Law Library Newsletter

Governor Appoints Two Judges to San Diego County Superior Court Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed Katherine A. Bacal and William C. Gentry to judgeships in the San Diego County Superior Court on January 25, 2008. Bacal has been an Associate and Partner for the San Diego firm Baker & McKenzie since 2000. She was previously an Associate and Of Counsel at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher from 1991 to 2000. Bacal obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Redlands and a J.D. from the University of Texas at Austin. She fills the seat of retired Judge Thomas C. Hendrix, who left the bench in March 2007. Gentry has served in the San Diego County District Attorney's Office as a Deputy District Attorney since 1998. Gentry, an Iraq War veteran, recently dropped his bid for the San Diego City Attorney position. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, San Diego and a J.D. from Western State University College of Law. Gentry replaces the vacancy left by Judge Christine V. Pate, who retired in February 2008.

North County Bar Association and North County Superior Court to present Bridging the Gap Congratulations to new California State Bar admittees! To help you in your transition from law student to practicing lawyer, the North County Bar Association and the North County Superior Court will be presenting Bridging the Gap Thursday, February 21, 2008, in Department 28 of the North County Court. Bridging the Gap is a program designed to orient new state bar members to life as a new attorney in the local legal community. Welcoming attendees to the program will be Judge Michael Orfield and North County Bar Association President, Deborah Bayus. Supervising Judge of the North County Superior Court, Judge Joel Pressman will be presenting an overview of the Vista Superior Court, followed by presentations from local practicing attorneys in the fields of criminal law, family law, and civil practice. Information about the San Diego County Public Law Library will also be available. Registration and check-in begin at 8:00 a.m. The program is scheduled to adjourn at 4:45p.m. Lunch and written materials will be provided. This program is approved for 4.75 General and 1.0 Ethics MCLE credits. To view the complete Bridging the Gap agenda, visit http://www.bansdc.org/. To RSVP, please contact the North County Bar Association office at 760-758-5833.

Learn Google! Join us on Wednesday, February 6th at 12pm, for a Special Speaker Presentation. Betsy Chessler, librarian at Morrison & Foerster, will speak on "Google and Beyond." This class is for the Google novice and for someone that uses Google occasionally. Learn to refine your searches and become a more advanced legal researcher. The class will be a "tour" of this popular and useful free search engine and website. Topics covered will include: text analyses, page rank, advanced searches, Google images, Google news, Google maps, blog searches, book searches, Google scholar, Google finance and beyond!

Recycling Is Now Mandatory In San Diego A new City of San Diego Recycling Ordinance became effective on January 1, 2008. This Ordinance covers City-serviced customers who already have blue recycling carts. The ordinance requires recycling of plastic and glass bottles and jars, paper, newspaper, cardboard and metal containers at private residences, commercial buildings, and at special events requiring a City permit. For privately-serviced apartment and condominium complexes, businesses and special events, the ordinance will be phased in over the next two years depending on the size of the facility. For example, Effective February 11, 2008, the following must comply: - Residential buildings served by private waste haulers (single family homes, and apartments and condominiums with 100+ units), - Commercial buildings with 20,000+ square feet, and - Special events requiring a permit. Effective January 1, 2009, the following must comply: - Apartments and condominiums with 50+ units, and - Commercial buildings with 10,000+ square feet. Effective January 1, 2010, the following must comply: - All apartments and condominiums, and - All commercial facilities. Code Enforcement Officers will conduct periodic inspections of single family refuse containers. The penalty for the first, second, and third violations is a warning notice advising of the recycling requirements and offering assistance. For a fourth violation a $100 Administrative Citation is issued. A fifth and any subsequent violations will trigger an Administrative Citation from $250-$1,000, depending on the magnitude of the violation. If there is no compliance after issuance of a $1,000 Administrative Citation, the case willl be referred to the City Attorney's Office. Just Think: Recycling one glass bottle saves enough energy to light up a 100 watt bulb for 4 hours. By recycling every plastic bottle in the nation approximately two billion tons of plastic would be diverted from landfills. Recycling 1 ton of paper saves about 17 trees which absorb 250 lbs. of carbon dioxide from the air. Also check out Consumer Recycling and Waste Reduction Tips. Residents who only have a City of San Diego black refuse cart may request a blue recycling cart by calling 858-694-7000. Availability is dependent upon current inventory. For more information call (858) 694-700 or visit http://www.sandiego.gov/environmental-services/

