Happy Chanukah!

Tonight begins the celebration of Chanukah! Also called the Feast of Rededication or Feast of Lights, this Jewish festival “reaffirms the ideals of Judaism and commemorates in particular the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem by the lighting of candles on each day of the festival.”1 

Our Associate Director of the Gould Law Library & Special Collections Curator Beth Mobley has created an interesting Chanukah exhibit in our Judaica room. As you are studying for finals, consider using the quiet and beautiful space in the Judaica room on our third floor, and while you’re there, take a look at this exhibit. The exhibit features the traditional celebration activities and foods:

Among the items on display are those displayed above, an art deco menorah and a traditional menorah with the blessings and the holiday song Ma’oz Tzur. There are also several draydls, chocolate gelt for the pot, and an illustrated latkes recipe for you to view. You can also peruse books about Chanukah from the Abraham Goldstein and Lillie Goldstein Judaica Collection, which are part of the display:

Chanukah continues for eight days and nights. Here at the Law Center, the menorah will be lit each night in the Atrium at 5:30 PM, except for Friday, when the menorah is lit before sunset in honor of the Shabbat. Please join in the nightly lighting of the menorah, and then visit our library to study. We wish you all a Happy Chanukah and a Happy Thanksgiving!

1Hanukkah (2013). In Encyclopaedia Britannica Online. Retrieved November 27, 2013. This resource can be accessed by Touro Law Center Students only. Click here and scroll down to Encyclopaedia Britannica Online to access this resource.

Library Now Open 24/6+ for Finals Reading Period

In order to maximize your opportunities for quiet study, Gould Law Library is open as a study hall almost around the clock through the end of final exams (December 20th). These special hours are for Law Center Students ONLY. There are only a few exceptions to this round the clock availability through the end of finals, which are:

Thursday, November 28th, 2013:
The library is closed for observance of Thanksgiving.  No entry to the library is available.

Friday, November 29th, 2013:
The Library will open as a study hall only from 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Library services are not available during this time.

EVERY Friday from 2:45 p.m. to Saturday morning at 10:00 a.m.:
This closure is in observance of the Jewish Sabbath. Saturday access is subject to special conditions: You may use the 1st floor only; you must have your Touro ID and use the special access door to enter; and you cannot bring any food.

Please note that library services will not be available during the overnight periods and on Saturdays, although a security guard will be on duty. Students using the library during this time must sign in and out at security.

The entire library (except for the Circulation Desk, the Reference Office, and enclosed study rooms) is now a quiet zone to maximize available study space. In order to keep the quiet zone as quiet as possible, please take care to remember:

* No cell phone use is allowed in the library at any time.

* Conversation should be taken outside the library to the atrium.

* If you encounter any noise issues, please see a member of the library staff.

We’ll be back to post again soon.

In the meantime, keep calm and read on.

Election Law – Voting Rights and Electoral Conflict

Today we will be highlighting some of our newer print resources on the dynamic field of law that has arisen from election day conflicts and issues. Often, legal conflicts concerning the parameters of election contests arise even before a vote is cast. The right to vote, and what that means and entails, is an important topic that is debated frequently in this legal field.  We have many resources in our collection, in print and digital, that address this topic.

Here are two of our newer secondary sources on this burgeoning area of law:

Bending Toward Justice : The Voting Rights Act and The Transformation of American Democracy (2013)
Written by Gary May

The history of the Voting Rights Act, from the events leading to its conception to its present day fate, are discussed in this text.

Inside Bush v. Gore (2013)
Written by Charley Wells

Written by the former Chief Justice of the Florida Supreme Court, this book is a historical account from the author’s perspective of the vote recount in Florida after the 2000 Presidential election.




Election Day is next week! If you're registered and able, remember to vote on November 5th.

This is the last post in our series about election law. Check back next month for our series on a new topic.

In the meantime, keep calm and read on.

Election Law – Free State Law Resources

 In this post, we are highlighting some free resources to study New York State election law.

