San Diego County Public Law Library E-Newsletter

Announcing Victoria Williamson as our new Assistant Director of Public Services The San Diego County Public Law Library would like to announce our new Assistant Director of Public Services, Victoria Williamson. Victoria comes to us with over 20 years of experience in Law Libraries. Her most recent position was Reference Librarian at the University of La Verne Law Library, and prior to that she served as Director of Library Services for Best, Best & Krieger, the largest law firm in Inland Southern California. Victoria holds a Masters Degree from the San Jose State University School of Library and Information Science and a Bachelor of Law degree from the University of Santo Tomas in the Philippines. Please join us in welcoming Victoria as we look forward to new and exciting times!

Get MCLE Credit During Our Attorneys As Authors Series Come join us for our Attorneys As Authors Special Speaker series, September 24th to 27th. Listen to local judges and attorneys who have written on a variety of interesting topics. Members of the public may sign up for this special lecture series by calling (619) 531-3900. The lectures are free to Law Library members and are $5 for non-members. Participants may bring lunch. Pre-registration is required, as seating is limited. All of these lectures qualify for 1 hour of general participatory MCLE credit. The San Diego County Public Law Library is a State Bar approved MCLE provider.

Reference Service Available via E-Mail As one of our many services available to the public, you can receive reference help by e-mail. Are you puzzled as to where to start your research or want to know the best resources to use? Are you looking for a particular book or database? Have you already spent hours performing research and want to know if you have overlooked any resources? Are you not able to find what you are looking for? You can e-mail your reference questions to refdesk@sdcpll.org , you should receive a response within 24 hours on normal business days. If you already know exactly what you want, you can request that the documents be sent to you through our document delivery service. Just e-mail us with your request and we'll contact you regarding pricing and payment. Please keep in mind that we cannot give legal advice and we do not perform legal research for patrons. We are happy to suggest titles and direct you to resources that will aid you in your own research.

California Law Aims To Ban Use Of Mobile Devices By Teen Drivers The California Assembly overwhelmingly voted to take all wireless devices out of the hands of drivers under the age of 18, a measure that builds on the state's existing across-the-board ban on handheld phone use while behind the wheel. Senate bill 33, which passed the State Senate, now returns to that legislative body for a final vote on Assembly amendments. The bill would then move to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to sign or veto it. If this bill becomes law, California drivers under the age of 18 would be barred from using cell phones (including hands-free devices) or any mobile service devices including pagers, two-way messaging devices, PDAs and laptop computers while on the road. Violators would be fined $20 for the first offense and $50 for subsequent offenses, with no violation point on the violator's driving record. The prohibition will not apply to emergency calls to law enforcement, health care providers, fire emergency, or other emergency services entities. "I introduced this bill for one simple reason?it will save lives," said Sen. Joe Simitian. "Year after year, car crashes are the No. 1 cause of death among teenagers. The young drivers who are using cell phones, pagers and PDAs while driving are putting not only themselves at risk, but all of us as well." Simitian stated that motor vehicle crashes accounted for 44% of teen deaths in the United States. A study conducted by Ford Motor Company revealed that teenage drivers are four times more distracted than adult drivers by cell phone use. The bill, if signed into law, would go into effect on July 1, 2008?the same day as the prohibition on cell phone usage (unless configured and used hands-free) by all drivers kicks in. Source: RCRnews.com

Database of the Month - Rutter Group Practice Guides Hopefully by now you know that you can access Westlaw for free at the Law Library. This month we thought we would highlight a database you may not know we had available on Westlaw. Did you know we have The Rutter Group Practice Guides online? The Practice Guides cover many different legal areas and give you step-by-step guidance and practice forms. You can access the following California Practice Guides online at all of our branches: Alternative Dispute Resolution, Civil Appeals and Writs, Civil Procedure Before Trial, Civil Procedure before Trial Forms, Civil Procedure Before: Trial Statute of Limitations, Civil Trials and Evidence, Corporations, Employment Litigation, Enforcing Judgments and Debts, Family Law, Federal Civil Procedure Before Trial, Insurance Litigation, Landlord-Tenant, Real Property Transactions, Ninth Circuit Civil Appellate Practice, Personal Injury, Probate, Professional Responsibility, Federal Civil Trials and Evidence, and Bus. & Prof. C. Sec. 17200 Practice. As of this date the new California Practice Guide on Bankruptcy is not yet available on our Westlaw subscription but all our branches have a print copy available. Our Main library downtown also has a circulating copy at call number KF 1524. M37 2007. To access the Rutter Group Practice Guides online at the library, sign on to Westlaw, click on "Directory" and then "California Rutter Group."

