Nevada Court of Appeals

The Supreme Court amended the Nevada Rules of Appellate Procedure (NRAP) to incorporate changes due to the voters' approval of the Court of Appeals.  You can find the order (PDF) dated December 18, 2014 on Administrative Docket (ADKT) 501.  Rule 17 describes which cases are retained by the Supreme Court and which are assigned to the Court of Appeals.  The amended rules are not yet incorporated in the NRAP published in the Nevada Revised Statutes (NRS) and posted on the legislature's website. 

Documents in the News: Report of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Committee Study of the CIA's Detention and Interrogation Program (Senate Report 113-288)

From the Federal Depository Library Program's blog:

The U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) makes available the official and authentic digital and print versions of the Report of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Committee Study of the Central Intelligence Agency’s Detention and Interrogation Program, together with a forward by Chairman Feinstein and Additional and Minority Views (Senate Report 113-288).
This document comprises the declassified Executive Summary and Findings and Conclusions, including declassified additional and minority views. The full classified report will be maintained by the Committee and has been provided to the Executive Branch for dissemination to all relevant agencies.
The digital version is available on GPO’s Federal Digital System (FDsys). The print version is available for purchase at GPO’s retail and online bookstore for $29.

Research Tip: Use Notes of Decisions to Quickly Find Relevant Cases Interpreting a Statute or Regulation

This is a good tip from the Westlaw Legal Solutions blog:

Have you ever searched in cases for a procedural issue and come up empty? Are you not sure how a court might refer to a particular word or concept in a statute or rule? If so, please do not hesitate to make Notes of Decisions your starting point. Notes of Decisions are short summaries of cases interpreting a particular aspect of the statute or rule and can quickly help you find what you need because they are organized by common procedural topics.

Westlaw OnePass Password Reset

As part of a system-wide security review, West is requiring all Westlaw users to reset their OnePass passwords. Instructions to change or reset your password may be found on the Legal Solutions website. You may do it now, or when prompted at login. If you have a problem, please do not hesitate to contact the Reference Desk or 1-800-WESTLAW.

Learning (and CLE) Opportunities at the Supreme Court Library in December

We have lots of training (and CLE) planned for December.  Stop by the Reference Desk, or call (775-684-1640) or email reference (at) nvcourts (dot) nv (dot) gov to reserve a seat. 

• Tuesday, 12/9/14 - 4-5 p.m. - Substance Abuse Research on Westlaw (1.0 substance abuse credit)
• Wednesday, 12/10/14 - 9-10 a.m. - Ethics 2014 (1.0 ethics credit)
• Wednesday, 12/10/14 - 10:30-11:30 a.m. - Transitioning from Westlaw Classic to WestlawNext (1.0 general credit)
• Wednesday, 12/10/14 - 12-1 p.m. - Substance Abuse Research on Westlaw (1.0 substance abuse credit)
• Friday, 12/19/14 - 10:30-11:30 a.m. - Getting Started in HeinOnline (1.0 general credit) webinar
• Friday, 12/19/14 - 12-1 p.m. - Advanced Searching in HeinOnline (1.0 general credit) webinar

The HeinOnline training is by webinar.  You can sign up to participate from your computer or you can join us in Room 107 of the Law Library.   

For additional information about Nevada requirements and links to a few CLE providers, check out our October 16th post:  It's That Time of Year:  CLE Requirements and Opportunities.

10 Tips for Better Legal Writing

Bryan Garner has a post up at the ABA Journal on legal writing.  We especially like tip number 2:

2) Don't rely exclusively on computer research. Combine book research with computer research. Don't overlook such obvious resources as Corpus Juris Secundum and American Jurisprudence. Look at indexes, digests and treatises to round out your understanding of the subject matter. And when it comes to computer research, don't forget Google Books (especially the advanced-search function): It can open up a great variety of fresh resources in addition to what you find with Westlaw or Lexis.

The Law Library has several books by Garner and on legal writing in its collection.

New Editions: Fair Debt Collection

The Library recently received new editions of several titles published by the National Consumer Law Center, including Fair Debt Collection, 8th.

The Definitive FDCPA Treatise

The latest thinking and authoritative analysis of the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), the statute that dramatically alters how collection agencies and attorneys collect consumer debts.

For 30 years, the primary reference in the field:

• Preparation of a debt collection harassment case
• Persons and transactions covered and FDCPA requirements and remedies
• The debt collector's defenses and counterclaims.

(Description from the NCLC website.)