OREGON LEGAL RESEARCH

Oregon First Congressional District Election Ballots Due January 31, 2012

2012-01-27T10:27:00.000-08:00

Visit the Oregon Secretary of State's elections website for general information and links.

Check with your county's elections office for drop-off instructions:
1) List of all County Election Officials

2) Washington County Elections

Jurors: Pay Attention to the Judge’s Instructions, or Land in Jail

2012-01-27T08:35:00.000-08:00

From a 1/25/12, Law in the News link, we travel to this story from England:

"Jurors: leave the information age—or go to jail," by Peter Bright:

Excerpt: "An English court has sentenced a juror to six months in prison for contempt of court after she performed research on the Internet and forced the abandonment of a criminal trial.

Psychology lecturer Theodora Dallas, 34, was a member of the jury in the trial of Barry Medlock, accused of causing grievous bodily harm. She looked up certain information related to the trial on the Internet, came across information concerning Medlock, and told her fellow jurors what she had found. One of them informed the judge, causing the judge to abandon the trial. Medlock was later retried and found guilty...." [Link to full story.]

You can read more about juries in England and jury service and selection, which is random in the English Courts (unlike the U.S. Courts), which makes for faster trials, but ... there are opponents to this system.

Travel Tip: FAA Mobile App for Travelers and Aviation Buffs

2012-01-27T08:21:00.000-08:00

Travelers and Aviation Buffs: FAA Mobile App

Infodocket brings us news of the first release of the FAA Mobile app.

News, travel advisories, updates, and more.

You can also read about the the app at the FAA (Federal Aviation Adminstration) website.

Oregon Judicial Department (OJD) Website Downtimes, Jan 27-30, 2012

2012-01-26T09:18:00.000-08:00

Check the announcements and updates at the OJD website (and the Media Releases "What's New" site) for changes to this, but as of right now, here’s the announcement:

"SYSTEM MAINTENANCE: The OJD website will be down Sunday, the 29th, from 5am-4pm.

Due to system maintenance, the OJD website, including OJIN OnLine, OJD Courts ePay, and Appellate eFile, will be unavailable on Sunday, the 29th, from 5am until 4pm.

In addition, Appellate eFile will be down for maintenance Friday, the 27th, from 6pm until Monday, the 30th, at 8am."

Do something else fun on Sunday!

Small Claims Court: Update on 2012 California Honda Case

2012-01-25T13:07:00.000-08:00

If you’re following the Honda Civic Hybrid Lawsuit, that Small Claims Court vs. Class Action Settlement case, you can find updates at the plaintiff’s website and twitter feed.

If you want to read about a Small Claims Court advocate, visit the HALT website.

If you want Oregon Small Claims Court information specifically, no, there isn't a book or a guide, yet (one is coming later in 2012), but there are other research resources, including Oregon attorneys who can serve as Small Claims coaches:

The Oregon State Bar Information and Referral Service has a toll free number to call to get names of attorneys in your area; call their referral service at 503-684-3763 or 1-800-452-7636

You can also read more about Oregon Small Claims Court on this blog.

Measures (aka bills) for the 2012 Oregon Legislative Session Available

2012-01-25T08:29:00.000-08:00

Measures for the 2012 Oregon Legislative Session are now available. You can link to the Legislature's homepage for more information.

(Note: As of today, the "index" and the "list of sections affected" links on that page are to the 2011 bills, not the 2012, so don't get confused. These will all be updated in good time, but pay attention to the dates on the PDFs. For example, if the document is dated August 2011, it will not include the 2012 bills - at least we hope not - some nifty time shifting going on, perhaps?)

Justice Ballmer elected as 42nd Chief Justice of Oregon Supreme Court

2012-01-25T07:55:00.000-08:00

See OJD Media Release, dated 1/20/12*

'The Honorable Thomas A. Balmer has been elected as the 42nd Chief Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court, the court announced today. Balmer will succeed Chief Justice Paul J. De Muniz, who will step down as Chief Justice on May 1, 2012 before retiring from the bench in January 2013.

