Elmer Masters, Director of Internet Development at the Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction, has a new column which he had graciously agreed to share with LLRX readers. In this article he examines the concept of using the open nature of a Linux powered Raspberry Pi to better understand some of the tech tools we use all the time. He describes Raspberry Pi as an excellent little computer and a great tool for learning programming, learning about Linux, prototyping interesting things, and more. Thanks Elmer and Slaw!

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Lorette Weldon discusses how busy business professionals determined to make the time to share and learn best practices from colleagues use a range of methods to accomplish this goal. But professionals seeking to talk to, travel and engage with experts in the skills that they wish to obtain and/or develop may be stymied in their efforts. In the late 1980’s, these Three T’s were formalized as a teaching method for the “tight time” individual. It was initially a method to help unite parent and child as they worked together on educational needs. Taking this further along, Weldon brings us forward through the dynamics of ELA, my Electronic Library Assistant, used to could build skills by taking the experts or teachers on the road. In order to use ELA as a training process, the Three T’s approach allows professionals to employ the skills of talking, traveling and tinkering with devices that they used daily in personal and work life.

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Ken Strutin begins his article stating that for the most part, the decision of whether to grant a pardon or commutation rests on the discretion of the executive. He continues, it is a constitutional authority that leaves little recourse if the President or a governor chooses not to act or to do so parsimoniously. He notes the downward trend in the granting of clemency begs the question of whether this is due to some fault in the process or in the decider or some other aggregation of factors. And he takes up the challenge of legal scholars and petitioners to speculate on whether there is any relief for a petrified constitutional remedy. Ken’s article highlights some notable decisions and scholarship about clemency practices and the legal theories underlying a mandate for its application. It is an important resource on a significant issue by a subject matter expert whose work continuously expands our understanding of complex issues related to civil liberties and the law.

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