If you’re interested in learning more about how Oregon Small Claims and Traffic courts operate, here’s your chance:
Oregon Small Claims and Traffic CLE
Presented by: Judge Steven A. Todd, Multnomah County Circuit Court
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What is a “Valid Signature” on an Oregon Initiative Petition?
Questions about Oregon initiative and referendum signature petitions are as old as the petition itself (1902) and as new as yesterday (see History links, below). The latest challenges are to the Secretary of State’s office tossing petition signatures for a 2010 ballot initiative that would change how the state manages legislative redistricting.
There are lots of recent news stories; online news readers can Google (or otherwise search) “oregon initiative petition signatures” with any variations you wish that develop as you read the stories. Don’t forget that the phrase “valid signature” may not be used in a story about petitioner signatures and instead, there may be words like signature verification, authentication, and similar words used in conjunction with the words petitions, signatures, and initiatives.
Keep in mind also that I know little about signature petitions (see Disclaimer, below), let alone the initiative and referendum process (other than as a voter), so come along on my:
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Oregon November 2010 Election: Gubernator (aka Governor) Candidates!
Brace yourself for a fun ballot in November.
If you want to participate, don’t forget to register to vote. Visit the Oregon Secretary of State Election Division or your county election office for information on registering online or in person.
November 2010 is the time to vote for a new Oregon Gubernator! (Why else would they call it a gubernatorial election?)
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Law Librarian (and law library) Jobs in Oregon
There are a number of Law Librarian position openings in Oregon this summer 2010. Visit the usual suspects for librarian job postings, but don’t forget the Oregon State Library Jobline.
The positions include an Assistant Law Librarian position in my own law library. You can link to a description and an application at the Washington County (Oregon) HR website.
The usual suspects for librarians seeking jobs include, but are not limited to state, regional, and local librarian listserves, professional associations such as AALL and SLA and ALA, PNLA, and LISJobs.
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Oregon Estate Law: Wills and Trusts: Forms and “Self-Help” Advice
This is an update to previous posts on estate planning (and on pro se litigants):
Public law libraries, and public libraries generally, get a lot of questions from people (non-attorneys) who want to write their own wills, draft their own powers of attorney, and who want fill-in-the-blank estate planning legal forms.
1) If you have no money, no property, no children or relatives in Oregon or any other state, no heirs, no interest in leaving what you do have to a charity or nonprofit, and don’t care if what remains of your estate (everything) goes to the tax collector and/or the state general fund, you don’t have to read on.
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Oregon Estate Law: Basic Forms and Practice Materials
While there are dozens of print resources (and even more online) on specific wills, trusts, and estate planning issues and questions, here’s a short list of the basic, not to be skipped, Oregon estate planning forms and practice materials. These are print-only resources in most law libraries, though some libraries may have on-site online or CD-ROM access.
1) Oregon State Bar (OSB) estate planning practice and course books
2) Oregon Will and Trust Forms in the U.S. Bank 3-volume set (also on CD-ROM)
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DIY Legal Research vs. DIY Lawyering
I’m an energetic advocate of DIY Legal Research (as are most public law library librarians) and a somewhat less than enthusiastic advocate of DIY Lawyering (aka self-help, self-representation, pro se litigation, pro per representation), especially for people who don’t have any research experience or aptitude for hours of study, note-taking, writing, preparation, decision-making, and the sense to consult experts when necessary (not to mention having the patience of a cat watching its prey).
I’ve learned over the years that the most successful self-help litigant isn’t necessarily the smartest person, though “smart” can help. But persistence, attention to detail, listening, patience, and good manners can often win out over “smart.”
Our best pro se litigants consult attorneys. The litigants save money by thorough research, study, observation, taking chances and making mistakes, and not a small amount of luck. They also have lots of energy that is used staying up late drafting motions, answers, letters, and reading the law, in all its procedural and substantive glory.
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Indexes: How to Save Time When Researching Legal or Criminal Justice Subjects
Whether you’re researching juvenile sex offender laws or marijuana taxation or jails or something in between, you will want to use an Index, that is, “indexes to periodical literature,” including magazine, journal, newsletter, and other print and online specialty or general publications indexes.
Indexes save you time, lots of time, and enable to you to locate articles you might otherwise miss if you search only full-text resources or simply “Google” a subject.
Most of the following indexes are online, but none is free online, although one or more may be “free” to institutional members, e.g. public library cardholders, educational institution students, staff, and faculty, and professional associations, to name a few groups that offer no-charge online index and other database and literature searching to their members.
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United State Code (U.S.C.) Lost Laws
It’s not hard to be perplexed when trying to understand the U.S. Code (link to searchable versions) and the niceties of codification. Maybe this will help:
Lost Laws: What We Can’t Find In The U.S. Code, Legal Research Plus (blog), May 23, 2010, by Paul Lomio:
(Re Article: Lost Laws: What We Can’t Find In The U.S. Code, by Will Tress, Golden Gate University Law Review, Vol. 40, Issue #2, Winter 2010, p. 129) (SSRN direct link.)
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Oregon Federal Court Jury Instructions
Periodically we are asked about jury instructions for the Oregon federal district court. We have the following on good authority, though in the world of legal research, all is subject to variation, circumstances, and change:
1) The Oregon Federal District Court has not (as of this date) produced its own jury instructions. They do make use of the ones from the Oregon State Bar (see Oregon Uniform Criminal and Civil Jury Instructions), Ninth Circuit Jury Instructions, and check federal court Local Rules.
2 ) There are jury instructions for the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. These are also available in print and online, free: