If you remember that Abbie Hoffman’s Steal This Book was about how to get Free Stuff, and stuff for free (beg, borrow, and steal), this blog post from the Beaverton (Oregon) City Library is better, much better – and you’ll stay on the side of the angels. No stealing, please. Scrounging, yes, but stealing, no.
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Right to Honest Services: 18 USC 1346
I just saw that the print edition of the National Law Journal has a cover story about 18 USC 1346:
DOJ may rein in use of ‘honest services’ statute: Fraud statute up for review was key to many convictions, by Lynne Marek, June 15, 2009
I can write 18 USC 1346 without even looking at the article. In fact, you could nudge me awake in the 17th hour of an 18-hour flight and whisper “right to honest services” in my ear and I’d mumble 18 USC 1346 without hesitation – and then go right back to sleep. (I know. Very sad.)
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SALC Race for Justice in Portland: Battle of the Law Firms!
This is Race for Justice weekend (Saturday, June 20, 2009), to raise money for the St. Andrew Legal Clinic (SALC), which serves low-income Oregonians in family law matters.
The Race for Justice really is a challenge! It’s a battle of Oregon law firms:
1) Bronze Sneaker Traveling Trophy!
2) Prevailing Parties!
3) The Markowitz Challenge: Bragging rights are on the line!
4) The Coulter Cup Family Law Challenge!
And more!
“Making a Difference: SALC helps bridge the gap for families who do not qualify for Legal Aid and can not afford to hire a private attorney. As a result of the legal representation that SALC provides, families have increased financial security, stay off of welfare and are overall more productive members of our society. And more children also grow up in positive and safe environments as a result of SALC’s intervention.
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Oregon Justice Courts (and Justices of the Peace)
Cutting public sector budgets is a complex enterprise. Sometime cutting $$ out of a budget means cutting 2, 3, or 20 times the original $$ cut, e.g. when you cut a budget item and lose the matching funds or when you cut “officers of the state” positions (e.g. state police or state park rangers) and lose the revenue from licenses or law enforcement.
Sometimes it makes sense to spend money to make money, which can work in the public sector the same way this works in the private sector. For example:
Oregon has a variety of county, municipal, and justice courts. And now it has a new county justice court. Read the online Blue Book entry on justice court judges (or follow the OJD link). You can also read the state statutes on Justice Court: ORS, Chapter 51.010 et seq.
Clackamas County’s new Justice Court has a new Justice of the Peace: Oregon City attorney named Clackamas County judge, by Steve Mayes, The Oregonian, Monday June 15, 2009.
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Oregon Marriage Licenses and other Vital Records (with a side of baby names)
If you get your marriage license in one Oregon county and get married in another, where can you get a certified copy of your marriage license 30 years later?
This is a slightly different question from the one I answered a little while ago: How do I find out if someone in Oregon or Washington is married? But the research is similar – and the following information also applies to Domestic Partnership records.
1) Check the Oregon county where you got your marriage license (the issuing county), not the one where the ceremony was held. Or, preferably (assuming a certain passage of time), contact the Oregon Center for Health Statistics, where you will find the Oregon’s vital records office, the resting place for Oregon birth, marriage, divorce, and death records.
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Medea in Oregon: Maternal Filicide
If recent heartbreaking events in Portland, Oregon haven’t sent those of literary or legal mind to the library or online to refresh your memory of the story of Medea (and other filicide tragedies), then you haven’t been paying attention:
1) Libraries will have multiple versions of the original tale.
2) Online ones include these (a tiny sample):
Greek myth (wikipedia)
Euripides Medea (wikipedia)
MIT Classics
Lord Byron translation
Google Books (medea)
Other articles about maternal filicide: here (search NCJRS: filicide) and here – all the more heartbreaking if you know about Broken Hearts Still Beating.
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Be an Oregon Queen (or King) of SHIBA: Senior Health Insurance
In Oregon, SHIBA, for Senior Health Insurance Benefits Assistance, assists Medicare beneficiaries and those going into Medicare through all the hoops of Medicare and the options that can lower out of pocket expenses for health care. Staffed by highly trained volunteers supported by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) as well as State Department of Human Services, they are available for one on one consultation, group presentations and classes to help people make informed decisions.
To find a SHIBA volunteer in your area, call the Oregon State SHIBA Office: 1-800-772-4134.
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Update to “Leaving Children Home Alone in Oregon”
See recent update (2/10/11), but also click on the Home Alone label at the bottom of this post.
In addition to my new Kids Home Alone in Oregon legal research guide and my rather lengthy previous post, from January 13, 2009, I add these:
1) A corrected link to the “What is the legal age for leaving a child home alone?” information at the Clackamas County Juvenile Department FAQ. This deep link changes periodically so don’t despair. Just hunt around a bit or leave a Comment here and I’ll look for the new link.
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Oregon Legislative Bill Tracking via Oregonlive
Liz alerts me to the Oregonlive Track a Bill service. For the average Jo(e), it sure is easier to use (though not more comprehensive) than the Legislature’s (official) bill tracking webpages, though the Oregonlive service will be around only as long as Oregonlive is around, which is why librarians want governments to preserve and protect government information on government websites. This too is an imperfect system, but for different reasons – elections!
In any event, take a look at the website, OregonLive Your Government and the Track a Bill slice. Interesting and educational.
You can read more about tracking Oregon legislation from this OLR post.
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Bad Drivers: Tailgaters, Rear-enders, and Self-Defense Strategies
The Oregonian’s Test Drive blog on Commuting had this article, “How to escape the scourge of the tailgater,” posted by Joseph Rose, The Oregonian June 08, 2009.
The actual statistics also match with my impressions from a while ago, when I looked at jury verdicts and rear-enders.
Those of us in front of tailgaters will recognize everyone, and all self-defense actions, described in the blog post. There is an interesting suggestion on how to cope safely with tailgaters, ones who are bad drivers and those with anger management problems: