End of Week Cleanup:
Delta Librarian, the End: I’m not sure if I’m amazed more by the librarian or by the journalist who wrote this story, which is quite wonderful. This is excellent end-of-the-day reading. (From 9/27 posting of Library Link of the Day.)
Funny Lawyer Cards (really!): Visit them here, at the Billable Hour Card Store. (Link found through the efforts of Evan Schaeffer and you should follow his Writing Reply Briefs post to its source.)
Oregon Law Commission and Maui: Hearings on Oregon’s government’s ethics laws
Wednesday, Oct. 4, hearing from 2 to 5 p.m. in State Capitol Hearing Room B in Salem, or the Thursday, Oct. 5, hearing from 5 to 8 p.m. in the Multnomah Building, Commissioners Conference Room 100, 501 S.E. Hawthorne Blvd. in Portland. Or submit written comments to: Oregon Law Commission, Government Ethics Work Group, 245 Winter St. S.E., Salem, OR 97301.
These details were taken from the Oregonian “FactBox” at their web site. (The Factbox appears when you open the latest “failure to disclose” stories about legislators who accepted expenses-paid trips to Maui. It is also in the print edition today. 9/29.)
Blorking: Blorking is “Blogging from Work” (and it also sounds a tad bit better than wogging – I think – wogging also sounds like something more fun than what you’d do at work). Blorking is what I do here at Blogspot’s “Oregon Legal Research.”
Blorkers have to be careful, which is not a bad thing. We have to watch what we say and how we say it, neither of which is a bad thing either. It’s just different from what non-Blorkers can do on their personal blogs (and I include those who are self-employed and don’t have a boss to keep them in line). There are Rules for Blorkers, so keep this in mind if you Blog from Work: There are very few blork posts that are worth losing your job over – and if there is one – it may just be the time to leave your job before doing something you will regret. Or, get yourself a personal blog and post to it on your own time.
I happen to love my job and the people I work with so prudent blogging might not allow me to let it all hang out, but I do get to blork about the best job in the world and pass along a few words of legal research wisdom and humor accumulated over almost 20 years of practice. And if blorking forces me to keep a few secrets, so be it. I’ve never been a woman of mystery, and if blorking makes me one, well, that’s kinda fun too.
Living Wills: Public law librarians (and public non-law librarians too) are always being asked for the dreaded FORM, usually in the form of, “ALL I NEED is a FORM.” Oregon doesn’t have many fill-in-the-blank legal forms (creative sorts that we are – and with the exception of our family law forms) so we all (Oregon law librarians and pro se patrons) just have to work harder than those in the states to the North and South. But here comes Ernie the Attorney with a Living Will to beat all other living wills. Dare I recommend it?
Legally Speaking: Tonight (9/28/06) on Legally Speaking, a TVCTV cable access program, our host, Jim Hilborn, welcomes Terry Rilling, Mayor of Cornelius who is a candidate for state representative. I’ll appear for a few minutes for the public law librarian perspective. Legally Speaking is a call-in program that airs live on the 4th Thursday of the month and is rebroadcast at different times throughout the month.
Ten Tips for Presenters: This was posted on a librarian’s blog and it is an excellent checklist for anyone on the speaker circuit, amateur or professional. Thanks to Jessamyn West at her blog Librarian dot net. (No, not this Jessamyn West – the other and equally special one 🙂
Oregon Family Law: An article in the OSB Family Law Section’s, “Family Law Newsletter” on the SFLAC (State Family Law Advisory Committee) reminded me to remind you about the SFLAC website, which has lots of useful information. Family law attorneys know about it, but pro se litigants and non-family law attorneys who only once in a while need to locate Oregon family law information might not. So visit the SFLAC site to find forms, guidelines, and much more.
Who Put the SELF in PRO SE?: Shlep has an interesting posting originating from a SOCTUSblog report on whether or not “a non-lawyer parent of a disabled child may file a lawsuit, without a lawyer, to enforce the child’s rights under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).” Gives one a lot to think about.
Access to CRS Reports: The campaign for free web access to CRS (Congressional Research Service) Reports has been going on for as long as I can remember – it certainly predates the Web. An article on LLRX, via beSpacific, by Stephen Young is well worth reading if you are interested in these reports and the right to quick access to them. Many are online and the LLRX article describes where you can find them. You have always been able to ask your Member of Congress for copies, but that process could take weeks (this will vary from Member to Member). And you would have to know the name of the report or enough detail to describe it to the Member’s staff.
Torts of Conversion: The latest issue of the OSB Oregon Real Estate and Land Use Digest, vol. 28, No. 4 (Aug-Sept 2006), has a nice summary of the Bergeron v. Aero Sales case, 205 Or App 257 (2006), the Jet Fuel – Private Hanger – No Notice – Third Party Conveyance Case. And if you want PDF copies of the briefs, contact the Washington County Law Library (lawlibrary at co.washington.or.us).
Oregon Legal Research Blog