Oregon Legal Research Blog

Judges don’t want to be called Sir or Ma’am (here, under Decorum, Rule 9) but that doesn’t mean Sir and Ma’am aren’t exceedingly useful in other situations. In my own (incredibly valuable past) experience working in a big-city jail, the use of Sir or Ma’am when addressing defendants was probably more effective than just about any other calming technique we could have used short of offering defendants a free pass out of jail. It put a professional spin on what was in every other way a grim and uncontrollable environment.

Bill of Rights for Homeowners: AARP has a new report called, “A Bill of Rights for Homeowners,” and it includes a model statute for HOA-governed homeowners. The rights include:

Security against Foreclosure
Resolve Disputes without Litigation
Fairness in Litigation
Be Told of All Rules and Charges
Stability in Rules and Charges
Individual Autonomy
Oversight of Associations and Directors
Vote and Run for Office
Reasonable Associations and Directors
An Ombudsperson for Homeowners

Nursing Mothers and the Law: Public libraries have to draft all sorts of policies addressing all sorts of behavior in the library from Internet use, to clothing requirements, noise restrictions, and beyond. Most libraries consult attorneys and local law enforcement for advice on drafting these policies. I like to look at other libraries’ policies and recently looked at Seatle Public Library’s Food and Beverage policy. I got a good laugh because that is where they say, “Babies may be nursed in the Library.”

It’s 1:45, Do You Know Where Your Metadata Scrubber is? Another Findlaw story on electronic discovery and the new rules:

“Home computers, text messages, PDAs and internet service providers may be open to discovery during litigation because of changes in federal law, according to attorney Barney Robinson of Butler Snow, O’Mara, Stevens & Cannada, PLLC. “Mountains of data will be at risk, so companies need to take action now,” he said.”

Find X: And you thought law librarians didn’t have a sense of humor. From the Law Librarian Blog. (We’re much worse, really – LOL.)

A New Bedsworth – and the subject is OREGON: Bedsworth is addictive. I have posted on him before. He is also very funny, but don’t blame me for this month’s edition. It’s his fault.

Legalese in the Era of IM: Via Law Dawgs, visit Roger Hughes, and read his Legalese in the Era of IM piece in the State Bar of Texas Appellate Advocate newsletter. LOL.

Proposed Changes to UTCR: Here’s your chance to comment on proposed changes to the 2007 UTCR.

Armed Forces Code in Verse? Believe it – and I’m still laughing. Thank David at Shlep for the link to the Armed Forces Code in Verse and others if you can bear it.

Animal House and Land-Use Laws?: I suppose we have to admire them – and then again, maybe not. Findlaw has an interesting story about what happens when land-use laws mix with religion and frat boys (among others).