11/20/09 UPDATE:
1) Update: Link to the full text of the 11/13/09 Oregon Supreme Court decision.
2) Link to the 11/17/09, Oregon Secretary of State, Elections Division: Ballot Titles for 2010 January Special Election Measures: Measure 66 and Measure 67
If you want to find the most recent Oregon Supreme Court Ballot Measure Title decisions on Measures 66 and 67, visit the OJD News/ Media Releases website and look for the November 13, 2009, release, a PDF document.
The 2009 Oregon legislative session compilations are showing up in libraries and online (but don’t expect the 2009 ORS for a 2-3 months yet. Codification is a long, painstaking process):
1) The Oregon State Bar 2009 Legislative Highlights. (To purchase: Public Affairs: (503) 431-6376, toll-free in Oregon (800) 452-8260, ext. 376 or send an email to pubaff@osbar.org.)
2) The Association of Oregon Counties (AOC) has posted their 2009 Legislative Summary at their website (thank you AOC for making this accessible online, free!). (It’s in PDF format and runs 127 pages, 4.8 MB, so allow for that if your computers are a bit sluggish.)
The Oregon State Bar (OSB) has posted their Emergency Legislation Shortlist at their website:
“Bills Passed by the 2009 Oregon State Legislature With Effective Dates Earlier Than 1/1/10
The Oregon State Bar has released their Interpreting Oregon Law, 2009 edition, a welcome addition to any Oregon lawyer or law library collection.
You can find an order form and sample table of contents at their new releases webpage or link to it from their main OSB Legal Pubs website.
The Oregon State Bar 2009 edition of their Oregon Legislation Highlights arrived today and we’re very happy. It organizes by subject (or by legal practice area) over 400 bills and measures from the 2009 Oregon Legislative Session and is an invaluable research tool before and after the arrival of the 2009 Oregon Revised Statutes.
Visit Oregon Laws dot org to see the excellent and creative work Robb Shecter is doing with the current and the superseded Oregon Revised Statutes.
Superseded ORS 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, and 2005 (the 2007 is already on his website).
I also love how easy it is to find ORS section annotations at Oregon Laws dot org Give it a spin.
You can also find a searchable PDF copy of the 2008 Oregon AG’s Public Records and Meetings Manual at the Public Resource’s Bulk Resource archive, courtesy of Carl Malamud.
Previous OLR blog posts on this subject.
Thank you to Professor Bill Harbaugh for the lead and the link.
RE: 2007 SB 10 in the Oregon Supreme Court (not in the ORS, but you can find the enrolled bill at the Oregon Legislature’s website).
I’m well overdue with my post about this case, but maybe I will be just in time if the Oregon Supreme Court hands down their decision soon.
1) The name of the case is: VanNatta v Oregon Government Ethics Commission (docket number S057570) and the decision will be posted at the Oregon Judicial Department website (also from here or here).
One of the toughest lessons on the law for non-attorneys is that The Law is not black and white and that searching for The Law, or The Answer, in the texts of statutes and constitutions is only the beginning of the research adventure. Analysis, persuasion, persistence, and luck must also be stirred into the mix.
As a colleague of mine always tells his students: “If you read only what is written in the statutes and the constitutions you will be absolutely wrong about what the law is.”
Here’s one case, among thousands, but perhaps it can serve as a useful example. I recommend you read the whole case – the excerpts below are only to whet your appetite (notice also the complete absence of a retelling of the facts – frustrating to those who love the law in part for its stories). (And we don’t yet know if there will be an appeal, so this may not be the final word from the Oregon Courts.)
In case you hadn’t heard, the Oregon Administrative Rules (OAR) Bulletin (the monthly updates to the OAR), will be online only, starting January 2010.
The multi-volume Oregon Administrative Rules (OAR) itself will still be available in print.
Law and government documents librarians have been active for many years (especially the AALL Government Affairs office) on this issue of authenticity of government documents.
Oregon Legal Research Blog