SDCPLL Newsletter

It's Almost Time to Renew Your Library Membership After enjoying the first few weeks of summer, you may not be thinking about the fall season quite yet. But with September approaching, here are some early reminders. Beginning in early September, the Access Services Department will be sending out renewal notices for the October, 2006-September, 2007 membership year. Library dues will be remaining the same this year, while the benefits will be growing. The Library plans to offer more classes and more MCLE opportunities. Under its new policy, these classes will be free for all members. Memberships not renewed by October 31st will be suspended and no checkout of items will be allowed after that date and free attendance at classes will be denied. To those who are considering becoming members, we encourage you to join as soon as possible, since joining now entitles you to membership through September, 2007 at no additional cost. Please contact any of our four library locations for more information.

Law Library Classes Are Back!!! The Library began offering classes again in July. Some of your old favorites, Law Made Public and Practical Legal Research, are back. We are also introducing new shorter programs focusing on one specific electronic database. These will be offered on a rotating basis. The first classes are at a beginning level. Intermediate and advanced classes will soon join the schedule. Our August classes are: Friday, August 11th, 2-3pm - Using Westlaw Saturday, August 19th, 2-4pm - Practical Legal Research Thursday, August 31st, - 2-3pm - Using Lexis At this time, all classes are held at the Main Library, 1105 Front Street, San Diego, CA 92101. Please see our website for more information and directions to the library. Classes may be offered at the branches again in the future if staffing permits and branch users indicate an interest in attending. Classes are $5 per class for non-library members. Classes are free for library members and our attorney library members may take "Using Westlaw" and "Using Lexis" for 1 hour of general participatory MCLE credit. Please call the Library at (619) 631-3900 to register.

The Law Library Will Be Closed on Labor Day! In celebration of Labor Day, all San Diego County Public Law Library locations will be closed on Monday, September 4th. All locations will re-open on Tuesday, September 5th with their regular hours. In addition, the Main Library will be open on Saturday, September 2nd from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Online Resource of the Month - Westlaw One of the many Law Library's online resources is Westlaw.com. SDCPLL offers free public access to Westlaw at all four of its locations: the Main Library in downtown San Diego, at the North County Branch in Vista, at the East County Branch in El Cajon, and at the South Bay Branch in Chula Vista. Printing is $.20 per page. Just go to any of our Patron Access computers and click on "Westlaw" on the desktop. You then have to agree to the terms of the User Agreement. Once you are logged on you will be on the California materials tab. At that tab you can: find a case by party name, find a document by citation, Keycite, or search for documents using either natural language (plain English) or terms and connectors. Our Westlaw subscription also includes all state and Federal cases and laws, and secondary material for California. The access to secondary material varies by branch. Some of the Westlaw databases available are : USCA Historical Databases All State Statutes All State Case Law All Federal Case Law and Judicial Materials All Federal and State Cases Combined California Rutter Group practice guides California Civil Practice California Code Forms with Practice Commentaries (West's) Any of our reference staff will be happy to assist you in using this service.

Internet Resources of the Month LexNotes and refdesk.com As you may already know, Findlaw at is an excellent starting point on the Internet for legal research both for legal professionals and members of the general public. What you may not realize is that there are many other general legal Web sites available, and one good place to look for them is LexNotes.com. According to its Web site, lexnotes.com is "an online resource for legal research professionals" with "links to research sources, bibliographies, pathfinders, articles, reviews, papers, and legal news" and although the name is similar, is not affiliated with LexisNexis or Lexis. LexNotes' home page contains links to federal, state, and municipal law. Be sure to check out LexNotes' Lexnotes megasites source with over 40 links. refdesk.com refdesk.com is a busy little site can be a person's best dream or worst nightmare. Through the homepage, you can find a link to almost any topical source you can imagine, including the law. Are you a "news hound"? Pick a country, state or city. Prefer the New York Times or the Washington Post??? You'll find links to headline news; breaking news, and yesterday's news. Want to check your horoscope? Or, find which constellations are visible at your location? Check out the "virtual telescope". And, oh by the way, there is a legal dictionary link and a link to the facts subject "law" (best found via the site map) will retrieve a mere 145 results. The biggest challenge lies in finding where to start and when to stop.

News from the North The San Diego Superior Court's Vista Courthouse was the scene of a gala celebration on June 15th for the unveiling of the portrait of Judge Fiorenzo Lopardo and the opening of the Distinguished Jurists Gallery. Judge Lopardo's portrait joins those of Judges Zalman Scherer and Andrew Wagner in the South Wing of the courthouse. One of the first judges at the Vista Courthouse during the early 1970s, Judge Lopardo retired in 1987 and died in 2004. The unveiling event attracted a large group of guests including judges, attorneys, and friends and family of Judge Lopardo. North County Court Presiding Judge Janis Sammartino described Judge Lopardo as extraordinarily popular and also was the longest serving judge in North County. Among his many accomplishments, Judge Lopardo was instrumental in founding the North County Branch of the San Diego County Public Law Library. He was also an ardent supporter of the Law Library during his tenure as a judge. NCBA president James Lund recalled how Judge Lopardo would ask attorneys in his courtroom to contribute to the Law Library. "He really liked the Law Library," Mr. Lund noted. Judge Lopardo's son, Stephen, gave a moving speech about his father's service during World War II. Those attending also celebrated the 50th anniversary of the North County Bar Association (NCBA). Judge Sammartino also told those present that if the North County Division were a standalone court, it would be the 13th largest in California.

