Modern Law Library

A new book by Judge Frederic Block gives a behind-the-scenes look at a judge’s thoughts and feelings when imposing punishments. Block is candid and self-reflective in the book and also wonders where the line should be drawn in exercising judicial powers. In this new episode of the Modern Law Library podcast, Olivia Aguilar of ABA Publishing speaks with Block about sentencing issues, the details surrounding the cases covered in the book, and the most important case that he has ever handled.

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One year after Brett Kavanaugh's tumultuous nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court, questions that arose during the nomination hearings still linger. In this episode, the ABA Journal's Lee Rawles speaks with New York Times reporters Robin Pogrebin and Kate Kelly about their book The Education of Brett Kavanaugh: An Investigation. Progrebin and Kelly discuss what it was like to report on Kavanaugh's nomination in real time, and to speak with the women who accused him of sexual assaults dating back to his high school and college years. They discuss what they learned from people who'd known him at various points in his life, and the conclusions they came to at the end of their year-long investigation.

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As director of the National Legal Research Group’s jury research services division, Jeffrey T. Frederick is an expert on jury selection strategies. His new book, Mastering Voir Dire and Jury Selection, Fourth Edition: Gain an Edge in Questioning and Selecting Your Jury, shares how to develop and ask the questions to uncover information. In this new episode of the Modern Law Library podcast, Olivia Aguilar of ABA Publishing talks to Frederick about the significance of nonverbal cues during questioning, why open-ended questioning is the best way to secure necessary information, and how you can break the ice with a conversational tone.

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Tens of thousands of people worked at Ground Zero after the World Trade Center attacks in 2001, looking for survivors, sifting for human remains and breathing in the dust of the pulverized buildings. Their actions were heroic and lauded at the time, but as the months and years passed, many began to become gravely ill. William Groner was part of a legal team who brought a mass tort case that secured settlements for more than 10,000 such clients. In 9/12: The Epic Battle of the Ground Zero Responders, Groner and journalist Tom Teicholz tell stories about the individuals involved and the twists and turns of a legal battle with billion-dollar stakes. Groner speaks with the ABA Journal's Lee Rawles about how this battle changed him personally, the challenge of "being ahead of the science," and why the heroism his clients showed is now more important than ever.

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From connected cars and industrial systems to toothbrushes and refrigerators, "internet of things" technology seems to be everywhere in the daily lives of consumers. With these modern conveniences, there are also privacy violations and security risks that must be considered while using them. The first comprehensive legal text focused on IoT, The Internet of Things: Legal Issues, Policy, and Practical Strategies, provides perspectives on public policy and assesses the broad range of legal issues, such as licensing, liability, electronic discovery and intellectual property, while addressing the current lack of regulation. In this new episode of the Modern Law Library podcast, Olivia Aguilar of ABA Publishing speaks with co-editor Cynthia H. Cwik about why IoT devices are some of the most vulnerable hacker targets, the impact of these devices on national security, and potential future regulatory measures.

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Ed Scott was the first ever non-white owner and operator of a catfish plant in the nation. The former sharecropper-turned-landowner was part of a class-action lawsuit that resulted in upon one of the largest civil rights settlements in U.S. history. With the settlement of Pigford v. Glickman in 1999, almost $1 billion dollars has been issued to over 13,000 African American farmers to date. In 2010, the second half of the case was settled for another $1.2 billion in Pigford II. Scott’s legal battle and personal history inspired Julian Rankin to write Catfish Dream: Ed Scott’s Fight for his Family Farm and Racial Justice in the Mississippi Delta. In this episode, Rankin speaks with his cousin, the ABA Journal’s Brenan Sharp, about how Rankin came to meet Scott; how his background in visual arts informs his writing; and what Scott’s story shows us about the struggle for racial and economic justice in the Mississippi Delta.

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We often associate the #MeToo movement with the entertainment industry, but sexual harassment is a widespread problem in all industries. The hierarchical nature of the workplace influences victims’ fear that reporting harassment will result in retaliation, and they do not feel protected by the very systems that are in place to protect them.

Lauren Stiller Rikleen addresses these structural issues in her new book, The Shield of Silence: How Power Perpetuates a Culture of Harassment and Bullying in the Workplace. This new release combines thought-provoking research, extensive interviews and strategic recommendations for addressing misconduct in a wide range of scenarios. Rikleen argues that if we are to move forward, all sectors must recognize the systemic problems that have left victims unprotected and work to create a culture of respect in the workplace.

In this episode of the Modern Law Library, ABA Publishing’s Olivia Aguilar speaks with Rikleen about how workplace structures protect those accused of misconduct, why the study of unconscious bias is critical when discussing sexual harassment, and what is next for the #MeToo movement.

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In 2009 and 2010, two cargo ships packed with refugees fleeing the Sri Lankan civil war arrived on the shores of Canada. Those refugees inspired Sharon Bala's debut novel, "The Boat People," which won the 2019 Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction. Told through the eyes of a Sri Lankan man seeking asylum for himself and his son; a young Sri Lankan-Canadian law student reluctantly assigned to help with his case; and the granddaughter of Japanese immigrants to Canada interned during World War II, who will have to decide whether the details of his story add up. In this episode of the Modern Law Library, Bala speaks with the ABA Journal's Lee Rawles about the true stories behind her fictional novel, and what winning the prize named for the author of "To Kill a Mockingbird" means to her.

When it comes to working with an expert or expert witness, there can be a lot of moving parts to keep track of. Navigating a relationship with an expert can be challenging, but it can be done successfully if both you and your expert pay attention to each other throughout the process. Author and attorney Janet S. Kole examines the complex issue of expert witnesses in her new book How to Train Your Expert: Making Your Client’s Case. In this episode of the Modern Law Library, ABA Publishing’s Olivia Aguilar speaks with Kole about common mistakes that young lawyers make while working with an expert, the ins and outs of the written report and how to avoid “impermissible ventriloquism.”

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When Simon Tam booked the first gig for The Slants, there was a major obstacle to overcome: The band did not technically have any other members yet. There was just Tam and his dream of creating a rock band made up entirely of Asian American musicians. The bassist soon recruited enough musicians to perform the gig, but that would not turn out to be The Slants' biggest challenge. That would come with a trademark battle over the band's "disparaging" name that dragged on for more than a decade until it finally reached the U.S. Supreme Court. In this episode of the Modern Law Library, Tam joins the ABA Journal's Lee Rawles to discuss his band and his new book, Slanted: How an Asian American Troublemaker Took on the Supreme Court.

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