When is Blogging Defamation, Journalism, Extortion, or Free Speech?

The April 2012 Oregon State Bar (OSB) Bulletin contains a detailed summary of this interesting case about blogging, bloggers, journalism, defamation, and the law:  Obsidian Finance Group, LLC and Kevin D. Padrick v. Crystal Cox (3:2011cv00057) (D. Or. Nov. 30, 2011) (Motion for new trial denied Mar. 27, 2012) (Appeals filed March 30, 2012, and April 25, 2012)


"The Poster Child: How Oregon's Blogging Defamation Case Attracted National Attention," by Janine Robben.

Excerpts:

"Last November, a federal jury in Portland found a vitriolic, Montana-based blogger liable for $2.5 million for defaming an Oregon State Bar member and his company online. On March 27, 2012, a U.S. District Court judge denied the defendant’s motion for a new trial, setting the stage for an appeal that will be followed by First Amendment lawyers, bloggers and traditional journalists around the country.

UCLA School of Law Prof. Eugene Volokh teaches the First Amendment.

He writes about the First Amendment.

So, when he had an opportunity to actually litigate First Amendment issues in Obsidian Finance Group, LLC. v. Cox (No. 11-0057, 2011 WL 5999334 (D. Or. Nov. 30, 2011), an Oregon defamation case that Forbes magazine called “the $2.5 million dollar lawsuit heard round the blogosphere,” he leapt at it.

But first, Volokh registered a new Internet address, eugenevolokhsucks.com....
....

Padrick says that Cox’s blogging campaign against him “went on for almost two years.”

“Essentially she taunted me,” he says, “blogging ‘Why haven’t you tried to stop me?’”

Padrick says he finally decided to sue Cox for defamation after his attorneys’ “cease and desist” letter resulted in an offer, from Cox, to protect his online reputation and promote his business for $2,500 a month, and he realized how much her blogging had negatively affected Obsidian...." [Link to full article.]

Link to previous OLR blog post on Obsidian v. Cox.

Cast Your Bread …: Law Student Textbook Costs and Student Debt

This Oregonian opinion article by a recent law school graduate isn’t just Oregon-centric and encapsulates what some of us have always known: we don’t live in a bubble, you will pay tomorrow for what you do today, that butterfly flapping its wings in Rio, will soon send something to bite you in the Bronx, and if you drown young people in student debt, they cannot breathe let alone dream about swimming to victory for themselves, their families, and the world.

"Student law school debt harms Oregon's legal community," by guest columnist Gary Gray, May 29, 2012.

How Not to be Overwhelmed by Legal Technology

Read this blog post by Ernie the Attorney. At first blush it looks as if it is recommending yet another tech tip, and it is, but it is also describing a useful tech lesson he has learned on how to make better use of his time.

It's no miracle cure (there isn't one) for our "I'm Dancing as Fast as I Can" era, and it might not work for you, but if it does, it just might reduce a little of your tech-stress so you can at least enjoy your weekends:

"What's Time to a Pig? Or How to Learn to Be super-efficient With Technology?

Free Sources to Verify a Death (from PI Buzz)

From Tamara, aka PI Buzz, a private investigator who should also be declared an honorary librarian given her outstanding research, knowledge, and penchant for sharing attributes: Free Sources to Verify a Death

DIY Book Indexing for Writers and The People Who Love Them

Professional indexing is an art and a craft. If you are a writer who is inclined to go it alone, for money or for love of indexing, or if you have someone who loves you and is willing to create an index for your book:

Chronicle of Higher Education has a 3-part article about DIY book indexing:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

How to Sharpen Your Website Crap-Detector

The May 25th, 2012, Library Link of the Day, and other sources, tip us off to this article:

"How the Professor Who Fooled Wikipedia Got Caught by Reddit," by Yoni Appelbaum, The Atlantic, May 15 2012.

U.S. Supreme Court Improves their e-Mobility (With their Devices)

"Supreme Court of U.S. Will Launch More Mobile-Friendly Web Site of June 1st," from Gary Price at InfoDocket.

Does Equitable Access to Digital Content Exist? Libraries, Licensing, and Privacy

InfoDocket links us to, "New Report from ALA Explores Challenges of Equitable Access to Digital Content"

"The American Library Association (ALA) today released a new report examining critical issues underlying equitable access to digital content through our nation’s libraries. In the report, titled “E-content: The Digital Dialogue,” authors explore an unprecedented and splintered landscape in which several major publishers refuse to sell e-books to libraries; proprietary platforms fragment our cultural record; and reader privacy is endangered...." [Link to ALA press release and report.]

