Law Library Newsletter

San Diego Superior Court Phasing In New Phone Numbers The San Diego Superior Court is implementing a new, cost-effective telephone system throughout the county beginning May 5, 2008. The new numbers will gradually be phased in over the next two months beginning with the Madge Bradley Probate Court and ending on June 16, 2008 with the Hall of Justice. A complete phase-in schedule and list of new numbers is on the Court's website at www.sdcourt.ca.gov. Individuals are encouraged to frequently check this site for the most accurate and up-to-date information.

Law Week Summary This year the Law Library had more than 800 attendees at Law Week events throughout the county! The East County, North County and South Bay Branches hosted free legal clinics, offering free legal advice to more than 110 people. Our Special Speaker events were also well attended with a combined participation of over 130 attendees at the Main and North County Branches. It is estimated that the Law Library reached over 600 people through the Legal Resources Knowledge Fairs and Free Law @ Kobey's swapmeet. We look forward to providing even more services and events in 2009!

Thank You To Our Law Week Sponsors! A big THANK YOU to all of our Sponsors! Please show your support for the following organizations, their generous donations made our Law Week contests and receptions a success. Bar Association of North San Diego County CEB Lexis Nexis Accomplishment Coaching Farm House Cafe Nothing Bundt Cakes Islands Restaturant Alvarado Institute of Skin Care Grab & Go Organic To Go Lucy's Taco Shop Via Sicilia Ristorante Italiano Spectrum Catering Starbucks Al Teatro Panini Grill Thank you for your support, we look forward to working with you again!

East County Branch Celebrated Law Week With Legal Clinic On Thursday, May 1, the East County Branch of the San Diego County Public Law Library and the Foothills Bar Association co-sponsored an annual Free Legal Clinic in celebration of National Law Day. During the Free Legal Clinic, several attorneys graciously volunteered to help members of the community to effectively address their legal issues. These attorneys fielded matters relating to family law, civil law, estate planning and probate law, landlord-tenant law, and criminal law issues. The participants were very thankful, and remarked on the helpfulness of the volunteer attorneys. The Law Library acknowledges the volunteer attorneys who made the Free Legal Clinic so successful this year. The volunteer attorneys included: James Dobbin, Anthony Boucek, Cheryl Stengel, Kim Staron, Leah Boucek, Heather Milligan, Wells Lyman, Mark Raftery, Dan Bacal, Carolyn Brock, Gary Clauser and Charles Schmidt. A huge thank you to Leah Boucek for recruiting and coordinating the volunteers. Without your help and support this event would not have been possible.

Free Legal Clinic in La Mesa The San Diego Bar and the San Diego County Library partners with the San Diego County Public Law Library in offering "Lawyer @ Your Library" programs to public libraries. A free legal clinic will be held on: Wednesday, May 14, 2008 4:00 pm - 7:00 pm San Diego County Library La Mesa Branch 8055 University Ave. La Mesa, CA 91941 (619) 469-2151 Lawyers will be available for free consultations on civil procedure, appeals and default judgment issues. The consultation is to provide general legal advice and referrals only. Volunteer lawyers will not provide on-going representation. Consultations are given on a first come, first served basis.

"One-stop" Help Center For Victims of Domestic Violence The San Diego Family Justice Center provides free legal help and social services to victims of domestic violence. Domestic violence includes actual physical violence, stalking, sexual abuse, a serious threat of physical violence, harassing phone calls, and destruction of personal property. The services offered at the Center are provided by various government agencies and non-profit social service organizations. At the Center, clients can get assistance with restraining orders, enforcement of child custody and support, and restraining orders. For clients with immigration issues the Center offers legal help to get a visa while their case is being adjudicated. This service is offered because one of the ways perpetrators keep victims from turning them in is to threaten to get the victim deported. The City Attorney's office also has attorneys at the Center to work on prosecuting misdemeanor cases. Felonies are turned over to the Family Protection Unit at the District Attorney's Office. Police officers and detectives, who do follow-up investigations on domestic violence cases, are conveniently on hand. Additionally, the Center hosts a military liaison for domestic violence issues involving military families. Thanks to donations by Verizon and individual donors, the Center offers cell phones to report emergency situations. A nurse is on staff to provide forensic medical help. The nurse documents injuries, which helps later in the prosecution phase. Rady Children's Hospital provides therapists for family therapy sessions. Furthermore, representatives from government agencies are available to provide emergency services including food, shelter, transportation, and victim compensation. The Family Justice Center is located at: 707 Broadway, Suite 200, San Diego CA 92101. Hours: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., 1-866-933-HOPE.

