Cornell a LIIder in cyberlaw resources

In the last column, I suggested that information assurance (IA) professionals need to keep abreast of legal developments and provided a list of resources for self-study of cyberlaw.

Today I am pointing readers to the single most valuable research tool anyone can find in following developments in law that affect IA (or any kind of law).

Cornell University’s Legal Information Institute (LII) was established in 1992 as a non-profit entity with a $250,000 grant under the leadership of Peter Martin and Thomas Bruce. The site has no advertising, provides completely free access to all its services, and is “the most linked to web resource in the field of law.” The site generates “over 40,000 user sessions a day” and provides services to users from the United States and “over 70 foreign nations.” Services include full texts of

• Constitutions & Codes
o U.S. Code
o U.S. Constitution
o Code of Federal Regulations
o Federal Rules of Civil Procedure
o Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure
o Federal Rules of Evidence
o Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure
o Uniform Commercial Code
o Other Uniform Laws
o State Constitutions & Codes

• Court opinions
o U.S. Supreme Court Opinions
o Other Federal Court Opinions
o New York Court of Appeals Opinions
o Other States: Opinions

• Law by source or jurisdiction
o Federal law
o State law
o World law

• An online “Introduction to Basic Legal Citation” (2007 edition) by Prof. Martin 

• Topical Libraries
o American Legal Ethics Library
o Social Security Library

• Directories to Law Organizations, Judges, Lawyers and Legal Academics

• Subscriptions to and content from the liibulletin created by Cornell Law School students

For those who are actively following legal developments, you can sign up for RSS feeds on specific titles in the U.S. Code. To illustrate the kind of topic that might be useful to IA professionals, I’m signed up to be notified of developments in Title 6 (Domestic Security), Title 18 (Crimes and Criminal Procedure), Title 35 (Patents) and Title 47 (Telegraphs, Telephones, and Radiotelegraphs).

Right now, the LII is soliciting donations to continue its important work; the nice letter I received from Director Tom Bruce actually prompted this article. Please donate online or download a printable, mailable form to accompany your generous gift.

I know that criminals around the world will detest you for your willingness to help the LII.

Read more about security in Network World's Security section.

M. E. Kabay, PhD, CISSP-ISSMP, specializes in security and operations management consulting services and teaching. He is Chief Technical Officer of Adaptive Cyber Security Instruments, Inc. and Associate Professor of Information Assurance in the School of Business and Management at Norwich University. Visit his Web site for white papers and course materials.