Articles Posted in General Legal Research Resources

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If you are very lucky, you learn something new every day:

1) Did you know there was a Center for Plain Language? What might they do?

In a nutshell: “The Center for Plain Language wants government and business documents to be clear and understandable.” (Don’t we all!)

2) Also, do you remember the wonderful reference book, “Encyclopedia of Associations“? Well, it’s online now (and has been for some time) and probably at your public library (e.g. through the WCCLS, though you will find it under the new name, “Associations Unlimited”).

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The following blog post got me to thinking that a legal citation lesson for non-attorneys might be a challenge worth attempting, though I surely won’t get it right the first time.

3 Geeks and a Law Blog: Bloomberg Law Gets Cited By A New Jersey Court… A First for “___ BL ___” (citing to United States v. Stuler, Civil Action No. 08-273, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 43338, 2010 BL 99422 (W.D. Pa. May 4, 2010))

Onward to Legal Citation for the Novice:

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No, it’s not all online.
No, a lawyer researching online won’t always beat out the “paper” lawyer.
No, a legal researcher using print won’t always eat the dust of an online legal researcher

Yes, we all love online, but we also know its limits, especially in the hands (and mind) of a good legal researcher.
Yes, there are a lot of writers saying print is dead – and lots of researchers who say, no it isn’t.

Yes, there are a lot of experienced lawyers and law librarians who are appalled at the (print and online) legal research skills and habits of many new lawyers (at least those who won’t listen to research tips from those who are more experienced).

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Justice William W. Bedsworth, in the November 2010, “Criminal Waste of Space” column in the OC Lawyer Magazine:

Accursed Congress

Excerpt: ‘… Take Congress.(1) Congress is about as lousy a job as you can have without getting involved with fish or sewage. I don’t understand why it isn’t the loser of the election that gets stuck going to Congress.(2)
…
And since I’m not willing to do the job myself, I don’t question the work being done by the guy who is. That’s a rule of mine. You will never hear me criticize the work of my garbage man or my presiding judge.
…
But I must admit my willingness to kvetch has expanded somewhat since the two national political parties turned the Congress of the United States into a third-rate game of frat boy dodgeball. I really am dismayed that they are so busy trying to beat the other team that they no longer care about the cost to the country. They’re so obsessed with being doctrinally pure Republicans and Democrats that they’ve lost interest in being Americans. …‘ (Link to full article.)

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Take a judicious, so to speak, humor break and read Justice William W. Bedsworth, in his November 2010, “Criminal Waste of Space” column in the OC Lawyer Magazine: Accursed Congress

Excerpt: ‘… Take Congress.(1) Congress is about as lousy a job as you can have without getting involved with fish or sewage. I don’t understand why it isn’t the loser of the election that gets stuck going to Congress.(2)
…
And since I’m not willing to do the job myself, I don’t question the work being done by the guy who is. That’s a rule of mine. You will never hear me criticize the work of my garbage man or my presiding judge.

But I must admit my willingness to kvetch has expanded somewhat since the two national political parties turned the Congress of the United States into a third-rate game of frat boy dodgeball. I really am dismayed that they are so busy trying to beat the other team that they no longer care about the cost to the country. They’re so obsessed with being doctrinally pure Republicans and Democrats that they’ve lost interest in being Americans. …‘ (Link to full article.)

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Law dot gov is sponsoring a contest. Legal Research Plus has a post to the links you need to bring yourself up to Law dot Gov speed: Law.gov Report Contest

Law dot gov is a Government Website Work in Progress and the tireless founders and contributors include the self-employed, law school employees, professional association employees, or other government entity employees (e.g. public law librarians).

If you want to read about the Law dot Gov Contest, and about law dot gov, visit the Law dot gov site at public resource dot org and the Law dot Gov Google Group.

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Visit SCOTUS blog for a report and links: New Policy on Tapes Release

In Oregon, CD’s of the Oregon Supreme and Appellate Courts’ oral arguments are usually available the day after the hearing, depending on the bailiff’s work flow. To obtain a copy of the CD, contact OJD at 503-986-5553. The cost is $10 per argument (as of today). A form must be completed and payment is required in advance unless an attorney is requesting, in which case the attorney can be billed.

If you’re not an attorney, call and ask for specific instructions. Don’t try and find the information on the OJD website, unless you have a lot of time. There is a lot of information on the OJD website, but it’s difficult to find specific information. (All of us who work on websites know and understand the problem! We just have too much information to post for our customers, patrons, constituents, etc. and it seems not enough time to organize it all properly.) Sometimes THE TELEPHONE is your Best Friend!

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Georgetown Law Center has a super-duper, extra-delicious and wondrous guide to free and low-cost legal research databases. I refer people to it so often that it has become my friend. (If corporations can be “persons” then a research guide can be a “friend.” Yes, no, maybe? Please let’s not discuss. Sigh.)

Use it and enjoy – and give a big THANK YOU to law librarian Todd Venie who keeps it stocked, chock full of goodness and well within any sell-by dates. (If you’ve created guides like these you know just how much work goes into them. Wowsers.)

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I meet more Oregon attorneys who don’t know about this wonderful news than attorneys who do know, so here goes:

Starting January 1, 2010, the OSB BarBooks database will be available and free to ALL members of the Oregon State Bar.

(Many Oregon county law libraries will have subscriptions to the database, too.)

Read more about the database or contact the OSB (not me, please), if you have questions.

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Gallagher (UW Law Library) Blog brings us news of this:

“Sample Interesting New Writing About Law with Jotwell, The ‘Journal Of Things We Like (Lots)’ — is a blog where a several law professors post substantive comments about recent scholarship. It’s supposed to help people keep up with interesting writing from different fields….” (Link to GLB post or Jotwell)

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