May E-Newsletter- San Diego County Public Law Library

2nd Annual Witkin Lecture- "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 accused 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.

New Workers Comp. Law Rushed Into Effect On April 19th, Senate Bill 899, a reform package OK'd by both Democrats and Republicans, was signed by the Governor and went into effect immediately. The changes to the worker's compensation system were massive and are briefly summarized in an article by the Institute of Governmental Studies (IGS) at UC Berkeley. IGS is an interdisciplinary organized research unit that promotes research, training, educational activities, and public service in the areas of American and California politics and public policy. For a more thorough overview of how this bill affects different areas of the California Code, check out the summary of the law (in .pdf) by the California Division of Worker's Compensation.

New Rules Help with Unbundled Legal Services Last year in California, roughly 67% of those filing in family court did so without any legal representation. A growing response among family law practitioners is to offer unbundled legal services to clients who would otherwise be unable to afford any legal help whatsoever. This is where an attorney takes part of a case or helps prepare legal documents but does not represent the client from start to finish. Many lawyers are skeptical of this kind of lawyering because of the specter of malpractice. But two new California Rules of Court and a packet of risk managment forms from the Access to Justice Commission of the Judicial Council aim to help allay those fears. Rule 5.70 allows an attorney to help prepare a document without disclosing the attorney's involvement to the court or other parties, but only if the attorney has not agreed to make an appearance of any kind of behalf of the client. Rule 5.71 allows an attorney who is involved in a case on such a limited basis to withdraw without a signed substitution of attorney form from the client. California is one of the few states that specifically allows unbundling and there is plenty of debate about the issue.

5th Floor Reopened! Our 5th floor, containing all our superseded and older materials, has been repaired and is now accessible by our staff. We have older codes and statutes from all 50 states on our 5th floor in storage, as well as old Martindale-Hubbell law directories, Kelley Blue Books and other historical material. As many of you find out (sometimes at midnight the day before trial), Lexis and Westlaw databases don't have many statutes superseded before the early 80s. While conducting your research in our on-line catalog, if you see an entry that lists the location of a material as "Main Superseded/Storage", then all you need to do to get the material is take the call number to the Reference Desk of our Main Library and a librarian will retrieve the material for you. Superseded materials may be photocopied but they do not circulate. Ever.

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!

Cartoon of the Month- "Son of a CEO?" 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.

Getting Hosed by Gas Prices? Fight Back! According to San Diego lawyer Tim Cohelan, gas companies are engaging in illegal price fixing. So far the California Supreme Court disagrees, but that doesn't faze Cohelan, a well-known class action attorney and author of the oft-cited book California Class Actions. So while the courts figure out whether we are "getting hosed," how do you find the cheapest prices on gas? Check out SanDiegoGasPrices.com. This cool site features daily updates on where the cheapest gas is located, where the most expensive gas is being sold, and other cool info like a description of OPEC and graphs of gas price trends.

Innovative Law Library Appeals Class Manual Receives State Award The manual used as a text in a one-day course on appellate practice given by the San Diego County Public Law Library recently won a 2003 Ralph N. Kleps Award for Improvement in Administration of the Courts, awarded by the Judicial Council of California to programs which improve the California judicial branch by providing access, fairness, diversity, or quality of justice and service to the public. Mary Eikel, managing attorney at the Fourth District Court of Appeal, Division One (who is now retired), wrote the manual, and the instructor of our appeals class Breaking the Ice: An Introduction to California Civil Appeals Michael Kaye, helped proofread it. Entitled "The California Court of Appeal Step by Step Civil Appellate Manual: Court of Appeal, Fourth District," the manual instructs self-represented litigants who are undertaking an appeal in how to proceed in the Fourth Appellate District, Division One. However, the appendix provides a wealth of forms and samples which many practictioners use as well. The manual is available free either in print or online. Both practitioners and lay persons have been impressed by the appellate class offered here, and the appellate court in Los Angeles is considering hosting a similar type of class in their district. Congrats Mike and Mary!

Legal Links May 2004- Buying Prescription Drugs Online or Across the Border There has been a lot of information in the news lately about how people, especially seniors, are going to Mexico or Canada to purchase prescription drugs or are purchasing drugs online. This month we have compiled a list of sites dealing with that issue. DEA Congressional Testimony regarding the "personal exemption" provision of the DEA regulations regarding drug imports. This page cites several laws, including the Controlled Substances Act, and the "personal use exemption" found at 21 USC 956(a). Consumer Web Watch- "Online Drug Sales: Promise or Peril?"- Consumer WebWatch is a three-year, grant-funded project of Consumers Union, the non-profit publisher of Consumer Reports magazine, and their mission is to improve consumer trust in the World Wide Web by providing critical information on web sites. This article weighs the pros and cons of buying drugs online and looks at some recent legislation regarding buying prescription drugs from foregin sources. FDA: "Buying Prescription Medicine Online: A Consumer Safety Guide."- The Food and Drug Administration regulates the production and sale of food and drugs within the US. American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) Article- "States in Revolt Look to Canada for Rx Drugs." Discusses how some states are circumventing the drug laws so their citizens can buy prescription drugs via mail from other countries. The People's Guide to Mexico- Buying Prescription Drugs in Mexico- a page put together by several travel writers about what is available for purchase in Mexican pharmacies and what the average cost savings can be. CanadaDrugs.Com- "Safe Drugs from Canada Now Confirmed," a press release from a large online Canadian pharmacy about quality assurance in the drugs it sells. Pfizer.com- "The Value & Cost of Pharmaceuticals," a press release from one of the largest drug companies in American on why drugs cost less in Canada and Mexico.

New Books- May 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. AILA's Asylum Primer : a Practical Guide to U.S. Asylum Law and Procedure, 3rd ed. by Regina Germain, 2003. Availability California Three Strikes Sentencing, 2nd ed. by Hon. J. Richard Couzens, 2004. Availability International Law and the War on Terror by Fred L. Borch & Paul S. Wilson, eds, 2003. Availability Landmark Indian Law Cases, Hein, 2002. Availability Mexican Legal Dictionary and Desk Reference by Jorge A. Vargas, 2003. Availability Opening Statements : Winning in the Beginning by Winning the Beginning, 2nd ed. by Dominic J. Gianna, 2004. Availability Recovery of Damages for Fraud, 3rd ed. by Robert L. Dunn, 2004. Availability Teen Legal Rights, rev. ed., by Kathleen A. Hempelman, 2000. Availability Unlawful Detainer Procedures Manual prepared by the California Court Association Publications Committee, California Court Association, 2003. Availability

Reference Question of the Month- Stealing My Mail! Q: I live with several roommates. One of them is opening my mail. Is that a crime? A. Yes. Not only is that a crime, it's a federal crime! There are several federal laws relating to tampering with mail, most of which provide for punishment by fine or imprisonment or both. The laws regarding mail crimes are found in Title 18 of the United States Code, starting with 18 USC 1691. Section 1702 specifically says it is a crime to steal someone's mail, and section 1703 says it is illegal to open or destroy anyone's mail or packages. The United States Postal Service has issued Publication 146, a booklet in .pdf format that discusses mail theft, fraud, and other postal crimes.

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