Who appoints the Circuit Court Presiding Judges?
Read the Statute: ORS 1.003 (and always check the index and the annotations for more)
Experienced lawyers tell new lawyers this all the time: Read the Statute!
This is a follow-up to my previous post about researching the history of an ORCP rule. (And thank you again to the staff at the Oregon Council on Court Procedures!)
“Rules of civil procedure are promulgated in December of even-numbered years, submitted to the legislature at the beginning of the (odd-numbered year) legislative session, and become effective January 1 of the following EVEN-NUMBERED year. So the rules that we promulgate at our December 11, 2010, meeting will be looked at by the legislature in 2011 and will become effective January 1, 2012.
Statutory authority of the Council is found in ORS 1.735.”
Visit SCOTUS blog for a report and links: New Policy on Tapes Release
In Oregon, CD’s of the Oregon Supreme and Appellate Courts’ oral arguments are usually available the day after the hearing, depending on the bailiff’s work flow. To obtain a copy of the CD, contact OJD at 503-986-5553. The cost is $10 per argument (as of today). A form must be completed and payment is required in advance unless an attorney is requesting, in which case the attorney can be billed.
If you’re not an attorney, call and ask for specific instructions. Don’t try and find the information on the OJD website, unless you have a lot of time. There is a lot of information on the OJD website, but it’s difficult to find specific information. (All of us who work on websites know and understand the problem! We just have too much information to post for our customers, patrons, constituents, etc. and it seems not enough time to organize it all properly.) Sometimes THE TELEPHONE is your Best Friend!
A recent media release from the Washington County Health and Human Services Department describes their Mental Health Court:
Mental Health Court: Moving From Jail and Hospital to Stability in the Community
“Washington County’s Department of Health and Human Services Mental Health Division is partnering with other County agencies to help people with severe and persistent mental illness and criminal justice involvement live in the community safely. This is intended to help people avoid both hospitalization and going to jail as the result of their mental illness….
This September 28, 2010, editorial in the Oregonian is worth reading:
Cutting off voters for no good reason: Oregon county clerks defend a 20-day voter registration deadline even though the early cutoff disenfranchises some first-time voters:
Excerpt: “Over the years, the county clerks that run Oregon elections have embraced vote-by-mail, online registration and other innovations that have helped build one of the nation’s most respected state elections systems.
I’ve blogged before about the very useful Oregon Council on Court Procedures website. For those who remember plowing through the print versions of these documents … this website is a miracle!
And if you want to know some history about the OCCP, this website a good place to begin. (As for why the ORCP is buried in the ORS, between Chapters 11 and 12, you’ll need to wait for another OLR blog post. I asked Legislative Counsel this question not long ago but have yet to write up the answer.)
Legislative vs. Administrative Histories:
1) It is not unusual for a legal researcher to ask for a “legislative” history of a statute, when in fact there was no legislature involved in the statute’s, or rule’s, enactment or promulgation.
The Oregon Food Handlers Manual is not just for food-handlers. It’s for people who eat or buy food. Could this mean you?
1) If you eat in restaurants or at grocery stores, farmers’ markets, food carts, hospitals, country fairs, lemonade stands, fund-raising events, or just about anywhere else you buy food, you might be interested in how Oregonians are protected from food-borne illnesses.
2) Even if you don’t sell or serve food, if you EAT food, you might find the Food Handlers Manual interesting, along with the Oregon Food Safety website. (And for extra credit, you can read about Alcohol Server Education.)
It’s not too late to register to vote!
It’s not too late to register to vote!
It’s not too late to register to vote!
Assuming, of course, that you are reading this BEFORE October 12, 2010.
Visit the Oregon Secretary of State Election Division or your county election office for information on registering online or in person.
More about the November election.
Dewsnup v. Farmers Insurance Company of Oregon, (SC 057895), decided September 16, 2010:
“…Today, the Oregon Supreme Court ruled that, based on plaintiffs’ expert’s affidavit, the question whether a roof, after a homeowner has begun to disassemble and repair it, remained a “roof” for the purposes of a homeowners’ insurance policy, was a question of fact that must be decided by a jury rather than being determined by a judge on summary judgment….” (Read full 9/16/10, Media Release or full opinion.)
The upcoming Banned Book Week, September 25 – October 2, 2010, gives us an excuse to wax poetically, briefly, with dignity, and without matches, on how to object, also with dignity and without matches, to a book in your public library. It’s quite easy:
Call, or
Visit, or
Connect to your library’s website.
Express your displeasure, with principled reasons,
And, simply, ask that your complaint about a book be heard (and responded to)
By the Library Director, Library Board and Library Managers.
For example, the Multnomah County Library offers many opportunities for you to communicate with the library’s Director and managers. Or, you can find your library at one of these Oregon library directories.
For more information on banned books:
Oregon Legal Research Blog