KCLL Klues: Washington State Legal Research

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.

The library is excited to announce a new class KCLL Presents: Family Law Resources to be held at King County Library System branches in February and March.  This 1.5 hour class is targeted at non-attorneys to help them find resources for family law matters such as divorce, child custody or child support.  All classes begin at 7pm and are free of charge; pre-registration is not required. 

Thursday, February 24 Auburn Library
Thursday, March 3 Federal Way Library
Thursday, March 24 Renton Highlands Library
Monday, April 4 Des Moines Library

 SEATTLE  -    The King County Law Library Board has announced Rita Dermody as the Interim Librarian and Director of the King County Law Library, effective February 1, 2010. As Interim Director, Dermody will oversee operations and direct all activities of the Library.

“This is a welcome opportunity to serve the Library and the legal community,” said Dermody, “and I am honored by the encouragement I have received.”

“I am delighted with Rita’s appointment and confident that we’re in good hands. We’re fortunate to have someone with her strong experience and long history with the County in this leadership position.  The Board of Trustees believes Rita is the right person to guide the Library through this transition,” said Judge Mary Yu, Chair of the King County Law Library Board.

Dermody joined the Law Library as branch librarian in 1998. Since 1999, she has served as Collection Access Services Librarian, managing the Technical Services Department budgets, acquisitions, and collection development.  Ms. Dermody earned her Master’s Degree in Library Science from the University of Illinois.  She is an active participant in the King County law library community as a committee and task force member in the Law Librarians of Puget Sound (LLOPS) and the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL), among others.

Dermody will be supported in her responsibilities by newly appointed Assistant Interim Director Richard Stroup.  Former Patron Access Service Librarian for King County since 1988, Stroup is also an active member of AALL and past president of LLOPS, where he twice received the President’s Excellence Award.

The King County Law Library serves the legal and law related information needs of the county, including judges, county officials, members of the bar, and other residents. The Library is open to the public and has a knowledgeable staff available to assist with legal research needs.

 A search for a permanent director will be undertaken in the next 12 months.  For further information, contact Judge Mary Yu, President of the King County Law Library Board of Trustees at 206.296.9275.

Interviews with Rita Dermody may be arranged by calling her directly at 206.205.6101. 

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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.

Governor Gregoire’s office recently unveiled a new website – www.recovery.wa.gov.  The website is designed to help Washingtonians track how the state is spending its share of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds.  While many of the details are still being worked out, the website contains useful information on how the federal funds will be allocated and who to contact for more information on applying for funding. 

The venerated Justice Sandra Day O’Connor is the powerhouse behind the exciting new web resource Our Courts.  This content rich on-line resource contains “civics games, lesson plans, comprehensive resource links, civics in action projects, and more” and is intended for both teachers and students. It also provides students with the opportunity to blog with the Justice herself.  Check out Ourcourts.org and let us know what you think!

American Law Sources on-Line (ALSO) provides free legal resources online.  This website includes information about law libraries, federal courts, bar associations, legal forms, and government websites.  Check it out and let us know what you think.

Within the Appellate and Trial Courts portion of the Washington State Courts website, there is a pair of useful links to appellate practice information that you should review if you are involved in an appeal. 

The first link is called Appellate Case Processing Guide and leads to a series of concise descriptions of the basic elements of an appeal.  The descriptions include an overview of the process, timeline notes where applicable, references to the appropriate Rules of Appellate Procedure, and links to sample forms.

The second link is called Brief Writing — Best Practices and leads to a list of tips for writing a persuasive brief.  The comments address both construction and style.

The web site for the Northwest Women’s Law Center has an excellent publication titled Formatting Court Documents.  It discusses margin requirments, the consequences of not following the various format rules of our Courts and the process for filing a Faulty Document appeal.

The Seattle Times is reporting today that a Lane County, Oregon presiding judge sent out the sheriff to the streets to round up jurors for three pending cases.  The court had an unusually large number of criminal trials, along with an unusually high number of no-shows for jury duty forcing the extraordinary action.  Washington law provides for the selection of additional jurors, but it isn’t as broad as the Oregon statute.