The Opioid Crisis
Today, the Dickinson Law Review is hosting a symposium, Crisis of Authority: The Effects of Federalism on Opioid Policy. A number of experts will be speaking at the symposium including Dickinson Law alum and adjunct professor, the Honorable Jessica E. Brewbaker, from the Cumberland County Court of Common Pleas, who presides over Pennsylvania’s first Opioid Intervention Court.
Addiction to opioids and overdoses from opioid use have been recognized as a national crisis. Over 130 people die every day in the United States from an opioid overdose.1 For those who wish to learn more, the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) has put together a guide with a number of resources about the opioid crisis, which can be found at: https://libguides.fdlp.gov/opioids.
The Law Library also recently acquired the following books on the opioid crisis:
The United States of Opioids : A Prescription for Liberating a Nation in Pain by Call Number: RC568.O4545 2019
Author Harry Nelson is the leading healthcare legal expert in the country addressing the worsening problems in how we treat pain and addiction. His insights have earned the attention of lead policymakers and regulators at every federal agency touching the opioid crisis. The United States of Opioids offers a roadmap out of the crisis that empowers and offers practical resources for people, families, employers, and communities to connect, prevent, and intervene in addiction, chronic pain and the rising death toll. The author explains: why coverage of greedy drug companies and doctors has been reductive, missing the real story, shortchanging the American public and impeding progress; the structural roots of the crisis in multiple points of health system failure; why healthcare industry and government efforts will never be enough to tackle the crisis; how grassroots action can force a new conversation about the parallel crisis of rising suicide rates; why the opioid crisis, including spiraling overdose death rates, will continue to worsen until we take on root causes, including rising rates of anxiety, social isolation, chronic stress, and despair; and offers practical steps we can take to address the opioid crisis.
Call Number: HV5805.C485R55 2019
A riveting memoir of life inside the drug wars, and a never-before-seen glimpse of the inner workings of the DEA, Drug Warrior is a critical examination of how America’s opioid crisis came to be, and the extraordinary people fighting it. The book tells the story of Riley’s decades-long hunt for the world’s most wanted drug lord, set against the rise of modern international drug trafficking, and America’s spiraling opioid epidemic. Jack Riley started his career as an undercover street agent in Chicago busting small-time dealers. By the time he worked his way up to second in command of the DEA-a post few field agents ever reach-he had overseen every major mission to capture foreign drug kingpins since the 1990s, and had witnessed first-hand how El Chapo changed the game. As brilliant as he was lethal, Chapo not only decimated his competition, he foresaw Americans’ dependence on opioids and heroin, and manipulated supply to increase demand. Riley’s story culminates as he and the DEA win their greatest victory – the capture and extradition of his long-time nemesis – and Chapo faces his darkest fear: U.S. justice.
1 National Institute on Drug Abuse, Opioid Overdose Crisis, https://www.drugabuse.gov/drugs-abuse/opioids/opioid-overdose-crisis
Government Resources for a Safe Halloween
Halloween is a time for fun and celebration in the form of costume dress-up, festivities, and yummy treats, but the primary focus should always be on everyone’s health and safety. From decorative eyewear to in-the-moment decisions about social media posts, these selected online federal government resources may help ensure a safe and enjoyable Halloween for trick-or-treaters of all ages.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
- Novelty Makeup
- Decorative Contact Lenses
- Halloween Safety: Costumes, Candy, and Colored Contact Lenses
Department of Homeland Security
Transportation Security Administration
United States Census Bureau
Study Aids
What are study aids? Study aids are materials, other than your casebook, that help explain the law.
Study aids can help you by:
- providing a useful overview of a confusing subject area,
- identifying the rule of law from a group of cases,
- double checking your understanding of the material, and
- offering an alternative explanation or examples to help you make sense of difficult material.
In other words, study aids are meant to supplement, not take the place of, the work that you are already doing in your courses.
There are many types of study aids. To help you determine which type of study aid may work best for you, and to help you locate study aids, the Law Library has created a guide for you, which can be accessed through this link.
As a reminder, in addition to print study aids, the Law Library provides you with access to these online study aid products:
- West Academic Online Study Aids has audio lectures and digital versions of nutshells, hornbooks, treatises, and other study guides. West Academic Online Study Aids may be accessed through this link on the Law Library’s A to Z Database list. However, it is recommended that users create an account to take full advantage of all the features available within West Academic Online Study Aids, such as highlighting and note taking. To create an account, please visit subscription.westacademic.com. You must use your Penn State-Dickinson Law email address when creating an account. During the set-up process, you will need to select your school, “Dickinson Law.” Once you have created an account, you will receive an email asking you to confirm or verify your email address. This email may end up in your spam or junk folder.
