You can view the 2011 State of Judiciary presentation by Chief Justice Paul J. De Muniz at the OJD website. And you can read the transcript, too.
If the State of the Courts Addresses link does not work, you can also link to it from the OJD News webpage (and then click on What’s New). You’ll see the link to the 1/25/11 presentation by the Chief Justice to the City Club of Salem.
Some legal-research and access to justice related highlights from the Chief Justice’s speech:
Multnomah County Library’s “Conversation Project” (“[t]his series is part of a statewide humanities program that promotes thoughtful discussions about important ideas.”) covers some interesting topics, including this one:
The Voters Have Spoken: Oregon’s Controversial Ballot Initiatives, with Jackson Miller, Saturday, March 19, 2–3 p.m. (Troutdale Library)
In these opening days of the 2011 Oregon Legislative Session, a reminder is in order, especially for people who know they will likely have to compile a legislative history one of these days:
Public records laws, open secrets policies, public meetings laws are all well and good – and you can see Oregon’s Public Records and Public Meetings Manuals posted at the Department of Justice website – but what do you do if you need a legislative history of a law, including its public hearings?
People use their public law libraries and the State Archives (in Salem) every day to research legislative histories of Oregon laws.
One of our local attorneys and I have been having a conversation about effective dates of ballot measures. Effective dates for ballot measures are different from the constitutional and statutory ones for statutes that are enacted by the Oregon Legislative Assembly.
The Oregon Constitution, Article IV, Section 1 (4)(d) says:
“… Notwithstanding section 1, Article XVII of this Constitution, an initiative or referendum measure becomes effective 30 days after the day on which it is enacted or approved by a majority of the votes cast thereon. A referendum ordered by petition on a part of an Act does not delay the remainder of the Act from becoming effective….”
One could wonder what “the day on which it is enacted or approved by a majority of the votes cast thereon” means. Is it the date of the election or the date of the certification or the date of a ballot recount, if there is one? Not to over-think it, which lawyers (and law librarians) do all the time, common sense says that it is the date of the election, assuming the measure passed.
To confirm this, I wandered here and there online (it’s too soon for the Measure in question to be anywhere in print given that it passed just last November), from the Legislature’s website to the Secretary of State, Elections Division, website, and beyond, to no avail.
My next starting point became the blog post I wrote back in 2007: Effective Dates of (Oregon) Legislation
Just a reminder about this terrific resource:
“How an Idea Really Becomes A Law,” 36 Willamette L. Rev. 1 (2000), by former Legislative Counsel Gregory A. Chaimov, (or link to it from the Oregon Legislative Counsel website).
There is also a lot of information on the Legislature’s website about how to testify before an Oregon legislative committee.
The Kip Kinkel case (Kinkel v. Lawhead (A137866),decided by the Oregon Court of Appeals on January 12, 2011, can be found at the OJD website:
Link to full case or to the very helpful Media Releases, where you can find summaries for most Oregon appellate court decisions.
From Oregon Judicial Department (OJD) Media Releases:
“ Notice of Opportunity to Review and Comment on Proposed Uniform Trial Court Rules Changes for 2011 (Then click on “What’s New.”)
This notice is made pursuant to UTCR 1.020(3) which requires official notice of proposed changes to be posted on the Oregon Judicial Department website (http://www.courts.oregon.gov), allowing at least 49 days for public comment before final action is taken on the proposals. To review the proposed changes and the process for submitting public comment, click here.
1) Stay tuned for the 2011 Oregon Legislative Session. And don’t forget that we will now have annual sessions, which will be even more exciting for law librarians who already have to explain the difference between session laws and codes. (You can also read about codification and my other attempt to explain session law vs. codification/codes.)
2) Visit the Oregon Legislature’s website for links to current and previous bills and laws.
3) About those Annual Sessions: See Ballotpedia’s entry and links for the 2010 Measure 71 that was approved by voters in November 2010. It amends the Oregon Constitution: “Amends Constitution: Requires legislature to meet annually; limits length of legislative sessions; provides exceptions.” (Measure 71)
4) Legislative Hearing Minutes: don’t forget that you now have to listen to the hearings in full to find out who said what. Visit the Oregon Legislature’s website for audio/video links. (Read more about legislative intent and legislative drafting and interpretation.)
Oregon territorial laws (Acts of the Legislative Assembly of the Territory of Oregon (July 1849- May, 1950)) are now in Google Books.
The simplest way to find them is to type the words “oregon territorial laws” into Google Books.
You can also search “Oregon statutes” to find more.
Portland State University (PSU) and the PSU Millar Library will be closed from Saturday December 18 through Sunday December 26, 2010, due to budget reductions.
PSU affiliates will continue to have access to the Library’s extensive online resources and to 24/7 online chat assistance through the Oregon Libraries Network (L-Net) (a service funded by the Oregon State Library and staffed by Oregon librarians, and others around the U.S.).
If you want to speak out to your elected officials about budget priorities:
Use the Oregon Legislature’s Find Your Legislator tool to locate contact information for your state and federal elected representatives.
Oregon Legal Research Blog