| No. 479 | February 2003 |
In This Issue
Biotechnology, Law and Ethics: A Selected List
BioTech Meets HighTech: Electronic Books on Biotechnology
DeepFreeze
Welcome to New Librarian
Research in Earlier U.S. Reports
From the News ...
Alabama Tax Controversy in the National News
Selected List of Recent Acquisitions
Making Sense Out of Beltway Lingo
New Laptops
Library Schedule
By Brenda Jones,
Reference Librarian
bljones@samford.edu
Cumberland School of Law recently established a Center for Biotechnology, Law & Ethics. The focus of the Center is twofold: (1) rigorous analysis of the ethical and public policy issues created by biotechnology, and (2) practical training in the legal disciplines implicated by biotechnology. The following selected resources in Cumberland’s Law Library may aid in the Center’s mission.
BIOLAW: A LEGAL AND ETHICAL REPORTER ON MEDICINE, HEALTH CARE, AND BIOENGINEERING edited by James F. Childress, et al. R724/.B52.
An interdisciplinary resource, Biolaw covers principles of law, ethics, science, medicine, and social studies. Diverse topics include genetics, reproductive technologies, human and animal experimentation, cloning, and other issues in bioethics. Monthly updates and special sections track recent developments. Microfiche supplements reprint key documents like congressional hearings, government reports, policy statements, and guidelines. An annual index to the microfiche supplement is shelved with the main volumes of the treatise. The microfiche are located in the Microform Room on the Lower Level.
BIOTECHNOLOGY AND THE FEDERAL CIRCUIT by Kenneth J. Burchfiel. KF3133/.B56/B87.
With exclusive appellate jurisdiction over many patent cases, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit is an important force in the interpretation of U.S. patent law. The author, a chemical patent lawyer, analyzes Federal Circuit cases on patentability of biotechnology inventions. He also covers infringement, experimental uses, patent term extensions, plant inventions, and other topics. For updates, consult the soft-cover 2000 Cumulative Supplement.
BIOTECHNOLOGY AND THE LAW by Iver P. Cooper. 2002 revision. K1519/.M5/C66/2002.
Patenting biotechnology inventions under U.S. law is the primary focus of this three-volume looseleaf treatise. The author discusses statutory requirements, claim drafting, practice and procedure, infringement, and other related issues. Extensive appendices include selected rules, regulations, notices, policy statements, guidelines and other materials, both U.S. and European.
HUMAN DNA: LAW AND POLICY: INTERNATIONAL AND COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVES edited by Bartha Maria Knoppers, Claude M. Laberge, and Marie Hirtle. K3611/.G46/A55/1996.
This book compiles the proceedings of the First International Conference on DNA Sampling and Human Genetic Research. Held in Canada in 1996, the conference featured more than two hundred experts from around the world debating the ethical, legal, and policy aspects of human DNA research.
SYMPOSIUM ON HUMAN CLONING: LEGAL, SOCIAL, AND MORAL PERSPECTIVES FOR THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY. Hofstra Law Review. KF3827/.G4/S95/1999.
Cloning of the Scottish sheep Dolly triggered extensive debate on the legal and ethical implications of human cloning. This special Spring 1999 issue of the Hofstra Law Review (Vol. 27, No.3) contains thirteen essays with differing perspectives on the issue.
1997 UNITED STATES BIOTECHNOLOGY REGULATIONS HANDBOOK by Edward L. Korwek. KF1893/.B56/K67/1997.
Illustrating the complexity of the subject matter, this handbook examines the myriad federal laws and agencies involved in regulation of the biotechnology industry. The first volume discusses oversight by the Food and Drug Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, among others. The second volume is a handy compilation of federal biotechnology policy statements and other selected documents.
BioTech Meets HighTech: Electronic Books on Biotechnology
By Brenda Jones,
Reference Librarian
bljones@samford.edu
Samford University Library’s electronic book collection includes several titles on biotechnology. To search eBooks exclusively, go to the NetLibrary website http://www.netlibrary.com from any computer on campus. Alternatively, search Samford’s Web-based library catalog, and click on the designated icon for the full-text online version of an electronic book. The following selected titles deal with biotechnology law and ethics.
BIOTECHNOLOGY: SCIENCE, ENGINEERING, AND ETHICAL CHALLENGES FOR THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY edited by Frederick B. Rudolph and Larry V. McIntire.
GENETIC SECRETS: PROTECTING PRIVACY AND CONFIDENTIALITY IN THE GENETIC ERA edited by Mark A. Rothstein.
