Nov. 2003 Newsletter- San Diego County Public Law Library

Free Legal Services for Victims of Fire The fire disaster of this past week has spawned many legal questions and a toll-free hot line for referral to free lawyer services has been set up for the for victims. The number is 1-800-464-1529. Services are available in English and Spanish and questions will be answered about insurance coverage, landlord-tenant concerns, and employment issues. The San Diego County Bar Association has a listing of phone numbers for insurance carriers and an excellent article on how to avoid legal trouble when rebuilding after a disaster.

Time for Membership Renewals As of Nov. 1st, members who have not renewed their annual dues will have their borrowing privileges suspended. If you'd like to pay your dues, are not sure whether you are a member, or if you'd like to become a member, please call Access Services at (619) 531-3900.

Cell Phone Number Portability- You CAN Take it With You! Starting Nov. 24th, the FCC has ruled that you can keep your cell phone number even if you switch carriers. As with all good news, there is a catch- cell phone subscribers will pay a small monthly fee for this privilege. Originally set to go into effect last year, intense lobbying from the telecommunications industry led to a year delay in the implementation of the FCC rule.

Court and Law Library Holidays in November Due to the fires, the Chief Justice has authorized the San Diego Court to take various actions, including declaring October 27 and 28 as holidays for the purpose of computing the time for filing civil papers with the court under Code of Civil Procedure sections 12 and 12a and for filing juvenile petitions under Welfare and Institutions Code section 631. The San Diego Superior Court and the Law Library will both be closed in observance of Veteran's Day on Nov. 11th and the Library will close Nov. 10th at 6 p.m. For Thanksgiving, the Court and the Library will be closed on Nov. 27th and 28th. Additionally, the Library will also be closed Saturday November 29th. According to a press release from the Court, each division will conduct in-custody arraignments in the morning on Wednesday Nov. 26th. Here is more from each Division: Central Division- If a regularly scheduled appearance date falls on Thursday, Nov. 27th, then schedule the appearance on Tuesday, Nov. 25th. If a regularly scheduled appearance date falls on Friday Nov. 28th, then schedule the appearance on Thursday, Dec. 4th. For more info, contact Mark Urry, Court Operations Manager, at (619) 531-3659. East County Division- If the regularly scheduled appearance date falls on Thursday Nov. 27th, then schedule the appearance on Thursday Nov. 20th or Tuesday Nov. 25th. If the regularly scheduled appearance falls on Friday Nov. 28th, then schedule the appearance on Nov. 21st or Friday Dec. 5th. For more info, contact Karen Rausis, Court Operations Manager at (619) 441-4071. North County Division- If the regularly scheduled appearance date falls on Thursday Nov. 27th, then schedule the appearance on Thursday Dec. 4th. If the regularly scheduled appearance falls on Friday Nov. 28th, then schedule the appearance on Monday Dec. 8th. For more info, contact Connie Veling, Court Operations Manager at (760) 940-4663. South County Division- If the regularly scheduled appearance date falls on Thursday Nov. 27th, then schedule the appearance on Monday Nov. 17th or Tuesday Nov. 25th. If the regularly scheduled appearance falls on Friday Nov. 28th, then schedule the appearance on Tuesday Nov. 18th or Wednesday Nov. 26th. For more info, contact Jo Anne Thornton, Court Operations Manager at (619) 691-4597.

Amendments to Federal Rules Effective Dec. 1 As of Dec. 1, 2003, there will be some changes to the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure, Civil Rules, Appellate forms, and an Evidence rule. Information about the changes and how they will affect practice in the federal courts can be found here.

Se Habla Espanol! The California Court's self-help site is now available in Spanish. Called "Centro de Ayuda de las Cortes de California", this site gives information about family law, small claims, domestic violence, name changes, traffic, and many other kinds of information. It also points citizens to free and low cost help.

Update on the DO NOT CALL List Since implementation of the National Do-Not-Call Registry on October 1, 2003, the FCC has received 2,379 complaints about alleged violations of the do-not-call rules and 5,879 inquiries about the rules. The registry has had some rocky times getting implemented due to some judicial decisions, but for now, it seems to be up and running. If you are registered and want to file a complaint, go here. If you are not sure if you are registered for the list, check here.

