REVISED! September 2005 E-newsletter, San Diego County Public Law Library

Final copy of SDCPLL's September 2005 Newsletter Resent Due to technological problems and the change in editorship of the newsletter, an unedited version of the September newsletter was sent out. SDCPLL apologizes for this error and asks that you enjoy this final edition of the Sept. 2005 newsletter.

Meet 2005 Witkin Award Winner Michael Dessent Meet the 2005 Witkin Award Winner Michael Dessent Each year, the Law Library Justice Foundation (LLJF) presents the Bernard E. Witkin, Esq. Award to honor members of the San Diego legal community for civic leadership and excellence in the teaching, practice, enactment or adjudication of the law. The LLJF will present these awards at a special Witkin Award Dinner to be held on Wednesday, November 16th at the Prado Restaurant in Balboa Park. Please click here for more information. In this month's newsletter we are honored to feature Michael H. Dessent, Professor of Law and Dean Emeritus at California Western School of Law. Dean Dessent is the second of four 2005 Witkin Award Winners. He has fulfilled various leadership roles throughout his distinguished career both as an academician and a practitioner. Many San Diego lawyers have been privileged to have had the benefit of Dean Dessent's legal knowledge and instruction through his law school classes at: - California Western School of Law - University of San Diego School of Law - Thomas Jefferson School of Law (formerly Western State University, San Diego) & - The University of San Diego Paralegal Program Currently, Dean Dessent is teaching a variety of courses including Business Organizations, Contracts I & II, and Professional Responsibility. He has been awarded California Western's "First Year Law Professor of the Year" Award in 2001-2002, 2002-2003, and 2004-2005. Moreover, Dean Dessent also served as the Chief Executive Officer for California Western from 1986-1996. In addition to his academic credentials, Dean Dessent is no stranger to the practice of law. He has been Vice President, Secretary, and General Counsel for Central Federal Savings and Loan Association (now known as Washington Mutual Savings Bank), Executive Vice President, General Counsel, Secretary and Member of the Board of Directors of The Price Company (now Costco), Vice President, Secretary and General Counsel, Fotomat Corporation (NYSE) and an Associate at Gray Cary Ames & Frye (now DLA Piper, Rudnick, Gray Cary). Dean Dessent is the author of numerous law review articles and several law books including First Year Contract Law, California Corporation Law, and Enterprise Law. He has also penned a children's book called Baseball Becky. Dean Dessent received his B.S. from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. He received his law degree from Northwestern University School of Law School in Chicago, graduating cum laude, as a member of the Order of the Coif. A married father of two, Dean Dessent and his wife are active philanthropists and take part in many San Diego charities, such as the La Jolla Youth Organization, the Old Globe Theater, and the San Diego Museum of Art. Look for the biography of another Witkin Award winner next month!

The Hon. William J. Howatt, Jr. to Receive an Award at State Bar Meeting Judge William J. Howatt, Jr. will be receiving the State Bar's Family Law Judge Award of the Year at the annual State Bar Meeting to held this week on September 8th-11th in San Diego. Since 2004 Judge Howatt has served as the President of the SDCPLL Board of Trustees and has served on the Board in the past as well.

MCLE Program: A Primer on Digital Evidence Discovery In today's world much of what happens between emails and electronic communications may become a ripe source of evidence. If you are preparing for trial and want to use electronic evidence you may consider the following: - What forms of digital evidence can you demand? - What to do with it once you get it? - How can prove data was deleted or altered? - Which expert & with whom do consult? On September 20th, the Library will offer a hour participatory credit MCLE class regarding the use of computer forensics in court. This class will be taught by Edward Pscheidt, founder and CEO of SurfEmail who has 25 years experience as a computer, Internet professional and engineer. Pscheidt currently provides expert witness testimony regarding digital evidence discovery and litigation support. During the session, Pscheidt will demonstrate how to make the best use of electronic evidence in discovery and investigation. In addition, he will explore how to effectively and legally protect clients from computer discovery. The instructor's style is unique because he combines a superb technical knowledge with an ability to communicate with attorneys in non-technical terms. This class will be offered twice at SDCPLL. First, it will be held on September 20th at the Main Library. Then, on September 22nd Pscheidt will teach the session at the North County Branch in Vista. The classes at both locations will be held from noon to 1:00 p.m. This is free for attorney members of the law library. Non-attorney members who want MCLE credit will have to pay $25.00 to enroll. Call (619) 531-3900 to register for the Main Branch's class on September 20th. Call 760-940-4386 for reservation to attend in North County on September 22nd.

