Native American Legal Sources - Northwest United States

Native American Law is a unique area of research that combines government to government relations with distinct legal systems across the numerous Native American nations.

The SOLL has several volumes dedicated to Tribal and Native American Law. Including these two volumes collecting laws and treaties relating to Native American Tribes.

Kappler's "Indian Affairs" collects a number of federal laws and treaties dealing with Native Americans and is a excellent source for identifying old laws and treaties.

"Indian Treaties" is a handsome volume that collects a number of United States treaties with Native Nations.

Information on Tribal and Native American legal sources in the United States can be difficult to find. Collected bellow are some useful primary and secondary sources of Native American Law. 

http://libguides.law.ucla.edu/c.php?g=183381&p=1208821 – UCLA School of Law Libguide on Native American Law – A excellent collection of sources on Native American Law from across the United States.

Federal              

http://bia.gov/WhoWeAre/RegionalOffices/Northwest/index.htm - Department of Indian Affairs Northwest Region

http://bia.gov/DocumentLibrary/index.htm - Department of Indian Affairs Document Library - Links to various federal documents and general information and reports on tribal affairs. 

          

State

http://www.ncsl.org/research/state-tribal-institute/state-tribal-relations-committees-and-commissions.aspx - National Conference of State Legislatures – A 2013 list of state executive and legislative bodies dedicated to Native American affairs.

Oregon

https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/cis - Oregon’s Legislative Commission Indian Services – Oregon state resources related to Oregon’s tribes. This includes links to the government to government reports required by Oregon statutes from Oregon state agencies.

http://bluebook.state.or.us/national/tribal/tribal.htm - Oregon’s Blue Book - Almanac entries on tribes located in Oregon

Washington

http://www.goia.wa.gov/ - State of Washington’s Governor’s Office of Indian Affairs – Information on tribes located in Washington state and links to state agencies dealing with tribal issues

Tribal

https://nnidatabase.org/db/ - University of Arizona Indigenous Governance Database. Papers, films and courses aimed at assisting and documenting native peoples efforts in developing and implementing governance systems.

http://www.tribal-institute.org/lists/tribal_law.htm - Tribal Court Clearing House – A collection of links to various sources of tribal law. In particular an extensive national list of tribal courts including contact information.

http://www.nics.ws/ - The Northwest Inter-tribal Court System – A consortium of tribes from Washington State that manages a collective court system. They have a digital collection of their appellate opinions available online (http://www.codepublishing.com/wa/nics/)

http://www.narf.org/nill/index.html - The National Indian Law Library – A library in Bolder Colorado dedicated to Indian and tribal law. They publish news and regulatory bulletins and maintain an exhaustive list of tribal websites and legal resources online 

(http://www.narf.org/nill/triballaw/index.html). They also maintain a reference desk if you need expert assistance (http://www.narf.org/nill/asknill.html).

http://www.indianlawreporter.org/ - Indian Law Reporter – Published since 1974 this reporter contains US, State and Tribal case law and administrative law opinions relating to American Indian Law. The publisher does not maintain the reporter online but the NARF maintains a independent index (http://www.narf.org/nill/ilr/)

https://www.tribalcourtsurvey.org/survey/ - A survey sponsored by the U.S. Department of Justice that collects the details of tribal judicial systems.

Cardiff Index to Legal Abbreviations

     Obscure citations can pose a significant problem to a legal researcher. How is a responsible reader to check Wight El.Cas. (Wight's Scottish Election Cases), Brit Yrbk Intl L (British Year Book of International Law) or even Bee Adm. (Bee's United States District Court Admiralty Reports)?

 

     These citations to little known or antique legal works can be difficult to track down. The first step in locating the reference is to correctly identify the book. The Cardiff Index to Legal Abbreviations is a great tool to identify that mishmash of letters claiming to be a citation.

 

• http://www.legalabbrevs.cardiff.ac.uk/

 

      You can search by citation or by the title of the work. The index provides the full title, various alternative citations, the jurisdiction and the period covered.

 

      The SOLL has a extensive collection of old Anglo-American reporters. Armed with the name of the reporter and the period covered a SOLL patron can frequently locate very old case law within our collection. 

 

Go forth and confront the obscure and ancient citation with confidence! 