- Quimbee has video lessons, practice questions/exams, case briefs, and flashcards. To sign up for Quimbee, visit https://www.quimbee.com/users/organization_sign_up and follow the instructions to create an account. You must use your Penn State-Dickinson Law email address when creating an account. After you have created an account, you will receive an email asking you to confirm or verify your email address. This email may end up in your spam or junk folder.
If you have questions about study aids or any of the other Law Library’s resources, please contact a law librarian.
Genocide Symposium and Book Launch
Penn State Dickinson Law’s Responding to Atrocity Crimes Symposium and Book Launch takes place today, October 18th, beginning at 1:30 pm in Apfelbaum Auditorium. The symposium features:
- James Finkel, addressing The American Experience at 1:30 pm;
- Max du Plessis, discussing The African Experience at 2:45 pm;
- Judge Guénaël Mettraux, presenting Genocide: Its Purpose and Role in International Law at 4:00 pm; and,
- The Book Launch will be held from 5:00 – 6:30 pm in the Ridge Commons to celebrate the first volume of Judge Mettraux’s series, International Crimes: Law and Practice. Volume 1: Genocide.
Honorable Guénaël Mettraux is currently an affiliate faculty member of Dickinson Law.
International Crimes: Law and Practice. Volume 1: Genocide by Guénaël Mettraux
Call Number: KZ7180.M48 2019
Judge Mettraux’s six-volume compendium, International Crimes: Law and Practice, will provide the most detailed and authoritative account to-date of the law of international crimes. It is a scholarly tour de force providing a unique blend of academic rigor and an insight into the practice of international criminal law. The compendium is unrivaled in its breadth and depth, covering almost a century of legal practice, dozens of jurisdictions (national and international), thousands of decisions and judgments and hundreds of cases. This first volume discusses in detail the law of genocide: its definition, elements, normative status, and relationship to the other core international crimes.
Stop by the Law Library to browse the current display of selected materials on genocide and featured book of the author.
Chromebooks
The Law Library has two Chromebooks available for law school community borrowing. Lightweight and effortless to use, Chromebooks are ideal for internet browsing, creating spontaneous notes, among other functions. They are checked out for 4 hours at a time.
It is simple to get started using a Chromebook. Power it on and click on “Let’s Go”. Follow the instructions provided with the Chromebook. Select “More Options” if you do not have a Google account.
There is no need to install any software and no setup is required. All the appropriate software accessed is located on Google’s cloud servers, which automatically updates when the Chromebook is opened, ensuring current updates and security.
In turn, nothing personal should remain on the Chromebook after your use. Your personal documents and settings will not be stored. As recommended, do not save any personal settings on the Chromebook you borrow. All settings will be deleted when the Chromebook is returned to the library.
An ideal use for a Chromebook would be for collaborative study in one of the Law Library’s group study rooms. All of them are equipped with Solstice software, which enhances the ability to participate in sharing information to the screens in the study rooms. You can use the wi-fi connection from a Chromebook, laptop, or mobile device.
Forget your laptop? Need another laptop for your study session? Please check out a Chromebook from the circulation desk!
Domestic Violence and Online Safety
October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Domestic violence is a challenging topic personally, legally, and for society. Some people are in abusive relationships whether they know it or not, some people don’t know how to help a person in an abusive relationship, some people don’t understand the dynamics of domestic abuse, and the legal system doesn’t always protect victims. Many organizations have information available online for victims, some of which are listed at the end of this post. However, victims may not feel safe seeking information online when it seems that there are so many ways online activity can be tracked. Seeing a pop-up ad for the last thing searched for on Amazon is obvious but, having search information retained in browser history could place victims at a heightened risk of violence. Victims should be aware of the risk of searching for assistance online and consider taking some precautions. If it is not possible to search for information using a device that will not be accessible by the abuser, such as a computer in a public library or a friend’s computer, there are ways to browse in private.
How to Browse in Private
Many browsers offer ways to browse privately. Private browsing allows online searching without search history being retained. However, private browsers and search engines are never 100% anonymous. The internet provider, an employer, website owners, and law enforcement may obtain access to online activity. Even so, some privacy will improve safety when browsing online.
Google Chrome offers “incognito” windows which are obvious because the browser background is black not white, helping you to quickly identify which type of window you have open. Unfortunately, this very feature may result in questions about the use of the incognito window. More information about private browsing can be found when opening an incognito page. Mozilla Firefox has a similar feature called “private browsing” which is indicated by a small purple icon in the upper right corner of the screen. Microsoft Edges offers an “InPrivate” browser window which is indicated by a Blue “InPrivate” tab which remains visible if the browser is in the privacy mode. Microsoft offers a short explanation of the “InPrivate” mode once a page is opened and provides a link to a lengthy overall privacy statement regarding overall browser privacy. Caution: all browsers indicate that they will save bookmarks and downloads.
