1. Your Samford I.D. card is your key to services in the Law Library. Additionally, it must be shown upon request to desk attendants who do not recognize you as a Cumberland student when entering the Library. Translation: at the beginning of your freshman year, you will likely need to show your I.D. card on a regular basis until you are recognized as a Cumberland law student by all of the desk attendants. You must also present it to check out books or folders placed on reserve by your professors. You will also need your Samford I.D. card (with money programmed on it) in order to use the Law Library’s photocopiers.

2. The bookstore sells numerous study aids that vary in usefulness, and are also quite expensive. Before deciding to buy, you might want to check out the study aids available on reserve at the Circulation Desk. The Guide to Study Aids, which has been distributed to all first year law students and is available on the web is an excellent resource for determining what student aids are available for check out from the Reserve section. These items on Reserve are almost always the latest edition and are available for use in the library for three hours at a time (and also can be checked out overnight three hours before the library's closing).

3. We request that you shelve all books that you use from the First Floor and in the periodical collection shelved on the Lower Level. Over the years, there have been many first year students unable to finish their assignments, victimized by thoughtless classmates who refuse to take the time to reshelve needed materials.

4. Cellular telephones should not be used in the Law Library. If you bring one into the reading rooms you must put it on vibration mode. When you receive or place a call, you must go to a photocopy room or outside the Law Library.

5. Conference room keys are available for three hour checkout at the Circulation Desk by student study groups. We urge students carrying on discussions within the library to use conference rooms in order to avoid disturbing other patrons.

6. With the exception of Saturday, librarians are generally available most hours that the library is open. Do not feel embarrassed to ask a librarian for help finding materials. Often, freshmen law students believe that they are the "only student" who cannot find needed materials; in most cases, many students cannot locate them, but do not want to admit it to their classmates. At the same time, do not hesitate to let your Caruthers Fellow from LLR know when you do not understand an assignment.

7. Ignoring Law Library book due dates can do more than empty your pocket of change. Fines at the Law Library are as follows: $1.00 per day per book for non-reserve items; $1.00 per HOUR for reserve materials.

8. Some food and drink is now permitted within the Law Library. Drinks with secure lids are permitted as well as “non-messy” food items (no fried chicken, pizza, gyros, etc.) Food and drink is NOT allowed in the computer labs nor at or near other computers, microform readers or other similar equipment in the Law Library.

9. The Law Library reading rooms should be used for research and study purposes; they should not become a meeting point for law student social groups. The noise problem is one which is being constantly brought to our attention by law students. Please consider classmates who, for various reasons, cannot study at home. This library is their only refuge for quiet study. If you wish to socialize, there are numerous places in the Law School, including the Great Room of the Law School, where ample space is available. Please reserve the library facilities for your research and study needs only.

Statutory Codes

United States Code

United States Code Annotated

United States Code Service

Alabama

Arkansas

California

Delaware

Florida

Georgia

Kentucky

Louisiana

Mississippi

Missouri

New York

North Carolina

South Carolina

Tennessee

Texas

Virginia

West Virginia

West Case Reporters

Alabama Reporter

Southern Reporter

South Eastern Reporter

South Western Reporter

California Reporter

New York Supplement

Federal Reporter

Federal Supplement

Supreme Court Reporter

Bankruptcy Reporter

Federal Rules Decisions

Federal Claims Reporter

Military Justice Reporter

Veterans Appeals Reporter

West Digests

American Digest (Decennials)

Federal Practice Digest

South Eastern Digest

Bankruptcy Digest

Alabama Digest

California Digest

Florida Digest

Georgia Digest

New York Digest

North Carolina Digest

Tennessee Digest

Virginia & West Virginia Digest

Shepard’s Citators

Alabama Citations

Southern Reporter Citations

Federal Citations

U.S. Citations

Enhancing the Law Library’s print collection, academic subscriptions to Westlaw and LexisNexis provide Cumberland professors and law students online access to a comprehensive collection of federal and state statutes, cases, digests, citators, and much more. Other library visitors may access all federal and state annotated codes and reported appellate decisions (plus Shepard’s citator and other selected resources) at the LexisNexis Public Access terminal in the main reading room.

