Articles Posted in County & Municipal Law Resources

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OJD iForms is an easy way for self-represented litigants to produce court documents in a variety of case types including Family Law, Landlord/Tenant, and Small Claims. According to the OJD brochure, iForms “generates a correctly completed form that you can either eFile, deliver by hand, or mail to the court.”

The process is a simple one, called Guide and File. With Guide and File, the user logs in to the site, chooses the form they want to file and answers a series of interview questions, after which iForms generates a form.

There are some interviews within Guide and File that have Spanish translations. The OJD website cautions that court documents must be filed in English, or the court may reject your filing.

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How did it get to be December so quickly? In the spirit of the holiday season, here are some of the most bizarre holiday laws!

Misdemeanor for throwing snowballs

In Provo, Utah, there is a city ordinance that restricts residents from using a snowball or any object that could be labeled as a “missile,” to inflict damage to other’s property. The ordinance states “Every person who shall willfully or carelessly within the limits of this city throw any stone, stick, snowball or other missiles whereby any person shall hit, or any window broken or other property injured or destroyed or in such a manner as to render travel upon the public streets and places of the city dangerous, or in such a manner as to frighten or annoy any traveler, is guilty of a misdemeanor.”

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How did we answer that? Public Records and Finding a Will

We received a public records request through the County’s online public records portal. The question was whether the County had a relative’s will. There are two questions here: what is a public records request for, and how can I find a relative’s will.

A public records request is any attempt to get access to a record of a government or public entity. In Oregon, state law provides a broad right of access to records generated by or for public entities. The Attorney General has a Public Records and Meetings Law Manual. That explains Oregon’s laws in greater detail. Many public entities have a portal where you can submit a public records request. If not, you should be able to contact the entity. Some records may already be easily available. For example, city or county codes or ordinances, or public meeting minutes, may already be on the organization’s website.

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As COVID restrictions ease across Oregon, the state’s circuit courts are resuming in-person trials. We have been getting questions about serving on a jury. Each county circuit court has their own procedures and rules, so it is always a good idea to contact the circuit court directly to get answers to your questions. Here are some sources that I found online that answered some of those questions.

The Oregon State Bar has a Juror handbook which answers in plain language many questions a prospective juror may have.

On the Oregon courts webpage they have posted a Juror Orientation video. It has comments from judges, attorneys, and former jurors about jury duty and re-enactments of parts of jury selection and a trial. There is also a FAQ section on the site about jury duty in general (not county-specific information) and a section on court etiquette.

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How did we answer that?

By Paula Simon

We had a younger patron come into the library who was interested in the process to become emancipated from their parents. What is emancipation? According to the Washington County Juvenile department, emancipation means “that a 16- or 17-year-old person can be given certain rights and responsibilities of an adult or 18-year-old person.”

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The Washington County Law Library now offers eBook access to a variety of legal titles, including some key Oregon legal research materials. The pilot project was made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services through the Library Services and Technology Act, administered by the State Library of Oregon.

County residents can sign up for access to the eBooks via the Law Library’s website and can contact the Law Library’s “Virtual Information Desk” with any questions. After the initial sign up, the Law Library’s eBooks may be accessed online or by using the LexisNexis Digital Library app from the app store.

Located in downtown Hillsboro, the Washington County Law Library strives to enhance equal access to justice by making sure legal information, resources and tools are available and accessible to everyone. As stated by Law Librarian Lee Van Duzer, “We’re really pleased to be able to make these materials more available to the public. Now people have another way to find the resources they need to be successful in whatever legal challenges they’re facing.”

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They should! There are lots of ways to learn: e.g. while in a public sector job that takes an active role in the agency’s budget process, by working for an elected official, by volunteering on a government committee or for a non-profit that takes part in a local or state government budget process, or, even by reading and self-study.

For example, there is a “Local Budgeting Manual,” among many other useful training and guidance documents on public websites for anyone who wants to learn about budget timelines, requirements, and laws.

From the Local Budget Law page of the Oregon Department of Revenue:

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Visit the Oregon Judicial Department’s website for updates. Oregon Circuit Court websites will have Circuit Court-specific information for jurors, lawyers, and anyone else who has business to transact with the courts.

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Green lanes, Blue markings, White stripes, Circles, and Arrows: What’s a driver, pedestrian, bicyclist, and other foot or wheel propelled person to do in order to comply with “experimental” local traffic laws?

Portland, Oregon, is one of a few cities experimenting with Bus-Only lanes, painted bright red. The city’s webpage describing the experiment has lots of useful info including maps with circles and arrows:

“Federal Highway Administration experiment with Red Pavement Markings

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I heard 3 people last week (and countless others before last week) on radio news and podcasts make erroneous statements about what Metro does.

This is nothing new. I’ve heard these mangled Metro descriptions for almost 2 decades. There is zero excuse for this. There is even a not-bad Metro Wikipedia article for heaven’s sake.

So, Metro Homework for You Radio / Podcast / TV People:

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