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ISBA Electronic News
ISBA Week in Review
Jun 27, 2005
Hi !
In this issue, you'll read:
Free Legal Research for ISBA Members
Iowa State Fair Trial By Jury
Join The Iowa State Bar Association at the 2005 Iowa State Fair
Free Legal Research for ISBA Members
The Iowa State Bar Association is putting finishing touches on a contract with Fastcase that will provide free online legal research to all Iowa Bar Association members by September 1, 2005. Members will be able to access the service through the Bar’s Web site, http://www.iowabar.org. Bar members will have access to all 50 state’s supreme court and court of appeals opinions from at least 1950 to the present along with an extensive Federal Package (please see complete list below) and the Iowa Code, Administrative Code, and Constitution.
Fastcase is a premiere American provider of online legal research. The company's patent-pending research software helps busy lawyers sort through the clutter, ranking the best cases and statutes first, and enabling users to re-sort search results to find answers fast. Fastcase is an American company based in Washington, D.C. and founded in 1999. Users can search all jurisdictions at one time, resulting in the most often cited references from the database. Inquires can be made using keywords, Boolean phrases and citations. Fastcase also features dual-column printing and hyperlinked citations. ISBA members can access the Fastcase website at www.fastcase.com and try out an online demonstration at anytime. On September 1, members will be able to log on using their username and passwords assigned by the ISBA. At that time all members will have full use of the Fastcase database. Please contact Harry Shipley at the bar office if you have any questions. 515-243-3179Features - Boolean and natural language searching
- Multiple citation lookup and extraction
- Sort by search relevance
- Sort by document authority (most cited)
- Search by date range, jurisdiction, and other fields
- Fast document navigation and term navigation
- Most relevant sections displayed in search results
- Hyperlinked case citations
- Page numbers listed throughout cases
- Dual-column printing
Authority Check
You can find other cases that cite your case using Fastcase's Authority Check feature. Once you find a useful case, this feature can help you find other similar cases. Authority Check also can help you check whether a case is good law. Authority check is available on the Result screen and on the Document screen, and it lists many of the later citations to your case. On the results page, Authority Check compares how often cases are cited, allowing users to sort the results to bring the most authoritative cases to the top of the results list. With Fastcase, the seminal case you need often is first, not last.Fastcase content
State
All 50 state’s supreme court and court of appeals opinions reported in any of the commercial state reporters, from at least 1950 to the present (Some state collections go back as far as the 1800s – Iowa goes back to December 1949 Framed from the Iowa Legislature - The Iowa Code
- The Iowa Administrative Code
- Iowa Court Rules
Framed from various state Legislatures- The state statutes and codes of all 50 states
- The administrative regulations of most states
Federal
Supreme Court 1754 - Present
1st Circuit 1924- Present
2nd Circuit 1924 - Present
3rd Circuit 1924- Present
4th Circuit 1924- Present
5th Circuit 1924- Present
6th Circuit 1924- Present
7th Circuit 1924- Present
8th Circuit 1924- Present
9th Circuit 1924- Present
10th Circuit 1924- Present
11th Circuit 1981 - Present
DC Circuit 1924- Present
Federal Circuit 1982 – Present
Fed Supp for Northern and Southern Districts of Iowa 1912- Present
Iowa State Fair Trial By Jury
"The State Fair Committee is looking for volunteers for the Iowa State Fair Trial By Jury event scheduled for August 11-21, 2005. The event will be held every evening from 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm at the Variety Theater in the Family Center on the Fairgrounds (sometimes known as the Maytag building). The building is located on the north side of the Fairgrounds, west of the Grandstand and east of the DNR building. We need volunteers to serve as moderators, lawyers, witnesses, judges and court reporters. The committee has prepared a civil problem and a criminal problem. The civil problem is a car accident/personal injury and the criminal problem is a robbery case. Any interested volunteers will receive a packet that includes the problem, as well as free admission and free parking at the Fair! Questions or concerns can be sent to Loretta Harvey at 641-782-7051 or loretta_harvey@hotmail.com.
Join The Iowa State Bar Association at the 2005 Iowa State Fair
This is a casting call for volunteers from across the state to staff the new and improved ISBA booth at the 2005 Iowa State Fair! Join us from August 11th through the 21st at the ISBA booth in the Varied Industries Building, where this year’s booth will feature informational materials for the public, video presentations and a drawing for a big screen TV! Our booth was such a great success last year, we have doubled in size to bring more information and more resources to the public in a comfortable and air-conditioned setting! We need attorney volunteers to staff the booth from 9-9 each day of the fair. Over 100 attorneys volunteered their services last year--- we would like to see you again, and some new faces as well. Help put a face on your Iowa State Bar Association by bringing your smile to our table. Volunteers will receive complimentary tickets to the Iowa State Fair and a snazzy ISBA polo shirt.
We hope to have another great turnout this year among the bar staff for food, fun and good times at the State Fair! Bring your friends and family to “America’s Favorite Fair… Right in Your Own Backyard”. The booth is a joint project of the Civics Committee and the Public Relations Committee of the ISBA. Please contact our coordinator, Brett Toresdahl at isbavlp@dwx.com or call 800-325-2909 for more information.
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