Wear the Law Library Logo with Pride The Law Library staff members now wear with pride stylish polo shirts with the Library logo. Several library users have asked about purchasing shirts for themselves and the Library has now decided to offer that opportunity to the general public. Shirts come in two styles and a variety of colors. These are well-made 100% cotton Land's End shirts. The cost of a shirt is $35.00. Please contact the Library's Administrative Assistant, Marra, at 619-531-3904 about purchasing shirts and information about available colors.

New Materials Added to the Library Collection in June and July This is a selectied list of materials added. Click on the title to check their availability. Carrad, David Clayton, 1944- THE COMPLETE QDRO HANDBOOK: DIVIDING ERISA, MILITARY, AND CIVIL SERVICE PENSIONS AND COLLECTING CHILD SUPPORT FROM EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS / DAVID CLAYTON CARRAD. 2nd ed. Chicago : Section of Family Law, American Bar Association, c2004. KF3512 .C37 2004. Main Library and North County CONSTRUCTION LAW AND DISPUTES : PROGRAM HANDBOOK, MAY/JUNE 2006. Oakland, Calif. : Continuing Education of the Bar, c2006. KFC424.Z9 C667 2006. Main Library Only DIRECT AND CROSS EXAMINATION OF EXPERTS : PROGRAM HANDBOOK, APRIL/MAY 2006. Oakland, Calif. : Continuing Education of the Bar, c2006. KFC1042.A9 D57 2006. Main Library Only ESSENTIAL EVIDENCE FOR THE TRIAL LAWYER: PROGRAM HANDBOOK, MAY 2006. Oakland, Calif. : Continuing Education of the Bar, c2006. KFC1030.Z9 E77 2006. Main Library Only FUNDAMENTALS OF FAMILY LAW PRACTICE: PROGRAM HANDBOOK, APRIL/MAY 2006. Oakland, Calif. : Continuing Education of the Bar, c2006. KFC115.A73 F86 2006. Main Library Only FUNDAMENTALS OF PROBATE AND OTHER NONTRUST ADMINISTRATION : PROGRAM HANDBOOK, APRIL/MAY 2006. Oakland, Calif. : Continuing Education of the Bar, c2006. KFC205 .F86 2006. Main Library Only GAW ON ADMINISTERING THE MODERATE SINGLE-SETTLOR AND MARRIED PERSON TRUST : PROGRAM HANDBOOK, APRIL/MAY 2006. Oakland, Calif. : Continuing Education of the Bar, c2006. KFC188 .G392 2006. Main Library Only Broida, Peter B. GUIDE TO FEDERAL LABOR RELATIONS AUTHORITY LAW AND PRACTICE [ELECTRONIC RESOURCE] / BY PETER BROIDA. 19th ed. Arlington, Va. : Dewey Publications, c2006. KF5365.A57 G84 2006cd. Main Library Only Brody, Michael P. HANDLING A REAL PROPERTY FORECLOSURE : HERE\'S HOW AND WHEN TO DO IT / BY MICHAEL P. BRODY.Oakland, CA : Continuing Education of the Bar, c2006. KFC177.F6 B75 2006. All Locations IP ISSUES IN NEGOTIATING DEALS AND STRUCTURING TRANSACTIONS : PROGRAM HANDBOOK, APRIL/MAY 2006. Oakland, Calif. : Continuing Education of the Bar, c2006. KF3145 .I62 2006. Main Library Only McCormick, Charles Tilford, 1889-1963. MCCORMICK ON EVIDENCE / BY KENNETH S. BROUN, GENERAL EDITOR ; CONTRIBUTING AUTHORS, GEORGE E. DIX ... [ET AL.]. 6th ed. St. Paul, MN : Thomson/West, c2006. KF8935 .M29 2006. All Locations Fishman, Stephen. PUBLIC DOMAIN : HOW TO FIND & USE COPYRIGHT-FREE WRITINGS, MUSIC, ART & MORE / BY STEPHEN FISHMAN. 3rd ed. Berkeley, CA : Nolo, 2006. KF3022.Z9 F57 2006. Main Library, North County and East County Russo, Charles J. REUTTER'S THE LAW OF PUBLIC EDUCATION / BY CHARLES J. RUSSO. 6th ed. [New York] : Foundation Press ; [St. Paul, Minn.] 2006. KF4118 .R4 2006. Main Library

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 Sheila Corman, Reference Librarian.