or call us to reserve your spot for this hands-on CLE class at the Wisconsin State Law Library.

Wisconsin Briefs Online
Thursday November 14, 9:00-10:00 a.m.
Location: Wisconsin State Law Library training room

Learn how to access Wisconsin Appellate Briefs on WSCCA and the UW Law Library's Wisconsin Briefs webpage. This class is an introduction to searching for Wisconsin Appellate Briefs available for free on the Internet.

Sign up today!

Renew After Hours Subscripton for 2014

It is time to renew your after hours subscription for next year. Subscribers have access to the library collection before the library opens and after it closes. Wireless internet access, photocopiers, and computers with subscription databases like WestlawNext and HeinOnline are available for the after hours user.

In addition to using the resources in the library attorneys with after hours access can also check out library materials. Check our After Hours page for more details about access hours.

To subscribe, complete an After Hours Service first-time subscription or renewal application form. Drop it off at the library or follow the mailing and payment instructions on our After Hours page.

WSLL at Your Service: November 2013

Stay on top of library news with our November newsletter. Find out when the library will be closed for the upcoming holidays, which classes still have openings, and news about library services. Our regular This Just In feature provides an inside scoop into important new and updated books in the library, plus a list of all new books, movies, and other materials received in the last month.

Be sure to read our Tech Tip this month which tells you what to do when a software update causes critical problems.