The recent wildfires in Oregon, and tragic fire in Maui, are salient reminders that such disasters can affect any of us. They also have legal implications after the fact. Here are some resources in Oregon for those affected by natural disasters, and for those who want to prepare for such possibilities.
Preparation for Disasters
Preparedness Resources, Oregon Disaster Legal Services
The Oregon State Bar recently launched Free Legal Answers in partnership with the American Bar Association that uses volunteer Oregon attorneys to answer legal questions for free for qualifying patrons.
The site can help get answers to questions on Oregon topics such as family law, eviction, and consumer law. If you are interested in getting a question answered the website will guide you through the process. After the disclaimers on the first page, you will be taken to a page that gives more details on who qualifies and what is done with your information. This site is geared to help low-income patrons so be prepared to provide income information and to answer other questions. You can submit your question if you qualify.
There is a limit of 3 different legal questions per year and you must meet the qualifications each time you use the websites.
U.S. Representative Nadler (D-NY) introduced this bill in Congress on 7/19/21, with bipartisan co-sponsors. The bill has been referred to the Judiciary Committee. You can track its progress from Congress dot gov:
H.R.4501 (2021): To provide for the establishment of the Office for Access to Justice in the Department of Justice, and for other purposes.
Action: 7/19/2021 Introduced and then Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary
1) Articles of Impeachment against President Richard M. Nixon (93rd Congress: 1974): H.Rept. 93-1305): Impeachment of Richard M. Nixon, President of the United States: report of the Committee on the Judiciary, House of Representatives, Peter W. Rodino, Jr., chairman. (Source: Hathitrust catalog URL. Click on Full View URL for full text.)
2) Articles of Impeachment against President William Jefferson Clinton: H. Rept. 105-830 – IMPEACHMENT OF WILLIAM JEFFERSON CLINTON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES 105th Congress (1997-1998) (Click on PDF link if preferred over TXT version.)
3) Interesting impeachment trivia: Vice President Agnew requested the House to commence an impeachment inquiry. (See also the MSNBC Podcast, Bagman. Excellent storytelling and research.)
Remember the Plum Book, an interesting current and historical document (and usually a federal policy wonk job seeker’s tool)?
You can read the December 2016 edition of the Plum Book and previous editions. (If those links fail, just search these keywords: plum book United States Government Policy Supporting Positions)
If you are seeking a job as a U.S. Presidential and Executive Office appointee, you’ll need to update your Plum Book findings by searching more deeply, by agency, by hiring authority, by job posting service, and by news reports on the status of the position or its current or previous incumbent. You can also contact your U.S. Senators, some of whom will be members of the Committee that compiles the Plum Book (Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs United States Senate).
See this 3/28/18, post by Gavin Blake at the ALA District Dispatch:
“We did it! CRS reports will be public”
Excerpt: “After 20 years of advocacy by ALA, the public will soon have access to reports by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). A provision requiring public access to CRS reports was included in the omnibus appropriations law signed by the President on March 23.
Take a look at the future:
“Automation tools are enabling Washington D.C. to publish its laws much faster: A process that once took months can now be completed by a single person in just one week,” by By Colin Wood, from States Scoop, 1/12/18:
According to a recent announcement “[t]he United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit is taking further steps to ensure that information derived from the Internet and cited in official court opinions remains available even if the original online resource ceases to exist or is altered.” As of January 4, 2016, they automatically add PDF files of websites cited in documents to the case docket, accessible through their online case management/filing system and PACER.
From 2008 through 2015 the Ninth Circuit Library created and maintained an online collection of PDF files of Websites Cited in Ninth Circuit Opinions. This change will make the relevant files more apparent to researchers looking at a case docket.
Source: Online Citation Sources Added to Docket, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Jan. 1, 2016.
You can read a hundred articles about wolves and their prey, including the ODFW Wolf webpages, but not a single one will explain exactly WHY wolves are, or were, on endangered species lists.
If you look hard enough you really can find hundreds of articles on the WHY, but here is an interesting one that sums up the complexity of the issue:
Scientific American: “Can Wolves Bring Back Wilderness? [Excerpt]: People may find it hard to adapt to an ecology of predation and fear,” by Jason Mark on October 9, 2015:
Oregon Legal Research Blog