Legal Subject Area Guides

Published on: October 25, 2011

“My roommate is a high-strung moron” and Blog Comment Policies

By Laura Orr

“My roommate is a high-strung moron.” This was the first line of a letter to “The Ethicist” column, in the New York Times Magazine, September 18, 2011, and it reminded me that I wanted to blog about “Comments” policies.

This “my roommate is a moron” type of statement, and its close cousins (e.g. “my fat, ugly, stupid friend, sister, brother, mother,” etc.), will be familiar to anyone who writes online and allows Comments. Comments can be useful, informative, responsive, educational, helpful, and thoughtful. However, they generally are not. I’m not sure why and won’t waste time wondering why not.

For practical purposes, though, it’s useful for blogs and websites to have a Comment Policy so readers and Commenters are forewarned about why they may see the Comments they do see and why their own Comments might not see the light of day.

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Published on: October 17, 2011

9+ Job Searching Resources for Oregon Ex-Offenders

By Laura Orr

The Beaverton City (Oregon) Library Blog has posted an excellent list of resources:

Job Hunting Resources for Ex-Offenders

Published on: October 13, 2011

New legal research guide – Vital Records

By Holly

The Washington County Law Library has a new legal research guide on filing, finding, registering, and amending Oregon vital records and locating vital records from other states. For information specifically about Oregon marriage licenses, see Laura’s previous post from June 2009. If you are trying to locate divorce records, see my post from September 26, 2011. As always, you can locate all of the documents uploaded to the law library’s website in our document index.

Published on: October 9, 2011

Dramatic Readings of Apple Software Licenses

By Laura Orr

“Dramatic Readings of Apple Software Licenses,” by Richard Dreyfus. What else needs to be said?

Published on: October 9, 2011

Oregon eCourt Policy Recommendations – and Glossary

By Laura Orr

The Oregon State Bar has posted links to the OJD’s eCourt team’s policy papers and more. “These recommendations will be discussed at two upcoming meetings at the OSB Center. These are October 18th and November 15th at 1:30 PM.”

You can find these and more documents at the OJD eCourt Publications website (or from the OJD homepage), including an Oregon eCourt Glossary.

Published on: October 5, 2011

Online Book Privacy Law – in California

By Laura Orr

See the Law Librarian Blog, October 4, 2011, blog post:

California Enacts Book Purchase Privacy Law

Published on: October 4, 2011

May the Best Decision Win: Hackers, Worms, Power, and Digital Law

By Laura Orr

Stop the presses! It’s all online!

Wait. I don’t think so, yet, assuming also that you could even afford the online version.

When “it’s all online,” which version of a Court Decision will “Rule” the Day?

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Published on: October 4, 2011

How Do You Want to be Remembered? A Tribute to California Appellate Court Presiding Justice, David Sills

By Laura Orr

Lest you think Justice Bedsworth writes only humor – and appellate court decisions, read on:

“October 2011 – David George Sills (March 21, 1938–August 23, 2011),” by Justice William W. Bedsworth

Excerpt:

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Published on: September 27, 2011

New Legal Research Guide – Vehicle and Traffic Laws

By Holly

The law library has a new legal research guide on Oregon vehicle and traffic laws. So, if you have a traffic ticket, or just want to learn where to find out about those weird flashing green left turn arrows, check out the new guide on the Subject Guides page of our website. If you’re trying to find a document on our website but aren’t sure where it is, check the Document Index, where we’ve uploaded every document that appears on our site.

Published on: September 26, 2011

How Do I Get Copies of My Divorce Records?

By Holly

We’ve been receiving numerous calls lately from people wanting copies of their divorce records. The first step is knowing which county would have the records (where did the divorce occur?). From there, you need to contact the applicable circuit court. The Oregon Judicial Department (OJD) provides links to each circuit court (left-hand side of the page in a drop-down list under “Circuit Court Websites”). OJD also provides these instructions for finding copies of court records or information on court cases. Note, your court records may be in the court’s archives or another off-site location, affecting the amount of time the request will take. Some courts handle record requests both in person and by mail. See the Washington County Circuit Court Records Department webpage for information on obtaining Washington County court records (the page also provides information on the difference between copies, certified copies, and exemplified copies). You can find more information on divorce and family law matters in Washington County at the law library’s divorce/family law page.

If you are looking for information on finding copies of Oregon marriage licenses, see Laura’s blog post from June 2009. The law library’s divorce/family law page also has information on filing and finding vital records.