“Chief Justice De Muniz has been an innovative leader and a tireless advocate for open and accessible courts and promoting timely justice for the people who rely on courts to protect their rights and safety,” Balmer said. “I will continue his important initiatives and do everything I can to ensure that Oregonians can rely on their state courts for prompt and impartial decisions in the thousands of cases that come before Oregon judges every day.” ...' [See OJD Media Release, dated 1/20/12]

*If the direct link to the news release doesn't work, click on OJD Media Releases and use the drop down menu. Click on What's New or Archived News and look for the 1/20/12 news release.

League of Oregon Cities (LOC) Legal Services

2012-01-24T08:56:00.000-08:00

If you’re an Oregon city official and need some expert guidance on how to get legal advice regarding a government matter, call the League of Oregon Cities (LOC) Legal Services office.

Visit their website to read about the services they provide:

"Every day at the League we get calls from city officials who believe they are alone in experiencing confusion over municipal law issues. We’re here to tell you that you’re not alone. Cities throughout Oregon call the League daily on simple and complicated matters. One of our most important functions is to respond quickly to municipal law inquiries fromour cities, which includes questions on open meetings, public records, council procedures and ethics....
....

Who Can Make an Inquiry?

The League is happy to answer inquiries regarding city matters from any mayor, council member, recorder, other city staff, or city attorney. Due to ethical rules, the League may not establish an attorney-client relationship with any specific city or any individual. Accordingly, staff will answer questions that are related only to the interests of the city.

Staff cannot answer inquiries regarding the personal issues of individual staff members or elected officials...." [Read the LOC Legal Services guides in full.]

Click on the LOC Useful Links tab for additional Oregon city information.

There is also a terrific LOC “City Handbook” that is an education in itself. (You can find the Handbook under the LOC Publications tab.)

Social Security Death Index No Longer Free

2012-01-23T13:38:00.000-08:00

Andy Zimmerman, of Zimmerman's Research Guide, brings us this update:

All things must pass: the demise of the free Social Security Death Index

You can read more about this story by using these keywords - social security death index free (and making sure you read stories from late 2011 to the present).

From some background and an alternate site, see:

From Library for LIfe blog: Government Restricting Access to Genealogical Records (12/29/11 post)

UELMA: How do you authenticate primary legal documents?

2012-01-19T15:47:00.000-08:00

Legal Research Plus brings our attention to the California Office of Legislative Counsel’s report on: "Authentication of Primary Legal Materials and Pricing Options, December 2011"

More about Uniform Electronic Legal Material Act (UELMA).

Legal Education: Law in a Boat: “Is Eating People Wrong?”

2012-01-19T15:05:00.000-08:00

"Gallagher blogs" brings us "A Tour of Eight Famous Cases," highlighting the new book:

"Is Eating People Wrong: Great Legal Cases and How They Shaped the World"

Seven Law Librarians Serve Nine U.S. Supreme Court Justices

2012-01-19T14:58:00.000-08:00

The next time someone tells you that “it’s all online” or that they don’t need law libraries or law librarians, ask why it is that the smartest guys on the block, the U.S. Supreme Court Justices (with apologies to excellent law professors and lawyers everywhere), still have a law library and professional law librarians (plus support staff).

U.S Supreme Court appoints new Law Librarian (January 17, 2012, press release).

LawSites: Five Tips for Starting Your Own Blog

2012-01-19T14:55:00.000-08:00

Robert Ambrogi's LawSites blog brings us "Five Tips for Starting Your own Blog" and other law practice tips.

Jim Calloway's Law Practice Tips and Carolyn Elefant's myShingle are favorites, too.

Stephen Elias Dies: Hero to Self-Represented Litigants and Public Law Librarians

2012-01-17T14:42:00.000-08:00

Stephen Elias, lawyer to the people, died last month. You can read an obituary at the Nolo website and a Nolo blog.

Law librarians knew Stephen as a mentor, a role-model, and as the writer of Nolo’s “Legal Research: How to Find & Understand the Law.”

