“The 79th Legislative Assembly will convene, Monday, February 5, 2018. Legislative session is defined as a period of time in which the Legislative Assembly officially convenes for the purpose of lawmaking….”[Link to Oregon Legislature’s website for updates.]
This will be the short session, i.e. 35 days.
TED Talk: “How to Put the Power of Law in People’s Hands”
Summary:
“What can you do when the wheels of justice don’t turn fast enough? Or when they don’t turn at all? Vivek Maru is working to transform the relationship between people and law, turning law from an abstraction or threat into something that everyone can understand, use and shape. Instead of relying solely on lawyers, Maru started a global network of community paralegals, or barefoot lawyers, who serve in their own communities and break the law down into simple terms to help people find solutions….” [Link to Vivek Maru’s TED Talk Reading List, and link to more TED Talks on justice, law, and crime.]
We are all immigrants (except of course for Native Americans, and maybe even they too were immigrants thousands of years ago):
BBC News: Larry Nassar case: Who is Judge Rosemarie Aquilina? (1/24/18)
“The judge who has sentenced disgraced USA gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar has given a voice to over 150 women who chose to confront their abuser face-to-face….
Nation book review: “Why Does Our Justice System Fight So Hard to Keep Innocent People Behind Bars? Mark Godsey was a “prosecutor’s prosecutor” who didn’t think there were any innocent people in prison. Then he began supervising his law school’s Innocence Project, and realized his assumptions were all wrong” by Joshua Holland, in The Nation, January 24, 2018:
Excerpt:
“In the criminal-justice system romanticized by Hollywood films, those convicted of crimes are generally guilty. And a protagonist need only prove that someone’s been wrongly imprisoned to get them freed by a judiciary that values truth and justice….
State Library of Oregon Digital Collections include Oregon Government Publications, Oregoniana, and much more.
From the State Library: “We are happy to announce the debut of our new digital collections platform! Using Islandora, with hosting and support from LYRASIS, we migrated all of our Oregon state government publications and added new digital content related to the state. This platform upgrade allows everyone to browse easily by agency, search full text, and access PDF files of publications.
Until this transition, the primary focus of our digital collections has been supporting government transparency and civic education by ensuring consistent and coordinated permanent public access to information published by Oregon state government. With a more flexible platform, we look forward to continuing our commitment to providing access to state government publications and expanding our digital collections to include Oregoniana, Oregon-related federal government publications, and more.
ICYMI (October 2017): From Richard Zorza’s Access to Justice blog post:
“Roberts Choice of Garland to Head Executive Committee of Federal Judicial Conference is a Huge ATJ Opportunity,“ posted on November 23, 2017, by Richard Zorza:
Excerpt:
Oregon Legal Assistance Resource Guide (created, updated, and hosted by Washington County Law Library).
Corrections and additions are welcome.
“How parents can protect their young athletes from the Larry Nassars of the world,” by Julie DiCaro January 22.
Horrifying excerpt:
“... Nassar, who rose to prominence while working with USA Gymnastics, began abusing Stephens when she was 6 years old. She reported the abuse when she was 12, only to find that her parents didn’t believe her.…” [Link to full Washington Post article.]
The Victim Rights Law Center (VRLC) Portland, Oregon, is expanding its legal team and has openings for a senior attorney, two (2) direct services staff attorneys, a technical assistance and training staff attorney, a temporary contract attorney, a legal assistant, and an administrative assistant:
Contact:
VRLC Oregon Office:
Teach civics, evidence, or whatever rocks your boat, to students at:
PUGS (Portland Underground Graduate School: “dedicated to Lifelong Learning for Thinkers, Dreamers and Doers in Portland”)
Do you like to teach intellectually curious people?
Oregon Legal Research Blog