Criminal Law Library Blog

QUESTION:

"My library's board just learned of a plan to move our library from our wonderful space in the county courthouse, to some undecided space in another building (yet to be considered). We barely managed to stall a vote on the decision yesterday, and have just till Monday for the next meeting and vote. The County wants to convert our space to a jury room."

"I wonder how those of you who moved from the courthouse have fared? I would appreciate any letters/messages expressing your experiences, thoughts, or ideas of help. We're rallying as much help from all sources as possible"

SOME RESPONSES:

"We moved from the county courthouse to a renovated building, a joint venture with the county of ..., across the street. It was a carefully planned project and not forced by the county to move. We are very happy to move into the new facility."

"Your situation is different from ours. You have to tell the county why you should stay at where you are. It's politics which you need to present your case and lobby with the decision makers. It sounds like the court wants the space and has asked the county to pursue on their behalf. Good luck on pursuing your case."
______________________________________

"I'm not the best to speak about this (bc I wasn't here at the time), but the ... County Public Law Library happily moved out of the ... Superior courthouse approximately 5 years ago. We love the 'new' law library space in a renovated building about 2 blocks away from the courthouse.

There is much more space for patrons, the collection, patron computers and staff; we have a great Training Center where we offer classes of all kinds to attorneys and self-represented litigants; and so on. The best thing is that we can now offer our patrons extended evening and Saturday hours (including offering classes on evenings and Saturdays).

It has been a real win-win situation. I am aware of the former space that the law library occupied in the courthouse basement, and it was insufficient for our needs & dark (we now have windows - yay). But the court has utilized this space for their needs, and they are very tight for space.

I don't know what your situation is, and it can be ideal to be inside the courthouse for many reasons. That said, being outside may also offer opportunities for good growth and change.

But I agree with ...: you need to enlist the aid of some stake holders to lobby the powers that be, if you truly feel that this is a mistake. Who can help you with this effort? Do you have patrons that could speak on your behalf and clearly articulate why it is important to them for the law library to remain in the courthouse? Do you have local politicians who could speak up on your behalf? What about your Board? What about the general public library (eg, is it beneficial from their perspective to have you in the courthouse - or - will they speak up on your behalf)?

If you cannot change their minds (from moving you out of the courthouse), then use your stake holders to assist you in obtaining the right space in the right building that is close to the courthouse.

List the pros & cons of moving and good luck with your efforts."
_______________________________________

"It may just simply be that the Court is not aware of how much use your library gets; and not just by those who have business with the Court. It also sounds like you have a small library - this could be a chance to LOBBY for a convenient location that has more space."

Posted by David Badertscher | Permalink | Email This Post | Comments (0)

Posted In: Commentary and Opinion , Library Organization and Planning , Questions and Answers

Bookmark:

Some of us in "Wordperfect shops" are always looking for ways to cut and past from Word to Wordperfect. Yesterday I came across the following tip from Charles T. Lester Jr. He was responding to a question on TechnoLawyer--Answers to Questions http://www.technolawyer.com:

QUESTION:.

"My problem with WordPerfect is that when I cut data from a Word doc and paste it into a WP doc I seem to get equal parts type and Word-inserted codes. Can I accomplish a Word to WP cut and paste without all the garbage? If not, what's the quickest way to delete all the garbage? Thanks."

RESPONSE:

Several different ways, all ending up with the same result. (This explanation is done with Word 2003, WordPerfect X3, and Windows XP.) YMMV.

Step 1: Copy the stuff from Word. This is probably preaching to the choir, but to copy, highlight the text you wish to copy, and then do any one of the following five things: (1) right click and select "Copy"; (2) click the copy icon on the toolbar at the top of Word; (3) press the Alt key, type the letter E (for Edit), then type the letter C (for Copy); (4) click "Edit" on the Menu Bar, then click "Copy" in the drop-down menu that appears; or (5) hold down the Ctrl key and type the letter C.

Step 2: Paste the text into WordPerfect. Switch to the WordPerfect window, and one of the following three things: (1) press the Alt key, type the letter E (for Edit), then click "Paste Special"; (2) click Edit on the menu bar at the top of the screen, then click "Paste Special". In either case, you will get a pop-up box that will ask you how you want to paste it. This may be populated with as few as two, or as many as five or six different options, depending upon the source of the copied text. I usually select "Unformatted Text" to get the result without formatting codes.

I said there were three things you could do. That's because the third method is usually the easiest, and often the most useful.

The third method is to right click in the WordPerfect window. If you do that, you get a window that pops up with several different paste options: "Paste", "Paste without Font/Attributes", and "Paste Unformatted Text". "Paste Unformatted Text" gets you to the same place that the previously mentioned methods 1 and 2 do, just a bit quicker.

Oftentimes, however, "Paste without Font/Attributes" gets me closer to the result I'm actually looking for: it keeps my current font, but preserves things like hyperlinks and alignment.

Charles T. Lester, Jr.
Attorney at Law
P.O. Box 75069
Fort Thomas, KY 41075-0069

Posted by David Badertscher | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Questions and Answers

Bookmark:

QUESTION:

What is virtual law?

RESPONSE:

"Virtual law is like 'Internet law,' in that it refers to a wide body of generally preexisting law that is applied somewhat differently in a new context. In fact, much of what we think of as 'Internet law' applies to virtual worlds. In sum, virtual law is the statutory and case law that impacts virtual worlds and the application of that law to these spaces."

READ MORE

________________________
Source: ABA: Inside Practice (April 2008).

Posted by David Badertscher | Permalink | Email This Post | Comments (0)

Posted In: Commentary and Opinion , Information Technology , News from Organizations , Questions and Answers , Science and Technology

Bookmark:

QUESTION:

"I am in the process of trying to convert to a less paper driven office. We have occasion to verify information on Web pages and typically copied it and placed it in the hard file. I cannot seem to save it to a file on the computer and view it after the fact. Any suggestions? I have tried copy and paste and send it to."