GENETIC INFORMATION: ACQUISITION, ACCESS, AND CONTROL edited by Alison K. Thompson and Ruth F. Chadwick.
THE GENETIC REVOLUTION AND HUMAN RIGHTS edited by Justine Burley.
HUMAN CLONING edited by James M. Humber and Robert F. Almeder.
THE HUMAN GENOME PROJECT AND THE FUTURE OF HEALTH CARE edited by Thomas H. Murray, Mark A. Rothstein, and Robert F. Murray, Jr.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS AND THE DISSEMINATION OF RESEARCH TOOLS IN MOLECULAR BIOLOGY: SUMMARY OF A WORKSHOP HELD AT THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES, FEBRUARY 15-16, 1996, National Research Council.
LIMITS: THE ROLE OF THE LAW IN BIOETHICAL DECISION MAKING by Roger B. Dworkin.
Some law students have already noticed that work saved to the hard drives of Law Library lab computers disappears. This is due to a lab protection called DeepFreeze. DeepFreeze will not allow anything to be saved to the hard drive. If work needs to be saved, please save to a disk or CD-ROM. Questions regarding DeepFreeze should be directed to Grace Simms (glsimms@samford.edu).
Cherie Feenker joined the Law Library staff in the position of Acquisitions Librarian.
She has a Master of Library and Information Studies degree from the University of Alabama. Her undergraduate degree is from the University of Montevallo. She has a law degree from Birmingham School of Law and is a member of the Alabama Bar. She has extensive law firm library experience as well as experience working in public libraries.
The Acquisitions Librarian is primarily responsible for the acquisition of all library materials (print, microform, audiovisual, and electronic formats), supplies, and equipment.
A special “WELCOME” to Cherie!
Dates of decisions are not given for individual cases in the early volumes of the U.S. Reports.
Anne Ashmore of the Supreme Court of the United States Library has compiled a list of the dates for decisions published in the U.S. Reports, Volume 2 (1791) to Volume 107 (1882). She determined the dates for the most part by researching the Court's handwritten Engrossed Minutes and handwritten Engrossed Docket.
The list is arranged in chronological order by volume number of the U.S. Reports and the nominative reporter, page number, and case name.
The 189 page list is available at: http://www.supremecourtus.gov/opinions/datesofdecisions.pdf.
Listed below are a few articles that were found on the web during the last few weeks.
A couple is suing the franchisee of a McDonald's restaurant, claiming an improperly prepared bagel damaged the husband's teeth and their marriage.
John and Cecelia O'Hare sued Friday for unspecified damages more than $15,000. They alleged the McDonald's, owned by Johnstone Foods Inc., was negligent and violated an "implied warranty that the food sold was reasonably fit for human consumption."
They contend in the suit that John O'Hare broke teeth and bridgework on Feb. 1, 2002 when he bit into the bagel. The suit did not say what exactly was wrong with the bagel.
The suit alleges the wife "lost the care, comfort, consortium and society of her husband." The couple's attorney, Tim Warner, did not return telephone messages left at his office.
Tracey Johnstone, owner of Johnstone Foods, said she never before had a bagel complaint and had no idea how it could have been prepared in a way that would damage teeth.
"It's a bagel," she said.
Couple Sues McDonald’s Over Tough Bagel, at http://www.abcnews.com (Feb. 4, 2003).
A high school senior says he earned an A+, not an A, and has sued to get the grade changed to bolster his chance at becoming valedictorian.
Brian Delekta, who finished 11th grade in 2002 ranked at the top of his class, says he should have received an A+ for a St. Clair County (Michigan) intermediate school district work-experience class in which he worked as a paralegal in his mother's law office.
Memphis, Michigan schools award grades on a 12-point scale, with an A+ being a 12. The highest grade awarded by the intermediate school district is an A. Memphis High School gave Delekta credit for an A.
Diane Delekta said her son, who filed the suit Friday, fulfilled the district's work program requirements and performed professionally at work.
"It was what he would do if he were a paralegal in a law office," she said. "He prepared documents, met with clients."
The Memphis school board considered altering its grade policy to allow percentage grades from the countywide district to be factored into its system. The board rejected that option January 29.
"I heard ahead of time (that the threat of a lawsuit) was out there, but to worry about that would be wrong," board President Harold Burns said.
The suit names the school principal, superintendent and all seven school board members as defendants. It asks to have the grade changed and to have class rankings blocked until the case is settled.
Student Sues To Get A+, Not A, at http://www.cnn.com (Feb. 14, 2003).
