You never know what you might learn when you search the blogs for Oregon legal news. For example, here’s a useful post:
Oregon Employers Should Take Care with Employee Payroll Deductions
There are more, and not just local bloggers (or blawgers if you prefer) commenting on Oregon law. Here is a quick way to search the blawgers who have signed up with this search tool:
So, how do you find out if a bill has become a law or where it is in the legislative process?
With the Oregon Legislature in session now, take this opportunity to explore the Legislature’s online resources for bill-tracking. It may be more interesting than you expect!
If this sounds familiar, it is. I’ve blogged several times about the legislative process, most recently here. But the more people who learn about law-making, the more people will participate in the process and the less likely we will have problems like this:
A recent case in libel reminded me of the proverb: the greater the truth, the greater the libel
(This proverb/quote has been attributed to Lord Mansfield and others, but also has roots in the doctrines of calumny and detraction, where, in lay terms, it’s worse to say something bad about a person if the thing is true than if it’s untrue, because you can’t retract it without telling a lie. Go ahead and have Google run a search on the words calumny detraction to see more or if you are interested in scholarly research on the subject, visit a law or theological library.)
From Media Law blog: “Think You Know Libel Law? Think Again:
“A bedrock principle of libel law is that truth is an absolute defense. If what you say about someone is true, the person cannot win a libel case against you, even if you defame them. The federal appeals court in Boston put a jackhammer to the bedrock this week. In Noonan v. Staples, it ruled that even a true statement can be subject to a libel lawsuit if it was said with actual malice. In so deciding, the three-judge panel did an about face, reversing its own earlier decision in the same case. You need not be superstitious to appreciate the import of this Friday the 13th ruling. It is the most dangerous libel decision in decades. The decision puts a crack in the bedrock that threatens to undermine free speech….” (read full post)
The incarcerated-wealthy have hard-time coaches – why not everyone else? Say what you will (and I bet there is a lot to say), this story is very interesting, very funny (in a very dark sort of way), and a whole lot provocative. (And, I posted before about a Jailhouse Lawyer’s Manual, but need to update the link to this .)
About to do time? Meet your best pal: Real estate scammers and other first-timers get a crash course in prison survival from enterprising ex-cons, by Mike Anton, February 27, 2009, Los Angeles Times.
On March 14, 2009, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m:
The Washington County Sheriff’s Office and the Westside Crime Prevention Coalition is offering an 8-hour training class help landlords and managers protect property from illegal activity, learn to properly screen prospective tenants, and gain an understanding of landlord rights and responsibilities. The class is being taught by John Campbell of Campbell Delong Resources. Mark your calendar for March 14, 2009, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., at the Beaverton City Hall, City Council Chambers, 4755 SW Griffith Drive in Beaverton. Registration is $30 and includes a manual plus a continental breakfast and lunch.
For more information contact Christine Rouches, (503)846-2579. The registration deadline is March 13, 2009
A recent story in the Portland Tribune (and many other similar ones lately) reminded me how many questions law librarians get from people who think conducting background checks is a quick, easy, cheap, and routine thing to do “on the Internet.”
Volunteering … to steal?: Portland mom repeatedly accused of theft while working for charity clubs (by Jennifer Anderson, The Portland Tribune, Feb 19, 2009)
Excerpt: “…Embezzlement happens all too often in volunteer organizations, Shen said, because many times fundraisers involve cash passed hand to hand, without receipts in place.
Information on bankruptcy for people who do not have lawyers is available from a U.S. Court website, Filing for Bankruptcy without an Attorney. (You can also link to the United States Bankruptcy Court, District of Oregon.)
Thanks to the Lane County Law Library Newsletter for the lead!
Was it Kierkegaard who said: “Life is lived forward but understood backward”?
In any case, the sentiment comes to mind when reading this article reprinted in Sunday’s print Oregonian Business Section:
“Three words fend off foreclosure: Produce the note,” by Mitch Stacy (AP)
Legal research is seldom quick and easy, but it sure is interesting. If you are at all inclined to dip your toe(s) into the Oregon Legislative process, here’s one way to start. Let’s say you want more information about a bill that was mentioned in a recent news story. I use one bill number for an example, but there are thousands more to choose from!
Re: 2009 HB 2537: Relating to powers of attorney; creating new provisions; amending ORS 93.670, 125.445 and 125.710; and repealing ORS 127.005,127.015, 127.025, 127.035 and 127.045.
1) Visit the Oregon Legislature’s 2009 Laws/Bills pages to track down the full text of this bill in PDF or HTML.
In my law library we not infrequently refer people to state (or federal) regulators, whether the question is about professional licensing, premises inspections, or other service within the purview of a government regulator.
But who regulates the regulator? This is not a new question and in fact has probably been around since there was anything to regulate (including the oldest of the oldest of professions).
In the news recently we hear about the stunning, stupefying, failures in the regulation of the food industry (peanuts, for example) and the financial industry (the SEC and Mr. Madoff, for example), and state and local examples of regulatory failures could be trotted out too (buildings, bridges, fire safety, etc.).
Oregon Legal Research Blog