Election law is a complex byzantine of rules and regulations at every level of government. Election law in New York State is only further complicated by the many levels of government that exist as governing authorities. “There are 1607 general purpose local governments in New York State, each with its own governing body and taxing authority.”*

To start to familiarize yourself with New York State election law, you can start at the New York State Board of Elections website: http://www.elections.ny.gov/. The New York State Board of Elections has a page specifically devoted to setting forth the New York statutes and regulations in effect for this upcoming election day: http://www.elections.ny.gov/ElectionLaw.html   At this website, you can find:

• A copy of New York State 2013 Election Law, current through Laws 2012, Chapter 504, together with selected provisions of the New York State Constitution and rules and regulations: http://www.elections.ny.gov/NYSBOE/downloa/law/2013NYElectionLaw.pdf 

• Formal Opinions of the NY State Board of Elections, 1974 to Present: http://www.elections.ny.gov/NYSBOE/download/law/Opinions07292013.pdf

• Advisory Opinions of the NY State Board of Elections: http://www.elections.ny.gov/NYSBOE/download/law/advisory.pdf

You can, of course, explore more about election law in subscription databases, but free resources are great to know about and keep handy. Check back soon for our next blog post to highlight resources on this topic.

In the meantime, keep calm and read on.


* NYS Government. NYS Division of Local Government Services. Retrieved October 28, 2013, from http://www.dos.ny.gov/lg/localgovs.html

Election Law – New Digital Resources

Digital resources are great for a fast-changing field of law such as election law, and you can find those in our collection, as well.

To keep up-to-the-minute informed about legal issues where politics and finance intersect, such as campaign finance, lobbying, and government ethics issues, consider BNA’s e-newsletter, The Money and Politics Report.  You can access this database by clicking here and scrolling to the link for Money and Politics Report.

You can also find digital resources in our collection by searching our online catalog. For example, just after last year’s Election Day, a hearing was held before the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, entitled: “The State of the Right to Vote After the 2012 Election.” You can view the transcript of that hearing online here.

In January 2012, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a report detailing the results of its study about the feasibility of holding federal elections over a weekend instead of on the traditional Tuesday. You can access that report here.

Our reference librarians and circulation staff can assist you in finding more digital resources – we’d be happy to help! Check back soon for our next blog post to highlight resources on this topic.


In the meantime, keep calm and read on.

Election Law – New Print Resources

In this post, we are highlighting some of our newer print resources on general election law.

Election law has become increasingly complex, as our politics have become more partisan and our electorate more diverse. There are several, newer print resources in our collection that are a great introduction to this field of law:

Goldfeder’s Modern Election Law (2013)
Written and edited by Jerry H. Goldfeder ; Additional Contributors: Daniel M. Burstein, et al.

This resource is frequently consulted by experts in the field, and it is a hot commodity in libraries around this time of year. We have the most recent supplement (2013) on the shelves. 





America Votes!: A Guide to Modern Election Law and Voting Rights (2012)
Edited by Benjamin E. Griffith

This guide, published by the American Bar Association, addresses the election law questions which are currently or imminently about to be addressed by the courts.

Election Law In a Nutshell (2013)
Written by Daniel P. Tokaji

Part of the popular “Nutshell” series published by West, this book provides introductory insight to the growing and complex field of election law.




These resources are just the latest of the print resources you can consult in our collection to introduce yourself to election law. Check back soon for our next blog post to highlight resources on this topic.

In the meantime, keep calm and read on.

Election Law – The New York City 2013 Electoral Race

As many of you are aware, the New York City electoral race is a hot ticket right now. The Office of the New York City Mayor is up for election, with a new mayor to be elected to succeed Mayor Michael E. Bloomberg, a three-term holder of that position. The two candidates in the running are Mr. Bill deBlasio, a Democrat, and Mr. Joe Lhota, a Republican.

The candidates squared off for the first of three Tuesday night debates earlier this week, and you can see a live fact checking chat that the New York Times ran simultaneously with the debate here. The New York Times is also offering e-mail alerts as news occurs in the New York Mayoral contest. You can sign up and follow the election race here: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/nyregion/trailside-to-go.html#step0

Residents of New York City will also have the opportunity to elect a new New York City Comptroller and New York City Public Advocate, all five Borough Presidents, and seats on the New York City Council.

If you are a resident of New York City, you can find out exactly who’s on your ballot by visiting the "Who's on Your Ballot?" website: http://whosontheballot.org/ and entering your address. (Your address will not be stored.) The site is under the auspices of a not-for profit project of the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University. It also provides updates on the election contest and useful links to election resources, including the New York City and New York State Board of Elections.

Check back soon for our next blog post to highlight resources on this topic.

In the meantime, keep calm and read on.