Nonprofit News: Oregon State Bar Creates a Nonprofit Organizations Law Section (NOLS)

2012-01-17T09:03:00.000-08:00

The Oregon State Bar (OSB) has approved a Nonprofit Organizations Law Section (NOLS) for OSB members, effective January 2012.

The Nonprofit Organizations Law Section (NOLS) will support Oregon attorneys who serve on boards and as advisors to nongovernmental, not-for-profit entities recognized under Oregon and federal laws.

Oregon lawyers and law librarians may subscribe to the section's listserve at:

OR_Nonprofit_Law@googlegroups.com

Many thanks to Oregon attorney, John Gear, who spearheaded the effort to create the NOLS and to the members and officers now serving the new section. Law librarians get lots of questions from attorneys who practice nonprofit law and now they can easily exchange valuable information among themselves, too.

Link to other Oregon Legal Research blog posts on Oregon nonprofits.

How to Find Federal Ninth (9th) Circuit Court of Appeals Briefs: Update

2012-01-12T10:08:00.000-08:00

There is a new source for Ninth (9^th) Circuit Court of Appeals briefs that can be added to my previous list. Many, many thanks to University of Hastings Law Library and the Law dot Gov team!

This is a work in progress. Don't forget that PACER is an alternate source for official federal court case filings. Not all law libraries subscribe to PACER, but many do so contact your local public law library for PACER information.

Oregon Revised Statutes: 1953-1967 Now Online & Publicly Accessible (Free)

2012-01-11T08:48:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Oregon Legislative Counsel (and the Oregon Supreme Court and the State of Oregon Law Library) and the Washington County Law Library staff (read about this project in previous Gutbuster blog posts), the superseded ORS editions are appearing online.

Currently, 1953-1967 are at the Oregon Legislature's website under “Selected Archives of the Oregon Revised Statutes” at the Bills/Laws website.

Very soon you'll see the 1995 to the present and by the end of the year you'll see 1969-1993. (That component of the scanning project is also being done by the Washington County Law Library staff as time and money permit. The current goal is to complete the scanning by June 2012, but it is possible that deadline may not be met. But the law library will send the data as it is completed to Legislative Counsel so keep your eyes posted to the Legislature's website.)

NOTE: If you detect missing data in the database, please let us know! You can leave a Comment to this blog post or email lawlibrary@co.washington.or.us.

Missing pages are concentrated primarily in 1953 and 1977, where we had missing chapters and volumes, but there will be missing chapters in a couple other sets.

There are only 2 (maybe 3) perfect or near-perfect sets of the superseded ORSs in the state and we could not scan from them so we used the only available almost-near-perfect set for scanning. We are filling in the gaps, some at the time of scanning, but most we'll fill in later since we didn't want to hold up the bulk of the project while searching for scannable copies of the missing pages.

Civics Lessons for Oregon Students 17-24

2012-01-09T15:59:00.000-08:00

Read the Oregon Secretary of State's new Oregon Civics Toolkit: Free Lesson Plans Targeting Students 17-24.

Knowledge is power and knowledge of the law is a super-power and we're never too old to learn something new.

62 Non-Librarian Jobs for LIS Grads

2012-01-09T15:52:00.000-08:00

iLibrarian alerts us to this gem of a post from a Syracuse School of Information Studies:

61 Non-librarian Jobs for LIS grads

For a bonus point, #62, read about how librarian skills translate into city management skills at Will Manley’s blog post, Shooting Bullets:

“… Who ever heard of library science as a proper preparation for city management? That’s what my city council wanted to know. So I gave them my list:

E-government Experience – You want to implement e-government? The library is way ahead of all the other departments.

Cost Effectiveness – You want the biggest bang for your buck? The library has the lowest of all the departmental budgets but serves more people, and is the most heavily trafficked municipal building by far.

Community Involvement – You want someone who knows the community? The library is in the middle of the city whereas city hall is downtown on the northern fringes of the city….” [Link to Will’s full list at his 9/27/11 blogpost.]

Honda Civic Hybrid Lawsuit: Small Claims Court vs. Class Action Settlement: Update

2012-01-06T15:12:00.000-08:00

Update on Honda Civic Hybrid Lawsuit: Small Claims Court vs. Class Action Settlement:

"No ruling as Civic hybrid owner takes Honda to Small Claims Court," LA Times, by Andrea Chang, Los Angeles Times, January 4, 2012.

