KCLL Klues: Washington State Legal Research

The Associated Press recently published an article that is all over the Internet. The story speaks to the fact that many people cannot afford attorneys and are representing themselves in court, even people who might have previously tried to hire an attorney. The story was written by Margery Gibbs. She explains that this is leading to clogged court systems. But it has also encouraged more states to authorize a “practice known as “unbundling,” in which a lawyer handles just part of a contract, lawsuit, divorce or other litigation for a small fee, rather than taking on the entire case.”
This is also leading to the growth of self-help web sites such as LawHelp and groups who are promoting “innovations in services to the self-represented” such as the Self-Represented Litigant Network.

LLRX posted a new article by Peggy Garvin on tracking information from various sources about what is going on in the new Barack Obama administration. These include the change.gov site, plus sites from news organizations such as the Washington Post and the New York Times. Check out her full article for more information and follow the transition as it takes place.

The Office of the Federal Register announced that it now has free electronic access to public documents. These are documents that have been filed with the Public Inspection Desk. While this may not be exciting news to most of you, I was thrilled when I saw the news release. In the “old days” the only way to see these documents was to physically visit the Office of the Federal Register in Washington, DC. I used to send messengers over to copy the files when a new regulation was about to be issued as we wanted to see it first and be prepared to advise our clients. So for me, this is terrific news!

There is still space in our Searching Lexis class this Friday (November 21) from 12-1:30pm.  The class is free and held in the Legal Research and Training Center inside the library.  Call (206) 296-0940 to sign up!

A recent post on the Law Librarian Blog featured a short video from Thomson West detailing the editorial process for taking a court opinion and preparing it for publication on Westlaw.  If you’ve ever wondered about how the process works, check it out!

I came across this new search site directory while preparing my Social Networking Investigation class. It has been in beta in Europe for months, but expanded to the United States in October. It claims to search Internet-based information in real time, but is also a social site where you can add information to every search result.
The site includes results from social networking information posted on the Internet, telephone and email directories and more. It works best with unusual names rather than common names. If you do not already have some information on the person you are investigating, it is sometimes difficult to eliminate results. But it does include some data I have not seen elsewhere.  
I have added it to the Public Sleuthing links on our web site.

Renewing Government: Recommendations to President-elect Obama
and the 111th Congress

As President-elect Obama’s transition team gets to work, OMB Watch has teamed with dozens of organizations
and individuals to provide key recommendations on government openness, reform of the regulatory process, and
government performance issues. Started well before the 2008 elections, the projects that produced these
recommendations brought together diverse groups of people to work on some of the most pressing problems and
concerns that will face Obama when he takes office in January 2009.

OMB Watch convened a group of hundreds of individuals and organizations from across the political spectrum
to put together recommendations on government openness, information, and other transparency issues. The
recommendations stress the need for the Obama administration and Congress to move the federal government’s
information disclosure and sharing policies and processes into the 21st century, which includes the efficient,
effective use of modern Internet technologies. The recommendations fall into three categories: National Security
and Secrecy; Usability of Information; and Creating a Government Environment for Transparency. The group has also
lifted up a number of the recommendations as issues the Obama administration should tackle during its first
100 days.(From OMB Watch’s website:)

Read the report here: 21st Century Right to Know Recommendations

With technology allowing for easier access to electronic opinions of the courts, some have had concerns as to the extent to which personally identifiable information is included in these opinions. Some of these fears center around the social security numbers of participants in legal cases and purchased by third parties.   Recently, the Government Accountability Office presented a report on this topic through its website. 
Here is an excerpt from the report:

The Washington Office of Secretary of State’s Digital Archives, in a partnership with Microsoft Research, is making available over 30,000 cassette tapes of committee hearings of the State House of Representatives for 1973-2001.  This partnership allows for an innovative way to search through the audio recordings of these hearings.  Approximately 6,000 hours of hearings are currently searchable.  Over the next two years, the House will add approximately 10,000 more hours.  The search engine allows you to search testimony given during a hearing.  You can narrow your search by selecting specific committees and by selecting a date range.  To access these tapes, go to Washington State Digital Archives detalied search screen.  In the drop down box titled Record Series, select Audio Recordings.  A search on the word audit brings up about 40 entries from various committees. 

 This tool can be an important adjunct to your state legislative history research.