Research in the Restatements of the Law

By Brenda Jones,
Reference Librarian

The American Law Institute's restatements are unique research tools that summarize and define the general common law of the United States.  Typically, restatements are persuasive though not controlling authority.  On the other hand, restatement language adopted by a court or legislature becomes part of that jurisdiction's primary law.

For a wealth of information about the American Law Institute (ALI), visit its Web site at http://www.ali.org.  According to the 1923 certificate of incorporation, the aim of the ALI is "to promote the clarification and simplification of the law."   ALI's early leaders included William Taft, Benjamin Cardozo, and Learned Hand.  Today, approximately three thousand prominent lawyers, judges, and professors, including Cumberland professors, belong to the Institute.

Restatements are the result of thorough analysis, sometimes lasting a decade or more.  Legal scholars, called reporters, prepare initial drafts.  Expert advisors, interested institute members, and the ALI council review and revise the documents. 
At the institute's annual meeting, the entire group debates tentative drafts, often sending them back for reconsideration.  Many projects entail a series of drafts forming a quasi-legislative history of the restatement. The final product requires approval of institute members and the council.

The Law Library collects all official restatements and many drafts as well.  To see preliminary drafts in storage, ask a reference librarian for assistance.  Official texts of final restatements are in the reference section on the First Floor of the library.  The table below shows restatement topics, series, dates of adoption, and general call number locations.  For some topics, ALI adopted successive volumes in different years.

Agency 1st (1933); 2d (1957)  [KF1345]
Conflict of Laws 1st (1934); 2d (1969, with 1988 pocket part revisions)  [KF411]
Contracts 1st (1932); 2d (1979)  [KF801]
Foreign Relations Law of the United States 2d (1962); 3d (1986)  [KF4651]
NEW! Judgments 1st (1942); 2d (1980)  [KF8990]
Law Governing Lawyers 3d (1998) [KF311]
Property 1st (1936, 1940, 1944)  [KF570]
Property (Landlord and Tenant) 2d (1976)  [KF590]
NEW! Property (Donative Transfers) 2d (1981, 1984, 1987, 1990) [KF613]
NEW!Property (Wills and Other Donative Transfers) 3d (1998) [KF657]
NEW!Property (Mortgages) 3d (1996) [KF695]
Property (Servitudes) 3d (1998) [KF657]
Restitution 1st (1936)  [KF1244]
Security 1st (1941)  [KF1050]
NEW! Suretyship and Guaranty 3d (1995)  [KF1045]
NEW! Torts 1st (1934, 1938, 1939); 2d (1963, 1964, 1976, 1977)  [KF1249]
Torts (Apportionment of Liability) 3d (1999)  [KF1249]
Torts (Products Liability)   3d (1997)  [KF1249]
Trusts 1st (1935); 2d (1957)  [KF730]
Trusts (Prudent Investor Rule) 3d (1990)  [KF730]
Unfair Competition 3d (1993)  [KF1609]

Research Tips:

Examine introductory pages for the scope of restatement topics and status of earlier series.  In the foreword of some volumes, ALI designates certain earlier publications as superseded or replaced.  Action by the ALI, however, does not rescind or alter prior restatements adopted in a state as its primary law.

When researching restatements, consult the main volumes for black-letter rules.  To identify cases citing the restatements, refer to Appendices, pocket parts, soft-cover supplements, and Interim Case Citations.  Take advantage of enhancements where available, like reporters’ notes, comments, illustrations, tables, and cross-references to West digest key numbers or A.L.R annotations.

Indexing is inconsistent.  A one-volume Permanent General Index [KF8, Reference] covers all topics treated in the first series.  Second and third restatements have topic-specific indexes, but no overall series index. Some topics have cumulative indexes in the last main volume before the Appendix.  Other back-of-the-book indexes cover sections in that volume only.

Check the online card catalog for a full listing of all restatements and related resources like Alabama, Georgia, and Florida annotations.  Records in the catalog identify restatement drafts as P.D. (preliminary draft); T.D. (tentative draft); C.D. (council draft); P.F.D. (proposed final draft); P.O.D. (proposed official draft).  Consider using Shepard's Restatement of the Law Citations for references to cases and law review articles.  Finally, the last volume of the A.L.R. Index identifies annotations that cite restatement provisions.

[This article is an update of one that appeared in the September 1996 issue of Check It Out.]

 

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Famous Trials
www.umkc.edu/famoustrials

"...an educational and non- commercial site maintained at the University of Missouri-Kansas City Law School. Doug Linder, Professor of Law (Seminar in Famous Trials)."  The "site has been selected as a featured link by The New York Times, The Christian Science Monitor, USA Today, Yahoo, The History Channel, Internet Scout Project, Law & Politics: Internet Guide, Mining Company's History Site, Mining Company's Crime Site, NBC News, Education World, The Discovery Channel School, JURIST: The Law Professor's Network, Study Web, Learning in Motion, CNN.com, and the National Organization of Bar Counsel."