Legal Links- Emergency Assistance Agencies Due to the fire disaster, this month's links focus on emergency agencies. FEMA- the Federal Emergency Management Agency, formerly an independent agency that became part of the new Department of Homeland Security in March 2003, responds to, plans for, and deals with disasters. They have a special page for victims called Frequently Asked Disaster Assistance Questions. Governor's Office of Emergency Services- this California state office provided information and assistance to help Californians with their disaster recovery efforts. This site lists phone numbers of public assistant contacts in your area who specialize in eligibility requirements for state and federal funding; current laws, regulations, policies and program implementation practices; and technical and administrative project elements (i.e., landslide issues, required cost documentation, etc.). San Diego County's Office of Emergency Services- this is San Diego County's office that coordinates responses to disasters. The site is not quite a disaster in and of itself, but it is not very helpful and is also difficult to read. The "Links" section is the best part because it links to other more informative sites, like the ones listed above. Skip this page and go to either one of the above mentioned ones.

New Books- Nov. 2003 Here is a list of some of our newest acquisitions. Please note that while some of these books are located only at Main, books that circulate can be sent to our branches upon a request from the branch. CALIFORNIA JUDGES BENCHBOOK. SMALL CLAIMS COURT AND CONSUMER LAW by Thomson/West. Located at KFC976 .C34 at all locations. CALIFORNIA JURY INSTRUCTIONS from the Judicial Council of California, by Thomson/West, 2003. We have a circulating copy at all branches and at Main. Located at KFC1047.A65 C35 2003 at all locations. THE LAW OF TEACHER EVALUATION by Lawrence F. Rossow and James O. Tate, 2nd ed., Education Law Association, 2003. Available at Main at KF4180 .R67 2003. PROSECUTORIAL MISCONDUCT by Joseph F. Lawless, 3rd ed., LexisNexis Matthew Bender, 2003. Located at KF9640 .L38 2003 at Main. REPRESENTING ADA PLAINTIFFS by Beth S. Sufian and James Passamano, by James Publishing, 2003. Located at KF3469 .S84 2003 at Main and North County.

The Perfect Person for the Job... This cartoon is one of Stu's Views. These are cartoons by a local lawyer, geared for lawyers. Stu is an entertainment lawyer here in San Diego who represents mostly visual arts creators. As he says in his bio on his home page, "Stu is the lawyer for cartoonists and the cartoonist for lawyers." See other cartoons by Stu at www.stus.com.

ABC Bookstore We are sad to note that downtown legal bookstore ABC Booksellers is permanently closing its doors on November 1st, 2003. Over the last 20 years, ABC Booksellers and its owner, Ken Packer, have supplied many of us with excellent legal books, tapes, videos, and have provided excellent service to law firms and schools throughout San Diego. He will be missed and we are sorry to see him go. Best of luck to Ken and his family in the future.

Huh? Court Fee Changes Confuse Some "Dear Reference Desk- I am a solo attorney and I just read the Superior Court's press release about the newest changes in filing fees. However, I am confused. The press release says that the fee is higher for cases seeking back rent of under $25,000 (limited jurisdiction) than for cases where the back rent is over $25,000 (general jurisdiction). Does the press release has a typo in it?"- signed Addled Attorney. Dear Addled Attorney- We did some investigating by calling the Superior Court's Executive Officer. A staff member there confirmed that the filing fee in unlawful detainer cases really is higher in limited jurisdiction cases where the back rent is between $10,000 and $25,000 than in unlimited cases where the amount in controversy is over $25,000. That anomaly apparently is a byproduct of the uneven surcharge amounts collected under Government Code section 70373. The aberration may get straightened out when fees are adjusted again in January. Meanwhile, the press release really is accurate for now and here's an abbreviated version of the release: Plaintiff's Filing Fees Amount demanded over $10,000        $280.50 Amount demanded $10.000 or less       $143.30 Defendant's Filing Fees Amount demanded over $10,000       $280.50 Amount demanded $10,000 or less       $140.00 Unlawful Detainer Cases (Plaintiff Only) Amount demanded over $25,000       $277.50 Amount between $10,001 and $25,000       $284.50 Amount demanded $10,000 or less       $147.30

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 ahale@sdcll.org Media Coordinator / Reference Librarian (619) 531-3900