Robert Ambrogi Blog
Here is a round-up of notable news from recent weeks:
Electronic filing at the Supreme Court. If you think of the Supreme Court as a judicial luddite, think again. In his year-end report on the federal judiciary, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. revealed that the court is currently developing its own electronic filing system, which may be operational as soon as 2016. “Once the system is implemented, all filings at the Court—petitions and responses to petitions, merits briefs, and all other types of motions and applications—will be available to the legal community and the public without cost on the Court’s website,” he said. When the new system launches, the official filing of documents will still be on paper, with electronic copies required in addition, but electronic filing will eventually become the official form of filing, he said.
Best Canadian law blogs. The Clawbies — the annual awards for the best Canadian law blogs — have been announced. Leading the honorees as Best Canadian Law Blog is Double Aspect, the Canadian constitutional law blog written by Leonid Sirota, a J.S.D. candidate at NYU School of Law. Three blogs were recognized as Best Practitioner Blogs: Environmental Law and Litigation, by Dianne Saxe of Toronto; Family Health Law Blog, by Lisa Feldstein of Markham, Ontario; and Labour Pains, by Sean Bawden of Kelly Santini in Ottawa.
An update on e-discovery cooperation. The Sedona Conference’s Cooperation Proclamation has played a key role in defining the process of litigation discovery in the electronic age. Now, Sedona is out with an updated version of its publication, The Sedona Conference Cooperation Proclamation: Resources for the Judiciary. This update, the first since 2012, updates case law and other sources of information, adds a new section of noteworthy articles, and adds a new section on judicial ethics in the context of electronic discovery. While the publication is targeted at judges, it is useful to any lawyer who practices electronic discovery. Download it free here.
Database of collateral consequences. The American Bar Association’s Criminal Justice Section has launched the National Inventory of the Collateral Consequences of Conviction, an online database that identifies legal sanctions and restrictions imposed upon people because of their criminal record. The database lists federal and state laws and regulations that restrict employment, housing and education benefits and other opportunities for people with convictions. The database can be used by attorneys to help them provide more informed counsel to clients, as well as by lawmakers, advocacy groups and others with an interest in the issue.