Another way to search in private is to use DuckDuckGo, a search engine designed specifically to protect privacy. DuckDuckGo can be searched through any browser and can be added to Chrome as a default search engine instead of Google. Users will be able to open an incognito window to curb browser tracking and DuckDuckGo will prevent search history tracking.
Where to Find Help
The Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence (PCADV) is a primary source of information for victims, advocates, and educators in Pennsylvania. PCADV, like many online providers of information on domestic violence, has incorporated important safety features into their website to help protect victims of domestic violence. In the lower right corner of every page is a box that looks like this:
Clicking on the arrow after the “About Browsing Safety” statement will direct to another page that explains how the safety feature works, what is protected, and what is not. Upon going back to the previous page, only the red button will be visible allowing for a quick escape from the page should the need arise. Clicking on the red exit button will direct to another default page such as the Weather Channel, Google, or another innocuous page. From this redirect page, the “back” button will be disabled.
Like PCADV, the National Domestic Violence Hotline offers a quick escape button in the form of a large purple X in the lower right-hand corner of the screen. A banner at the top of the page indicates that when using the Microsoft Edge browser, clicking on the X will redirect to a Google search screen and users will not be able to re-enter the site by clicking the “back” button.
In all cases, victims of domestic violence should seek assistance in the safest way possible.
Domestic Violence Resources:
Websites:
- Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence https://www.pcadv.org/
- Understanding Abuse https://www.pcadv.org/about-abuse/
- Domestic Violence Prevention https://www.pcadv.org/about-abuse/prevention/
- Intervention https://www.pcadv.org/about-abuse/intervention/
- PA Safe Law https://pasafelaw.org/ (Legal assistance for Domestic violence and other related matters)
- National Domestic Violence Hotline https://www.thehotline.org/
- The Violence Against Women Act https://www.thehotline.org/resources/vawa/
- State resources for victims and survivors https://www.thehotline.org/resources/victims-and-survivors/
- Firearms and Domestic Violence https://www.thehotline.org/resources/firearms-dv/
- Why Do Victims Stay? https://ncadv.org/why-do-victims-stay
Resources available via the CAT:
- Domestic Violence Law by D. Kelly Weisberg https://catalog.libraries.psu.edu/catalog/25380181
- A Troubled Marriage: Domestic Violence and the Legal System by Leigh Goodmark https://catalog.libraries.psu.edu/catalog/7654272
- Decriminalizing Domestic Violence: A Balanced Policy Approach to Intimate Partner Violence by Leigh Goodmark https://catalog.libraries.psu.edu/catalog/25051650
- My Partner, My Enemy: An Unflinching View of Domestic Violence and New Ways to Protect Victims by John Michael Leventhal https://catalog.libraries.psu.edu/catalog/18365395
- Feminist Advocacy: Gendered Organizations in Community-based Responses to Domestic Violence by Andrea J. Nichols https://catalog.libraries.psu.edu/catalog/14991076
- Abetting Batterers: What Police, Prosecutors, and Courts Aren’t Doing to Protect America’s Women by Andrew R. Klein and Jessica L. Klein https://catalog.libraries.psu.edu/catalog/18647338
- Telling Amy’s Story (DVD) https://catalog.libraries.psu.edu/catalog/6426627
- “Actress and advocate Mariska Hargitay and Detective Deirdri Fishel present an emotional story about America’s pervasive and largely unreported epidemic–domestic violence. Telling Amy’s story is based on a timeline of events leading up to a domestic violence homicide that occurred in central Pennsylvania in 2001.”
The United States Supreme Court
Pumpkin spice everything and falling leaves, but perhaps not the unseasonably warm temperatures, usher in October and the start of the United States Supreme Court’s October 2019 Term. The court calendar shows that the Supreme Court is in private conference today, October 1st, to discuss cases and vote on petitions for review.
Next Monday, October 7th will be the first day of oral arguments for the term. On the first day, arguments will be heard in the following cases: Kahler v. Kansas, a case challenging the lack of insanity defense; Ramos v. Louisiana, a case considering whether the Sixth Amendment requires a unanimous jury verdict; and Peter v. NantKwest, a case considering the procedures for challenging the denial of a Patent by the Patent and Trademark Office. On October 8th, the court will hear a trio of cases that SCOTUSBlog asserts “could prove to be some of the biggest of the term.” The issues concern whether federal employment discrimination laws, which bar discrimination “because of sex” protect gay, lesbian, and transgender employees. (Embedded links direct to SCOTUSblog posts which contain embedded links to case proceedings.)
