Amicus Briefs: October 2020

Remembering RBG - Law Dawg - Open Access Week

AMICUS BRIEFS

October 2020

REMEMBERING RBG

Alexander Campbell King Law Library

By Rachel Evans, Geraldine Kalim, and Savanna Nolan We would like to bring your attention to some of the resources we have on display in the Law Library foyer in remembrance of Justice Ginsburg’s life and work. Our School of Law was also fortunate enough to host Justice Ginsburg on January 26, 1981 for that semester’s Sibley Lecture Series: “Inviting Judicial Activism: A ‘Liberal’ or ‘Conservative’ Technique” At the time, Justice Ginsburg sat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Our physical archival collection includes an audio cassette tape of Ginsburg’s speech and a copy of the original program distributed to individuals in attendance in January 1981. The repository record in Digital Commons now includes audio streaming of the digitized audio recording.

We also have items in the collection that were authored by the late Justice. These items include the autobiography “My Own Words” and the first textbook on sex discrimination law, “Text, Cases and Materials on Sex-Based Discrimination.”

Our media collection also contains DVDs available for checkout about and inspired by the life of the late Justice. One of two copies of the 2018 documentary “RBG” is currently playing in the Law Library foyer TV with subtitles on as a part of the remembrance exhibit. The library also has available for checkout “On the basis of sex”, a 2019 feature film depicting the young, struggling attorney and new mother facing adversity in her fight for equal rights.

Law Dawg of the Month: Oliver October’s Law Dawg is Oliver. His human is 2L Gabe Doster. Handsome Oliver loves to go on rides and visit parks.

All members of the Law School Community (students, faculty and staff) are invited to submit a photo for random selection as the Law Dawg. Please note that honorary Law Dawgs (i.e. those of the feline, equine, porcine, avian, reptilian, etc. persuasion) are eligible as well.

Law Library Open Access Panel & Film Screening: The Internet's Own Boy

October 2020

Alexander Campbell King Law Library

By Rachel Evans, Geraldine Kalim, and Stephen Wolfson

In celebration of Open Access Week (October 19-25), we will again host for the second year in a row a screening of "The Internet's Own Boy". In lieu of our physical tabling events last fall, this year the virtual version will feature a panel of University of Georgia School of Law faculty on October 19th at 6 PM in Zoom. The panel will provide greater context for the film, talk about what open access is, how it relates to open educational resources, and the legal implications of digital and information activism. Following the live panel, synchronous discussion will be encouraged to continue in chat while the documentary is streamed virtually. For those that cannot attend the live event, we encourage you to register below to receive a link to the recorded panel video and a link to watch the film on your own time. In the spirit of Open Access, the film itself is rights free!

The film, "The Internet’s Own Boy", is the 2014 documentary chronicling Aaron Swartz’s life and legacy — from his work on RSS, Reddit, and Creative Commons to his prosecution for downloading millions of scholarly files. Since taking his own life in early 2013 while faced with a possible 35 years in prison for hacking charges, Swartz’s prosecution has been the cause célèbre of many digital activists. His fingerprints are all over the internet! Though it was Swartz's groundbreaking work in social justice and political organizing combined with his aggressive approach to information access that ensnared him in a two year legal nightmare. This personal and tragic story is about what we lose when we are tone deaf to technology and its relationship with our civil liberties.

Faculty panelists providing introduction to the screening will include Thomas E. Kadri (Assistant Professor of Law at UGA School of Law and Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication), Jean Goetz Mangan (Legal Writing Instructor at UGA School of Law), and Stephen M. Wolfson (Research and Copyright Services Librarian at UGA Law Library). Kadri's research and courses focus on torts, cybercrime, privacy and how law regulates technology. Mangan teaches legal writing, advanced writing seminar and criminal drafting, and recently published a CC licensed OER work. Wolfson serves as the law library’s contact for issues relating to copyright, scholarly communication, and research-related information policy matters, teaches legal research, and courses exploring the intersection of law and technology in the information age.

Social Justice Book Recomendation The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X Call Number: Law Library Basement BP223.Z8 L57943 1992 and Main Library 4th floor E185.97 .L5 A3 1966 and 6th floor BP223.Z8 L57943 1999b and onlinePublication Date: 1964 ONE OF TIME'S TEN MOST IMPORTANT NONFICTION BOOKS OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY In the searing pages of this classic autobiography, originally published in 1964, Malcolm X, the Muslim leader, firebrand, and anti-integrationist, tells the extraordinary story of his life and the growth of the Black Muslim movement. His fascinating perspective on the lies and limitations of the American Dream, and the inherent racism in a society that denies its nonwhite citizens the opportunity to dream, gives extraordinary insight into the most urgent issues of our own time. The Autobiography of Malcolm X stands as the definitive statement of a movement and a man whose work was never completed but whose message is timeless. It is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand America.

Mindfulness Corner

Mindfulness for Law Students

by Scott Rogers Mindfulness for Law Call Number: KF287 .R64 2009

Students is a one-of-akind book that is specifically designed to introduce law students to fundamental contemplative practices as well as the cuttingedge research that shows how incorporating mindfulness techniques can alter the physical structure and function of the brain to reflect decreased levels of stress, increased levels of productivity and improved mental health.

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