Choose a Mediator from the Comfort of your Home The San Diego Superior Court launched a new Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) webpage last month. The court expects that litigants will use some type of ADR in general civil cases. The court offers options including Mediation, Judicial Arbitration, and Settlement Conferences. Additionally, parties can pursue ADR options outside the court system. Mediation is a method of non-binding dispute resolution involving a neutral third party who tries to help the disputing parties reach a mutually agreeable solution. This process is confidential and may reduce the time and money involved in a traditional trial. The court maintains a list of approved mediators who meet specific qualifications and are required to adhere to ethical standards. Each court location keeps binders containing hard copies of the list. Now, the list of approved mediators can be found on-line on the Mediation section of the ADR webpage. The webpage also has a list of mediators by subject area. Mediators can be searched by keywords such as name, zip code, etc. Mediators on the court's panel charge $150.00 per hour for each of the first two hours of mediation and then start charging their regular hourly rate for court-referred mediations. Parties pay the mediators directly. Mediations are conducted at the mediator's office unless all parties agree to conduct the mediation session at the office of one of the parties. After you select a primary and alternate mediator, the webpage has a Mediator Selection Form (CIV-005) which can be downloaded. The completed form should be submitted within 5 days following the Case Management Conference. The form can either be e-mailed or hand-delivered to the court. For more information on the Civil Mediation Program see Superior Court Rule 2.3.7 and the Superior Court's webpage, "Civil Alternative Dispute Resolution Options."

Law Library Looking for a Slogan! The San Diego County Public Law Library is looking for a short slogan to capture the dynamic and important nature of our library. What does the Law Library mean to you? What does it mean to the community? Capture those sentiments in a short, catchy slogan and win a prize! The winner will receive two gift cards for Islands Restaurant, a $50 value. Entries may be submitted by email to: marketing@sdcpll.org or in person at any branch. Patrons are encouraged to submit more than one entry. For more information and contest rules CLICK HERE. Please submit all entries by Saturday, May 31st.

Website of the Month: AltLaw AltLaw Beta is a free legal database containing Supreme Court and Federal Appellate cases. You can search this new site for Supreme Court and Circuit cases. AltLaw makes available over 700,000 documents, updated daily, and searchable by title, citation, or key words and phrases. AltLaw is the combined effort of Columbia Law School and the University of Colorado Law School. For more information, visit their website: www.altlaw.org.

Upcoming Classes for May & June 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. All classes are held at the Main Branch. For a complete description of the classes, go to: www.sdcpll.org/calendar/calendar.html. May "Cybercrime"* by Special Speaker Mitch Dembin Tuesday, May 20th, 12-1pm Assistant U.S. Attorney, Mitch Dembin will talk about current trends in computer crime, some of the applicable laws and how we can protect ourselves. Practical Legal Research Saturday, May 24th, 2-4pm Using Onlaw* Friday, May 30th, 2-3pm June Using Lexis* Monday, June 2nd, 12-1pm Free Legal Websites* Tuesday, June 10th, 12-1pm Appellate Law 101* by Special Speaker Randall B. Christison, Esq. Thursday, June 13th, 12-1pm Law Made Public Saturday, June 22nd, 2-3pm * 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.

Featured New Resource & New Material Added to the Collection Our featured resource this month is: Forensic DNA Evidence Interpretation Forensic DNA Evidence Interpretation is a comprehensive resource for DNA casework. It allows forensic scientists and technicians, molecular biologists, and attorneys to use forensic DNA evidence to its greatest potential. Written by John Buckleton, Christopher M. Triggs, and Simon Walsh, leaders in the fields of biology and statistics. The authors' goal was to provide a link between the biological, forensic, and interpretative (or statistical) domains of the DNA profiling field. The book provides information on every aspect of DNA analysis, including modern interpretation methods and issues, and contemporary population genetic models available for estimating DNA frequencies or likelihood ratios. Noteworthy cases such as the identity of the Romanovs, the Waco incident, and the O.J. Simpson trial are discussed in the book. 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. 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. 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.