New Unlawful Detainer Laws Three bills passed in 2007 (effective January 1, 2008) make changes in California Unlawful Detainer procedures. The first, AB 1013, adds several forms of weapons-related conduct to the circumstances that constitute a nuisance. An unlawful detainer action may now be brought in the name of the People against a person who commits an offense involving unlawful possession or use of illegal weapons or ammunition, or uses the premises to further that purpose. The second, AB 1126, allows discovery motions to be made at any time provided 5 days notice is given. This applies to other specified summary proceedings along with unlawful detainer actions. The third, SB 706, adds Palmdale to an existing pilot project that allows for partial unlawful detainer actions to evict drug users and dealers from property while innocent tenants are allowed to remain.

Changes To Notarization Requirements In California Several significant changes in notarial law have become effective January 1, 2008. See Assembly Bill 886 (2007-2008 Session). Now the identity of the person making the acknowledgment may no longer be established by personal knowledge alone. The change was made to combat identify theft and real estate fraud, according to the legislators who sponsored the Bill. The certificate of acknowledgment is now executed under penalty of perjury and must be in the form set forth in Civil Code section 1189. The new acknowledgment form is available in PDF file format and can be viewed, filled in and printed from your computer.

Website of the Month: 100 Milestone Documents This Website may not help you solve a client's problem but 100 Milestone Documents is a collection of links to the most important documents in our nation's history, dating from 1776 to 1965. The list was compiled by the National Archives and Records Administration. Whether you just want to quickly locate an important historical document or have been asked to do in depth research for a lecture in your child's school, this website is handy to have. You can gain quick access to this set of historic documents which include such gems as the Bill of Rights, Marbury v. Madison, the United Nations Charter, the Marshall Plan, and Senate Resolution 301: Censure of Senator Joseph McCarthy.

Upcoming Classes for February & March Members of the general public may sign up for these classes by calling (619) 531-3900. The classes are free to Law Library members and are $5 for non-members. Participants may bring lunch. Pre-registration is required, as seating is limited. For a complete description of the classes, go to: www.sdcpll.org/calendar/calendar.html. February Google and Beyond Wednesday, February 6th, 12-1pm Legal Research Using Free Websites* Wednesday, February 20th, 12-1pm Using Lexis* Friday, February 22nd, 12-1pm Law Made Public Saturday, February 23rd, 2-3pm March Using Westlaw* Thursday, March 6th, 12- 1pm Practical Legal Research Saturday, March 15th, 2- 4pm Focus on Forms* Thursday, March 27th, 12- 1pm * MCLE Credit is available for these classes. Be sure to check our "Classes" page for the most up to date schedule. The San Diego County Public Law Library is a State Bar approved MCLE provider.

New Materials Added To The Collection The Law Library adds numerous new materials to its collection on an ongoing basis. In the past we have selected just a few of those materials and highlighted them in the Newsletter. As an added benefit to our Patrons, we have now made the entire list of new materials available on our website. As such, we will no longer be listing books in the Newsletter, but we will provide a link to the "Featured List" of new materials. To see new books added to the collection in the last month, click here. Also, you can locate a list of new materials at any time on our website at www.sdcpll.org. Click on the "Online Catalog " link and then click on "Featured Item Lists," you can then select the most recent month. We hope you find this new feature helpful! If you have suggestions as to resources you would like to see added to our collection, please send an email to: refdesk@sdcpll.org.

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.

We hope you've enjoyed our newsletter! If you are a guest and would like to subscribe, please click here. We're hard at work on the next edition. In the meantime, please see us online at www.sdcpll.org or visit us at one of our four locations. For more information, or to send comments about this newsletter, contact Gina S. Catalano, Senior Reference Librarian & Media Coordinator.