2015 Oregon Continuing Legal Education Deadline

2016 is almost here and for Oregon attorneys MCLE credits are coming due. The Oregon State Law Library is here to help you meet your reporting requirements.

Finding CLE Credits

SOLL has a collection of recorded CLE programs available for checkout by members of the Oregon State Bar. Our online catalog has a list of the CLE materials available. If you click on the title of the CLE resource you can see what credits it offers and if it is available to check out.

Your local county law library may also have a collection of CLE materials. You can find and contact your law library using their online directory. The Marion, Multnomah and Washington county law libraries also have online catalogs available online.

If you can’t locate the CLE you want at the SOLL or your local county law library The Oregon State Bar and the Oregon Law Institute sell recorded Oregon CLE seminars. They offer CDs and online versions of their courses.

Rules

The Oregon Mandatory Continuing Legal Education rules are available on the Oregon State Bar’s website. You can check on your reporting period and carryover credits by logging into the site with your bar number.  Some highlights of the rules are:

•  If you are subject to a 3 year reporting period you must complete 45 credits including 5 legal ethics credits and 1 elder abuse reporting credit on or before 12/23/2015.(Rule 3.2, 3.7) You have to report your credits by 5:00pm 2/1/2016.

• You can claim credits for originally accredited recorded CLE presentations if viewed within 3 years of when the program was originally conducted unless the member can show that the program has current educational value. (Rule 5.7)

•  Various other activities can be used to claim CLE credits if they meet certain requirements:

a.       Teaching (Rule 5.2(a))

b.      Service as a Bar Examiner (Rule 5.2(b))

c.       Legal Research and Writing (Rule 5.2(c))

d.      Legal Ethics Service (Rule 5.2(d))

e.      Legislative Service (Rule 5.2(e))

f.        New Lawyers Mentoring Program (Rule 5.2(f))

g.       Jury Instructions Committee Service (Rule 5.2(g))

Oregon Appellate Court Oral Arguments -- Week of December 7th

There are no arguments in the Oregon Supreme Court nor in the Oregon Court of Appeals this week.

Oregon Appellate Court Oral Arguments -- Week of November 30

The Oregon Supreme Court has no cases set for oral argument this week.

The Oregon Court of Appeals hears oral arguments Tuesday 12/01 and Thursday 12/03 in the Supreme Court Courtroom. The Court will also hear arguments 12/01 in the morning at the West Albany High School.

Specialized Legal Research

Legal research usually consists of consulting the body of case law along with relevant provisions of a statutory code. However the modern legal system consists of a baroque body of interlocking laws, regulations and institutions. When engaging with a specialized legal issue a responsible legal researcher is faced with a daunting task.

Navigating this vast body of potential authority can be difficult. Identifying reliable and relevant secondary sources multiplies the difficulty.

Specialized Legal Research by Penny A Hazelton serves as a guide to researching several more obscure areas of the law. Listed below are the subjects covered in the volume's 13 chapters.

Chapters:

1. Securities Regulation
2. The Uniform Commercial Code
3. Federal Income Taxation
4. Copyright Law
5. Federal Labor and Employment Law
6. Law of Environmental Protection
7. Admiralty and Maritime Law
8. Immigration Law
9. Military and Veterans Law
10. Banking Law
11. Federal Patent and Trademark Law
12. Federal Government Contracts
13. Customs Law

So if you're stumped on a tough legal research job you might just be able to find the answer in this excellent book.

Oregon Appellate Court Oral Arguments -- Week of November 23

The Oregon Supreme Court has no cases set for oral argument this week.

The Oregon Court of Appeals hears oral arguments Tuesday 11/24 and Thursday 11/25 in the Supreme Court Courtroom.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving! 

November 2015 New CLE Titles

It’s almost 2016 and for many Oregon lawyers this means continuing legal education. The SOLL has several new CLE programs in stock.

ADR 2014 : trends and hot topics / cosponsored by the Alternative Dispute Resolution Section.

