A notary is a public official responsible for independently verifying signatures and oaths. Depending on how a document is written, a notarization serves to affirm the identity of a signer and the fact that they personally executed their signature. A notarization, or notarial act, officially documents the identity of a party to a document or transaction and the occasion of the signing that others can rely upon, usually at face value. A notary's authentication is intended to be reliable, to avoid the inconvenience of having to locate a signer to have them personally verify their signature, as well as to document the execution of a document perhaps long after the lifetime of the signer and the notary. An oath is a sworn statement. In most cases a person will swear that a written statement, oral statement, or testimony they are about to give is true. A notary can document that the notary administered an oath to an individual.

"The Most Important Treatise on Criminal Law Produced by American Legal Scholarship" First published to great acclaim in 1947, Hall's General Principles of Criminal Law is one of the undisputed classics in its field. It provides more than a broad overview. Drawing on his expertise in jurisprudence and the work of the legal realists, it analyzes the principles that comprise criminal activity with an emphasis on its creation and definition by officials. This process is explored in the chapters on criminology, criminal theory and penal theory and, in more specific terms, the chapters on legality, mens rea, harm, causation, punishment, strict liability, ignorance and mistake, necessity and coercion, mental disease, intoxication and criminal attempt. "For many years, our standard work on criminal law has been Bishop's. First published in 1856, Bishop's is the only American book in the field that has conspicuously influenced our criminal law. (...) When Jerome Hall's, General Principles of Criminal Law (1947) appeared, it represented the first significant effort to articulate the principles of criminal law since Bishop's era. Hall's work may, in fact, represent the most important treatise on criminal law produced by American legal scholarship." --Fred Cohen, Journal of Legal Education 16 (1963-64) 260.

ALWD Citation Manual: A Professional System of Citation, now in its Fourth Edition, upholds a single and consistent system of citation for all forms of legal writing. Clearly and attractively presented in an easy-to-use format, edited by Darby Dickerson, a leading authority on American legal citation, the ALWD Citation Manual is simply an outstanding teaching tool. Endorsed by the Association of Legal Writing Directors, (ALWD), a nationwide society of legal writing program directors, the ALWD Citation Manual: A Professional System of Citation, features a single, consistent, logical system of citation that can be used for any type of legal document complete coverage of the citation rules that includes: - basic citation - citation for primary and secondary sources - citation of electronic sources - how to incorporate citations into documents - how to quote material and edit quotes properly - court-specific citation formats, commonly used abbreviations, and a sample legal memorandum with proper citation in the Appendices two-color page design that flags key points and highlights examples Fast Formatsquick guides for double-checking citations and Sidebars with facts and tips for avoiding common problems diagrams and charts that illustrate citation style at a glance The Fourth Edition provides facsimiles of research sources that a first-year law student would use, annotated with the elements in each citation and a sample citation for each flexible citation options for (1) the United States as a party to a suit and (2) using contractions in abbreviations new rules addressing citation of interdisciplinary sources (e.g., plays, concerts, operas) and new technology (e.g., Twitter, e-readers, YouTube video) updated examples throughout the text expanded list of law reviews in Appendix 5 Indispensable by design, the ALWD Citation Manual: A Professional System of Citation, Fourth Edition, keeps on getting better