KCLL Klues: Washington State Legal Research

The Housing Justice Project will be closed Friday, February 3rd, for staff training.  They will reopen on Monday 8:00AM.

King County Elections has just sent Special Elections ballots to voters in six districts for its February 14 Special Election.  The Auburn, Federal Way, Renton, Tukwila and Vashon Island school districts all have bond and levy measures and King County Fire Protection District No. 10 is seeking bond funds for equipment and facilities remodeling.  If you haven’t taken the time to visit the KC Elections web site, you should.  In addition to information about the operations of that office, it also includes a Voter’s Guide lookup feature that enables you to search for upcoming voter’s pamphlet information based on your name,  links to the forms you’ll need to register to vote in our State and a link explaining how to find the 5 ballot drop boxes you can use to return your completed ballot if you forget to drop it in the regular mail.

Due to inclement weather and a brisk interest from our patrons, and because I’m a really nice guy, fines will be waived on any books that were due during snow week, January 16th through January 20th of 2012. You’re welcome!  If you have any further questions, please contact Craig Burgess at (206) 296-0940.

Washingtonlawhelp.org is a fantastic resource for self-help law guides written specifically for the general public.  The list of topics covered by the site is extensive and includes a variety of guides describing various aspects of home foreclosure law.  Recently, the editors at Washington LawHelp have added a new guide discussing the issue of short sales.  A short sale is an alternative to foreclosure where the buyer and the lender agree to sell a home for less than the balance owed on its mortgage.  The guide is brief–only 3 pages–but provides a good overview of the short sale process and discusses the pros and cons of pursuing a short sale.  It also links to another more extensive guide authored by the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions titled Short Sales Information and Seller Advisory.  Together, these will help you understand how a short sale works and whether or not to consider it as an alternative to a traditional foreclosure.

Those of you who have to report your CLE credits this year may be interested in free or low cost CLEs.  Because you have only a few days to fulfill your requirement, this posting focuses on possibilities for AV credits. 

Earlier this year, I wrote about the Intellectual Property Colloquium, which offers podcasts that have been approved for CLE credit in Washington.  Most of the podcasts offer 1 hour of CLE credit and are often engaging conversations about interesting, timely topics. 

In response to that posting, Washington lawyer Randy Winn wrote to us about his blog, 4 Free CLE.  The blog is nationwide in scope, but there is plenty to interest Washington lawyers.  Many of the programs have already been approved for multiple states; if that is the case, those states are listed.  Also, of particular help to those of you in search of last-minute AV credits, there is a tab at the top of the page “CLE Anytime!”, which will link you to CLEs in that category.  Even more useful at this late date is the December 27 posting, “22+ AV Credits Free . . . in Time for Year-End!”

The Washington State Bar Association provides a number of  low cost MP3 seminars on its CLEtoGO page.  For example, if you need just one more ethics credit, take a look at the offerings.  Also, there is a half-price sale on at least some of the MP3 CLEs from December 27 – December 31.  Check it out here.  

Seattle University Continuing Legal Education has an On Demand Webinar Library, where you can register for reasonably-priced online webinars on demand.  (Prices are discounted for SU Law Alumni.)

Check your mailboxes! Starting today, the Public Law Library of King County will be sending out your annual Subscriber Renewal packets. Enclosed you’ll find all the materials you need to participate in the 2012 Subscriber Program. When you receive your invoice, all you need to do is review and return the enclosed 2012 Subscriber Invoice along with a check for your Subscriber fees. Renewal provisions can be found on the invoice. If you have any questions about the renewal process or the Subscriber Program, please contact Rick Stroup, Patron Access Services Librarian, by phone (206) 296-0940 or by email rick.stroup@kingcounty.gov.

The library’s newest podcast has been released!  Join us for our third installment of “Supreme Court Classics”, where we learn about the career of Thurgood Marshall.

Thurgood Marshall was the first African-American Justice to serve on the United States Supreme Court. As a Constitutional Lawyer, Marshall is in class of his own. As chief counsel for the NAACP, Marshall successfully argued his case in Brown v. Board of Education, which changed not only American Jurisprudence forever, but also changed American Culture and Society forever. Without Marshall’s extraordinary advocacy in Brown, such legislation as the Civil Rights of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, may not have been possible. Appointed to the High Court in 1967, Marshall retired in 1991 at the age of 83. This capped a legal career that probably will never be matched in American History.

Today Governor Gregoire appointed King County Superior Court Judge Steven Gonzalez to the Washington State Supreme Court replacing Justice Gerry Alexander who is retiring December 31, 2011.  Judge Gonzalez’s appointment is effective January, 2012.

The Seattle and Kent law libraries will be closed tomorrow (Friday, November 11) in honor of Veteran’s Day.  The libraries will reopen on Monday morning.

Check out the second installment in our ongoing series called Supreme Court Classics.  This episode features John Marshall, who was appointed Chief Justice by President John Adams in 1801 and served until his death in 1835.