Oregon Legal Research Blog

1) Crime in the library, the lighter side (public librarians laughing darkly)

2) People with Mental Illnesses in the Library (public librarians not laughing, darkly or otherwise)

3) Library Law (lawyers and others who care about libraries, people, and law)

The Construction Claims Task Force Report to the 74th Oregon Legislature (also available here) has been published. The Construction Claims Task Force:

“The Construction Claims Task Force was created by the Oregon Legislature to address increasing construction claims and rising contractor liability insurance premiums. The task force was directed to study and evaluate the causes and extent of construction defects in Oregon, the need for consumer protection and the availability and affordability of liability insurance for contractors. The task force has prepared a Report to the 74th Oregon Legislature with recommendations for improving the construction environment in Oregon.”

The April 2007 issue of the Oregon State Bar Bulletin story by Melody Finnemore, “Uncharted Waters,” here. Excerpt:

“As a law student, Sam Kauffman never imagined he would see the U.S. government imprison human beings indefinitely while denying them access to a court of law to challenge their imprisonment.

Now, 14 years later, as one of several Portland attorneys representing detainees at the U.S. military base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Kauffman knows firsthand what it’s like to try to provide legal representation for someone who has been stripped of that basic constitutional right.

We get used to our court system and take it for granted that there are rules we abide by,” says Kauffman, who is of counsel with Garvey Schubert Barer. “The federal judges who are handling these cases seem powerless to do anything, and that’s unusual. Usually they say, ‘This is what’s going to happen’ and it happens.”

In a challenge to the validity Article VII (Amended) of the Oregon Constitution, the Oregon Supreme Court decided that the Court of Appeals is indeed valid. Opinion in here, Carey v. Lincoln Loan Company (S53242):

Judge Ballmer:

“Is the Court of Appeals lawfully constituted? Defendant Lincoln Loan Co. argues that it is not, because — in defendant’s view — the provision of the Oregon Constitution that purports to authorize the legislature to establish courts was improperly adopted in 1910. It therefore follows — again, in defendant’s view — that, when the legislature created the Court of Appeals by statute in 1969, it had no authority to do so. For that reason, defendant asserts, the Court of Appeals decision in this case, which reversed a trial court judgment in favor of defendant, is invalid and must be vacated. The Court of Appeals rejected defendant’s argument that that court was improperly established and ruled against defendant on the merits. For the reasons set out below, we affirm the decision of the Court of Appeals.”

Future Lawyer points to this very funny Myspace video, “Life After Death by Power Point” – at least it is funny to those Tufte-ites amongst us who hate PowerPoint or at best gnash our teeth when people abuse it.

Future Lawyer also has lots of other fine news for your Inner Geek, lawyer-style.

beSpacific links to a new GAO report on Older Driver Safety:

“As people age, their physical, visual, and cognitive abilities may decline, making it more difficult for them to drive safely. Older drivers are also more likely to suffer injuries or die in crashes than drivers in other age groups. These safety issues will increase in significance because older adults represent the fastest-growing U.S. population segment.”

beSpacific also links to a related GAO report: Older Driver Safety: Survey of the States

The Tarlton Law Library, at UT Austin, has a new database, Actual Innocence Awareness Database:

“The Actual Innocence awareness database provides a listing of United States resources to those interested in the area of wrongful convictions. It encompasses the categories of popular media (such as newspaper articles and segments which aired on television news magazines), journal articles, books, reports, legislation and websites. The materials are classified into what are considered the primary causes of wrongful conviction: forensics/DNA; eyewitness identification; false confessions; jailhouse informants; police and/or prosecutorial misconduct; and ineffective representation. There is also a “general” category for those items which defy further categorization. “

Link to directly or from beSpacific.

Two articles on Oregon law in the Oregon Law Review, vol. 85, #2, 2006 (previous issues online; the current one can be found at a law library and some public libraries):

“Of compelling interest: the intersection of religious freedom and civil liability in the Portland priest sex abuse cases,” 85 Oregon Law Review 481 (2006)

“Article I, Section 5: a remnant of pre-Revolutionary Oregon constitutional law,” 85 Oregon Law Review 541 (2006)

Battle Creek Inquirer story (linked to from Library Link of the Day, 4/9/07):

“Do you have a constitutional right to check out books from the library?

The Michigan Supreme Court this week will consider a case that could have major implications for the state’s 388 public libraries….