Law Library Newsletter

Law Week Theme: Rule of Law But where, say some, is the king of America? ...In America the Law is King. For as in absolute governments the King is law, so in free countries the law ought to be King; and there ought to be no other. Thomas Paine, Common Sense, 1776 The San Diego County Public Law Library is celebrating Law Week, April 28th - May 3rd. This year the national theme for Law Day is: "The Rule of Law." The concept of The Rule of Law in the United States is that the law is the highest authority in the land. Such a notion is the foundation of a society that simultaneously provides order and permits liberty. The Rule of Law allows for the protection of human rights, the prevention of crime, and the progress of intellectual growth and social evolution. This is a fairly new concept. Until recently the law and the ruler were synonymous. Historically, the law was whatever the ruler wanted it to be. Slowly societies started to move away from this tyrannical attitude and began to put forth the idea that rulers were also subject to laws. Democracy established that they were governed by a rule OF law. No individual, whether president, military leader, or private citizen is above the law. The law is the will of the people as a whole. A strong system of independent courts assures that anyone, regardless of status, be held accountable to the law and its provisions. This theme is as relevant today as it was in the 18th century when our founding fathers first wrote the documents that guide our society today. A critical element of the Rule of Law is access to the laws and courts. The law library is a vital part of that process. We hope you join us in our Law Week celebrations by visiting the law library and learning more about the Rule of Law. Please see below for our many lectures, open houses and legal clinics. All Law Week events are FREE and we are open to the general public.

Law Week: FREE Lectures In celebration of Law Week, the Main Library and the North County Branch are hosting several lectures on the Law Week theme. All Law Week Events are FREE to the public. Pre-registration is required for these lectures, please call the hosting Library to register. Main Branch: 1105 Front St., San Diego, CA, 92101, 619-531-3900 Monday, April 28th, 12-1pm "Judicial Independence" by Judge Julia Kelety Tuesday, April 29th, 12-1pm "Ins & Outs of Small Claims Court" by Small Claims Court Advisor Jay Sacks Friday, May 2nd, 12-1pm "What Is the Rule of Law Concerning Our City Attorney?" by Amy Lepine, Esq. North County Branch: 325 S. Melrose Dr. Suite 300, Vista, CA 92081, 760-940-4386 Monday, April 28th, 12-1pm "Law 101: Introduction to the Law" by Mary Cataldo, Esq. Tuesday, April 29th, 12-1pm "Small Claims 101" by Deborah Bayus, Esq. Wednesday, April 30th, 12-1pm "Probate Law 101" by Paul Smith, Esq. Thursday, May 1st, 12-1pm "Family Law 101" by Kelly Doblado, Esq. Friday, May 2nd, 12-1pm "Landlord / Tenant Law 101" by Wayne Templin, Esq.

Law Week: FREE Legal Clinics Several FREE legal clinics are being offered throughout the county during Law Week. For complete information on these clinics, please visit our Law Week Legal Clinics webpage. South Bay Tuesday, April 29th, 2pm-6pm Bonita-Sunnyside Branch of the San Diego County Library 4375 Bonita Rd., Bonita, CA 91902 Landlord / Tenant issues will be covered. East County Thursday, May 1st, 10am to 3pm East County Law Library, 250 E. Main St., El Cajon, CA 92020 Estate planning and Probate, Family law, Landlord/Tenant, Small Claims, Criminal law and Civil law matters will be covered. North County Thursday, May 1st, 9am to 12pm and 1pm to 4pm Friday, May 2nd, 9am to 12pm and 1pm to 4pm North County Law Library, 325 S. Melrose Dr., Vista, CA 92081 Only Probate, Family law, Landlord/Tenant, Criminal law, and General Civil law areas will be covered. San Diego Saturday, May 2nd, 8am to 2pm Kobey's Swap Meet, 3500 Sports Arena Blvd, San Diego, CA A large variety of legal topics will be covered at this event. Check our Law Week Legal Clinics page for details.

Law Week: Contests, Prizes & Sponsors To engage the community in our Law Week events, we are having daily contests and prizes at each Law Library branch. Join us for a chance to win a great prize playing fun cross word puzzles, word scrambles and legal trivia games! A big THANK YOU to all of our Sponsors for making the Law Week contests possible and donating wonderful prizes. Stop by your local Law Library branch and join in the fun! Also, we are looking someone to write a Slogan for the Law Library. It could be YOU! What does the Law Library mean to you? What does it mean to the community? Capture those sentiments in a short, catchy slogan and win a prize! For more information on our Law Week Contests, Prizes and Sponsors, check out our Law Week website.