RESPONSE:

"I've been saving Web pages as files or emailing them to myself for 10 years or so — ever since I first got Internet access. If neither procedure works, you must have a configuration problem. With some Web sites that use frames, a "save as" or "email to" command may just capture a blank frame; in that case, I'd use the cut and paste method described below, which is pretty well guaranteed to work."

"When using the 'save as' command, Internet Explorer gives you the option of saving the whole page, or just the html portions, or just plain text. If you choose the whole page, you end up with an html file plus a folder of other stuff — image files that appeared on the page, etc. If the information includes pictures and other non-text items, you may need that; otherwise, I just choose the html only option. Plain text loses the formatting, which can make the article harder to understand, and really doesn't reduce the file size by much. Other browsers like Firefox have the same choices, although they may have slightly different names."

T"he method I use now most of the time is to email the information to myself (and to colleagues or clients at the same time), and then file my copy of the email in an appropriate place. There's 2 ways to do that. There's a command in the file menu to 'send page' or 'send page by email'. Insert your own address if it's not there by default (as it would be if you send yourself blind copies of all your messages), and choose a subject line that will make it easy to find the message when you need it. The second way to email information is to highlight it on the Web page, hit control + c to copy it, and paste it into the blank message box. That has the advantage of avoiding all the ads, unrelated links, etc. that may be on the page. With either method, you can make a note to yourself at the beginning of the email about why you're saving the information, and if you're using the cut and paste method, you can combine information from several pages in a single message."

"One final tip — the little "print" link that appears on most Web stories is invaluable. Its main function is to generate a much cleaner version of the article with most of the ads removed. If the article is a long one, it will often be broken into several smaller pieces on the main page — you've seen items where you have to keep clicking "next" to get through it. You'd have to email or save each part of the article separately if you're working from the normal page. But if you use the "print" option, you'll almost always get the entire article at once, including any pictures or other graphics that are actually part of the story."

"There are other ways to archive information — printing the pages to a pdf driver, or emailing just the link rather than the whole story, or using a service like digg or delico.us. To use the material as evidence, the pdf version might be preferable. I avoid anything that relies on sending just the link to the page rather than its contents, because links stop working when the article is taken off the Web site or moved to the site's archives where a password is required. If you've saved the article as a file or emailed its content to yourself, you'll have it no matter what the Web site decides to do with it. For that reason, I don't use the "email" icon that often appears alongside the 'print' link on a page. While it may sound like just what's needed, it usually just sends the link to the page."

James Sayre
Community Legal Assistance Society
Suite 300, 1140 West Pender Street
Vancouver, B.C. V6E 4G1

_____________________________
Source: The Technolawyer Community: Answers to Questions April 3, 2008
http://www.technolawyer.com

Posted by David Badertscher | Permalink | Email This Post | Comments (0)

Posted In: Commentary and Opinion , Information Technology , Questions and Answers

Bookmark:

Not everyone is happy with the discussion in Wikipedia regarding pro se and why people proceed pro se. Today there has been some lively discussion on this topic on the web. Here is the question which seems to have generated much of the discussion and some responses to it. As always, I have edited out all names and other forms of identification in order to protect the confidentiality of the participants:

QUESTION:

Wikipedia's listing for Pro Se under "Why people proceed Pro Se"

"Many individuals choose to act pro se because they themselves are lawyers or have other legal experience, or simply because they are confident in their ability to convey their claim or defense without professional aid. Some pro ses may simply not want to pay the fees and expenses associated with hiring counsel. Others may want a lawyer, but find themselves unintentionally unrepresented due to their inability to find or pay for a lawyer willing to take their case. In civil court matters, this often occurs where the outcome is uncertain, such as in cases of alleged defamation where the plaintiff may be burdened by costly SLAPP legislation. Such people will often continue the case pro se rather than give up their quest for damages."

"In most serious criminal prosecutions in the United States, an indigent defendant has a right to a lawyer appointed by the court, so the decision to proceed pro se is rarely based on financial considerations. However, even indigent criminal defendants in jurisdictions that guarantee legal representation may still have to represent themselves in the later stages of the case, as free representation is often only provided by the state during the initial trial and the direct appeal. This is especially true in collateral proceedings such as habeas corpus or postconviction petitions that fall outside the normal appeals process".

Does anyone else think that this definition needs a rewrite? Most pro se's we help are not lawyers, do not have legal experience and are not confident in their abilities.

SOME RESPONSES:

The "Notable Pro Se Litigants" section is interesting but we see very few of those in our library.

Under the "Resources Section", local law libraries are mentioned but with a somewhat incomplete description of possible resources and services offered.
______________________

I agree with the rest of you that the Wikipedia entry is completely inadequate. However, even a re-write from a public law librarian may be inadequate if we are not careful. The pro se litigants we see in our libraries are not exactly that same as the much larger group that appears before the courts. Also, while we in law libraries may see a lot of vexatious litigants and mentally ill litigants who are repeat visitors, their actual numbers among those who go to court are quite small, and I would be concerned that too much emphasis on them in a Wikipedia article may well do damage for the many court-based and alternative organization based efforts to obtain funding to create programs for serving self represented litigants.
_______________________

Actually, at least one study rates the accuracy of articles there fairly highly. http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20061127-8296.html

IMHO, I find wikipedia to be fairly accurate in a number of areas, but ONLY where there is iterative feedback and editing. Britannica is not itself flawless. The longer the article exists, and the more input it has received from diverse sources, the better the article seems to be in this environment.