Pacific Northwest Paralegal Association (PNPA) Annual Meeting, June 2, 2012

The 2012 PNPA Seminar and Annual Meeting will be held on Saturday, June 2, 2012 at the Governor Hotel in downtown Portland.

The topics and speakers for this year’s meeting are:

• "How to Obtain Useful Information About Your Cases Using the Freedom of Information Act and Oregon Public Records Law," presented by Elizabeth D. Wright, Esq., Bullivant, Houser, Bailey PC
  
• "Cyber Crime," Presented by Sean Hoar, Esq., U.S. Attorney’s Office

How to Reuse, Recycle, and otherwise Dispose of Unwanted Law Books

We have updated our guide: "How to dispose of used law books."

You can link to the guide from the Washington County (Oregon) Law Library website (under the heading "Donations").

Oregon DMV: 2012-2013 Driver Manuals

The Oregon DMV offers print (English and Spanish) and audio versions of the driver manuals:

From the Oregon DMV website, click through to their Manuals webpage.

And more from their Forms and Publications webpage.

Help Pick the 2012 Harper Lee (legal fiction) Prize Winner

Thank you to the Law Librarian Blog post: 2012 Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction: Voting for one of three finalists closes on July 8

Excerpt from ABA news article (and you can vote here):

"After reviewing some 40 submissions, judges have selected three finalists for the 2012 Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction. Now you can help them pick the winner by voting in the poll accompanying this post through July 8.

Those up for the prize this year are: Michael Connelly, author of The Fifth Witness; Robert Dugoni for his book Murder One; and David Ellis for Breach of Trust.

This is the 2nd Annual Harper Lee Prize, which is sponsored by the ABA Journal and the University of Alabama Law School...." [Link to full ABA Journal news post.]

Dog Bite (Prevention) Week

May 20-26, 2012, is Dog Bite Prevention Week. Who knew?!

"Important Tips for Preventing Bites from Man’s Best Friend" with a link to DogGoneSafe.

For Librarians Who Laugh (at Ourselves)

The Library History Buff blogs about the new book, "The Laughing Librarian."

Thank you to Will Manley's blog, Will Unwound, for the tip.

Oregon State Courts Closed Friday, May 25, for Mandatory Furlough

(Other Oregon State offices will be closed, too, e.g. DMV.)

Oregon state courts and their offices will be closed Friday, May 25, 2012, because of budget cuts. It's also wise to check with the court for open hours; many have had to cut hours due to budget cuts and staff layoffs.

Some Oregon county law libraries will be open; many are not located in courthouses and are staffed by county employees, not state employees.

“Animal Law” Courthouse Rooftop Secret Sculpture Garden: "Cat on Trial"

Hatfield U.S. Courthouse Sculpture: Cat on Trial in Law of Nature

I only today discovered this garden while looking at the Judith Resnik, Dennis Curtis online edition of their book: “Representing Justice,” but locals may recognize the sculptures. There is a field trip in my future.

The "Law of Nature" sculpture might be more familiar.

Government Email Best Practices Guide

Legal Research Plus blogs about: govDelivery “Email Best Practices Guide”

You can link to the govDelivery website and the “Public Sector Digital Communication Management: Best Practices” guide from the Legal Research Plus website.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Baby-Names and Detecting Dubious Data

You’ll find lots to laugh and wonder about in the May 15th, 2012, Gallagher blogs posting:

"Names, Popular and not So Popular"

Job Opening: Willamette Law Library Director

Law Librarian Blog posting: Director of the Law Library, Willamette University College of Law

AALL (American Association of Law Libraries) Career Center.

Job Opening: Oregon Legislative Administrator

Oregon Legislative Administrator:

(Closing date/time for application: Friday, 06/08/12, 11:59 PM, Pacific Time)

"The Legislative Administrator is selected by and serves as the full-time executive officer of the Legislative Administration Committee, a statutory joint legislative committee. (See ORS 173.710.) The committee has a continuing existence and functions whether or not the Legislative Assembly is in session. The Office of the Legislative Administrator coordinates the operations of the Legislative Assembly and the State Capitol. The Legislative Administrator manages the following departments critical to the operations of the Legislative Branch:  Committee Services, Facilities, Purchasing, Information Services, Media Services, Employee Services, Financial Services and Visitors Services...."

Oregon Legislative Employment posting.

LinkedIn job posting.

Anatomy of a Wrongful Execution: You Decide.

The Columbia Human Rights Law Review (publisher of the Jailhouse Lawyer's Manual) presents the evidence in its website publication of:

“An Anatomy of a Wrongful Execution,”

 including court records, photos, news stories, audiotapes, interviews, maps, etc.