You can follow the plaintiff's Twitter feed for updates.

There are few courts more interesting to observe than small claims court, so if you have a spare hour or two, check at your local county or circuit court to find out when small claims court is in session.

Oregon Council on Court Procedures (with a side of donuts)

2012-01-06T14:27:00.000-08:00

Reading minutes from meetings can be a snooze, but they can also be very funny - and they can make a great lawyer out of you (or at least contribute to your greatness).

Funny meeting minutes examples (though I will admit that maybe you needed to be there):

1) From Oregon State Bar board meeting minutes several years ago:

“Gaelic Procedures: Mr. [x] reminded the board again of the significance of the shillelagh and passed around the marble stone, which according to legend, will provide persuasive eloquence to anyone who rubs it. Everyone in attendance rubbed the stone.”

2) From Washington County Commission hearing minutes (also several years ago):

"Mr. xxx stated to Council that he liked Government but does not understand it."

Lawyer Tip: Read the ORCP until your lips hurt.

And then read it again. Make it bedtime reading until the rules can fall from your lips like Voodoo Donut crumbs.

And then read the Minutes of the Council on Court Proceedings. Really. Truly.

It’s horribly wonkish, but you’ll not regret it. Knowing the ORCP (and all court rules) is the equivalent of knowing your Robert’s Rules of Order or the Rules of your legislative body (and we all know that s/he who knows the Rules of Procedure, rules the roost).

The current draft minutes (from the December 2011 meeting) are dense, informative, and dare I say absorbing. You can find the CCP Minutes, and lots of other priceless information tidbits (but no donuts), at the Oregon Council on Court Procedures website.

Jailhouse Rock and Roll Legal Researcher: Fred Milano

2012-01-05T11:05:00.000-08:00

3 Geeks and a Law Blog alerts us to the death of Fred Milano:

"Fred Milano - From Doo-Wop to Doo-ing Legal Research"

Excerpt: "Fred Milano passed away on Sunday at the age of 72, just three weeks after being diagnosed with lung cancer. Milano is best known for his place in Rock and Roll history as being in the doo-wop band, Dion and the Belmonts. However, Milano had a second career later in life as a Legal Coordinator at the Rikers Island jail complex in New York City...." [Link to full 3 Geeks and a Law Blog post.]

Lawyer and Law Student Criminal (or unethical) Use of Lexis & Westlaw

2012-01-05T10:40:00.000-08:00

From Law in the News:

"Utah opinion notes "numerous" law students report employment is conditioned upon criminal misuse of free Wexis access"

Excerpt: "According to a recently released opinion from the Utah State Bar Ethics Advisory Committee, it is professionally unethical for a practicing attorney to ask a law student to use her free Lexis or Westlaw account for firm work. The big commercial legal research companies provide law students with free access to their services to help in the development of student legal research skills. Typically, students sign an agreement with the provider stating that they will use their free access only for educational and non-profit purposes...." [Link to full Legal Skills Prof blog post.]

More Law in the News.

Notice of Oregon State Filing Fee Changes

2012-01-05T10:28:00.000-08:00

Please note:

Oregon Circuit Court Filing Fee Changes Effective October 1, 2011, and January 1, 2012

You can also reach this OJD webpage by clicking on the OJD News webpage and selecting What's New from the dropdown menu.

Evaluating the Quality of Online Information

2012-01-05T09:15:00.000-08:00

Researchers, scholars, and librarians have always had to evaluate the quality of information sources, including books, journals, speeches, and all other “information.”

We have to apply the same evaluations skills to online information sources – and so do you.

Here is a listing of evaluation tools and articles that may be useful if not interesting: "Information Quality Resources on the Internet," by Marcus P. Zillman, Published on December 2, 2011:

"Information Quality Resources on the Internet is a comprehensive listing of information quality resources and sites on the Internet...." [Link to full article.]

LLRX has lots of other practical information for the legal researcher.