So if we aren't willing - as experts and scholars - to contribute to the accuracy do we share some of the blame for the inaccuracy that exists? I'm not sure of the answer to that question, BTW, just throwing it out there for cogitation.

I do not believe everything is on the web, nor do I let Time Magazine "Help me understand." I also don't believe everything I hear from people with long strings of initials after their names just because they have long strings of initials after their names. :)

I think it's more useful to ask those who use this sort of tool "where do they grant what Berring calls "cognitive authority"?" rather than to dismiss the tool and those who use it.
________________________

It's not up to us to fix it. Black's Law Dictionary is a publication authored by legal experts. Wikipedia is like an open group diary - the problem is the expertise of some of the contributors (on any topic) is suspect. I feel those who rely on Wikipedia are like those who feel that the Internet has all knowledge, in one place; is accurate and is easy to find. Who needs experts and scholars to explain things to them?

The difference is Wikipedia focuses on public perception and not actuality. I wouldn't trust Wikipedia over PubMed, NIH or CDC. Peple just need to be aware - and made aware that Wikipedia is not the same as BRITANNICA.
________________________

Regardless of whether wikipedia is or isn't a good source, it's used and therefore should be corrected. Because of the nature of the source, we can always edit the entry if we don't like it
________________________

Knowing the limitation of Wikipedia and its authorship, I wonder if we want to take on the responsibility or rewriting the article.

My Public Services Librarian commented that "To me the encyclopedia is a unique idea and experience but is not something that I would rely on for accurate information. It can be OK for just a basic touch of a definition about most anything. I avoid it."

"The definition noted for pr se does seem inadequate and could be edited so that a better notion is out there for the general user. However, I am sure there are countless other definitions on Wikipedia that would not stand up to professional scrutiny.

Use it to look up anything to do with law libraries and see what you get. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_library I think there is too muchattention being paid to this single article. It could well be a full
time task of several law librarians to edit what is on Wikipedia. And
to what purpose?"
________________________

It's not whether to act, but how do we act? I've heard it said that he best answer to ignorance is information. As information specialists our aim is to provide an array of resources and our best work is being able to show the connection betwen resources - including limitations.
________________________

To Readers:

Please feel free to comment on these responses; I'm sure others would be interested in your thoughts.

Posted by David Badertscher | Permalink | Email This Post | Comments (0)

Posted In: Commentary and Opinion , Library News and Views , Questions and Answers

Bookmark:

QUESTION: Law enforcement officers went to Castellanos's residence after receiving information from a confidential informant that Castellanos was in this country illegally, was selling a large quantity of drugs from his residence, and had a cousin who had been kidnapped and killed. The officers arrived at 6:15 a.m. The door was partially open. The officers knocked on the door, but no one answered. Neighbors reported no traffic in or out of the residence for about a week. Because the officers had information concerning a possible kidnapping and murder offense, the officers entered the residence to verify the welfare of the occupants. Finding no one inside, the officers left the residence.

As they left, Castellanos arrived and started to pull into the driveway. However, when he saw the officers, he drove away. The officers followed Castellanos for two blocks before stopping him for weaving. Detective Ortiz and another officer saw that Castellanos was "pretty drunk," stumbled out of the truck, and had urinated on himself. At first, Castellanos refused to give his name and said "Just arrest me." Castellanos then identified himself as "Guillermo Lujan," and claimed that his identification was at home. Detective Ortiz requested consent to search Castellanos's home and vehicle, but Castellanos did not reply. Detective Ortiz decided not to press the consent issue because Castellanos was intoxicated. The officers handcuffed Castellanos and transported him back to his residence to verify his identity. When they got to the residence, the police took off the handcuffs. Castellanos opened the unlocked door of his home and entered and the officers followed Castellanos i nside. Castellanos did not object to the officers entering the residence with him. Once inside the residence, Castellanos sat down on a couch in the living room. The officers asked Castellanos for the location of his identification, but he did not answer. Detective Ortiz asked for consent to search the home. Castellanos asked if the officers had a warrant, and when they said no, he refused to give consent. After Castellanos refused consent, the officers again asked Castellanos for his identification and Castellanos "kind of flipped his hand" in the direction of his bedroom. They went into the bedroom, and discovered a notebook with names, numbers, and monetary figures that appeared to list drug-dealing transactions. Detective Ortiz decided Castellanos was too intoxicated to give consent, and applied for a search warrant. During the execution of the search warrant, the officers discovered more evidence of drug dealing, cash, and weapons. Did the officers obtain lawful consent for the search?

ANSWER: No. However, mere intoxication was not enough to render consent to search involuntary. In each case, the question focused on mental awareness so that the act of consent was the consensual act of one who knew what he or she was doing and had a reasonable appreciation of the nature and significance of his or her actions. A fundamental flaw existed in the government's position that Castellanos consented to a search of the bedroom. The record indicated the officers failed twice to obtain consent from Castellanos to search his home. The first attempt occurred at the traffic stop. Castellanos did not respond, and Detective Ortiz did not push the issue because Castellanos was too intoxicated. The second attempt occurred in Castellanos's living room. Detective Ortiz asked Castellanos for consent to search his home. Castellanos asked if the officers had a warrant. When told no warrant existed, Castellanos refused to consent to a search. It was clear from the rec ord Castellanos never expressly authorized the officers' search of the residence or entry into his bedroom. Under the totality of the circumstances, the officers' entry into the residence's living room was reasonable. However, allowing an officer to enter one's home and allowing the officer to search the home were two very different matters. When a person permitted an officer to enter the person's home, the officer did not have free reign to wander around the home and search any area of the house without further consent. In fact, Castellanos expressly refused consent to search his residence. Consent to search could be inferred from gestures and other conduct. However, in this case, the officers believed Castellanos, who was not under arrest, was too intoxicated to consent to a search of his residence. The record showed Detective Ortiz requested a search warrant for the residence because Castellanos was too inebriated to consent. If Castellanos's intoxication was such that th e officers believed Castellanos was incapable of giving consent to search, it was clear Castellanos did not possess the capacity to give implied consent. Under the facts of the case, it was not reasonable for the officers to infer Castellanos impliedly consented to their entry into his bedroom when Castellanos "kind of flipped his hand" in that direction.

