Articles Posted in Legal Subject Area Guides

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“Social director” used to be viewed as a job for the boss’s wife or a job for paid “social butterfly.” but the 21st century “social media” director has education, imagination, writing skills, and respect. The life of a PIO will never be the same again.

Multnomah County has opened up a job for a “Chair’s Office Communication Director/Multnomah County Social Media Coordinator.” It closes on 5/20/09, so don’t dawdle.

“Do you tweet and use Facebook? Are you experienced with building social communities? Can you crank out news releases, editorials, and web content on tight deadlines? Have you been a one-person video crew? Are you a stickler for grammar and punctuation? Do you know your way around web tools, web development and search engine optimization?

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The questions about complying with Oregon’s Smokefree Workplace Law (2007 SB 571, 2007 Laws Chap. 602) are thick on the ground, or in the air.

As is true with a lot of new laws, no one is completely sure how this law will all play out in real life. A lot of planning went into its drafting, and now that it has gone into effect, people are still asking those “what if” questions.

If you have a question about the Smokefree Workplace Law:

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KCLL Klues posted this Positive Law and other U.S. Code Mysteries a little while ago and it reminded me that some of my own readers are new to legal research and also curious about such things. What IS positive law anyway?

No, positive law isn’t law in your favor, but that’s not a bad guess. Nor is it law that says, “yup, it’s yours, all yours, and you can do what you want as long as you don’t scare the horses,” rather than those pesky “thou shalt NOT” laws. It’s also not the opposite of negative law!

(Just as “legal” isn’t really the opposite of “illegal” though we’ve come to accept it that way. It’s all legal on this legal research blog, and it’s all lawful too, but not all legal blogs behave lawfully.)

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For a lesson on how Oregon has heretofore interpreted legislative history (and intent) – and how they will do so henceforth:

Oregon v. Gaines (SC S055031), April 30, 2009

“…The question presented — i.e., whether defendant’s conduct, as described, constituted a “means of * * * physical * * * interference or obstacle” within the meaning of ORS 162.235(1) — poses an issue of statutory interpretation. The methodology that Oregon courts follow in interpreting statutes is a distillation of settled interpretative principles, some of which have been codified in Oregon statutes since early statehood and others of which have been articulated in this court’s case law for many years. Mastriano v. Board of Parole, 342 Or 684, 691, 159 P3d 1151 (2007). The methodology, as outlined in PGE v. Bureau of Labor and Industries, 317 Or 606, 610-12, 859 P2d 1143 (1993), entails three sequential levels of analysis to determine the legislature’s intent. First, the court examines the text and context of the statute. Id. at 610-11. If the legislature’s intent is obvious from that first level of analysis, “further inquiry is unnecessary.” Id. at 611. “If, but only if,” the legislature’s intent is not obvious from the text and context inquiry, “the court will then move to the second level, which is to consider legislative history[.]” Id. at 611.(2) If the legislature’s intent remains unclear after examining legislative history, “the court may resort to general maxims of statutory construction to aid in resolving the remaining uncertainty.” Id. at 612.

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Today’s Oregonian has an editorial by Oregon Senator Bonamici and Portland City Commissioner Nick Fish about Senate Bill: 2009 SB 952 (A-Engrossed) in PDF or HTML:

Excerpt from the editorial: Renters, too, can face the hit of foreclosure:

“Losing a home to foreclosure can be devastating. Typically, homeowners come to mind when we think of foreclosure. But the fact is, many foreclosed properties are places that renters call home, too….
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The Oregon Legislature is working on Senate Bill 952 to protect tenants whose homes are in danger of foreclosure. This bill would require that in addition to the property owner, tenants be provided with foreclosure notice. Tenants without a lease would receive 30 days notice. Tenants with a lease would receive up to 60 days notice. SB 952 also protects tenants’ security deposits, requiring that landlords in foreclosure apply the deposit toward rent. The bill gives tenants time to look for a new home and save money for expenses….” (read full editorial)

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I like this: Publisher Confidential. Writers might find it useful too.

It’s from the creators of Unshelved, who have been talking, and listening, to public librarians for a long time. You can download Publisher Confidential (PDF), free!

Law librarians could probably add a few more pages, but we’re not as restrained as the public librarians featured in Publisher Confidential. Maybe we’ve just been pushed a bit too much and too hard in the past couple of decades and are may be approaching “Fleeting Expletives” territory.

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Re: Oregon 2009 HB 3264

Oregon looks at tougher probation for lesser crimes, by Maxine Bernstein, The Oregonian, Sunday May 03, 2009:

Excerpts: ‘Gov. Ted Kulongoski wants to use $13.5 million of Oregon’s federal stimulus dollars to create an enhanced probation program for repeat property and drug offenders who might otherwise face prison under Measure 57.

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For those of you tracking citizen’s arrest cases:

Oregonian article: Parking-law bulldog drops a case: Citizen citations – Attorney Eric Bryant ticketed officers in prohibited zones, May 02, 2009, Aimee Green:

Excerpt: “An attorney who sparked a widespread debate about whether police officers who aren’t responding to emergencies need to follow parking laws has dropped his latest fight.

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The newly redesigned Washington County (Oregon) website is up and running, however …

One of the many perils of migrating to a new county webpage is that links from this Oregon Legal Research blog to research guides on the Washington County (Oregon) Law Library’s (WCLL) webpage will be misdirected. Not all of them, but too many. I am slowly making my way through the cleanup, including updating previous blog post links to some of our most frequently used research guides.

Here is the list so far, with correct links for the guides I’ve been told are not linking properly from old posts. (You can also get to these guides from the WCLL webpage.)

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