To Facebook is Human, To LinkedIn Divine (and 20x More Likely to Improve Your Employment Situation)

iLibrarian alerts us to an Online College dot org blog post:

20 Compelling Reasons to Spend Less Time on Facebook and More Time on LinkedIn

(Direct link to Online College dot org post.)

Free Legal Information, Research, and Food: Think About It

If you’re not a lawyer, law librarian, or have never researched the law, where do you begin?

No, it’s not enough to find cases and statutes online. It’s also not enough to toss a question into cyberspace and expect someone to answer it with anything more than research tips.

Think about it.

Let’s use food as an analogy:  If you’d never cooked a meal, or anything that needed more skill or effort than the press of a microwave button, would you be able to prepare a 3 course meal (for someone whose opinion matters to you, maybe, um, a judge) by using information online?

Yes, you might, assuming you give the meal preparation a lot of attention, perhaps by reading voraciously about ingredients and the art of cooking, searching for recipes, buying or borrowing the kitchen tools you need, watching online videos about making the recipes you selected, and then testing those recipes to make sure they will come out the way you want on the Big Day.

It would be nice to have some hands-on guidance from someone who does know how to cook. (Or you can order out, e.g. not unlike hiring a lawyer.)

Legal research is not unlike cooking. Yes, if you want to do it yourself, go it alone, it can be done, but you can save yourself oodles of time, burnt offerings, and mysterious icky gray lumpy stuff in the saucepan on the day of the big meal if you ask for help.

Librarians and information geeks eat, breath, and drink “information,” how to find it, how to verify its authenticity, how to preserve it, and how to make efficient use of it. (There are few things more satisfying to a librarian-info geek than to write the perfect search that drags up from the deep the exact document(s) we need in the shortest time possible.)

In order to save you time, money, and icky gray stuff, we read things like these articles I came across recently (and there are tens of thousands more where these came from - after all, it’s all online, isn’t it) and we share with each other:

From Joe Hodnicki's Law Librarian Blog, his May 15th blog post: "Now You See It, Now You Don't, Part I: Free Legal Research Services on the Web"

From Greg Lamber's 5/14/12, post at the 3 Geeks and a Law Blog, "The Next Generation of Computers Practicing Law," and his 5/16/12, post, "Creating a Disruptive Innovation - Disrupt Your Own Beliefs First"

Think about it.

You can also keep current with the law and read cases, statutes, constitutions, law review articles, legal newsletters, bar journals, attend lawyer legal education classes, etc., etc., etc. (And librarians also read things like this: WILL UNWOUND #754: ‘Fingernail on the Chalk Board”)

So,if someone ever says “you just need to file a form” or “you don’t need to talk to a lawyer,” consider the source, do a little research, and ask a librarian.

Bon appétit.

How do you Cite to a CFR Appendix?

Librarians, like mathematicians, find humor in the oddest places, so unless you're one of us, don't expect to find this as funny as I did:

While catching up on the back-issue research tip wonders to be found in the excellent LLSDC Law Library Lights newsletters, I came upon this article:

"Beyond the Pale: Finding Your Way Back From a Citation Netherworld," by John Cannan, in Law Library Lights, Summer 2010, pp. 14-15.

Not only did John soldier on to find these and more CFR Appendix citation possibilities, but he got to consult with a Bluebook Diva - wowsers:

• 34 C.F.R. pt. 300, app. A.II (2004) [I think the comma is not right]
• 29 C.F.R. § 1630.2(l) app. (2007)
• 29 C.F.R. § 1630 app. at 368 (2007) [I think the page is a little weird, but should have comma before it if it has to be there]
• 45 C.F.R. pt. 84, App. A, at 358 (1997) [no caps for the app.]
• 12 C.F.R. pt. 30, app. B (2006) [again with the comma]
• 29 C.F.R. app. § 1630.9 (2008) [I don’t know if the app. is divided into subparts, but I have a feeling this is just backwards].
• 7 C.F.R. § 277 app. A (2007)
• 29 C.F.R. pt. 1630 app. § 1630.2(o) (2006)
• 31 C.F.R. Ch. V, App. A (2005) [a chapter? seriously?]

AND MORE! [Link to the article.]

As someone who used to teach The Bluebook (to Yale Law students, bless their hearts - I hope they’ve forgiven me), I learned that a human-citator (citationist?) has to be bold - and librarians who have to find the darn documents that people cite to so badly can be both bold and clever when it comes to crafting citations. (Librarians-rock on! Peace out, dawg!)