Citation: U.S. v. Castellanos, 2008 WL 649126 (8th Cir. 2008)

Posted by David Badertscher | Permalink | Email This Post | Comments (0)

Posted In: Commentary and Opinion , Criminal Law and Justice , Questions and Answers

Bookmark:

QUESTION:

I am interested in finding out the types of assignments that other Heads of Tech Services (or equivalent titles) are responsible for, besides just running the tech services dept. I'm wondering if there is a future for those of us in this position. Is this position part of the hierarchy which may become unnecessary? What ways are you dealing with the transition of tech services depts.? I would appreciate it if you could share your thoughts and possibly your position descriptions with me. I've spent a lot of time pondering the future.

SUMMARY OF RESPONSES:*

I had a couple of suggestions that we discuss this issue at the Technical Services Management Issues Roundtable. I also think a variation of it: "Reinventing Tech Services" might be a good TS Hot Topic. I may even get an article out of it.

All of the replies were sent to me personally. Several people requested anonymity. For the sake of everyone's privacy, I will speak in general terms and not refer specifically to any person or library. The majority of the responses I got were from academic law libraries. I got one response from a firm librarian and one from a state,county, court librarian.

As I read through your replies, I noticed several recurring themes:

1. Almost everyone who replied has other responsibilities beside managing the Tech Services Dept. Some folks supervise areas that aren't commonly thought of as Tech Services. Some of the "other jobs" we have include:

Systems administrator for ILS.
Library Administration
Government Documents ( all except reference questions)
Collection Management, Stacks Maintenance
Collection Development
Rare Books
Gifts
Exhibits
Training Coordinator
Maintenance of Faculty Scholarship and institutional repositories
Copyright Clearance
Updating library website
Technology Planning
Knowledge Management
We are a talented group!

2. Every time a staff member, professional or support, leaves, the dept. is re-organized and duties are eliminated or added.

3. As more print cancellations are done and more electronic resources replace them, there is less traditional serials check-in and processing, therefore less for support staff to do. Many of us are scrambling to find other work for them to do, lest their positions be eliminated.

4. Several people are also performing basic TS functions such as acquisitions and cataloging themselves, in the absence or vacancy of other professional positions. They wonder what would fill their days if they didn't have this extra work.

5. Several of us think that there is the possibility that the Head of Tech Services position might be eliminated, since some directors are flattening their hierarchies.

6. We all agreed that we still have an important role to play in quality control, employee management, and making sense out of electronic resources management, if that's possible!

As for my story: I have very capable acquisitions and cataloging librarians who each supervise employees. The department is running well. We don't have a functioning ERM system yet but the acquisitions librarian is a whiz in keeping track of the information on spread sheets. I am about to develop a systematic preservation program for our collections. I will also take over the faculty research repository and possibly copyright clearance. But I had to ask for more to do. I've also filled my time with professional activities.
_____________________________________

*When posting this type of material it is my policy to not identify any specific individual, group, or organization in order to protect the privacy and confidentiality of all concerned.

David Badertscher

Posted by David Badertscher | Permalink | Email This Post | Comments (0)

Posted In: Commentary and Opinion , Library Organization and Planning , Questions and Answers

Bookmark:

BY DAVID BADERTSCHER

Since October 11, 2007 the New York Supreme Court Criminal Term Library, New York County has been uploading slip opinions of the New York Supreme Court Appellate Division, First Department to the Criminal Law Library Blog. See http://www.criminallawlibraryblog.com/court_decisions/new_york_supreme_court_app_div/

As could be expected, users of that blawg who consult the slip opinions posted have started asking questions about how these slip opinions should be cited where found by consulting this blawg. Here is a recent question received by the Library:

"...I got a phone call from an attorney reading the [Criminal Law Library Blog] where the slip opinions from the Appellate Division [First Department] are posted. She was preparing a brief and needed a cite, not Westlaw whatever. Can the cite be determined from the blog or do we have to go to Westlaw or Lexis?"

After receiving this question I consulted the web version of the New York Official Reports: Official Reports Style Manual which is an official, authorative source for offering guidance for citing New York cases, including slip opinions, see http://courts.state.ny.us/reporter/NYStyleMan2007.pdf, to determine if the question posed has been addressed; my concern was that whenever possible citations should conform to established the established conventions of the jurisdiction involved, in this instance the State of New York.

While the Official Reports Style Manual does not address directly the accepted format for citing slip opinions found on a blaw posting, it does offer guidance through a combination of its sections that together can be used to construct a format for citing New York Slip opinions on a blawg. Specifically, Section 2.2(a)(8) "Citations to Slip Opinions" and Section 7.1(c)(3) " Citation to a Document or Page on a Web Site". Section 7.1(c)(4) "Weblog Citation" does not address directly the citing of cases found on a weblog but it does offer the following guidance: "For citations to weblogs (blogs), follow the general citatation style above [Section 7.1(c)(3)] including the name of the weblog, the title or entry, the URL, and the date of posting."

