Sept 2003 Newsletter- San Diego County Public Law Library

Court Fees Go Up- WAY Up  Big filing fee increases went into effect in August after the passage of the California budget. Filing fees for the Court of Appeals and Supreme Court increased by $390 to $655 and $590, respectively. According to the Administrative Office of the Courts, "changes in court fees are necessary to maintain access and continue public services in the California courts at a time of unprecedented deficits in the state budget." To see the other statewide fee increases, go here. To see how the changes affect the local San Diego fee schedule, go here.

Still Time to Get Witkin Tickets  There is still time to get your tickets for the 2003 Witkin Awards Dinner on September 17. You can even RSVP online!

Free MCLE on Child Care Sept 25th  The San Diego County Public Law Library is teaming up with the San Diego Volunteer Lawyer Program to provide an opportunity for 2 hours of free general participatory MCLE* credit on Sept. 25th from 11:30 a.m.- 1:30 p.m. The seminar is free for members of the Law Library and $10 for non-members. Entitled "Taking Care of Kids: Legal Protections for Family Child Care Providers, Parents and Children, " this seminar discusses legal protections for family child care providers who are tenants or homeowner association members, legal protections for parents receiving subsidized child care, and legal protections for children with disabilities in accessing subsidized child care. The program will be held on the third floor of the Main Law Library, located at 1105 Front Street in downtown San Diego. Registration is limited, so sign up early by calling (619) 531-3900. * This seminar is approved for 2 hours of general participatory MCLE credits. The San Diego Volunteer Lawyer Program certifies that this activity conforms to the standards for approved education activities prescribed by the rules and regulations of the State Bar of California governing minimum continuing legal education.

Law Library Closed on Labor Day  In honor of the national Labor Day holiday, all locations of the Law Library are closed on Sept. 1st. Regular hours will resume Sept. 2nd.

Legal Links - Sept 2003  Every issue of our e-newsletter contains information about useful web sites that we run across in our daily reference activities. As professional researchers, law librarians are quickly able to evaluate the usefulness and authenticity of web sites and pass that information onto you. California's Recall Election- this site, run by the California Secretary of State, includes a Frequently Asked Question section about what it takes to be a candidate for governor. Identity Theft- This annotated bibliography (music to the ears of a librarian) of federal, state, consumer and news resources documents federal and state resources that address the proliferation of ID theft and online fraud, current law and pending legislation, and consumer advocacy guides and selected news. www.lawhaha.com- This site is a compilation of weird legal news run by Andrew McClurg, a law professor at Florida International University College of Law. He wrote a humor column for the ABA Journal for four years before launching his site. In addition to the weird legal news, this site also contains categories such as "Funniest Law School Moments" and "Strange Judicial Opinions."

Transgender Housing, Employment Discrimination Now Prohibited by Law  Starting January 1, 2004, it will be illegal to discriminate against transgendered persons in housing or employment. AB 196 does allow employers to ask employees to conform to "reasonable workplace appearance, grooming, and dress standards consistent with state and federal law, provided that employees are allowed to appear or dress consistently with their gender identity." Governor Davis signed this into law on August 2nd, making California the fourth state in the nation to have such laws, according to the sponsor of the bill, Assemblymember Mark Leno (D-San Francisco).

Sept. 2003 Cartoon- Good News and Bad News....  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.

Habeas Codfish  For those of you who love to combine food and law, this is the book for you! I found this on MustardMuseum.com, a site that bills itself as "America's Favorite Condiment Museum." The site is devoted to mustards, and they've certainly got some interesting ones! Anyway, the author of this book, Barry Levenson, is a former state attorney general, and this book is a thought-provoking look at the curious world of food and the law. From the McDonald's hot coffee case to food in prison, this book offers a smorgasboard of information. Winner of the Wisconsin Library Association Literary Achievement Award, the author will personally sign your copy if you tell him the message you'd like inscribed.

New Books- Sept. 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. ABA COMPENDIUM OF PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY RULES AND STANDARDS, American Bar Association, c2002. Available at KF305.A23 C66 2003 at Main and the North County Branch. FEDERAL EMPLOYMENT LAWS:A DESK REFERENCE by Amy Delpo and Lisa Guerin, Nolo Press, 2002. Available at KF3455.Z9 D45 2002 at East County and South Bay Branches. HOW TO CREATE A NONCOMPETE AGREEMENT by Shannon Miehe, Nolo Press, 2002. Available at KF3463.Z9 M54 2002 at all locations. NONDISCLOSURE AGREEMENTS : PROTECT YOUR TRADE SECRETS AND MORE by Rich Stim and Stephen Fishman, Nolo Press, 2001. Available at KF3197.Z9 S75 2001 at all locations.

Denim Day 2003  The San Diego County Public Law Library will be participating in a fundraiser to fight breast cancer on Oct. 10th, 2003. This program, called Lee National Denim Day, is sponsored by Lee Jeans and it asks that employers allow employees to wear denim jeans to work on Oct. 10th in exchange for a $5 donation. The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation receives 100% of the donations collected to further their mission to eradicate breast cancer as a life-threatening disease. Last year, SDCPLL was one of 22,000 companies who participated and raised more than $6.7 million to fight breast cancer. To find out more, visit www.denimday.com.

Beach Bummer- Unlicensed Keg Gets Confiscated  We always get the most interesting questions on Monday morning...... "Hi. I work for a local sports team. One of our players was about to tap a keg of beer on the beach this weekend and a police officer stopped him. The officer said the keg was unlicensed and he gave my player a ticket and confiscated the keg before it was even tapped! Can you tell me what the citation on the ticket, B&P 25659.5, means?" While we symphathize with the loss of an entire keg of beer, especially on the beach on a weekend, the law is clear about the need to label one's keg. Business and Professions code 25659.5 states that "Retail licensees selling keg beer for consumption off licensed premises shall place an identification tag on all kegs of beer at the time of sale and shall require the signing of a receipt for the keg of beer by the purchaser in order to allow kegs to be traced if the contents are used in violation of this article." The code also says that possessing an unlicensed keg is a misdemeanor. A keg is defined as any brewery-sealed individual container of beer having a liquid capacity of six gallons or more. California's Department of Alcohol Beverage Control also addresses this topic, as well as other interesting topics on their home page. Moral of the story: label your kegs!

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