The Defense Department has produced a training video that instructs its staff on how to handle requests under the Federal Freedom of Information Act. But don't request a screening; the video itself is secret. "It seems ironic, very ironic," said Mike Ravnitzky, a writer for American Lawyer magazine whose request for the video was turned down in November. When he appealed, the Defense Department denied the request again, citing the Freedom of Information Act's trade secret exemption.
The 22-minute video can't be released because it contains excerpts from television newscasts and movies, including Casablanca, that cannot be shown without permission from their owners, said Henry McIntyre, Freedom of Information Act director for the Department of Defense.
The Freedom of Information Act, passed in 1966, gives citizens the right to examine records held by the executive branch of the federal government. There are several exemptions agencies can cite as reasons not to release records, including concerns about national security and trade secrets.
According to a description of the video published on the scriptwriter's web site, the training video follows a character named Trench Coat as he guides the viewer through the ins and outs of a handling freedom of information requests.
The department has shown it internally, McIntyre said, and has been trying to get the proper permission from copyright holders, "dotting our i's and crossing our t's," he said.
Charles Davis, executive director of the Freedom of Information Center at the University of Missouri's School of Journalism, said he thinks it's "hysterical" the video cannot be released.
"This is just such a perfect anecdotal example of what goes on every day all over the country when people make requests for things that are so obviously not secret and then are rejected," Davis said.
At the Defense Department, McIntyre said he's going to try to resolve the problem with the video quickly, possibly by editing out copyrighted material from the video and releasing it in that form.
But will the video be worth the wait?
"It's actually somewhat corny," McIntyre said. "But on the other hand, it's a heck of a lot better than someone standing up on stage talking about exemptions and disclosures and paperwork."
Most freedom of information requests, of course, involve more serious information. A month after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, Attorney General John Ashcroft directed federal agencies to "carefully consider" how the release of information under the act might affect national security and law enforcement. Agencies that legitimately turn down information requests would have the backing of the Justice Department, he said.
Experts say responses to freedom of information requests have slowed since then, and more are neing denied .
Freedom on Information Act Training Video Is Not Released to Public, at http://www.cnn.com (Feb 14, 2003).
Susan Pace Hamill, a professor of law at the University of Alabama School of Law, has written an article entitled “An Argument For Tax Reform Based on Judeo-Christian Ethics,” published in the Fall 2002 issue of the Alabama Law Review. This article was originally written as a master’s thesis to partially fulfill the requirements for a master’s in theological studies degree at Beeson School of Divinity, Samford University. Hamill received that degree in May 2002.
The Law Library has two copies of this Alabama Law Review issue which are shelved in the Periodical section on the Lower Level, Row 001. The article can also be viewed and printed from the Internet at: http://www.law.ua.edu/directory/bio/shamill.html and has been condensed into a brochure entitled “The Least of These.”.
A discussion of Hamill’s essay, including a descriptive history of Alabama’s constitutional conflicts with respect to taxation, was featured on the front page of the February 12, 2003 issue of The Wall Street Journal. The title of the article is “Divine Inspiration : Seminary Article Sparks Alabama Tax-Code Revolt” at page A1.
(The Law Library maintains a collection of treatises on law in different states. Listed below are titles in this area that were received during the past months.)
Davenport, Ronald G. ALABAMA AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE LAW. 3rd ed. KFA191/.A4/D3/2002.
Day, John A. TENNESSEE LAW OF COMPARATIVE FAULT. 2nd ed. KFT80/.T4/2002/v.17.
Fernambucq, Rick. FAMILY LAW IN ALABAMA : PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE. 3rd ed. KFA94.5/.A65/F35/2002.
Hoff, Timothy. ALABAMA LIMITATIONS OF ACTIONS AND NOTICE PROVISIONS. [Revised] 2nd ed. KFA90/.L5/H64/2002.
Holland, Randy J. THE DELAWARE STATE CONSTITUTION : A REFERENCE GUIDE. KFD402/.H65/2002.
LEGAL FORMS. 2nd ed. KFT80/.T4/2002/v.14-15. (Part of the Tennessee Practice Series.)
Tessner, John. MINNESOTA LEGAL RESEARCH GUIDE. 2nd ed. KFM5475/.S63/2002.