For your convenience I have prepared two sample citations to slip opinions posted on the Criminal Law Library Blog that should meet the above standards if you find it necessary to include a blogsite in your citation:

(Tighe v. Henneghan Construction Co. Inc., _AD3d_, 2008 NY Slip Op 2287 [1st Dept. 2008], Criminal Law Library Blog, http://www.criminallawlibraryblog.com/ny_AppDiv1_SlipOp_02-05-2007.pdf [February 5, 2008])

(In Matter of Zelda E. Stewart, _AD3d_, 2008 NY Slip Op M-6222 [1st Dept. 2008], Criminal Law Library Blog, http://www.criminallawlibraryblog.com/Ny_AppDiv1_Stewart_02-05-2008.pdf [February 5, 2008])

In this posting I have only considered slip opinions in the State of New York. Acceptable. Due to the need to post this information in a timely manner, I have only briefly reviewed citation formats for cases on blawgs in other jurisdictions. From that review I suspect requirements in many other locations will be similar to those outlined above.

This points out again the urgent need generally to address issues related to the appropriate and functional citation of legal materials stored in a digital format. It is good to see that the American Association of Law Libraries working with others is continuing to carry on this effort
_______________________________

*The opinions expressed above are entirely my own and do not reflect any opinions or commentary, official or unofficial, of the State of New York Unified Court System.

Posted by David Badertscher | Permalink | Email This Post | Comments (1)

Posted In: Authors of Articles , Commentary and Opinion , David Badertscher , Library News and Views , Library Organization and Planning , New York Supreme Court App. Div Slip Opinions , Questions and Answers

Bookmark:

QUESTION

"I am so ready to get into a full (or as close as possible) paperless office. I would like to create a hard copy index in the client file detailing what is in the client file on my hard drive. This way, when I have a senior moment and can't remember if I wrote the client or opposing counsel about a certain topic, I can locate it readily without having to guess what all my, or my staff's, abbreviations and shorthand mean. I use MS Word. Can anyone who has gone paperless share how they solved this issue or describe a better technique?"

ANSWER:

"The very first thing you should do is either prohibit or STANDARDIZE abbreviations used in file names, as well as standardizing the format of file names themselves. [I am FIRMLY and UNALTERABLY in the camp of those who believe all file names should begin with YYYY-MM-DD.] "

"But back to the question actually posed: If you are using Directory Opus from GPS Software instead of Windows Explorer — as certainly you should be — you can easily use the "Copy Filenames" option on the Edit Menu, which will copy names to the clipboard as simple file names, file names with complete path, or hyperlinks."

"If you INSIST on creating hardcopy, just paste the clipboard content into a word processing document. But why not instead create a PDF file from the hyperlinks, and then have an "electronic index" to your content which is (i) searchable, and (ii) with a single click will open the desired file once located?"

"Better yet, assuming your stored documents are in Acrobat format, why not use the "Catalog" function of Acrobat itself?"

Posted by David Badertscher | Permalink | Email This Post | Comments (0)

Posted In: Commentary and Opinion , Questions and Answers

Bookmark:

QUESTION:

If anyone has a blog policy they wish to share, we would appreciate it.
Thanks.

RESPONSES:

Although not policy, here is an excerpt of some pertinent guidelines from Alaska:

Personnel Rule C10.03 provides in pertinent part:

No employee of the Alaska Court System may directly or indirectly:

* * * *

▪ Restrict or attempt to restrict after-working hours statements, pronouncements or other activities not otherwise prohibited by law or personnel rule, of any Alaska Court System employee, if the employee does not purport to speak or act in an official capacity. (However, in accordance with Judicial Canon 3A(6), court system employees should abstain from public comment about a pending or impending proceeding in any court. (AS 39.26.010).)

Canon 3B(9) of the Code of Judicial Conduct provides as follows:

A judge shall not, while a proceeding is pending or impending in any court, make any public comment that might reasonably be expected to affect its outcome or impair its fairness, or make any nonpublic comment that might substantially interfere with a fair trial or hearing. The judge shall take reasonable steps to maintain and insure similar abstention on the part of court staff subject to the judge's direction and control. This Section does not prohibit judges from making public statements in the course of their official duties or from explaining for public information the procedures of the court. This Section does not apply to proceedings in which the judge is a litigant in a personal capacity.

To remain in compliance with these rules, you should observe the following guidelines:

• You may not post comments on your blog about pending or impending cases from a court system computer or during work hours. If you choose to post comments about a pending or impending case from a private computer during non-work hours, you should be certain that the comments cannot reasonably be expected to affect its outcome or impair its fairness. Keep in mind that a case is considered pending until all appeal avenues have been exhausted by the parties.

• You may not disclose any confidential information learned during your employment by the court system. Keep in mind that it is possible for you to disclose confidential information on your blog even if you do not reveal the names of the parties. For example, a person may know that his or her student or neighbor was involved in a CINA proceeding on a certain day. If your blog discusses details of the CINA hearing held on that day, that person would learn information that was confidential by law, even though you did not post the name of the juvenile.

• You may not post comments on your blog that violate the conduct-related policies contained in the court rules, administrative bulletins, personnel rules, or procurement guidelines. An example would be the prohibition on discrimination and harassment contained in Personnel Rule C10.04.

And a Second Response:

The critical question is "Is court employee blogging a unique type of
communication medium, employee behavior, or employment situation that calls
for a separate policy?" In my view, unless officially sanctioned by the
court as part of its operations, blogs, wikis, social networking, group
shareware and other new forms of online discourse are individual
interactions, not court communications. Existing rules and regulations
should suffice to cover individual actions, no matter what the media. For
example, blogging on court time falls under the same rules as emailing or
cell phone texting on court time.

If you believe employees may need a reminder, a simple addition to the
employee rules such as the following may be all that is needed: As a
condition of your employment, you agreed to abide by the policies, rules,
and regulations of the court. This also applies to your blogging, as well as
other online communications. We suggest you take time to review the section
of the [employee handbook] entitled [employee responsibilities].