Online CFR (Code of Federal Regulations)

Excellent CFR News: CFR Table of Contents

“Cornell Legal Information Institute has released an online version of the CFR.  This new online edition of the CFR is the result of an unprecedented two-year collaboration between the Government Printing Office (GPO), the Legal Information Institute at Cornell Law School (LII), and the Cornell Law Library. …

The project implemented features that have been often requested by government regulators, corporate counsel, and law librarians. The LII’s edition of the CFR has the same search and navigation features that have made its edition of the United States Code the leading free, online source for Federal statutes for over a decade.”

CFR Table of Contents

Immigration Law Help from the Immigration Advocates Network

There is a new website from the Immigration Advocates Network for low and moderate-income immigrants:

Immigration Law Help dot org

The website includes a searchable directory of free or low-cost nonprofit immigration legal services providers in 50 states. Users can search by state, county, or detention facility and refine their search by types and areas of legal assistance provided, populations served and languages spoken.

Animals and Due Process of Law

 “Law and Order, Then and Now: Animals and inanimate objects, including human corpses, put on trial,” from a March 2, 2012, Law Librarian Blog post, regarding:

 Animals on Trial:

“…. In the history of animal trials, typically to adjudicate criminal complaints based on their behavior. Today's animal rights advocates who are campaigning against breed-specific legislation might want to take note that in the annuals [sic] of animal litigation, defendants -- the accused animal -- oftentimes enjoyed the benefits of due process. In Bugs and Beasts Before the Law, Nicholas Humphrey, a theoretical psychologist who is known for his work on the evolution of human intelligence and consciousness, reports...." [Link to full blog post.]

Unauthorized Practice of Law in Oregon: Consumer Beware

The OSB Bulletin, May 2012 edition, has a good article on the unauthorized practice of law (UPL) in Oregon. (You can also find it from the OSB Bulletin archives, which are available to the public.)

The article is written for lawyers but everyone will find something useful in it - and the things you learn might save you time, aggravation, money, and self-respect.

"The Many Faces of UPL: Protecting the Public from the Unlawful Practice of Law," by Amber Hollister

I’ve blogged before about this subject of UPL and about how paralegals are not lawyers (repeat often!). These are important lessons every consumer of legal services needs to know.

How and Where to Find the “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act”

(Sometimes people call this 2009-2010 law the Health Care Reform Act, ObamaCare, the Affordable Health Care Act, etc.)

Do you want the enrolled bill, the session law, a section number, or a page number? (If the latter, you’ll need to be specific about which version of the law the page number appears.)

This information may help - or so we can hope:

Public Law (PL number): the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is P.L. 111-148 (signed into law March 23, 2010)

Session law citation is 124 Stat 119 (and many more): Find quick citations to the enrolled bill, the Statutes at Large (session law), U.S. Code, and to a brief legislative history at the FdSys (formerly known as GPO Access) website.

History & Enrolled bill: Thomas dot gov is a good place to search for different versions of Congressional bills

Additional official versions of the law can be found at: Healthcare dot gov

Sometimes a Wikipedia entry helps a lot, and sometimes not.

Article: "How to Introduce an Author"

A public librarian colleague sent us the link to the excellent article on “How to Introduce an Author,” by Janet Potter, April 30, 2012, from millions dot com:

Excerpt: "The worst author introduction I ever saw is making me cringe, right now, as I remember it. The co-owner of the bookstore started by reading through the store’s upcoming events flier, pausing to extemporize on each event. This took a full 10 minutes. Then she spent 5 minutes talking about ...." [Link to full article.]

Portland (Oregon) Off-Library Project: High Cool Factor

Portland Off-Library Project: 24 non-traditional libraries open to the public but not affiliated with any traditional educational or library institution.

You can read more about the Portland Off-Library Project in an article posted on the Special Library Association (Oregon Chapter) website: "The Portland Off-Library Project"

The website was completed by students in a class on Web design and development at Emporia State University School of Library and Information Science, Portland program.

Washington State: Access to Justice and Bar Leaders Conference

Event: Access to Justice and Bar Leaders Conference, June 8–10, 2012 in Yakima, Washington:

Topic: "Our New Economic Reality: The Legal Profession's Role in partnership with the Washington State Bar Association and the Washington State Access to Justice Board"

Lehman Brothers Bankruptcy Documents Online, Free

"Law Firm Makes All of Lehman Brothers Bankruptcy Documents, Including Internal E-Mail, Available Online" (from InfoDocket, filed by Gary Price, May 1, 2012)

InfoDocket is a data-full website, along with its companion Full Text Reports (itself an excellent companion to beSpacific).

