June 2004 E-Newsletter- San Diego County Public Law Library

Top Litigator James J. Brosnahan to Speak On "Law in Time of War" James J. Brosnahan, a senior partner at Morrison and Foerster, LLP, is a well-known litigator who has tried more than 130 cases including defending John Walker Lindh, the American convicted of fighting for the Taliban. He will discuss that case, and focus on the history of equality principles governing the rights and obligations of participants in a war when he speaks on the topic of "Law in Time of War" at the Second Annual Bernard E. Witkin Lecture on June 16, 2004, 12:15 p.m. at the U.S. Grant Hotel. Sponsored by The Witkin Legal Institute, in conjunction with the Law Library Justice Foundation's Lindley Lecture Series, this presentation is eligible for 1 hour participatory MCLE credit. Tickets for the event are $30 and include a lunch of Cobb salad, dessert, and beverage. Reservations may be made by calling Amy Conrad at (619) 531-4449 or e-mailing her. You may call Amy to pay via credit card by June 12, 2004. All checks must be received no later than June 12, 2004, payable to the Law Library Justice Foundation, 1105 Front St., San Diego, CA 92101. Brosnahan has been inducted into the State Bar of California's "Trial Lawyers Hall of Fame," was honored with the Samuel E. Gates Award by the American College of Trial Lawyers, and was named the "Trial Lawyer of the Year" by the American Board of Trial Advocates in October, 2001.

Finally! San Diego Superior Court Case Index Now Online It is now possible to find out if someone has been involved in litigation for the past ten years without making a trip to the courthouse! The San Diego Superior Court now has its Court Index System online. It allows users to find cases and where the case was heard. Search options allow you to find a case if you know the name one of a parties, the case number, or the District Attorney (DA) case number. Simply type in the last name of the person you are looking for and use the pull down menu to specify which court the case was in (criminal, civil, domestic, etc). If the person has been sued or has sued someone else, an entry will appear. Click on "File Location" to find out where the file can be found. The file information itself doesn't appear online, but this index allows you to avoid going to the wrong courthouse to get the information you need. Juvenile, Misdemeanor and Traffic cases, however, are not included in this index. You will still have to risk a trek to the courthouse to see if there is any information on a particular party in one of those courts.

CLOSED for 4th of July Holiday All locations of the San Diego County Public Law Library will be closed Monday, July 5th to celebrate Independence Day. The Main location of the Law Library will be open for its regular hours on Saturday, July 3rd. All locations will reopen Tuesday, July 6th with regular hours.

Using Camera Phones in the Courthouse Judges and librarians have two things in common. We both love order and we hate cell phones (at least we hate to hear them ring in inappropriate places). A recent article describes how one judge dealt with the ringing of a cell phone in his court. He ordered it dropped out of a five-story window. Some lawyers in other states complain about the "cell phone police", but San Diego's courts are much more relaxed when it comes to cell phone usage. To date, cell phones are not forbidden in San Diego's courthouses, but some judges do forbid them while in their courtrooms. Those courtrooms have signs posted on the door to remind everyone to turn off their phones. However, the ringing of the phone is only one problem that the courts face. Now that phones and PDAs can also take pictures and video, the San Diego court has had to decide whether there needs to be a local rule about recording usage. "We looked at the issue and decided we didn't need a local rule," said Marilyn Laurence, Public Affairs Officer of the Superior Court. "We [San Diego Superior Court] adhere pretty closely to California Rule of Court 980 when it comes to recording devices," she said. Section (c) of this rule is clear: "Except as provided in this rule, court proceedings shall not be photographed, recorded, or broadcast." Moral of the story? Use your technology wisely. Put it away while in court (and in the library!).

Milberg Weiss Splits Up It's official. Megafirm Milberg Weiss has split into two firms. One will be located in New York and the other will be headquartered here in San Diego. The San Diego firm will now be known as Lerach Coughlin Stoia & Robbins LLP. The firm split along geographical lines (i.e. East Coast vs. West Coast) and, some say, due to style differences between the two longtime partners of the firm Melvyn Weiss and William Lerach.