For an excellent article about a Cumberland graduate, see Without Fear or Favor: Judge James Edwin Horton and the Trial of the "Scottsboro Boys" By Douglas O. Linder. http://www.law.umkc.edu/ faculty/projects/ftrials/ trialheroes/essayhorton.html
 

 

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This Ain’t No Picnic

By Mandy Haddin,
Law Library Assistant
Computer Services
(arhaddin@samford.edu)

Every now and then I will put up a new sign on the lab doors reminding students that food, drinks and tobacco products are not allowed in the labs much less the library.  Sadly enough, my poor little signs are sometimes ignored and these contraband are brought into the labs.  Keeping the items in a backpack and unopened is okay.  However, if they are out, opened, drunk, eaten or chewed (chewing tobacco), we have a problem.  Besides being a direct violation of the Lab Usage and Library Policies, it is important that they not be exposed to the computers.  Here’s why:
 

• Spilled drinks are sticky and can get on the computer parts.  They can also short them out.  It’s very difficult to clean a keyboard that has had a drink spilled on it.  This includes water.
• Food crumbs falling into the keyboards.  Again, difficulty cleaning properly and the crumbs can basically disable the keyboard.  Chocolate from candy bars smeared on the keys or mice and sticky fingerprints on the monitors are also bad.
• Insects!  Eeeek!
• Tobacco products (chewing tobacco in particular) are not pleasant.  Even garbage cans have been used as tobacco spit receptacles - blech!  Tar and nicotine can stain the computers whether from smoke or spit.  Please don’t bring these in the labs.
• To quote the Lab Usage Policy: “Users may not bring food, tobacco, drinks, or drink containers into the labs. Such items will be confiscated and thrown away.”
• To quote the Library Policy regarding these products: “No one may smoke in the Law Library, nor may anyone take food, beverages or tobacco products into the Law Library.  Violations may result in a loss of library privileges.”

These are some pretty good reasons.  Another good reason is that if a computer does break due to these types of abuse, it costs to have them repaired or replaced.

I can understand that some students spend most of their day in class or in the library, but it is expressly posted on the library doors that these products are not allowed.  If you get thirsty, there are water fountains on all but  the Third Floor.  And if you need a snack, please go to the student lounge in the Law School.  Hey, students need a break from studying sometimes - go grab a snack and watch a little TV.

Tips for Printing in the Labs

1.  Keep up with your print account by clicking on the black dollar sign icon in the lower right hand corner of the screen (that way, there will be no surprises on your Bursar bill).

2.  If your job does not print out the first time, clicking PRINT 10 more times is not going to help much.   Instead, try  rebooting (restarting) the computer.  Chances are, this will re-establish the computer's network connection to the printer and allow you to print.  Be sure to read tip #3, though.  Also, check the little message window on the printer; it may just be out of paper.

3.  When you log in, if a window pops up that says "You have 368978 print jobs waiting to be printed" click on CANCEL.  Otherwise, it will deduct those 368978 print jobs from your print account.  If you forget and click on OK, please see Diane Wade for help.

4.  Read the Printing Policies and Procedures.  There are several exemptions out there that you could be taking advantage of, such as a poor quality exemption, a résumé exemption, and a directed research exemption

5. Print your Westlaw research to the Westlaw stand-alone printer, and your Lexis research to the dedicated Lexis printer.  Why pay to print out this research when you can print it without charge?  (If you're not sure how to do that, ask Diane, Mandy, or the student Westlaw and Lexis reps for help.)

6.  Did you know that envelopes, legal sized documents, and other odd-sized printouts are not counted and deducted from your print accounts?  Only  printing letter sized (8.5 x 11) documents are counted and charged.

7.  When Samford's Novell network goes down (as it sometimes does) you cannot print to the networked laser printers, BUT you usually can still print to the résumé printer in the Lower Level lab, the Westlaw stand-alone printer, the dedicated Lexis printer(s), and the inkjet printers at the OPAC stations (for printing from the online catalog and LegalTrac).

8.  If you need printing assistance at night or on Sunday, contact Brenda Jones, Reference Librarian.

 A Case About Fishin’?

Well read in Southern literature?  Interested in an article containing authors and titles that are part of that category?  Instead of a journal article read Dycus v. Sillers, 557 So. 2d 486 (Miss. 1990).   This case contains fifty eight footnotes, each that give reference to some type of Southern literature.  The references include a variety of books, poems and journal articles, including such authors as Eudora Welty, Walker Percy, William Faulkner and John Grisham.  One title cited several times is Encyclopedia of Southern Culture  (F209/.E53/1989/Main Library); a well known publication published by the University of North Carolina Press.  The fifty eight footnotes are from Parts I and II of the case. The first sentence from Part I says: This is a case about a fishin’ hole and the beginning of Part II adds: This is also a case about a people, the waters they fish, and a unique culture and lore.

