Articles Posted in May, 2006

Garcetti v. Ceballos (U.S. S.Ct. 04-473): Garcetti v Ceballos (decided 5/30/06) may not do for employment law what Kelo did for land use law, but the post-Garcetti “day” is still young. Some early comments on Garcetti can be found through these blawgers, here, here, and here. And of course, here. All will link to the case and to additional commentary.

Remember this?: No pencil and paper? Can’t remember a phone or a hotel room number? This from the inimitable Jim Calloway will make all your worries go away – posting titled “Give Yourself a Photographic Memory.” And do add Jim to your list of must-read blawgers.

Oregon Nonprofit Law: I still meet attorneys and non-profit managers who don’t know about TACS and their incomparable Oregon Nonprofit Corporation Handbook. Visit their web page and also take a look at all the other things TACS does for Oregon nonprofits, e.g. Oregon Involved.

Local Government Law: Portland’s Charter Review project is both dry and fascinating. If you will be asked to vote on it (e.g. you are a Portland resident), here is a place to begin gathering information. (Allow plenty of time to learn – and I don’t want to hear any excuses a year from now that you weren’t given an opportunity to participate or become informed before having to vote.) If you won’t be asked to vote on it (e.g. you are not a Portland resident or are under 18), some of the documents at the Charter Review Commission web site may still be interesting and useful. You can never know too much about how your government operates, whatever hamlet, village, town, city, state, or country you live in. The Charter Review Commission even have a blog and as is true of many blogs, the comments are the best part.

Pro Se Criminal Defense v Defense Attorneys: The Criminal Appeal blog has an interesting post about the article, “Defending the Right to Self-representation: An Empirical Look at the Pro Se Felony Defendant,” by Prof. Erica Hashimoto. Links to the article are included in the blog’s May 25th posting.

It’s Not All About You: Hug a veteran or veteran’s family member or have a good cry over one you can’t hug anymore. Sunday is Memorial Day. Whether you want to Wiki it or Remember it, or anything else that makes you think (and worry or fret) about others, just do it.

Duvall 2006 Guides: This is not what they are called, but it’s what we call them. You may know of Hugh Duvall’s laminated guides: Oregon Driver Restriction, Collateral Consequences, Oregon Expungement, Selected Constitutional Provisions, and Oregon Stalking Law Guide. They are wonderful. You can now order them from kickstartguides.com (the “guides” is plural, NOT singular 🙂

Digital Oregon appellate court briefs (free) : The Washington County Law Library has been scanning Oregon appellate court briefs since January 2006. More than 5,000 briefs are available and searchable by keyword and docket/case numbers, including:

138 Or App to present: selected briefs
179 Or App and 201 Or App: complete volumes
315 Or to present: selected briefs
332 Or: complete volume
All briefs for PERS, Measure 37, Li, and O’Donnell-Lamont cases

The database is not publicly accessible. Call or email the Law Library with your request for specific briefs. Briefs can be sent via email or CD. Contact: Email lawlibrary@co.washington.or.us, or telephone 503-846-8880. There is currently no charge for this service.

MILITARY STATUS VERIFICATION: Back by popular demand (1st posted in October). If you need to verify non-military status for the purpose of complying with new SMCRA (aka SCRA – these are the amendments to the Soldier and Sailor Civil Relief Act of 1940) – here is one place to go if you have a Social Security number. If you don’t have a SS#, here is a list of addresses for 5 branches of the military. Additional information about SCRA (Servicemember Civil Relief Act) can be found at the ABA web site, here. Let me know if you find other useful sources.

LLRX and Svengalis: Such bounty this week for the legal researcher! A new edition of LLRX and the new 2006 Ken Svengalis Legal Information Buyer’s Guide and Reference Manual is out and being shipped to his fans everywhere.