KCLL Klues: Washington State Legal Research

 The King County Law Library may have to close the branch in Kent due to lack of funding in 2010.    Recently, the King County Executive released his proposed 2010 budget which eliminates the current funding of the law library at the Maleng Regional Justice Center.   In 2009, the County Council added back in half of our year’s funding to help run the operations and they will need to do that and more for 2010.    Nearly 70% of our patrons in Kent are Pro Se and cannot afford an attorney.    If funding is not received from the Council, the branch may close on January 1, 2010.

Other county law libraries around the country are facing similar challenges such as in Indiana.  The Marion County Law Library (IN) is in danger of closing in 2010.   This article describes what services are available and what would be lost if this service goes away.   Service to Pro Se or Self-Represented litigants would be non-existent without the knowledgeable staff at the library in Indiana.

One of the blogs I read on a regular basis is Laura Orr’s Oregon Legal Research blog. Recently she posted about engagement rings – and who gets the ring when the engagement is broken. She titled it “The Law of Engagement Rings (with a side of ring-flingers and Oregon cows).” It is a fascinating and funny post. So if you want to know more about this area of the law read Laura’s post.  It will make your day.

The Washington State Court web site posted the following on its child support forms page:

“Please note that the following form versions are being replaced effective October 1, 2009. To facilitate that change, all new versions are added to the appropriate topic pages except for the new WSCSS Schedule with instructions which is pending.”

The legislature changed the Washington State Child Support Schedule during this last session. If you need to see how they changed the law, before the new schedule is posted to the court site, look at Chapter 84 of the 2009 Washington state session laws.

The King County Executive, Kurt Triplett, presented his proposed 2010 Budget to the King County Council this afternoon.   The King County Law Library operation in Kent is funded completely from the County General Fund.    The Executive’s proposed budget includes no funding for Kent in 2010.   The possible closure of the library at the RJC would be a dramatic change in the way people gain access to the justice system.  The Budget process will continue as four Hearings are held in the coming weeks.  Information about these hearings can be found on the Council’s Budget Calendar. 

Marcus Hochstetler, Director, King County Law Library

I occasionally look at news from places where I used to work. I noticed this article about an associate at McKenna, Long and Aldridge who understands that if you want to get ahead in today’s environment you need to do more than the basics, you need to excel. The article appeared in the National Law Journal. I always have felt that just doing your job is not enough. You need to look at what you can accomplish as a challenge to do your very best.

This is my last assigned week of blogging for KCLL. I hope some of the things I have highlighted – such as research tips or news stories or court rule changes or – have been helpful.

The Seattle and MRJC libraries will both be closed all day on Monday, October 5 for staff in-service.  During this time, the staff will be attending training and performing other duties that require our operations to be closed to the public. A book drop will be available outside the Seattle library doors. Books normally due on Monday, October 5 will be due on Tuesday, October 6. Chat, email, and telephone reference will not be available.  Other county departments will not be affected.

You may see many different Blogs about the law in Washington, but to get a complete picture you should check out a fellow law library site from the Univeristy of Washington.   This site includes links to 93 blogs about Washington State Law.  They are grouped together by topic making it easier to find the resources.   Check it out.

The Family Law Facilitators Office provides assistance to family law litigants who are not represented by attorneys.  They have offices in both the Seattle and Kent courthouses.  You can now see some of the materials used by the Facilitators online through a link provided on the King County Superior Court’s web site.

A reminder – we have added two classes for October.  Look at the full training calendar here.  We will be repeating our popular Public Sleuthing on Social Networks class on October 7 – it will be the last time the class is taught by Rita K. before she moves out-of-state in October.  We are also offering the two-part Legal Research for the Non-Attorney class later in the month.  These classes are free to the public and held in the Legal Research and Training Center inside the Seattle Library.  Call the library at 206-296-0940 to sign up.

The King County Law Library at the Maleng Regional Justice Center is just one of several departments that are making contingency plans in the event that the Howard Hanson Dam fails.  If the dam fails, flooding will occur in the Green River flood plain, including Auburn, Kent, Renton and Tukwila.  See the article in today’s Seattle Times.

The Library’s disaster plan includes how and when to move books, computers and other materials out of the MRJC and what services can be provided to South King County patrons by the KCLL staff in the Seattle Courthouse.