Information about the oral arguments, including the availability of transcripts and audio of the arguments, can be found on the court’s website. Slip opinions, the first version of the Court’s opinions, are posted within minutes of the issuance of the opinion, remain on the website for the entire Term, and are published in the United States Reports. Electronic copies of the opinions from US Reports can be found either on the Supreme Court’s website (1991-2012) or on the website for the Law Library of Congress (1791-2004).
Print Resources:
United States Supreme Court Slip Opinions, 2nd Floor – Reporters
Official Reports of the Supreme Court (Preliminary Print), 2nd Floor – Reporters
United States Reports, 2nd Floor – Reporters
Databases:
ProQuest Supreme Court Insight
Supreme Court Insight is a complete online collection of full opinions from Supreme Court argued cases, including per decision, dockets, oral arguments, joint appendices and amicus briefs. Content associated with each case is compiled and organized to facilitate understanding of the judicial process and is also retrievable on a document by document basis.
CQ Supreme Court Collection
CQ Supreme Court Collection contains summaries and analysis of more than four thousand major decisions, historical and contemporary, including all cases in which the Burger and Rehnquist Courts (October 1969 to the present) issued a written opinion. Includes links to the full text of the cases. The collection can be searched by topic, justice, and case name. Includes tools to research justices’ voting records and opinion alignments.
HeinOnline: U.S. Supreme Court Library
Complete coverage of the official U.S. Reports bound volumes as well as preliminary prints, slip opinions, and books and periodicals related to the U.S. Supreme Court are included in this library.
HeinOnline: History of Supreme Court Nominations
This library features the complete print series Supreme Court of the U.S. Hearings and Reports on Successful and Unsuccessful Nominations of Supreme Court Justices by the Senate Judiciary Committee. The Browse by Justice option allows you to see relevant works related to that Justice, including links to articles, a bibliography of other works, and links to Scholarly Articles. (Current through 2018, Kavanaugh, Brett M.)
International Day of Peace 2019 – Climate Action for Peace
The International Day of Peace was unanimously established by the General Assembly of the United Nations, in 1981, to designate September 21st as a day to work toward strengthening the ideals of peace through education and serve as an advocacy tool. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the UN Resolution on the Program of Action on a Culture of Peace, a list of action items aimed at fostering a culture of peace. Some of the action items include: fostering a culture of peace through education; promoting sustainable economic and social development; promoting respect for all human rights; and promoting international peace and security.
This year, the theme for the International Day of Peace is “Climate Action for Peace.” This theme leverages the work of the “17 Sustainable Development Goals” which were adopted by the United Nations Member States in 2015 as a path toward a better world for everyone, which includes peace. Sustainable Development Goal 13, “Climate Action”, is “a call to lower greenhouse emissions, build resilience and improve education on climate change.” At a cursory glance, it may seem unusual to link climate change with peace, climate change is an immediate threat to international peace and security. “Natural disasters displace three times as many people as conflicts, forcing millions to leave their homes and seek safety elsewhere.” One only need look at the daily news to see the impact migrating populations are having around the world. Climate change causes natural disasters which displace people who must migrate to survive but, migrants are not always welcome and issues involving migrant populations may lead to civil unrest if not outright war.
To learn more about how climate change impacts peace and what you can do to help, click through the links above or check out the website for International Peace Day. This year, on September 23rd, the United Nations is taking action by convening a Climate Action Summit to develop clear plans to implement the Paris Agreement by focusing on the activities that create the most greenhouse gas emissions where change could result in the greatest impact worldwide.
Additional info:
Find out more at http://www.un.org/en/events/peaceday/index.shtml and https://internationaldayofpeace.org/get-involved/
Twitter: #peaceday #ClimateAction
Constitution Day 2019
On this day, September 17th, in 1787, the Constitution of the United States was signed in Philadelphia’s Pennsylvania State House (now Independence Hall), the location of the Constitutional Convention. The fifty-five delegates who met between May 25 and September 17 of that year rejected the weaker Articles of Confederation, and produced a document that established the framework for a new form of republican government.
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
— Preamble to the Constitution of the United States
In 2004, Congress passed legislation establishing Constitution Day, a federal holiday commemorating the signing of the U.S. Constitution on Sept. 17, 1787. This year marks the 232nd anniversary of the historic event.
The Law Library will again distribute free pocket-sized copies of the U.S. Constitution, courtesy of the Federal Depository Library Program (while supplies last). They are available at the circulation desk display area. Stop by to pick up one!
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