Oregon Legal Research BlogArticles Posted in
Steve Wax Reappointed Oregon’s Federal Public Defender
Oregon Legal News via BlawgSearch
This, my, blog is about Oregon Legal Research, but if you want a quick and dirty way to track Oregon Legal News as it’s reported in Oregon blawgs (aka law blogs), go to Justia’s BlawgSearch and type Oregon into the search box. Try other searches as well and check out the blawg’s other features. Very nice.
Keep in mind there is no simple, one-stop, way to track all Oregon legal news, so keep surfing the local newspapers, the blawgs, the legislative sites, the lawyer blogs, etc.
International Animators Converge on Portland
Portland is hosting an amazing animation conference next week (6/25 – 6/30). The Platform International Animation Festival celebrants will take over the downtown starting June 25th (or earlier for those arriving beforehand to enjoy our fair city’s sights and sounds, tastes and smells). Most events have entrance fees but not all. The Multnomah County Library is hosting a free program for comics aficionados on June 27th, at the Central Library (downtown).
I’ve mentioned before that I can find a law library or legal research connection to just about anything in life, so you may raise your eyebrows at me about why this Festival is posted on the Oregon Legal Research blog. You see, one of our city’s extraordinary graphic artists is going to create an illustrated Bill of Rights for our upcoming Constitution Day celebrations (September 17th, 2007). But that is a whole different story, which I’ll save for a later date 🙂
Storing MS Outlook Email Files
Is there an efficient and simple way to save MS Outlook messages in a non-Outlook format?
I’m not branching out into law firm technology, but this question is a common one and a favorite tech blogger, I Heart Tech who serves the legal community addresses it in her usual straightforward and easy to understand style. There is also at least one comment with another solution and other suggestions may follow.
The Exciting World of Library Law: Congressional Puzzles and Laptop Viewing Rights
Library Law has had some interesting posts this past week (and in previous weeks, but I’ll try and focus here:-):
Library Law June 13th post: Why is there no free public access to the annotated U.S. Constitution that is compiled by the Congressional Research Office (CRS)? This question is part of a larger ongoing battle to get all CRS reports online, free, and available to the public.
Library Law June 8th post: Do you have a right to view unclothed people on your own laptop while in the public library? This is just one library law case of several that can be read at a Justia database. Summaries of the cases and links to pleadings and other case documents are simply and perfectly displayed. If only ….
Art and Artists and the Law
What do local artists do if they need legal or business advice? They do what everyone else does, they read, research, organize, schmooze, and of course, check out what their local libraries have on tap.
I’ve compiled this list of resources for Portland-metro area (and some for further afield). If you know of others that would be useful referrals, let me know. Art law encompasses a vast range of subjects including copyright, property law, international law, censorship, environmental law, sales, taxation, etc., etc., etc., and I couldn’t begin to cover most let alone all of these subejcts. But you have to start somewhere, so, with apologies to Jackie Gleason, “And away we go!” …
Primary Sources of Law, e.g. statutes and case law:
New Player on the Block: Nonprofit Association of Oregon
The creation of the Nonprofit Association of Oregon is a remarkable achievement. The organization and management (not to mention diplomatic!) skills needed to coordinate the formation of such an umbrella organization are formidable. Read the Oregonian story (6/14/07, byline, Wade Nkrumah) on the new association and information on the sponsoring organization, TACS, here.
Those of us who serve the nonprofit world value highly what we call the Oregon nonprofit bible, the TACS Oregon Nonprofit Corporation Handbook and look forward to even more information and support from the Nonprofit Association of Oregon.
Factoid: if the information cited in the Oregonian story is correct, about 141,000 Oregonians are employed by nonprofits.
Chef Higgins and the Law of Salmon
You have to love chefs who also know something about how laws are made and are willing to speak out. It makes my little law librarian heart all warm, fuzzy, and hungry. The Oregonian’s FoodDay today (6/12) has a nice interview with Chef Higgins about Chefs Who Lobby and who know about the law, habitat, and good food.
I’ve posted before about food law and most recently about my visit to the Western Culinary Institute in downtown Portland.
And remind me when 1,600 law librarians descend on Portland in July 2008 for the annual meeting of the American Association of Law Libraries, maybe we should ask some of these chefs to talk to us about Food Law, hmmmm …..
Scam Victims: Would Education Help?
I can’t help but wonder, when I read articles like this one in Saturday’s Oregonian (6/9) about the latest scam, that the scam might not have gotten off the ground if people knew a little more than they do about how laws are made. You’d think (!) that someone in business would check up on where such a soliciation (!) came from. You’d think (!) that someone in business, who has to follow all sorts of laws, would stop and say, huh (!) and then maybe pick up the phone to find out if the solicitation (!) was legitimate.
Those “surveys” about how only 1 in 25 can name 3 members of the President’s Cabinet or even their own U.S. Senator miss the point. A person might not be able to name his or her U.S. Representative or Governor, but if a person knows how laws are made and knows even a little about how regulations are made (I won’t even say promulgated), that person is less likely to be taken in by scammers. Maybe I’m dreaming, but I say, let’s add a little Civics to the books and web sites on How To Start Your Own Business.