May 2005 E-Newsletter- San Diego County Public Law Library

New Judges in the House Three new judges have been appointed to the San Diego Superior Court by Gov. Schwarzenegger. Lorna A. Alksne fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Wayne L. Peterson; David G. Brown fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Sheridan E. Reed; and Earl H. Mass III fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Bernard E. Revak. Recently, Judge William Mudd announced he too is retiring after 22 years on the bench in San Diego.

Supreme Court Says Public Access to Briefs Temporarily Discontinued U.S. Supreme Court recently announced it is going to temporarily discontinue public access to records, briefs, and transcripts of oral arguments. But don't panic! The Law Library has U.S. Supreme Court briefs in microfiche beginning with 1979/80 session through 2004/2005 session by docket number for both argued and unargued cases. An April 14th press release posted on the Supreme Court's website states, "Due to construction associated with the U.S. Supreme Court Building Modernization Project, on May 2, 2005 the Court's Library will temporarily discontinue public access to records, briefs, and transcripts of oral arguments. The Library will resume providing these services in October, 2006. The Library will remain open to members of the Supreme Court Bar during the Modernization Project. Briefs on the merits in cases that have been granted review by the Court are available on the Court's website through a link to the American Bar Association's website. The ABA website posts copies of merits briefs from the 2003 term through the present." In the past, transcripts of oral arguments were usually posted on the Court's website approximately 15 days after oral argument. Currently, the Court's website contains copies of transcripts for arguments from the 2000 Term through March the present. Transcripts from previous terms are also available on Westlaw and Lexis-Nexis. They may also be purchased directly from the reporting service, Alderson Reporting.

The Difference Between Blogs and Blawgs Many people write and post their thoughts in an online format. This is called a web log or a blog. Blogs that deal with legal issues are called "blawgs" which is short for "legal web logs." Blawgs are usually either written on a specific area of practice or written by a specific person (such as a law professor or individual lawyers such as Ernie the Attorney) on a variety of legal topics. Even if you don't like to read blogs or blawgs, it is important to know about them as they are becoming a big issue in employment law. While bloggers write on many topics like love, education, and politics, they also write about their workplace. And that's where the trouble begins. Employees must be very careful in posting comments to their personal blogs about their bosses, workplace or coworkers as some employees been fired over their comments. One of the most famous fired bloggers is Ellen Simonetti, a former Delta Airlines employee who runs a blog called Diary of a Flight Attendant. She was fired from Delta for posting racy photos of herself in her Delta airlines uniform. Another blog sports a listing of companies that have fired people for blogging. During litigation, one of most common assertions of fired bloggers is that their employer did not have a policy regarding blogging. If you don't have a blogging policy, don't despair! Some blogs provide sample policies for companies on how to draft blogging policies! Other blogs look at the legal issues around blogs. Now you know the difference between a blog and a blawg and some of the issues surrounding them. Should you start a blog? Take this quiz and find out!

Win $300 for Legal History Paper! The Law Library Justice Foundation of San Diego County is supporting the San Diego Historical Society's Institute of History's Call for Papers by offering a prize of $300 for history papers on aspects of San Diego's legal past. The prize is offered in the name of Judge Jacob Weinberger. Possible subject matter includes biographies of local lawyers and judges. Deadline for the submission is June 15, 2005. Papers submitted will be considered for publication in the Society's quarterly Journal of San Diego History. Read the rules for submission.

Servicemembers Civil Relief Act- What you Need to Know A military person called the reference desk recently and spoke to Barbara, one of our reference librarians. He asked whether he could be evicted from his apartment since he is in the military and is about to be deployed overseas. Barbara told him about the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, (SCRA) which may offer some help to him. This act "provides temporary suspension of judicial and administrative proceedings and transactions involving civil liabilities of members whose military service affects their ability to meet their civil obligations." She pointed him to the provision about rented living quarters. The SCRA can also affect other lawsuits involving military personnel as it affects statutes of limitations, default judgments, interest rates, powers of attorney and some tax matters.

