BLS Library Blog

On October 31, 2005, during oral arguments in the case of Central Virginia Community College v. Katz, 546 U.S. 356 (2006), a light bulb blew out and made a gunshot-like sound. A lively exchange among the Justices ensued, according to the transcript of the oral arguments on Oyez, Chicago-Kent’s free law project that makes the US Supreme Court accessible to everyone. Oyez, which is available in Brooklyn Law School’s SARA Catalog, has transcript-synchronized and searchable audio, plain-English case summaries, illustrated decision information, and opinions. It also provides detailed information on every justice throughout history and offers a panoramic tour of the Supreme Court building, including the chambers of several justices.

The spirited exchange that afternoon was the only time a sitting US Supreme Court Justice said “Happy Halloween” from the bench. The comments from the transcript are below:

SANDRA DAY O’CONNOR
A light bulb exploded.
JOHN G. ROBERTS, JR.
I think we’re… I think it’s safe.
STEPHEN G. BREYER
A light bulb went out.
JOHN G. ROBERTS, JR.
It’s a trick they play on new Chief Justices all the time.
[Laughter]
ANTONIN SCALIA
Happy Halloween.
John G. Roberts, Jr.
We’re even… yeah, we’re even more in the dark now than before.

Hat Tip to Victoria Sutton author of Halloween Law: A Spirited Look at the Law School Curriculum.

Pro Bono Celebration Week, sponsored by the American Bar Association Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service, is a national event that takes place every year in late October with events all over the country.  It is an opportunity to spotlight the difference lawyers can make in their communities, to recruit and train more pro bono volunteers and to acknowledge the partnerships that form the basis for many successful pro bono efforts.

Although national in breadth, the Celebration provides an opportunity for local legal associations across the country to take the next step in their efforts to provide high quality legal services to those living on the social margins.

The need for legal services among the poor is overwhelming. According to an American Bar Association study, at least 40% of low and moderate-income households experience a legal problem each year. Yet studies show that the collective civil legal aid effort is meeting only about 20% of the legal needs of low-income people.

Interested in volunteering and want to find out more about what opportunities are available?  Check out the NYS Pro Bono Opportunities Guide.  The Guide is a database of organizations that lawyers, law students and paralegals can search in order to find volunteer opportunities.

The New York State Pro Bono Opportunities Guide is a joint project of The City Bar Justice Center, the New York State Bar Association, Pro Bono Net and Volunteers of Legal Service.

This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of the Landmarks Law of New York City, which was enacted on April 19, 1965 when Mayor Robert F. Wagner signed it beginning an era of historic preservation. Since then, almost 1,400 individual landmarks, 115 interior landmarks, 10 scenic landmarks, 109 historic districts, and 10 historic district extensions located throughout all five boroughs have been designated. The Landmarks Law established the Landmarks Preservation Commission, the mayoral agency responsible for identifying, designating, preserving, and regulating New York City’s architecturally, historically, and culturally significant buildings and sites. The Landmarks Law is found in Chapter 74 of the New York City Charter.

On Wednesday, October 21 at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court on Cadman Plaza in Brooklyn, a panel of land use experts in a session called Preserving our Architectural History: The Business Case for Landmarks Preservation will discuss the economic impact of historic preservation in New York City. Another event marking the anniversary of the Landmarks Law is scheduled on  Monday, October 26, 2015 at the New York City Bar Association. The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission and the Harvard University Graduate School of Design will host History in the Making: The New York City Landmarks Law at 50, a full-day conference at the Bar Association offices at 42 West 44th Street, New York, NY.

On the subject of historic sites, the Brooklyn Law School Library has in its collection Landmarks Preservation and the Property Tax: Assessing Landmark Buildings for Real for Real Taxation Purposes by David Lisotkin (Call #KF6535 .L58 2012). The book examines the growing importance of historic preservation. Communities across the country have established designation programs whereby individual buildings or districts of historical-architectural significance are accorded landmark status. It focuses on New York City in considering the effects of historic status on property value and in evaluating assessment practices. Its findings are transferrable to other communities because the base conditions are similar. Many other cities have designation programs modeled on New York City’s. In addition, New York’s property-tax system and administrative processes resemble those found in communities across the nation. To enhance the transferability of this study’s findings, Listokin refers to the national experience and literature, typically on a side-by-side basis with the New York City counterpart.

On October 1, 2015, the United States Supreme Court granted certiorari to the Second Circuit decision in European Community v. RJR Nabisco, 764 F.3d 129 (2d Cir. 2014). In granting review, the Court will determine whether or not RICO has extraterritorial reach. In examining this issue, the Court may also rule on how to decide whether RICO claims involving multinational parties are domestic ones, and how to determine whether it is an improper or proper extraterritorial claim.

If you would like to learn more about the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act (RICO), check out the library resources below.

• John E. Floyd, RICO State by State: Guide to Litigation Under the State Racketeering Statutes (2d ed. 2011).
• Frank J. Marine, Criminal RICO: 18 U.S.C. §§ 1961-68: A Manual for Federal Prosecutors (5th ed. 2009).
• Paul A. Batista, Civil RICO Practice Manual (2008 & Supp. 2013).
• Jed S. Rakoff et al., RICO: Civil and Criminal Law and Strategy (1989 & Supp. 2015).

Listen to this episode on BrooklynWorks. 

In this podcast, Brooklyn Law School Adjunct Professor Lawrence Fleischer talks about his Criminal Law, Procedure, Evidence and Film Lore Workshop, which he has been teaching for the past five years, initially with the late Professor Robert Pitler and now by himself. In the first part of the interview, Prof. Fleischer relates how the workshop uses movies to teach criminal trial evidence by requiring students to view legal films and give presentations to address current criminal law related matters. Prof. Fleischer, who serves of counsel to the New York law firm of Gotlin & Jaffe, received his B.A. in History Summa Cum Laude from City College of the City University of New York, a Juris Doctorate from American University School of Law, and an LL. M degree from New York University Law School. In addition to teaching at BLS, he teaches at City College of New York and has taught in the CCNY Political Science department, NYU’s School of Continuing Education, Hunter College’s Graduate History department, Brooklyn College’s Graduate department of Political Science, and Seton Hall’s School of Law. In the second part of the conversation, Prof. Fleischer discusses his use in his course of the case of Maria Barbella a/k/a Maria Barberi, the first woman sentenced to die in the electric chair in the US and of the Italian-American countess who came to her aid. The story is told in The Trials of Maria Barbella: The True Story of a 19th Century Crime of Passion by Idanna Pucci (Call #HV6053 .P83 1996) discussed in this site’s most recent blog.