That said, if a blog is sanctioned by a court, it would be covered by
policies, rules and regulations as court websites.

An excellent resource on the subject is the online Your Guide to Corporate
Blogging.

Posted by David Badertscher | Permalink | Email This Post | Comments (0)

Posted In: Commentary and Opinion , News from Organizations , Questions and Answers

Bookmark:

The following is a question regarding alternative approaches to library funding and a summary of responses to that question.

QUESTION

“The perennial issue - law library funding. Beyond civil filing fees, has any law library tried other avenues for funding, for example, a portion of the attorney registration fee, or other vehicle? I am interested whether or not the attempt was successful.”

SUMMARY OF RESPONSES:

I. Checklist Summary of Considered Funding Sources

 fee for service program
 filing/court fee paid including district court, criminal, civil, small claims, traffic, probate
 mandatory annual law library attorney registration fee for all attorneys with an active state license who have their office in the county

 membership or subscription library

 law library fee from designated offenses and fines, including natural resources, traffic and truck/common carrier violations

 miscellaneous monies from copy/fax/printing services, room rentals

II. Digested Responses:

1) A California public law library: Provides copiers and faxing services. Also has a fee for service program in which patrons (normally firms) may join Interlibrary Loan Retrieval Service on a sliding scale, depending on the number of attorneys in the local office of the firm. For the fee, they may call us and ask for materials to be pulled from the shelves and prepared for messenger pick-up. There are some other services as well. For firms with 9 or less attorneys, we provide the services for free. This nets us about $85,000-$90,000 a year - not major considering all our expenses but every little bit helps.

Our public law library was created by state law that provided not only for filing fees as the funding mechanism but also required the city and county to provide quarters, salaries and benefits for three positions, utilities and some miscellaneous expenses, so we have an appropriation for those each year.

We have not tried to get either local bar or state bar voluntary contribution check-offs on their fee statements because there are so many other interests within those organizations that need and want voluntary contributions that we do not want to be competing for their dollar and probably wouldn’t be included if we asked.

2) In Kansas, county law libraries can receive up to from $7 to $10 from just about every filing/court fee paid including district court, criminal, civil, small claims, traffic, probate etc. Our county also has a mandatory $75 annual law library attorney registration fee for all attorneys with an active state license who have their office in the county or who reside in the county and practice in another state. The clerk of court, under statutory authority, won't file pleadings of attorneys who are not registered so we get good compliance. We get our list of attorneys from the clerk of the supreme court. This year our county also got additional fee authority to receive up to $4 more per case with a filing fee surcharge but our county hasn't asked for the extra funding yet.

3) By statute, all of the attorney's registration fees go to the library fund. Unfortunately, we're stuck at $10 per year per attorney and my trustees won't let me raise that. (The statutes let us go up to $75 per year.) For years they hardly spent any money and we have an extremely capable court clerk who invests the money wisely. That's given us a surplus that the trustees use as an excuse to not raise the attorney's fees. I know we could have worse problems but it's more than a matter of bringing in money. I think if attorneys paid more for the library they would value - and use - it more.

4) Some county law libraries charge an annual borrower's fee. We charge an annual membership fee to attorneys who use our resources. The public can enter for free with referrals from the Free Library, the federal and court libraries and from any public service agency. So, we feel that we are still providing equal access to justice for them. This way, only those who have a legitimate legal research need visit. We charge $5/day for members of the general public who are not attorneys but let them know when they enter that they can go to these organizations for a referral.

5) Many county libraries in Maryland use attorney appearance fees for part of their funding. We also get forfeited bonds and get money from the county in supplement to our filing fees and bond forfeitures.

6) The Membership Subscription Law Librarians Round Table is a group of public and bar association law library directors, most of whom use some sort of user fee as part of their financing.

7) We as of yet have not gone the Bar Association fee route, though it is mighty tempting. I'm holding out until we desperately need an influx. To help boost the civil filing fees we have created other service based revenue streams. Our County Board saw the need / wisdom in immediately increasing the fee to the [statutory] maximum $13 per civil filing when the legislation passed.

We have a few other miscellaneous revenue streams. We usually gather 10%-15% of our overall revenue in this piecemeal fashion.

8) Our filing fees are on district and circuit court cases whether they are filed in a civil or criminal court. Fees are collected and deposited by the clerk's office directly into our account so there isn't a collection problem.

9) When I was on the County Law Library Task Force in 2005, the major issue was funding. The report identified the possibility of charging attorneys' bar membership fee to fund the law library. I kept on reminding our lobbyist in Sacramento to follow up but it has not happened.

10) Right now, Ohio funds its law libraries out of a portion of its traffic fines and has done so since at least 1953. We get part of traffic citations (on designated sections) written by the State Highway Patrol (SHP) and any citations written under certain Ohio Revised Code sections. This means some libraries get a great deal of money and others get shorted. Counties that have a lot of Interstates that are under the jurisdiction of the SHP and counties that don't have cities with ordinances get a pretty good return. Counties that have big cities lose out, because the cities cite under their own ordinances and the law libraries get none of that revenue.

11) In Minnesota, there is a county law library statute, Chapter 134A, which allows collection from criminal and petty misdemeanor fines. In some cases, this fine is waived (public defender client, or judge decides at sentencing not to impose), but our law library receives the bulk of its income (over 70%) from a criminal law library fine/fee, not civil fees. The fine/fee amounts for both civil and criminal matters are established by the Board of Trustees of the law library and approved by the County Board of Commissioners.

[Some court districts, for example the Eighth District (www.mncourts.gov/district/8), provide for a $10.00 or $15.00 law library fee from designated offenses and fines, including natural resources, traffic and truck/common carrier violations.]

