The Oregon State Bar public website has a great new look. There is a lot of information online and on video.
The Legal Links cable TV shows are terrific and worth watching if you need information about landlord-tenant law, DUII, Small Claims Court, and much, much more. If you don’t have a computer, please visit your public library or public law library. Many, most, of us have computers and headphones you can use to listen to these OSB programs.
While on a rare, and all too brief, break from work, I caught, so to speak, a wonderful, and not a little bit terrifying, interview on Fresh Air with Peter Laufer, author of “Forbidden Creatures: Inside the World of Animal Smuggling and Exotic Pets.”
It was hard on the heels of my Exotic Pets post: Animal Law: Thou Shall Not Covet Exotic Pets in Oregon (and beyond)
If you’ve been reading stories about the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC) ban on sharing home-brewed beer (and the Oregon Homebrewers Alliance has links and information), you might want to read the law itself and a bit more on how this all came about.
1) The OLCC Blog has information and you can visit their other news sites as well.
2) The Willamette Week has information and a link to the July 23, 2010, OLCC press release.
If you’re interested in learning more about how Oregon Small Claims and Traffic courts operate, here’s your chance:
Oregon Small Claims and Traffic CLE
Presented by: Judge Steven A. Todd, Multnomah County Circuit Court
Questions about Oregon initiative and referendum signature petitions are as old as the petition itself (1902) and as new as yesterday (see History links, below). The latest challenges are to the Secretary of State’s office tossing petition signatures for a 2010 ballot initiative that would change how the state manages legislative redistricting.
There are lots of recent news stories; online news readers can Google (or otherwise search) “oregon initiative petition signatures” with any variations you wish that develop as you read the stories. Don’t forget that the phrase “valid signature” may not be used in a story about petitioner signatures and instead, there may be words like signature verification, authentication, and similar words used in conjunction with the words petitions, signatures, and initiatives.
Keep in mind also that I know little about signature petitions (see Disclaimer, below), let alone the initiative and referendum process (other than as a voter), so come along on my:
Brace yourself for a fun ballot in November.
If you want to participate, don’t forget to register to vote. Visit the Oregon Secretary of State Election Division or your county election office for information on registering online or in person.
November 2010 is the time to vote for a new Oregon Gubernator! (Why else would they call it a gubernatorial election?)
There are a number of Law Librarian position openings in Oregon this summer 2010. Visit the usual suspects for librarian job postings, but don’t forget the Oregon State Library Jobline.
The positions include an Assistant Law Librarian position in my own law library. You can link to a description and an application at the Washington County (Oregon) HR website.
The usual suspects for librarians seeking jobs include, but are not limited to state, regional, and local librarian listserves, professional associations such as AALL and SLA and ALA, PNLA, and LISJobs.
This is an update to previous posts on estate planning (and on pro se litigants):
Public law libraries, and public libraries generally, get a lot of questions from people (non-attorneys) who want to write their own wills, draft their own powers of attorney, and who want fill-in-the-blank estate planning legal forms.
1) If you have no money, no property, no children or relatives in Oregon or any other state, no heirs, no interest in leaving what you do have to a charity or nonprofit, and don’t care if what remains of your estate (everything) goes to the tax collector and/or the state general fund, you don’t have to read on.
While there are dozens of print resources (and even more online) on specific wills, trusts, and estate planning issues and questions, here’s a short list of the basic, not to be skipped, Oregon estate planning forms and practice materials. These are print-only resources in most law libraries, though some libraries may have on-site online or CD-ROM access.
1) Oregon State Bar (OSB) estate planning practice and course books
2) Oregon Will and Trust Forms in the U.S. Bank 3-volume set (also on CD-ROM)
I’m an energetic advocate of DIY Legal Research (as are most public law library librarians) and a somewhat less than enthusiastic advocate of DIY Lawyering (aka self-help, self-representation, pro se litigation, pro per representation), especially for people who don’t have any research experience or aptitude for hours of study, note-taking, writing, preparation, decision-making, and the sense to consult experts when necessary (not to mention having the patience of a cat watching its prey).
I’ve learned over the years that the most successful self-help litigant isn’t necessarily the smartest person, though “smart” can help. But persistence, attention to detail, listening, patience, and good manners can often win out over “smart.”
Our best pro se litigants consult attorneys. The litigants save money by thorough research, study, observation, taking chances and making mistakes, and not a small amount of luck. They also have lots of energy that is used staying up late drafting motions, answers, letters, and reading the law, in all its procedural and substantive glory.
Oregon Legal Research Blog