May 12, 2005 - May 12th- Free MCLE noon- 2 p.m. "Doing Legal Research on the Internet" Starting Location: Main Learn about some of the online sources available at the law library and some available anywhere! A class called "Doing Legal Research on the Internet" will be offered free to Law Library attorney members on Thursday May 12th, from noon - 2 p.m. It is good for 2 hours of General Participatory credit. This free class is only available to current attorney members of the Law Library and is one of your membership benefits. For further information or to sign up, call (619) 531-3900. Note: We have a ten minute rule in effect for MCLE classes. If you reserve a spot but do not check in at least 10 minutes before the session begins, your reservation will be cancelled and your spot given to someone else.

Closed for Memorial Day All locations of the Public Law Library will be closed Monday, May 30th, in observance of Memorial Day. Normal hours will resume on Tuesday, May 31st. Click here to see a list of other 2005 holiday closure dates.

Black Boxes and Electronic Tracking Can evidence from "black boxes" in automobiles be used in court? It's looking that way. "Black boxes" are more formally known as "event data recorders" or EDRs. They are used in cars to record various data such as the speed of the car, brake use, seatbelt use and turn indicators. Several states, including California, are now allowing EDR evidence in courtrooms. But the data provided by EDRs is not without its flaws. For example, there are problems in data extraction and inadequate training in interpreting the data. In addition to cases, California passed a law in 2003 ( AB 213) adding section 9951 to the Vehicle Code outlining how EDR data may be used. This law requires automobile manufacturers who install "event data recorders" in vehicles to disclose that fact in the owner's manual. This law also limits the retrieval and use of data from such a device to the vehicle owner or others permitted by the owner, in response to a court order, for the purpose of improving vehicle safety or for servicing or repairing the vehicle. However, this law only applies to vehicles manufactured after July 1, 2004. Do you have an EDR in your car? Check out this .pdf document listing automobiles with EDRs on board. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has set up an entire webpage devoted to EDRs, including the item most beloved by librarians and researchers, a bibliography. There have been several of California superior court cases involving EDR and one unpublished appellate court decision. These cases are listed along wtih other national EDR cases on these sites: http://www.harristechnical.com/cdr5.htm http://www.collisionsafety.net/cdrcaselaw.htm

May 2005 Legal Links California Office of Privacy Protection - This deparment is part of the California Department of Consumer Affairs. This website discusses credit reports, identity theft, California privacy legislation and similar topics. Thanks to Pat M. for the link! Constitution Finder- Need a handy page for world constitutions? This site from the University of Richmond School of Law is a simple page with links to constitutions, charters, amendments, and related documents from countries around the world. And it's updated regularly, which is a good thing. Learn to navigate the Internet at http://www.aarp.org/learninternet/. - Okay so this site is put together by AARP, but you don't have to be a retired person to appreciate its simplicity and usefulness! This is a quick way to get some useful tips about surfing the Internet. The tutorials are very basic and easy to understand. There's even an e-mail newsletter available with helpful hints and tips on using the Internet.

Reference Question of the Month- Tracking a Cheating Boyfriend Q: I think my boyfriend is cheating on me. I want to secretly plant a tracking device I bought off the Internet on him or in his briefcase so I can figure out where he goes. Is this legal? A: No. While the web does offer lots of ways to spy on others, you need to understand that California has some strict privacy laws. Eavesdropping, checking his email and monitoring his phone calls are all no-nos. Regarding planting a tracking device, Penal Code 637.7 is quite clear that such an action is illegal. The code says "(a) No person or entity in this state shall use an electronic tracking device to determine the location or movement of a person." However, section (b) of the code does allow the owner of a vehicle to consent to the installation of an electronic tracking devise (such as LoJack). Be aware, though, that most of these restrictions don't apply to law enforcement.

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, Reference Librarian/ Head of Media Relations, at ahale@sdcll.org.