12) I have tried to push for: 1) attorney registration fee portion directed toward library, 2) paid Westlaw access and 3) asking the local bar to make an annual contribution in exchanges for some additional services or discounts. #1 was never implemented although everyone was approving of the idea. #2 did not work so we offer Westlaw for free for now. #3 did not even go pass the court's executive committee. We offer paid fax service (using court administration fax) but it doesn't generate any significant amount of money.

III. Publications Mentioned in Responses:

Funding Sources for Law Libraries Serving Local Jurisdictions (SCCLL website):
http://www.aallnet.org/sis/sccll/toolkit/FundingSources.doc

Sourcebook for Law Library Governing Boards and Committees Written and compiled by the Trustees Development Committee, State, Court, and County Law Libraries Special Interest Section, American Association of Law, Littleton, Colo.: F.B. Rothman, 1994. [H]as a chapter on the statutes used to create law libraries in each state and part of that analysis includes the different types of funding and governance.

California County Law Library Task Force Report: http://www.cccll.org/
Scroll down to report in HTML or PDF.

Alternative Funding Sources, considered by the Task Force, that were not approved as viable options. (See Appendix, page 1.)

 Assessment of a portion of court sanctions
 Assessment of a portion of traffic fines
 Secretary of State corporate filing fee surcharge
 Fictitious name filing fee surcharge
 Marriage license fee surcharge
 Recorded documents fee surcharge
 Vehicle registration surcharge
 Driver’s license surcharge
 Other DMV fee surcharges

IV. FYI: Examples of going rates for charges and fees
These figures represent selected charges and fees from public law libraries. I collected them over the last two years from list responses and library websites.

Membership libraries

Attorneys: $45.00 yearly membership + $50.00 deposit
Attorney : $55.00 for each attorney in county
Individual: $50.00/year + $125.00 security deposit

Firm: $50 x total county-based attorneys in the firm.
Corporate: $200.00/year + $400.00 security deposit

Non-attorneys: $10.00 yearly membership + $50.00 deposit
Non-attorney: $40.00/item limit of 2 items & 2 transactions/yr.
Non-attorney: $55.00/yr. for county resident

Photocopying (self-serv) charges
Range: between $.10 and $.25/page.

Overdue fines
Range: $ 1.00/day/piece to $ 5.00/day/piece
Special Loan: $ 25.00 /day/piece

Other fine charges:
If not replaced: $150.00 per title
Processing Charges: $ 70.00 per title
Binding charge (if applicable) $ 25.00 /vol.

Faxing and computer network printing charges:
Network printing: $.20/page to $.25/page
Faxes (Transmitted or Received) $1.00 per page
Copy and Fax: $5.00/cite + $1.00/pg
Copy Requests: $.15/printed page, $.30/microform page, transaction charge: $8.00
Photocopies by mail: $.25/page
Photocopies by fax: $1.25/page
Disk purchase: $1
Email service: $3 per cite

Room rental fees
$40.00 half day/$60.00 full day
$15.00/hr.
State-of-the-art computer-training center: 1/2 day (4 hours) $300 -- Full day $500
Meeting room: $10 per hour

Posted by David Badertscher | Permalink | Email This Post | Comments (0)

Posted In: Commentary and Opinion , Library News and Views , Library Organization and Planning , Questions and Answers

Bookmark:

QUESTION:

"Good afternoon. ...[our court] is trying to find a Quiche interpreter for a pending criminal case. Quiche or K'iche is a Mayan language spoken in the central highlands of Guatemala. We've tried courts in major metropolitan areas, NAJIT, major universities, Language Line, and even the Guatemalan embassy in Washington, DC. I noticed in a Google search that a court in Louisville, Kentucky tried to find a Quiche interpreter in 2000 -- not sure if they ever found one. There are also a few appellate cases out there that talk about exhausting all efforts to find a Quiche interpreter, so I know we're not the first court in this situation. We even tried my brother, who happens to be a theology professor at Biola University, who happens to know Bible translators in obscure South and Central American dialects, which led us to a possible translator at a university in Texas, but now that seems to be falling through. We even priced a plane ticket from Guatemala to Sioux Falls ($697, much less that I thought), but we have no contacts there and the embassy could not offer any."

"If anyone has any leads or suggestions on a Quiche interpreter, we'd be very grateful. "

SUMMARY OF RESPONSES:

Quiche Interpreters

[also spelled K’iche’ and a number of other variations], compiled 12/2007
Court Administrator’s Office, 2nd Judicial Circuit, South Dakota
605-367-5979

1. From California:

Policarpo Chaj. 213-810-4730
Martin Perez 510-610-6555
Misael Itzep 909-941-9769
Orlando Tzul-Mendez 323-252-7198

2. From Minnesota, The Bridge World Language Center, Waite Park (near St. Cloud):

“Nicole M.; the Bridge is pleased to introduce Nicole as our “ Interpreter of the Month”, October 2006. Languages: English, Spanish, Conversational Maya K’iche’. Years as professional linguist: 2+ years. Phone: 320-259-9239

Contact info, web page: www.bridgelanguage.com/viewInterpOctober2006.do

3. From Massachusetts, through Minnesota:

We have a screened (non certified) interpreter of Quiche: Rene Moreno----508-965-8474….Before Rene we had to use relay interpreting.

4. Oregon:

Teresa Kilpatrick,
La Grande, Oregon area
etkilpatrick@gmail.com
(don’t have a phone number)

5. From New Mexico Federal Court and AOC (excluding a couple already listed above):

Francisco Icala CA Los Angeles 323-263-3705
Fidel Sontay CA Los Angeles 323-791-3154

6. E-mail from the Colorado courts:

…Our courts have used a telephonic Quiche interpreter from IAL Language Services, Inc in the past for minor traffic cases. Vince Ciccolini is the contact his number is (877) 638-6818 or e-mail at vciccolini@ialservices.com The website is www.ialservices.com …

7. From an e-mail from the Maryland Courts:

…According to her organization, "Friends of the Mayan", Sue Glenn is a native K'iche speaker and an interpreter….