It Came From the Lower Level
... Hey! What's down there, anyway?

This time of year as the weather changes and our minds turn to Halloween and to those papers and projects that are coming due, it is natural to wonder: what's on the bottom
floor of the Law Library?

There you will find a wholesome assortment of study and research tools, such as the computer lab, a comfortable study area, and conference rooms. The microforms and microform readers, the video players, and the requisite restrooms, water fountain, and photocopy room are there. The online library catalog stations have LegalTrac.

Those tall shelves that seem ever to become fuller and fuller contain the serials collection--journals, law reviews, looseleaf publications, and indexes. There is also an area of the shelves on the mysterious Lower Level devoted to materials on Taxation.

The Serials Office is also located on the Lower Level. The Serials Librarian and Serials Assistant are frequently to be seen lurking about the area, and we'd like to remind
everyone never to be scared to ask for help. The Serials Office cordially invites both the brave and the cowardly to visit our office, because we love assisting students and faculty.

Have a productive and safe Halloween season, on whichever floor you may find yourself: but don't forget: IT CAME FROM THE LOWER LEVEL!

It’s That Time Again!

Yes, it’s that time, November 7th is election day.  Here are a few quotations on that sometimes “sensitive” subject.
 

Need a Periodical ...
 Help in Understanding the Online Library Catalog
By Robin McLendon,
Serials Librarian
(ramclend@samford.edu)

One of the trickier aspects of using the serials resources in any library often can be simply locating the issues you need. Once you have found a citation to an article, the  online library catalog gives several helpful clues to help you find materials. When viewing serials information in the online library catalog, you're likely to see something like this:
 
 

The key?

LOCATION  refers to the physical location of the serial, that is, its permanent home on the shelves. "Law - Unbound Periodicals" and "Law - Periodicals" really indicate the same location: the shelves on the Lower Level.  "Law - Unbound Periodicals" refers to loose, individual issues of a publication, while "Law - Periodicals" refers to a bound volume. "Law - Ser., Rm. 032A" refers to the serials office on the Lower Level. Materials find their way into the serials office if they are being pulled for some specific reason, such as for mending or in preparation to go to the bindery. It is perfectly all right to ask in the serials office if you think we may have an issue or bound volume you need.

STATUS indicates whether or not the item is available (on the shelf), is at the bindery, or is checked out to a professor. If the material is checked out, you will see the date it is due back; if it is at the bindery, the STATUS field will say so.

From time to time, the online library catalog will show that an item is available, and yet it can't be found on the shelf. There are several reasons why this may happen. If an issue or bound volume is shelved in the wrong place, for example, it is lost for all practical purposes, and may as well be at home under your bed. Please take a moment to be sure you’re returning a volume to the correct place on the shelf.  Hiding items from your classmates or removing them from the library ultimately backfires: scholarly journals and looseleaf publications are notoriously costly, and all but impossible to replace. Permanent gaps in your library's collection of law literature result from this type of behavior, increasing the likelihood that  when your professor or future law firm asks you to research a topic, the information you need won't be there.

The Law Library has an impressive serials collection. It can provide you with the most up-to-date information and most current scholarly thinking on many subjects. Knowlegeable and considerate use of the collection will help you get the most value from this important library resource - so use it often, and never hesitate to ask questions.

Interested in Current Events?

Do you want to keep up with what is going on in the U.S. Congress?

Go to The Congressional Record Scanner, an online index of each day's Congressional Record, which is maintained by the Congressional Quarterly, Inc. http://www.cq.com/roundup/ scanner

The daily issues of the print version of the Congressional Record are shelved on the First Floor in the Federal Codes section on Range number 121.  The online version is available at http://www.access.gpo. gov/su_docs/aces/ aces150.html
and http://thomas.loc.gov
__________________

Interested in campaign financing? 

Go to Common Cause's site, The Soft Money Laundromat, which is a searchable database of special interest soft money
contributions to the Democratic and Republican national party committees. http://www.commoncause.org/laundromat
 

This is the last issue of CHECK IT OUT for this semester.  Three issues will be published during the Spring Semester beginning in January 2001.  If you have any ideas or suggestions as to ways we can improve, contact Becky Hutto via e-mail at rmhutto@samford.edu.  We look forward to the Spring Semester and new issues of the newsletter. 

The CHECK IT OUT is published three times a semester.  The editorial staff works hard on artibles that are of interest to both law students and law progessors.  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 at rmhutto@samford.edu

Return to the Law Library Check It Out List