October 2008 Newsletter

Library CLOSED Monday, October 13 for Columbus Day All branches of the Law Library will be CLOSED on Monday, October 13th in observance of Columbus Day. This day commemorates the anniversary of Christopher Columbus's landing in the New World on October 12, 1492. Columbus and 90 crewmen set sail in August 1492 on three ships: the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria, sailing for five weeks before finally hitting land. New York city celebrated the first Columbus Day in 1792. In 1971, Congress moved Columbus Day to the the second Monday in October, so we could all enjoy a long holiday weekend! For more Columbus Day facts, visit America.gov or the Library of Congress' Today in History. Normal hours of operation will resume on Tuesday, October 14th at all locations.

Legal Roots Event CANCELLED We are sorry to report that the October 10, 2008, Joint Fundraiser, Legal Roots, has been CANCELLED. Despite the time and effort devoted to this project by the 1010 Committee, and in particular, the Committee Chair, George Brewster, we will not be able to present the event as planned. George's vision and strong conviction of the importance of the two causes, the library and the courthouse museum, created the idea for the fundraiser. However, the event was hit too hard by the lack of sponsorships and the economic downturn, which hurt ticket sales. We regret any inconvenience this may have caused and thank you for your understanding. If you have any questions or concerns you may contact Mr. Brewster at 619-531-4893 or Joy Placek at 619-531-4449.

Upcoming Classes for October & November The classes are free to Law Library members and $5 for non-members. Pre-registration is required, as seating is limited. Please sign up for these classes by calling (619) 531-3900. Participants may bring lunch. All classes are held at the Main Branch, unless otherwise stated. For a complete description of the classes and the most up-to-date information, visit SDCPLL's Calendar of Events. October Speed Writing for Lawyers* Thursday, October 16th, 12-1 pm Randall Christison, Esq. Using Lexis* Wednesday, October 22nd, 12-1 pm Law made Public Saturday, October 25th, 2-3 pm Free Legal Websites* Monday, October 27th, 12-1 pm November Using Westlaw* Friday, November 7th, 12-1 pm North County Branch, Vista Court Complex 325 S. Melrose Dr., Ste. 300 (next to Traffic building) Focus On Forms* Friday, November 14th, 12-1pm Practical Legal Research Saturday, November 15th, 2-4pm Lien on Me: Mechanics Liens Basics* Tuesday, November 18th, 12-1pm Ronald Noya, Esq. Free Legal Clinics, supervised and staffed by USD Law School faculty Wednesday, November 12th, 1-3 pm Free Legal Clinics, supervised and staffed by USD Law School faculty Wednesday, November 26th, 1-3 pm *MCLE Credit is available for these classes. The San Diego County Public Law Library is a State Bar approved MCLE provider.

New Unlawful Detainer Clinic at North County Court Complex In September, the San Diego Volunteer Lawyer Program began offering Unlawful Detainer (Eviction) Clinics at the San Diego County Superior Court, North County Regional Center, Department 35 (in the Annex Building). The North County clinic offers assistance for tenants and landlords in completing unlawful detainer complaints and answers. The clinic is open Mondays and Thursdays from 9am - 3pm, closed from 12-1pm. Volunteers and services are provided on a first-come first serve basis. With the addition of this clinic, unlawful detainer litigants now have services offered at all four court branches in the county. See SDCPLL's Legal Clinics section for additional details about this and other free legal clinics.

Featured New Resource & New Materials Added to the Collection Our featured resource this month is: California Water II This updated edition is a major resource explaining the ever changing water needs and issues effecting Californians. It is a great resource for not only local officials in water districts, cities, and counties, but also lawyers, judges, engineers, environmentalists, developers and farmers. California Water II addresses key developments in the law including, the implementation of the 1994 Bay-Delta Accord; the Porter-Cologne Act; Colorado River settlement issues; global warming; the impact of the Endangered Species Act; emerging water supply matters; and the history of California's water supply and development among others. This resource is currently accessible only at our Main Location downtown. New Materials Added to the Collection The Law Library adds numerous new materials to its collection on an ongoing basis. To see new books added to the collection in the last month, CLICK HERE.

What is WorldCat? WorldCat lets you search for an item in thousands of libraries' collections from around the world, all from one place. You can search not only for popular books, but for music CDs and videos, too. You can also discover many new types of digital content, such as downloadable audio books. You may even find article citations with links to their full text; authoritative research materials, such as documents and photos of local or historic significance; and digital versions of rare items that aren't available to the public. Because WorldCat libraries serve communities in many different countries, resources are often available in many languages. The site also lets you read reviews by other users or post your own review, as well as contribute factual information about an item.