Temp Judge Loses Job Over MySpace Page You never know who is reading your MySpace page. Jonathan MacArthur, 34, a temporary "pro tem" judge in North Las Vegas lost his job over a post on his personal MySpace page that listed one of his interests as beating prosecutors. MacArthur, a criminal defense attorney was substituting for another judge, until his MySpace page caught the attention of Clark County's top prosecutor. "He has displayed a bias against prosecutors. Therefore, I do not feel the state of Nevada would get a fair shake by him," said District Attorney David Roger. The North Las Vegas Justice Court Administrator said that being a judge is to be unbiased in all matters and it was decided that MacArthur's services would not be used any longer. MacArthur said he would, with the benefit of hindsight, have opted not to post the comment. MacArthur has now made his MySpace page private, available only to friends. Sources: abajournal.com and signonsandiego.com

Research Guides Did you know the Law Library has research guides to help you research a wide variety of topics? These topics include Ex Parte Motions, California Legislative History and Analysis, Service of Summons and Complaint, Internet Resources for Starting a Small Business, etc. Though the guides are not meant to be a substitute for doing your own research they are a great resource because they guide you to useful research materials. The research guides are available at the law library and also on our website at http://www.sdcpll.org/guides.htm

Website Of The Month - ABAJournal.com ABAJournal.com is the Web site of the flagship magazine of the American Bar Association. The site features: - Breaking legal news, updated as it happens throughout every business day. - Analysis from more than 1,000 legal blogs, written by lawyers who are experts in their fields. - Stories that go beyond the headlines, from the pages of the ABA's magazine. You don't have to go to the website to stay current with the latest legal news. You can receive free Daily and Weekly e-mail newsletters. Check it out!

Upcoming Classes for September & October Members of the public may sign up for these classes by calling (619) 531-3900. The Classes are free to Law Library members and are $5 for non-members. Participants may bring lunch. Pre-registration is required, as seating is limited. Saturday, September 8th 2-4pm Practical Legal Research Tuesday, September 18th 12:30-1:30 Using Westlaw* Monday, September 24th 12 - 1pm Special Guest Speaker, Marjorie Cohn Cowboy Republic: Six Ways the Bush Gang Has Defied the Law* Tuesday, September 25th 12:15-1:15pm Special Guest Speaker, Judge Norbert Ehrenfreund (Retired) The Nuremberg Legacy: How the Nazi War Crimes Trials Changed the Course of History* Wednesday, September 26th 12-1pm Special Guest Speaker, Judge William J. Howatt, Jr. (Retired) History of The Bench & Bar* Thursday, September 27th 12-1pm Special Guest Speaker, Jan Stiglitz The California Innocence Project* Wednesday, October 10th 3-4pm Using Onlaw* Friday, October 19th 12-1pm Using Lexis* Saturday, October 20th 2-3pm Law Made Public * MCLE Credit is available for these classes. The San Diego County Public Law Library is a State Bar approved MCLE provider.

New Books Added To The Collection The following is a selection of books or new editions recently added to our collection. Click on the titles to see the record in our online public access catalog. ARCHITECTS AND ENGINEERS By James Acret, Annette Davis Perrochet. 4th ed. Eagan, MN : Thomson/West, c2007- KF2925 .A92 2007 Available at Main ATTORNEYS MEDICAL DESKBOOK By Dan J. Tennenhouse. 4th ed. Eagan, MN: Thomson/West, 2006- RA1028 .T46 2006 Available at Main BLUEPRINT FOR BECOMING A CALIFORNIA LICENSED CONTRACTOR Contractors State License Board 2006 ed. Sacramento: Contractors State License Board, c2005. KFC424 B5 2005 Available at Main BUSINESS BUYOUT AGREEMENTS: A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE FOR CO-OWNERS By Anthony Mancuso & Bethany K. Laurence. 4th ed. Berkeley, CA: Nolo, c2007 KF1659.Z9 M36 2007. Available at Main CALIFORNIA PRACTICE GUIDE: BANKRUPTCY By Kathleen P. March, Alan M. Ahart, Leslie Tchaikovsky. Encino, CA: Rutter Group, 2007- KF1524 .M37 2007 Available at all locations COBRA, EMPLOYER'S GUIDE TO THE FEDERAL HEALTH INSURANCE CONTINUATION AND PORTABILITY RULES By Richard J. Simmons. 10th ed. Van Nuys, Calif.: Castle Publications, c2005. KF1183.A38 S5 2005. Available at Main CRIMINAL INTERROGATION AND CONFESSIONS By Fred E. Inbau ... [et al.]. 4th ed. Boston: Jones and Bartlett Publishers, c2004. HV8073 .I43 2004 Available at Main FEDERAL MOTIONS IN LIMINE By Stephanie Hoit Lee, David N. Finley. 2007 ed. Eagan, MN: Thompson/West, c2007 KF8875 .L44 2007 Available at Main IRAS, 401(K)S, & OTHER RETIREMENT PLANS: TAKING YOUR MONEY OUT By Twila Slesnick & John C. Suttle. 8th ed. Berkeley, CA : Nolo, 2007 KF3510.Z9 S55 2007 Available at all locations REPRESENTING CHILDREN IN CHILD PROTECTIVE PROCEEDINGS: ETHICAL AND PRACTICAL DIMENSIONS By Jean Koh Peters. 3rd, international ed. Newark, NJ: LexisNexis, 2007 KF3735 .P47 2007 Available at Main

Cartoon by Stu Rees Stu's Views are "Cartoons About Law and Lawyers." Stu Rees is an entertainment lawyer who represents mostly visual arts creators.

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 Gina Catalano, Reference Librarian.