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.

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.

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.

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.

Our online public access catalog, powered by EOS International, now has an interface developed specifically for mobile devices. If you’d like to use your iPhone, Droid, Blackberry or other Internet-capable phone to search our collection, simply point its browser to http://207.67.203.67/K80000. If you have any questions about searching our catalog or accessing our collection, please feel free to contact the staff at (206) 296-0940.

The Finish Your Divorce class held at the Seattle library on the second Wednesday of the month will now run from 4-5pm.  This is a walk-in class (no reservation required) taught by a volunteer attorney.

The law library’s 2010 Annual Report is now available!  We are using a new format this year; employing charts, a wordle and less text to recap what happened at the law library in 2010.  Check it out!

We are pleased to announce the addition of a new database from EBSCO that provides online, full-text access to a number of our popular books from Nolo Press.  The database is called Legal Information Reference Center.  It’s available on most of our public computers in both our Seattle and Kent locations.  Books available include Neighbor Law, Every Dog’s Legal Guide, Copyright Handbook, Getting a Green Card, and Represent Yourself in Court.  You can search for information by keyword, general topic or even visually through an interface that graphs your results.  You can also browse or search for forms that are included in the books.  Results may be printed at the cost of 15 cents per page or saved to your own USB drive.

A new resource for low-income debtors is available at the Public Law Library of King County, located at the Seattle courthouse.  A drop-in debt clinic, staffed by attorneys, is now open on Tuesday afternoons from 1 – 3 p.m.

Attorneys from the Northwest Justice Project are launching a free Debt Collection Defense Clinic.  The Debt Collection Defense Clinic (DCDC) will assist low-income debtors (below 200% FPL: $1,815/mo for one person; $3,725/mo for a family of four) with advice and assistance for issues surrounding debt collection, including lawsuits, collection agency abuse, supplemental proceedings and garnishment.

Debtors seeking advice and assistance from volunteer attorneys should bring all paperwork related to debt collection and documentation of their income, including paystubs and bank statements.

DCDC does not assist clients with filing for bankruptcy.  Debtors seeking advice about bankruptcy should be directed to the King County Bar Association’s debt clinic.  If debtors have questions about the best referral, they should contact 211 to be screened and directed to the appropriate legal resource.

In conclusion, volunteer attorneys at DCDC will provide advice and assistance to low-income debtors dealing with debt collection issues, at the Seattle courthouse law library on Tuesday afternoons from 1 – 3 p.m.  If attorneys are interested in volunteering for the DCDC, email juliak@nwjustice.org and catherinew@nwjustice.org.