2009 Witkin Award Recipients Announced The Law Library Justice Foundation of the San Diego County Public Law Library is pleased to announce this year's Witkin Award recipients in the following categories: Educator: USD Legal Clinics Judicial: Justice Richard D. Huffman Attorney: Milt Silverman, Esq. Leadership: Bonnie Dumanis, District Attorney San Diego County This month's profile honors a group, rather than an individual. The recipients are the 13 legal clinics constituting the USD School of Law Legal Clinics program. These free clinics include: Civil, Criminal, Entrepreneurship, Environmental, Immigration, Land Use, Landlord-Tenant, Mental health, Perspectives in Criminal Justice, Small Claims, Special Education, State Tax (CA), and Federal Tax. USD currently offers its free civil clinic in the downtown branch of the San Diego County Public Law Library. The USD Legal Clinics have been in operation for 37 years and trained over 1700 students. Students logged 16,364 hours and closed over 500 cases in 2007. The clinics' goals are high-quality training, community services, and expertise in boutique and specialty areas. Six students are assigned to a professor/attorney and receive course credit while learning a number of legal tasks, such as: how to conduct client interviews, negotiation and mediation; perform legal research; conduct discovery; draft pleadings and legal documents; counsel or represent clients; trial preparation; gain internships with agencies and non-profits; and community outreach.

New Intertribal Court Facilities Open in San Diego On August 1, 2008, the Intertribal Court of Southern California dedicated their new court facilities at a ceremony on the Rincon Reservation. Native American tribes are sovereign nations, subject to the plenary powers of Congress. Most are governed by tribal councils which have their own administrative procedures that must be exhausted prior to commencement of any action. They are tribe specific, as with any autonomous nation, and one must contact the council of the tribe on how to proceed in actions before the council. In San Diego, the Intertribal Court of Southern California is the primary court for Indian law matters. Since 2004 Judge Anthony Brandenburg has served as Chief Judge for the circuit courts of the tribes. You may contact the Intertribal Court via email at tribalcourt@sdtdv.net. More information can be found at California Indian Legal Services. For a definitive source of Native American law, see the references found at the Berkeley School of Law.

Local Court Facilities' Operations Transferred to the State The 2001 recommendation by the State of California Task Force on Court Facilities that the state assume full maintenance and operational responsibility for all local court facilities resulted in the passage of the Trial Court Facilities Act of 2002. The state's responsiblility for local court facilities now rests with the Judicial Council of California and the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC). The transfer involved more than 450 court facilities throughout the state. The reason for the transfer was the need for construction and renovation of the state's court buildings to meet urgent needs for more space, improving safety systems, remediating hazardous materials, addressing infrastructure issues, meeting ADA and building code requirements, and facilitating seismic retrofit projects for those facilities located on or near earthquake fault lines. The transfer generated a myriad of questions. Here are just a few answers to local concerns: Current filing fees will be insufficient to completely fund Court improvements and new construction. The revenue bond issue will cause a steep increase in filing fees for the Courts to support this plan, but the AOC will not advocate an increase for Law Libraries this year. San Diego County Public Law Library's East County and South Bay branches located within courthouses will not transfer to the State at this time, and will continue to operate as usual until further notice.

Public Library Staff Trained To Help Self-Represented Litigants The Serra Adult Services Committee and the San Diego County Public Law Library co-sponsored a workshop for North County Public Library staff on September 12, 2008. The workshop, held at the North County branch of the San Diego County Public Law Library (SDCPLL), was designed to acquaint public library staff with the latest legal resources available to self-represented litigants. SDCPLL librarians Barbara Tarvin and Cheryl Weeks-Frey discussed the availability of legal resources, including how to use free websites, legal self-help books, free services at the courts, and when to send patrons to the San Diego County Public Law Library. The presentation emphasized that public library staff should provide their library patrons with access to basic legal information and resources, rather than trying to provide legal advice. Attendees learned that even SDCPLL librarians are not permitted to give legal advice. The presentation also included a basic overview of the legal system and a tour of the North County branch of SDCPLL.

From the Director I'm happy to report that we had a strong participant turnout at our first USD free legal clinic at the downtown branch. There will only be four clinics offered during this fall semester, but the Law Library is looking to partner with other providers to offer more clinics and more subject choices. The USD Legal clinics also produced a beta test DVD for the Library entitled "Your Day in Court," a primer for the self-represented litigant. We are investigating partnership opportunities to create DVDs on other subjects, as well. Our collaborative program with the Lawyer's Referral Service of the San Diego County Bar and San Diego County Libraries to offer the free "Lawyer @ Your Library" programs at County Library branches unfortunately has ended. These programs offered assistance to those living in underserved areas of San Diego. We are hoping that these programs will be presented again under a different format in the near future. Meanwhile, we have continued our dialog with the San Diego County Bar Association to partner on other community service projects, the SDCBA's theme for this coming year.

Cartoon by Stu Rees Stu's Views are "Cartoons About Law and Lawyers." Stu Rees is a local entertainment lawyer who represents mostly visual arts creators.

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