A2J = Access to Justice: Words and Names Matter
The Law Librarians at the State Of Wisconsin Law Library know that the difference between a Legal Resource Center or a Legal Information Center and a Law Library matters to Law Library patrons, whether they are lawyers or self-represented litigants. Read this article from their WSLL Newsletter, February 2016 issue:
Wisconsin State Law Library Year in Review – Julie Tessmer, State Law Librarian:
This a joint initiative of the Minnesota State Law Library and the Appellate Practice Section of the Minnesota State Bar Association.
“New self-help clinic helps Minnesotans navigate appeals process,” posted Monday, February 8, 2016, at the Minnesota Judicial Branch website:
“A new self-help clinic at the Minnesota State Law Library provides free assistance to individuals seeking to file an appeal with the Minnesota Court of Appeals or the Minnesota Supreme Court.
Whether you donate money or in-kind to a charity or nonprofit directly (through their website, in cash, or by check), through “fraudsters” (the FTC word), or through donation clearinghouses like Willamette Week’s Give Guide or the Oregonian’s Season of Sharing ….
Make Sure Your Donation is Doing What You Want it to Do – and learn a little about the nonprofit and fundraising world while you’re at it:
The Oregon Department of Justice Charitable Activities website is a good place to begin your research. Find these topics and more:
The State of Oregon Law Library (SOLL) is providing statewide access to 2 valuable legal research databases, previously unavailable for remote access to non-attorney Oregonians. (No legal research database is cheap, but pooling resources and making Really Good Value legal research databases available to everyone supports “access to justice” goals: to educate students, voters, and anyone else with an abiding lifelong intellectual curiosity about law, lawmaking, judicial process, legal rights, government, and politics.)
Link to EBSCO and Fastcase, from the SOLL Legal Resources webpage:
“1) EBSCO Legal Information Reference Center
If you haven’t seen these 2 articles in your news feeds then you’re not doing your consumer law education reading:
New York Times articles, by Jessica Silver-Greenberg and Michael Corkery, November 2015:
Beware the Fine Print, Part I: Arbitration Everywhere, Stacking the Deck of Justice
We love hearing about other excellent public law libraries that serve the legal community and the public decade after decade after decade …. The need never seems to end:
Harris County Law Library turns 100
“On October 1, 2015, the Harris County Law Library will celebrate its 100th anniversary. To commemorate the milestone, we have planned a Centennial Celebration focusing on our century of service to the Houston legal community and our bright future promoting open and equal access to justice for all. We would like to invite all of you to join us in our celebration! Although a trip to Texas may not be in the cards for everyone, please know that you are certainly welcome to join us if you are in Houston on October 1. Additionally, you can help us celebrate remotely by visiting our Centennial Digital Exhibit.”
News from the Oregon State Law Librarian:
“In addition to the EBSCO Legal Information Reference Center, all Oregon residents have access to Fastcase. Please click on https://apps.fastcase.com/Research/Public/Oregon/login.aspx and register as a new user. Content includes the United States Code, revised statutes, regulations, attorney general opinions, and caselaw for Alaska, Arizona, California, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington. Also included are archived statutes and session laws from HeinOnline.”
Link to the State of Oregon Law Library’s Resource page for many more research resources.
We try to update this Oregon Legal Assistance Resource Guide at least twice a year (you can also find the guide from the WCLL Legal Research Resources website), but additions, corrections, and suggestions are always welcome. You can “Leave a reply” to this blog post or you can “Contact Us” via email.
There is a new Multnomah County Circuit Court, Family Court FAQ guide on “How to Serve (Deliver) Legal Papers in Oregon.” (We thank Judge McKnight and her family law team* for this guide! They say “[i]t was developed for family law cases but we included Plaintiff/Defendant terms so that usage could be general.“)
Link from Multnomah County Circuit Court, Family Court website, if that direct PDF link is not working. Today the FAQ number is 23, but that could change as new tips and answers to questions are added.
You will need to refer to the Oregon Rules of Civil Procedure, which are referenced in this guide. You can find the ORCP at the OJD Court Rules website or link directly to them at the Legislature’s ORCP website. (For the most recent proposed and adopted ORCP rules, visit the Council on Court Procedures website.)
Law Library Hires New Public Services Attorney (from the press release):
“.… The Public Law Library of King County is pleased to announce that Marc Lampson has joined the Public Law Library to serve as the library’s first Public Services Attorney. The newly created position is an innovative response to the ever growing phenomenon of people representing themselves in legal proceedings. Recent statistics from the King County Superior Court show that in 63% of general civil cases at least one party was not represented by a lawyer. In domestic or family law cases, the percentage climbed to 80%. In 91% of the landlord/tenant or eviction cases, only the landlord was represented by a lawyer. In 50% of family law cases, neither side was represented. This trend is typical throughout the United States, and law librarians have found that these unrepresented litigants frequently come to the law library for help.
As a result, a few law libraries in other states have developed self-help centers to provide their patrons with not only research assistance, but legal assistance as well…. [Mark’s] work will eventually entail establishing a self-help center in the library to provide direct legal assistance for patrons and to coordinate further legal assistance through referrals, clinics, workshops, and innovative online methods for the delivery of legal services.
Oregon Legal Research Blog