Have you ever been baffled by a citation dealing with a federal agency? Needed an agency form that doesn't seem to exist? A good first step in dealing with such a situation is to consult Leah F. Chanin's SPECIALIZED LEGAL RESEARCH (KF240/.S69) and a reference librarian. If you are still having problems, you may need to talk to a librarian that specializes in materials dealing with that agency. The reference librarians at Beeson Law Library have had some very good experiences in working with agency librarians (we have found that, on occasion, they will send us the document we need FOR FREE!). The listing below provides telephone numbers for many of the federal agencies:
Center for Disease Control Library 404-639-3396
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Library 410-786-7804
Civil Rights Commission Library 202-376-8110
Commerce Dept. Law Library 202-482-1154
Commodity Futures Trading Comm. Law Library 202-418-5254
Comptroller of Currency Library 202-874-4720
Consumer Product Safety Comm. Library 301-504-6816
Customs Service Library 202-927-1350
Dept. of Justice Law Library 202-514-2133
Energy Dept. Library 202-586-4848
Environmental Protection Agency Law Library 202-260-5919
Equal Employment Opportunity Comm. Law Library 202-663-4630
Executive Office for Immigration Review Law Library 703-605-1103
Farm Credit Admin. Law Library 703-883-4296
FDA Medical Library 301-827-5703
Fed. Reserve Bd. of Governors Law Library 202-452-3040
Fed. Trade Commission Law Library 202-326-2830
Fed. Election Commission Law Library 202-694-1600
Fed. Deposit Ins. Corp. Library 202-736-0088
Fed. Labor Relations Authority Law Library 202-482-6552
Fed. Maritime Commission Library 202-523-5762
Fed. Energy Reg. Comm. Law Library 202-502-8179
Federal Aviation Administration Law Library 202-267-3174
Federal Communications Comm. Reference Room 202-418-0270
General Services Admin. Library 202-501-0788
General Accounting Office Law Library 202-512-2585
Health and Human Services Library 202-619-0190
Housing and Urban Development Library 202-708-2370
Immigration and Naturalization Service Reading Room 202-514-3278
Interior Dept. Library 202-208-3309
IRS Freedom of Information Reading Room 202-622-5163
Labor Dept. Library 202-219-4720
Library of Congress Law Library 202-707-5065
Merit Systems Protection Bd. Law Library 202-653-7132
National Labor Relations Bd. Law Library 202-273-3720
National Credit Union Admin. Gen. Counsel's Library 703-518-6546
National Institute of Standards &Technology Library 301-975-3052
Navy Office of General Counsel Law Library 202-543-0247
Navy JAG Law Library 703-325-9565
Nuclear Regulatory Commission Legal Info. Services 301-415-1526
Patent and Trademark Law Library 703-308-7200
Pension Benefit Guaranty Bd. General Counsel Library 202-326-4004
Pentagon Library (Legal Reference) 703-697-4301
Postal Rate Commission Law Library 202-789-6877
Railroad Retirement Bd Law Library 312-751-4926
Securities & Exchange Commission Law Library 202-942-7090
Social Security Law Library 410-965-6107
State Dept. Law Library 202-647-1146
Tennessee Valley Authority Library 865-632-6613
Transportation Dept. Library 202-366-0749
Treasury Dept. Library 202-622-0990
U.S. Supreme Court Library 202-376-2707
U.S. Court of Veterans Appeals Library 202-501-5861
U.S. Tax Court Library 202-606-8707
U.S. Coast Guard Law Library 202-267-2536
U.S. Army JAG School Library 434-972-6306
U.S. International Trade Comm. Law Library 202-205-3287
Veterans Affairs General Counsel Law Library 202-523-3830
World Bank Law Library 202-273-6558
Other:
U.S. Senate Library 202-224-5581
[This listing is an update of one that appeared in the February 1998 issue of Check It Out.]
Four new Dell laptops are available at the Circulation Desk for checkout. They may be checked out for three hours and may not leave the Law Library. The laptops are equipped with all of the software that is available in the Law Library labs. The laptops' operating system is Windows ME. Students should not notice much difference between the laptops and the WIN98 lab computers. One warning - the laptops do tend to start up slowly. This is due to the computer protection (DeepFreeze). Each laptop is equipped with headphones, a power cord, and an Ethernet cable. Please contact Grace Simms (glsimms@samford.edu) if help is needed with the Law Library laptops.
Fri., March 21
7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Sat., March 22 & Sun., March 23 CLOSED
Mon., March 24 to Fri., March 28 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Sat., March 29
CLOSED
Sun., March 30
Resume Spring Schedule
Easter
Fri., April 18
7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Sat., April 19
9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Sun., April 20
CLOSED
Mon., April 21
Resume Spring Schedule
One more issue of CHECK IT OUT will be published this semester. If you have any ideas or suggestions as to ways we can improve, contact Becky Hutto at rmhutto@samford.edu.We welcome new ideas!