Sue Glenn
e-mail: sueglenn@blowingrockrealty.com
828-295-9861

8. From Guatelama City:

I, Julio César Muñoz, Certified Translator live in Guatemala City if I can be of any help; please just give more details on how a person from Guatemala can make a short trip to this city or let me know any other available mean to send someone if no such an interpreter is available in USA so I contact an ethnic language institution in my country.

Regards,

Julio César Muñoz
Certified Translator
Guatemala City, Guatemala, C.A.
(502) 2331 7719, mobile (502) 5417 1388
9. Various additional contacts, organizations, agencies, and others who may be able to help with Quiche or other languages:

Suzanne L Rogers [native Guatemalan]
Asturias Language Interpreters
Tel. 520 241-4455
Fax 520 624-6772
PO Box 40643
Tucson AZ 85717-0643
www.asturiaslan.com

Sherry Goodman
Regional Court Interpreter Coordinator
Southern Region
Judicial Council of California-Administrative Office of the Courts
2255 North Ontario Street, Suite 200
(818) 558-3022 Fax:(818) 558-3112, sherry.goodman@jud.ca.gov -
www.courtinfo.ca.gov

Guatemalan Consulate in Arizona:

Consul General de Guatemala en Phoenix Arizona
Licenciado Oscar Padilla Lam
602-2003660

E-mail suggestion:

“…You might also want to check with Debra Connors in the federal district court for the District of New Mexico (505-348-2210 ) or Rebeca Calderon in the Southern District of California (619-557-5205). Both courts have used Quiche interpreters several times in the last couple of years. The Oregon Judicial Department (Lois Feuerle 503-986-7041) and the Judicial Council of California (http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/programs/courtinterpreters/) are also good resources for interpreters of indigenous languages of Central America.

List of possible resources from the court in Sioux City, Iowa:

TransPerfect Translations - has a GSA contract for interpreting and translating over 100 languages: 202-347-2300
MN -- http://www.mncourts.gov/FindInterpreters (actually had a Tagalog interpreter!)
NE -- http://court.nol.org/community/cert_interpreters.htm
WI -- http://www.wicourts.gov/services/interpreter/search.htm
Languages Unlimited: www.languagesunlimited.com 800-864-0372
Berlitz Translation Services (also interpretations): 800-423-6756
Total Language Solution: 1-866-691-5160 www.totallanguagesolution.net
Iowa Council for International Understanding 515-282-8269
betmar languages --612-571-3467
Enterprise Language Solutions (translate.com) 415-512-8800
Agnese Haury Institute for Court Interpretation/University of Arizona 520-621-3615
Joe Pittman, Administrator for Nebraska Association for Translators and Interpreters 402-397-0280 (www.natihq.org)
You may also want to consider connecting with a Bureau for Refugee Services (Iowa office: 800-362-2780).

E-mail from Delaware:

…This is a response I received from the person in our court who handles interpreter requests. The church referred to is in Wilmington, DE and Father Bill’s phone number is (302) 656-1372.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sagrario Aleman is a Spanish interpreter from Guatemala, she runs an interpreting agency in Pennsylvania and she was just in Guatemala last year or so, maybe she can be of assistance in locating a Quiche interpreter, here is her phone number: 215-947-2257, cell: 215-694-4089, email: alemanandassociates@att.net. Also you may want to try contacting St. Paul's Church at 4th and Jackson Streets, ask for Father Bill, some of the parishioners are from Guatemala.

Assistance agency:

ORGANIZATION MAYA K'ICHE
11-62 Acushnet Ave
New Bedford, Mass 02746
Director: Anibal Lucas
office: 508/ 994-7396
cell: 508/ 264-0892

Professor in Buffalo who translated a Mayan book recently:

Dennis Tedlock
306 Clemens Hall
State University of New York at Buffalo
Buffalo, NY 14260
(716) 645-3422 / FAX 645-3654
dtedlock@acsu.buffalo.edu
Possible lead for a Quiche interpreter in Canada:

Luis Barnola,
Senior Program Specialist
Institute for Connectivity in the Americas
250 Albert Street
PO Box 8500
Ottawa, Ontario,Canada, K1G 3H9

California:

I believe Los Angeles, CA uses one. Try to call Rudy or Lorraine at 1-2138944370. I think he lives in San Francisco. If you have no luck, email me back, and I will ask my friend who also know someone else. Cynthia Parker, Spanish state and Federally certified interpreter in Los Angeles, CA

Posted by David Badertscher | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Questions and Answers

Bookmark:

QUESTION

" I was curious about what courts are doing regarding preemployment
background checks. Are courts systems obtaining fingerprints of new hires
and running the background checks? For all jobs? We currently do it for
judges and magistrates, but not routinely for court clerks or deputy clerk
positions. Thanks."

ANSWER 1:

"The U.S. federal courts has recently instituted a comprehensive policy and set of procedures for employment background checks. We do checks on all new hires, including fingerprints. Positions of higher responsibility/sensitivity get full background checks (interviews with prior employers, etc.). I'm attaching the outline of Sec. 7 of our HR Manual, as well as the applicable part of the U.S. Guide to Judiciary Policies & Procedures (subch. 1700.1, ch. 10, vol. 1). ..."

ANSWER 2:

"South Dakota runs a background check (from fingerprints) for only court
services officers (probation officers), computer staff, and any interns
in those two areas of employment. This is by presiding judge rule in
our state. We encourage all appointing authorities to make use of our
own state court record database when making hiring decisions on all
other employees."