New Books- June 2004 Here is a list of some of our newest acquisitions. Please note that while some of these books are located only at our Main Library, books that circulate can be sent to our branches upon a request from the branch. Click on "Availability" at the end of each entry to see which location has the book and whether it circulates. CHECK SHELVES means the book can be checked out. LIB USE ONLY means the book cannot be checked out. If you see a date, that means the item is checked out and is due back on the date shown. California Attorney's Guide to Damages by Robert Cassell, CEB, 2004. Availability COBRA: Employer's Guide to the Federal Health Insurance Continuation and Portability Rules, 9th ed. by Richard J. Simmons, Castle Publications, 2003. Availability Expungements: Freedom from the Disability of a Legal Record, 3rd ed. U.S. Law Books, 2005. Availability Federal Trial Handbook-Criminal, 4th ed. Thomson/West, 2003. Availability Premises Liability in California: Law and Practice by Michael Paul Thomas. Thomson/West, 2004. Availability Rights of Juveniles: The Juvenile Justice System, 2nd ed, by Samuel M. Davis. Thomson/West, 2004. Availability The Rights of Lesbians, Gay Men, Bisexuals, and Transgender People, 4th ed. by Nan Hunter, Southern Illinois University Press, 2004. Availability The Rights of Patients, 3rd ed. by George J. Annas. Southern Illinois University Press, 2004. Availability The Rights of Publicity and Privacy, 2nd ed. by J. Thomas McCarthy. Thomson West, 2004. Availability

Jim Crow Laws Finally Repealed A report by a University of Arizona study group entitled "Still on the Books: Jim Crow and Segregation Laws Fifty Years after Brown v. Board of Education: A Report on Laws Remaining in the Codes of Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia"( available in .pdf) has spurred legislatures in Louisiana and Missouri to change some outdated or offensive laws. May 17th marked the 50th anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education decision by the Supreme Court to desegregate schools.

Legal Links- June 2004 Here are some of the most interesting links we've come across this past month. Futureme.org- This cool site allows you to send an e-mail to your future self reminding you about important events or just ruminating on where you'll be in ten years or so. It's even more interesting to read the letters that others have posted to send to their future selves. Quite the insight into the human character.... The Lawyer's Story- This page, part of the Law and Popular Culture Collection at the University of Texas School of Law, is simply a listing of e-texts on the art of lawyering, and lawyers in movies, books, and other media. You can also find writings by lawyers on such topics as "Lawyers in Film," "Law and Love in the Merchant of Venice," "Lawyers as Superheroes," and more. Obitpage.com- if you need to see if someone has "passed on," "gone to the great beyond," "bought the farm" or otherwise expired, this is a great place to start. It links you to the obituary section of over 40 newspapers and even has a section of some of the best obituaries ever written.

Cartoon of the Month- Techno Budget This cartoon is one of Stu's Views. These are cartoons by a local lawyer, geared for lawyers. Stu is an entertainment lawyer here in San Diego who represents mostly visual arts creators. As he says in his bio on his home page, "Stu is the lawyer for cartoonists and the cartoonist for lawyers." See other cartoons by Stu at www.stus.com.

US Courts Library Closed Until July The library for the United States Courts, San Diego branch is currently undergoing a renovation of the heating, ventilation & air condition (HVAC) units and is not physically open to US attorneys, the Federal Defenders or other outside attorneys. However, phone and e-mail services are still operational. The targeted reopening date for the library is around July 22, 2004. In the interim, please feel free to come to the Main location of the San Diego County Public Law Library for all your research needs! We have many federal resources including Rutter Group's Federal Civil Procedure Before Trial, Federal Civil Trials and Evidence, and Federal Ninth Circuit Civil Appellate Practice as well as the 30 volume set of Moore's Federal Practice, pattern interrogatories, and more!

Reference Question of the Month- Protesting Q: Yesterday I picketed my landlord's house protesting the newest rent increase. The police showed up and said it is against the law to "target" and picket a particular house. However, they told me it is OK to march up and down the street with my sign. Can you tell me what they were talking about? A: Yes. Protesting is a right that is guaranteed under the First Amendment but how, when, and where one can protest can be regulated, according to the Supreme Court. In its decision Frisby v. Schultz, 487 U.S. 474 (1988), the Supreme Court said that picketing someone's house violated a person's privacy and that a city or state can enact laws to avoid intrusion. However, a public street, even one that runs through a residential area, is fair game for picketing as it is open to the public. Some cities have enacted laws that say you must stay at least 300 feet away from the targeted person's residence, but San Diego's ordinance, found at section 52.2003 simply says "It is unlawful for any person to engage in picketing before or about the residence or dwelling of any individual in The City of San Diego." Thus, picketing outside someone's house may not be a great idea. If you are picketing by walking up and down the street, though, you stand a better chance of avoiding a ticket and/or a lawsuit. Good luck!

We hope you've enjoyed our newsletter. We're hard at work on the next edition. In the meantime, please visit us online at: http://www.sdcpll.org/. And come see us in person at one of our locations. For locations and hours please click here: http://www.sdcpll.org/location.htm. For more information contact: Amy Hale-Janeke ahale@sdcll.org Media Coordinator / Reference Librarian (619) 531-3900