Local Artist and our own Part-time Desk Attendant, Vance Wesson, was featured in an article in the Birmingham News on June 28, 2009. The title of the article is: Artist's Mural Picture of Hope for Southtown.

Popper, Andrew F. REDISCOVERING LONE PINE. PS3616/.O66/R43. (This is a work of legal fiction designed for classroom use. It was the winner of the Maryland Writers Association Prize for Mainstream Fiction. See a review of this publication at: http://legalcurrent.com.)

Sousa, David A. HOW BRAIN SCIENCE CAN MAKE YOU A BETTER LAWYER. K346/.S68.

If you should spill liquid on your laptop -- here are a few things you can try:

Turn off the laptop -- press the power button down until the laptop is off and unplug the power adapter. Remove the battery as well.

Gently dry the laptop with towels -- do not use a blow dryer. Be sure to just blot the damp areas -- do not push in the liquid by drying with too much pressure.

You will need to drain any liquid that may be in the laptop. Tilt it in several different ways to allow liquid to drain.

Place the laptop at a 90 degree angle and upside down. Liquid damage to a keyboard or trackpad is much, much less expensive than trying to replace the motherboard.

Try putting the laptop in a bag of uncooked rice. This will help with absorption. Do this for at least 24 hours.

Both HP and Dell offer warranties that cover accidental damage. Apple would have to be covered under renter's or homeowner's insurance.

Sugar based liquids are the worst to spill on a laptop -- water is easier to clean up.

Of course -- if you need help -- please feel free to ask for help!

Grace Simms, Computer Services Librarian, glsimms@samford.edu, 726-2687.

The official title of this new edition is, McElroy's Alabama Evidence, but the original publication, printed in 1948, had the title, The Law of Evidence in Alabama by J. Russell McElroy. The author, known as “Judge McElroy,” was responsible for the first edition, as well as the 2nd, published in 1959-1967. On the title page of both publications, Judge McElroy was also noted as the publisher. Samford University Press took over the publication with the 3rd edition and continued with the 4th and 5th editions. Charles Gamble became the sole author of the publication with the 3rd edition and continued until Robert Goodwin became the co-author with the 6th edition. Beginning with this new edition, the publisher is now CLE Alabama (The University of Alabama School of Law). McElroy’s on Evidence is considered among the “most widely used legal treatises in the state.”

Judge McElroy was born October 1, 1901, in Sumter County and grew up in the small communities of York and Cuba, Alabama. He was admitted to the Alabama bar in 1924 and appointed a circuit court judge by Governor Bibb Graves in 1927. He was an active circuit court judge, until his retirement in 1977, at age 75. Judge McElroy was a part-time faculty member of the Birmingham School of Law, the University of Alabama School of Law, and the Cumberland School of Law, and was a lecturer on medical jurisprudence at the Medical College of Alabama. Judge McElroy died in 1994, after 50 years of service on the bench. A tribute to Judge McElroy was recorded in Volume 140, Number 90 (Wednesday, July 13, 1994) of the Congressional Record.

Sources: http://www.alacourt.gov/Court%20News/July-1994.pdf (Viewed August 14, 2009); http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CREC-1994-07-13/html/CREC-1994-07-13-pt1-PgS15.htm (Viewed July 30, 2009).

The first way is a link on our Law Library homepage labeled Reserve Materials. This page shows each item that is on reserve, listed under the professor’s name. The professors are listed at the top - just click on a name and you will find a list of what is on reserve, whether it is a file folder or a book. This is an easy way to view everything on Reserve, particularly if you are interested in two or more professors.

The second way is on our online library catalog. At the top of the screen, in the search tabs, click on Course. Course / Instructor choice will appear. Since it is easier to remember the name of the professor rather than the class number, click on Instructor, type the name of your professor and press Enter. A list of all the material that the professor has on reserve will appear on the screen. From this point, you can see if the material is checked out or if it is available. If a professor teaches two or more classes, a screen will appear listing the number and name of the class. Choose the right class and a list of the items will appear.

The CHECK IT OUT is published three times a semester. The editorial staff works hard on articles that are of interest to both law students and law professors. We welcome new ideas and hope that you take the time to critique each issue. Let us know if there is a specific subject that you would like for us to discuss. Send your ideas and/or comments to: Becky Hutto via e-mail at rmhutto@samford.edu.