Oregon Legal Research Blog

I’ve talked in the past about food law (and food AND law) and had the pleasure yesterday of visiting the librarian at the Western Culinary Institute. This is clearly not a job for the “faint of diet” but it will lift your spirits, though in a different way from the previously mentioned Dr. Science, who, by the way, has been known to teach at the Iowa Summer Writing Festival if you are so inclined (Aren’t most lawyers supposed to be frustrated writers? And, as I’ve said before, aren’t most writers? )

During my visit to the WCI library, we did of course talk about law. Nowadays, food IS law, whether you’re starting a restaurant, running a restaurant, working in a restaurant, buying or selling food, and of course eating food. Oh, and don’t forget pet food (oy!) law.

Hmmm, I’m not sure if this post will make you hungry or make you ill.

This story from The Nation, Putting Science in the Dock, (by Barry Yoeman, 3/26/07 print issue) shouldn’t have made me laugh and think of Dr. Science, but it did. (When the going gets tough, the tough start laughing at the absurdity of it all.) It also reminded me how hard it is to explain Law to laypeople and I think Mr. Yoeman did a pretty good job of explaining scientific evidence, Daubert, and onward. Travis McDade, his The Book Thief, did a remarkably good job explaining the federal sentencing guidelines from A to Y (I’m not sure there ever will be a Z, which is not necessarily a bad thing). Reporting and storytelling is tough stuff and I appreciate it immensely when it’s done well.

From the Washington Canadian Embassy web site:

“Members of Inadmissible Classes include those who have been convicted of MINOR OFFENCES (including shoplifting, theft, assault, dangerous driving, unauthorized possession of a firearm, possession of illegal substances, etc.), or of INDICTABLE CRIMINAL OFFENCES (including assault with a deadly weapon, manslaughter, etc.). As well, those who have been convicted of DRIVING WHILE INTOXICATED (DWI) are considered Members of an Inadmissible Class. Driving while under the influence of alcohol is regarded as an extremely serious offence in Canada.

Those who have received TRAFFIC VIOLATIONS (including parking/speeding tickets, etc.) and other minor violations (i.e. littering, etc.) most likely will NOT be prohibited from entering Canada. Similarly, those who have JUVENILE CONVICTIONS (convictions for crimes committed while under age 18) most likely will NOT be prohibited from entering Canada unless they could have been tried as an adult for their offences. “

Read more, here.

Today’s Oregonian, 3/20/07, has a story on what happened in Multnomah County Circuit Court yesterday during the Nicholas Haley trial. I last posted on this case yesterday.

I wrote about this case back in June, in a post titled, “When is a judgment?” The Oregonian updated the story in Sunday’s paper (3/17/07) with a story by Anne Saker. The Multnomah County Circuit Court date for the plea agreement is today, 3/19/07.

This week’s story in the Willamette Week about the Oregonian incarcerated in a Mexican jail reminded me of the questions we get from people who want to do business, live, work, or invest in other countries. They search for information as if the enterprise would be no different from moving to another U.S. state.

Keep in mind that we in the law library business hear the stories about deals gone bad, so maybe we’re more cautious than most, but the caution really is not misplaced. A lot of people think doing business abroad is like doing business here, just in another language, but with the same sort of document recording systems, the same court systems, and the same legal protections. It’s not.

So, if you plan to make an investment or conduct other business in another country, do your homework. I’d probably begin my research with a strategy that looks something like this:

Future Lawyer blog has had lots of interesting posts lately on things and ideas that are of use even for those low-tech “It’s Geek to Me” lawyers, e.g. this story on lawyers and dot com domains. I know this seems high-tech, but it’s not. You should have a web domain for your firm. And it doesn’t hurt to look at the road ahead either. Besides, someone in your life might be forever yours and forever indebted if you give him/her this Web Watch.

Do you think Mayor Potter would take a pay cut if his Charter Review Commission recommended it? See this story by Jerry Boone about the Hillsboro Charter Review Commission process and the $3,000 Mayor. And if you haven’t been to Hillsboro lately, it’s worth a visit, though there’s a lot of Hillsboro to visit nowadays so leave plenty of time to sample the food, the parks, the people, the employers, and much more.

“Tattooed Mountain Women and Spoon Boxes of Daghestan“
“How Green Were the Nazis?”

There are more – oh my.

This is one way librarians keep sane – we laugh – yup, we’re pretty normal. You can link to the poll from the Law Librarian Blog or directly from here, the Bookseller dot com site. (Scroll down and to the right for the poll.)