Law Week: Open Houses Several of our Branches will be hosting Open House events in celebration of Law Week. Please join us for light refreshments, contests and give-a-ways. This is a wonderful opportunity for you to become familiar with the print and electronic legal resources, and services available at your local law library. North County Branch: Monday, April 28th to Friday, May 2nd, 9am to 3pm 325 S. Melrose Dr. Suite 300, Vista, CA 92081, 760-940-4386 East County Branch: Thursday, May 1st, 10am to 3pm 250 E. Main Street, El Cajon, CA 92020, 619-441-4451 South Bay Branch: Thursday, May 1st, 10am to 2pm 500 Third Avenue, Chula Vista, CA 92081, 760-940-4386

Law Week: Legal Resources Knowledge Fair Through a joint effort of the San Diego County Court and the San Diego County Public Law Library, we are hosting a Legal Resources Knowledge Fair for the public during Law Week. The Fairs will feature information from the Courts, the Law Library and non-profit legal groups about programs and resources available throughout the county to assist people with a variety of legal issues. The Fair will be held on Wednesday, April 30th from 10am to 3pm, at all four court divisions: Central (Hall of Justice), 330 W. Broadway, San Diego North County Court, 325 S. Melrose Drive, Vista South County Court, 500 Third Ave, Chula Vista East County Court, 250 E. Main St, El Cajon Please note that this is NOT a legal clinic, rather it is a distribution of information about legal services and resources available throughout the county.

April is Stress Awareness Month Everyone can agree that the legal profession is one of the most stressful career choices in our culture today. So it's relevant for us to bring up that April is Stress Awareness Month. During this month, the health care profession reminds us not only of the dangers of stress, but encourages us by providing methods of coping with stress. So many times we confuse challenge with stress. Keep in mind: work challenge will invigorate you; work stress will break you down. Embrace the challenge and banish the stress! Try these simple techniques: Several times a day stop, take four deep, slow breaths and make yourself aware of your breathing. Remember to eat and replenish your body with nourishment. Get enough rest. Resign as general manager of the universe. You and your legal work product will both be better! For more tips on stress reduction, see Michael Castleman's Reader's Digest article titled "37 Stress Management Tips"

Website of the Month: JDSupra Founded by Aviva Cuyler, a former litigator, JD Supra is a new site where lawyers can post court docs, filings, articles, etc. After working late night after night drafting and responding to motions in a demanding case, San Francisco attorney Aviva Cuyler thought "I know other people have addressed these issues." From this thought Cuyler created JDSupra a website intended for lawyers to share filed pleadings, research memoranda and other useful work that would help someone start from a pre-built platform instead of starting from a clean slate. JD Supra is also a place for attorneys to market themselves. Many well-known firms have already posted on the site and hopefully the site will keep expanding so that everyone's job becomes easier. Posting to the site, accessing legal documents and creating a profile are free. www.jdsupra.com Source: Abajournal 2/26/2008

Upcoming Classes for April & May Members of the general 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. All classes are held at the Main Branch. For a complete description of the classes, go to: www.sdcpll.org/calendar/calendar.html. April Keeping Current with Journals* Tuesday, April 8th, 12-1pm Using Lexis* Friday, April 18th, 12-1pm Law Made Public Saturday, April 19th, 2-3pm May "Cybercrime" by Special Speaker Mitch Dembin* Tuesday, May 20th, 12-1pm Assistant U.S. Attorney, Mitch Dembin will talk about current trends in computer crime, some of the applicable laws and how we can protect ourselves. Practical Legal Research Saturday, May 24th, 2-4pm Using Onlaw* Friday, May 30th, 2-3pm * MCLE Credit is available for these classes. Be sure to check our "Classes" page for the most up to date schedule. The San Diego County Public Law Library is a State Bar approved MCLE provider.

New Material Added to the Collection The Law Library adds numerous new materials to its collection on an ongoing basis. To see new books added to the collection in the last month, CLICK HERE. Also, you can locate a list of new materials at any time on our website at www.sdcpll.org. Click on the "Online Catalog " link and then click on "Featured Item Lists," you can then select the most recent month. If you have suggestions as to resources you would like to see added to our collection, please send an email to: refdesk@sdcpll.org.

Cartoon by Stu Rees Stu's Views are "Cartoons About Law and Lawyers." Stu Rees is a local 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 S. Catalano, Senior Reference Librarian & Media Coordinator.