Free Landlord Event: Rental Property Inspections (Washington Co, OR, May 23)

The Washington County (Oregon) Department of Housing Services is hosting a free event for landlords, property owners, and property managers to discuss the value of inspecting rental property on May 23, 2012 at the Shirley Huffman Auditorium in the Washington County Public Services Building, 155 N. 1st Avenue, Hillsboro, from 6:30 – 8:30 pm.

"The 2 hour informational session will cover: reasons to inspect, key items to look for, who should perform inspections, and optimum inspection times. The evening will include information on the inspection process for properties rented through the Housing Choice Voucher program, but the main focus of the event will be discussing how landlords can boost their bottom line by implementing a solid inspection program...." [Link to website.]

Link to other OLR blog posts on Oregon landlord-tenant law.

Justice Bedsworth and his “little pink circle of nonconformity”

The Justice's May 2012 Criminal Waste of Space column in the OC Laywer takes on a crime “wave” (rather a crime “splutter”) in Laguna Beach:

“Dispatches From Lesotho”: The Good Justice Examines Urban—Well, Kind Of Urban—Crime," by Justice William W. Bedsworth:

"...You can’t follow Shakespeare with How I Met Your Mother. You can’t follow The Firebird Suite with a Pontiac Firebird. When you get to pantsless men standing on rocks and hollering, you just gotta stop...."

(You can read the Criminal Waste of Space archives for more legal lunacy.)

Sex Abuse and Assault at Oregon’s Coffee Creek Correctional Facility for Women

The Oregonian published a riveting account of sex abuse and assault at the Coffee Creek Correctional Facility:

"Abuse of women inmates at Oregon's Coffee Creek prison goes on for years," by Les Zaitz, April 29, 2012.

(Print edition under headline, "Playground for Predators," by Les Zaitz, Sunday Oregonian, April 30, 2012.)

And today, Think Out Loud on OPB, will be discussing the Coffee Creek investigation, lawsuits, convictions, and ongoing problems.

Abuse at Coffee Creek Prison: AIR DATE: Tuesday, May 1st, 2012, 9 a.m.

(Think Out Loud radio hour can also be heard at 9 p.m. on OPB Radio and you can participate in the discussion online at their website.)

Access to Justice & the Evolving Role of Law Libraries in the 21st Century

"Report on Evolving Role of Law Libraries in the 21st Century," by Richard Zorza

"Law libraries can continue to play an integral role in the courts and justice system in the 21st Century, but only if they change their orientation towards helping the public access the legal system.  A new report released by Zorza & Associates today, titled “The Sustainable 21st Century Law Library: Vision, Deployment and Assessment for Access to Justice,” notes the vast changes to the law library landscape over the past twenty years and the potentially critical new role they can play as an access to justice resource for people without lawyers...." [Link to blog post and full text of report.]

Press release.

Consumer Tip: Moving Companies Operating in Oregon Must be Licensed

Oregonian story: "Beaverton police, ODOT officials crack down on illegal movers during sting," April 26, 2012, by Rebecca Woolington.

Excerpt: "Beaverton police and Oregon Department of Transportation officials cracked down on illegal movers during a sting Wednesday involving five unlicensed movers.

Each of the movers was cited and accused of not complying with consumer protection and safety laws, said Officer Mike Rowe, a Beaverton police spokesman. ... Moving is a regulated industry in Oregon, according to ODOT. To offer moving services for money, people need to be approved by the state. That includes having a business license, undergoing a criminal background check, completing a household goods carrier license application through ODOT, and possessing liability and property damage insurance, among other things.

Illegal movers often advertise online, where they will say they will help people move for a fee, Rowe said.

"Consumers who choose an unlicensed mover whether intentionally or unintentionally may have little or no recourse for loss or damage to their property, may be charged higher than normal fees, and may be at higher risk for property or identity theft," Rowe said in a press release...." [Link to Oregonian article.]

Link to the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) “Consumer Guide to Moving.”

National Prescription Drug Disposal Day, April 28, 2012

Keep those unused, unwanted, out of date prescription drugs out of your landfills and drinking water (and out of standing water, for that matter - woof).

Visit the DEA National Take-Back Initiative website for collections sites.

Yes, it would be nice if this event lasted more than 4 hours on a single Saturday, but it's an educational effort!

So, the next time you need to clean out those medications, you might just stop and think about the right way to dispose of those powerful pharmaceuticals. And, please, don't just blindly follow the instructions on the first website that you think gives you correct information. Search a little harder and make sure your info is official and up to date.