Post Kelo Laws in California After the Supreme Court dropped the bombshell that the government can take over private land for economic development in the Kelo v. New London case, many states have reacted by proposing laws curbing Kelo. Believe it or not, Alabama is the first state to enact such laws. But California isn't far behind. Two laws have been introduced in the legislature, AB 590 and ACA 22. In addition, some San Diegans are concerned about losing their homes as a result of Kelo and a 2002 development law affecting only City Heights redevelopment area. At present, eminent domain is a controversial and changing area of the law that is guaranteed to stay in the local and national headlines for some time. For more information see Gary Becker and Richard Posner's article from June 26th, 2005 that further discusses the Kelo case.

Credit Card Optout- New Rules in Effect Aug. 1st Are you tired of being receiving unsolicited credit card applications in the mail? Do you get TONS of credit card offers that you know you need to shred?? Help is here! As of Aug. 1st, 2005 credit card company mailings must include a notice in bold type on page 1 listing the phone number and Web site that allows consumers to cut off credit card solicitations. Consumers who call 1-888-5OPTOUT or visit www.optoutprescreen.com can "opt out" of most mailings. So say goodbye to all those pesky applications!

September 2005 Legal Links Death by Caffeine - How much caffeine do you drink? How much would it take to kill you? Check out this fun link to find out! The WayBack Machine - This comprehensive site allows you to look at 40 billion retrospective webpages from various entities created from 1996 to present. By simply cutting and pasting the search field you will find and open a chronological list of prior websites. This is an excellent source for checking prior or fraudulent claims, old organizational membership lists and all kinds of facts that are no longer posted on the Internet. However, some webpages, like the California Bar's site, have asked to be omitted frpm the WayBack Machine. Have fun walking backwards through cyberland! California public school districts - Check out the webpages from California public school districts as your children head back to school this fall. Quotation Library Find about about famous law quotations as well as other areas listed by subject and author. In addition, you can also shop your favorite quotations by various popular categories including: movies, motivational inspirations, occasions or love sentiments.

The "Unhappy Hour"- No More After Hours Fraternizing After hours drinks and gossip about the workplace with coworkers may be a thing of the past, according to a recent decision by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). In their decision entitled Guardsmark, LLC 344 NLRB No. 97 (2005), the NLRB said that a company can bar employees from hanging out (otherwise known as fraternizing) with each other after work. Check out the American Rights at Work' s July 2005 online article for more information.

Greater Online Access with Lexis & Westlaw! The World is A-Changing more and more to electronic medium formats....and so is our Law Library. Because we have recently added online annotated versions of all state statutes through Westlaw and Lexis, the Library has made the decision to cancel the majority of our out-of-state code books. Nonetheless, the Library will continue to maintain the California & federal annotated codes in print as well as in the online resources. Along with California, the following states will continue to have printed versions of the codes including: Arizona, Delaware, Nevada, New York, Oregon, Texas and Washington State. The Library has placed notices about this change throughout the library. The state code volumes will continue to be on the shelves at this time since many were updated this summer and are still current.

Amy Hale is going to the 5th Circuit, Ellie Slade to be the Newsletter Editor We are sorry to announce that Amy Hale Janeke, the e-newsletter editor since 2002, will be taking a job at the Federal Fifth Circuit Law Library in New Orleans. However since New Orleans is currently underwater, she will be sent to a 5th Circuit branch either in Baton Rouge or Houston. She will be a reference librarian as well as the media relations and trainer coordinator for the federal courts in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi. Amy looks forward to returning to the South and will enjoy living closer to her family in Texas. We wish to acknowlege Amy's significant contribution to SDCPLL over the last five years and wish her well in her new position. Ellie Slade, reference librarian at the SDCPLL's Main Branch will taking over the newsletter for the October 1st issue. Ellie has many years of experience as a law librarian. She has worked as a librarian in schools and public libraries as well as law firms, newspapers and private corporations. Ellie has a bachelor's degree in Spanish and English, a masters in interdisciplinary arts education and a masters in library science. Ellie has a flair for the creative and looks forward to her new assignment.

Reference Question of the Month- Phony Realtor? Q: A friend of a friend says her husband can help me sell my house. How can I find out if he has a valid real estate broker's or sales agent license? A: All persons who sell real estate in California on behalf of others must have a valid broker or sale's agent license registered with the California Department of Real Estate. To find out if a person has a valid realtor's license, check the California Department of Real Estate's webpage. This link will tell you the name, the address and phone number of the realtor. If there have been any disciplinary actions against the realtor, it will be listed on this page as well. If you don't find the name of the realtor on the list please call the local California Department of Real Estate's phone number at: (619) 525-4192 for further information regarding the person's licensing status and possible disciplinary actions. If you do not find the person's name registered with the Department of Real Estate, then he is not legally authorized to transact a real estate sale on your behalf.

We hope you've enjoyed our newsletter! If you are a guest and would like to subscribe, click here. We're hard at work on the next edition. In the meantime, please visit us online at www.sdcpll.org. And come see us in person at one of our locations. For more information or to send comments about this newsletter, contact Ellie Slade, Reference Librarian, at eslade@sdcpll.org.