November 2004 E-Newsletter- San Diego County Public Law Library

New Court Rules Allows Electronic Access to High Profile Criminal Cases The Judicial Council met in October and adopted a new court rule set to go into effect Jan. 1, 2005. The new rule allows courts to post documents relating to high profile criminal cases as long as personal information such as social security numbers are blacked out. This was passed because of the high demand for court information during high profile criminal cases and the subsequent strain on court personnel and resources. Also, take a look at the Judicial Council's webpage for a .pdf format list of all the new rules that will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2005.

San Diego Drinking Ordinance Ruled Invalid A San Diego ordinance designed to punish adults who allow minors in groups of three or more to drink in their homes was recently ruled invalid by a panel of Superior Court judges. San Diego Municipal Code section 56.62, also called "House Party Ordinance," included penalities of up to six months in jail or a $1,000 fine. The ordinance was struck down as overbroad because people could be prosecuted for throwing a party even if the party was crashed by underage drinkers and the host had no knowledge that underage drinking was occuring. An appeal is planned and the decision could affect other cities that have copied San Diego's underage drinking ordinance.

MCLE Deadline Approaching For those attorneys who have last names starting with N-Z, this is your year to submit your MCLE compliance card. The official deadline for the submission of your card is February 1, 2005. A total 25 hours of MCLE are required, and up to half of them (12.5) may be self-study. Of the 25 credits, you are required to complete 4 hours of Legal Ethics, 1 hour of Detection/Prevention of Substance Abuse, and 1 hour of Elimination of Bias in the Legal Profession. Completing your MCLE doesn't have to be time intensive or expensive. You can get free participatory credit by attending some of the free brown bag workshops that we are offering throughout January. Watch for the schedule of MCLE events to appear in our e-newsletter and on our web page in December. Then simply call (619) 531-3900 to register and attend the seminar. You must be a member of the Law Library to attend. Additionally, if you are a member of the Law Library, you can check out our MCLE audio tapes to complete the self-study portion on your own time. Even if you are not a member of the law library, you may come in and listen to the audio tapes in our library at no charge.

Native American Law MCLE Seminar The Foothills Bar Association is presenting an hour long MCLE seminar Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2004 from noon to 1 p.m. at BJ's Bar & Grill in Grossmont Center, La Mesa. The topic is "American Indian Law: Ten Things Every California Attorney Should Know" and the featured speaker will be noted Native American Law scholar Nancy Carol Carter, University of San Diego Professor of Law and the Director of the USD Legal Research Center Cost is $15 for Foothills Bar Association members and their guests and $20 for anyone else. One hour of MCLE General Credit is available. For reservations, contact Rita Drouin at 619-589-1936.

November Legal Links- Elections We are all sick of talking about elections and candidates, right? Well, it'll be over in a few days. In the meantime, here are a couple of serious links about elections and a few silly ones as well. MyVoteCounts.org- this site from the CA Secretary of State, contains everything you need to know about elections here in California from a voting guide to voter information hotlines. The Onion- Political Satire at its Finest- this site is a tongue-in-cheek look at politics and politicians. It reads like the web version of John Stewart's "Daily Show." Election Cartoons- sometimes a cartoon can sum up the whole situation with a touch of humor. Check out these election cartoons from the online version of Time magazine. Election Law @ Moritz- Ohio State University's Mortiz College of Law has a great web site dedicated to election law, covering issues such as electronic voting, registration fraud, and just about any other issue connected with voting. Also available on the site is the e-book called "The e-Book on Election Law."

November Holidays All locations of the Law Library will be closed Thursday, November 11th for Veteran's Day. We will reopen Friday, November 12th with regular hours. During the Thanksgiving holiday, all locations of the Law Library will be closed beginning Thursday, November 25th, through Saturday, November 27th. We will reopen with regular hours on Monday, November 29th. The courts will also be closed on November 11th, 25th and 26th for the holidays.

Cartoon- "The Deciding Vote?" 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. He has graciously allowed his cartoons to be reprinted in our newsletter since 2000. He recently launched a new site where his cartoons can be easily customized to include a person's name, firm name, and legal specialty and put on a wide variety of gifts. The holidays are coming and it's never too early to prepare...

New Books- Nov. 2004 Here is a list of some of our newest acquisitions. Please note that, while some of these books are located only at our Main Library, books that circulate can be sent to our branches upon a request from the branch. The 9/11 Commission Report: Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States by the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States, Government Printing Office, 2004. Available at Main only. Bench Handbook: Jury Management, by the California Center for Judicial Education & Research, 2004. Available at Main, North County, and East County. California Real Property Remedies and Damages, 2nd ed. by Continuing Education of the Bar, 2004. Available at all locations. California Workers' Compensation Claims and Benefits, 11th ed. by David W. O'Brien, 2004. Available at all locations. Casualty Fire and Marine Investigation Checklists, 6th ed. by Pat Magarick and Ken Brownlee, Thomson West, 2004. Available at Main only. How to Start and Build a Law Practice, 5th ed. by Jay G. Foonberg. American Bar Association, 2004. Available at North County only. The Methods of Attacking Scientific Evidence, 4th ed. by Edward J. Imwinkelried, LexisNexis, c2004. Available at Main and North County. Online Contract Formation by N. Stephan Kinsella, Oceana, c2004. Available at Main only. Valuing Professional Practices and Licenses: A Guide for the Matrimonial Practitioner, 3rd ed. Aspen, 1998. Available at Main only.

Reference Question of the Month- Is the 9th Circuit Heading for a Split? Q. I heard that a law has been passed splitting up the 9th Circuit. Is that true? A. No. Although this year both the House and the Senate have passed different bills calling for a split of the 9th Circuit, no law has been passed. Called the "Ninth Circuit Judgeship and Reorganization Act of 2004" by both houses, such bills have failed in the past few years and it doesn't look like these bills will fare much better as they are both currently in limbo, having been referred to a committee. Under both bills, the new Ninth Circuit would consist of California, Guam, Hawaii, and the Northern Marianas Islands. A Twelfth Circuit would be created and would include Arizona, Nevada, Idaho and Montana. Finally, a new Thirteenth Circuit would be created and would include Alaska, Oregon, Washington. The decision to split the largest circuit in the nation has been debated for many years. Some favor splitting it into two smaller circuits and some say dividing it into three would work better. For right now, though, there is no consensus yet on whether a split should occur and if so, how it should happen.

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