Child abuse reporting : a scientific perspective / presented by Amber A. Hollister.  (Oregon State Bar, 2014)

Defending DUII cases in Oregon. (Oregon State Bar, 2015)

Legal ethics--best practices.   (Oregon State Bar, 2015)

Northwest administrative law institute / cosponsored by the Oregon State Bar Administrative Law Section and the Washington State Bar Administrative Law Section. (Oregon State Bar, 2015)

You can check out all our CLE titles using our catalog’s CLE list.

https://o90009.eos-intl.net/O90009/OPAC/Search/SpecialTitles.aspx

If the CLE title you want is checked out and you have a library account you can put a hold on it!  Our cataloging librarian explains how:

To place a hold, simply click the hold button () on the left side of any resource page in our catalog. You will be prompted to sign in -- if you never have before, your username is the last five digits of your library barcode, and your default password is the same five numbers (you can change it after signing in if you wish). If you have any difficulties, please let us know!

Oregon Appellate Court Oral Arguments -- Week of November 16

The Oregon Supreme Court has no cases set for oral argument this week.

The Oregon Court of Appeals hears oral arguments Tuesday 11/17 and Thursday 11/19.

Oregon Appellate Court Oral Arguments -- Week of November 9

The Oregon Supreme Court has several cases set for oral argument this week:

11/09/2015

09:00 AM             State of Oregon v. J. C. N.-V - S063111 (A147958, A147958, A147958, A147958)

09:00 AM             Arthur Yeatts v. Polygon Northwest Company - S062977 (A150199)

01:30 PM             Tim Nay v. Department of Human Services - S062978 (A150722)

01:30 PM             Jan Wyers v. American Medical Response Northwest, Inc. - S063000 (A149258) 

11/10/2015

09:00 AM             State of Oregon v. Denny D. Ghim - S063021 (A152065)

09:00 AM             State of Oregon v. Walter Perry Lile - S063031 (A148884)          

01:30 PM             Lake Oswego Preservation Society v. City of Lake Oswego - S063048 (A157619)

11/12/2015

09:00 AM             SAIF Corporation v. Roger J. Thompson - S063020 (A152618)

11/12/2015

09:00 AM             State of Oregon v. Alen Vladimir Simonov - S063135 (A151415)

01:30 PM             State of Oregon v. Caryn Aline Nascimento - S063197 (A147290)

01:30 PM             Department of Human Services v. T. L. - S063204 (A155300)

11/13/2015

09:00 AM             State of Oregon v. Brian James Chandler - S063096 (A152098)

09:00 AM             State of Oregon v. Rasool Islam Islam - S063202 (A154949)           

01:30 PM             State of Oregon v. Robert Gordon Davis - S063216 (A154382)

01:30 PM             Emily Johnson v. Scott Gibson - S063188

 

The Oregon Court of Appeals hears oral arguments Tuesday 11/10 in the Justice Building.

Oregon Appellate Court Oral Arguments -- Week of November 2

The Oregon Supreme Court has no cases set for oral argument this week.

The Oregon Court of Appeals hears oral arguments Monday 11/2 and Tuesday 11/3 in both the Justice Building and the Supreme Court Building. The Court of Appeals will hear cases from Wendsday 11/4 through Friday 11/6 in the Supreme Court Building.

WestlawNext: Getting negative history fast

A key step in any legal research is making sure that the case or statute you are relying on is still good law. WestlawNext offers some effective tools to dig up negative history fast.

Check out this quick guide to checking negative history in WestlawNext without clicking through the original law.

Oregon Appellate Court Oral Arguments -- Week of October 26

The Oregon Supreme Court has no cases set for oral argument this week.

The Oregon Court of Appeals hears oral arguments from Monday 10/26 to Thursday 10/29 in the Supreme Court Building.

The Enviroment, Oregon, Richard Nixon and William Douglas

The 1970 and 1971 editions of the Oregon-based journal Environmental Law showcase a hopeful moment in American politics. It its first two issues the journal published contributions from both President Richard Nixon and Justice William Douglas.

In 1969, Environmental Law was founded as America's first law review dedicated entirely to environmental issues. The journal has been published by Lewis and Clark Law School in Portland since it's first issue in 1970. Still printed on recycled paper with soy ink the publication remains a leading publication in environmental law.

In its 1970 inaugural issue, the journal published a congratulatory letter by President Richard Nixon.

In the following issue the journal published a article from U.S. Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas discussing the degradation of the ocean environment. 

Residents of the American northwest will not be surprised by Justice Douglas' commitment to environmentalism. He grew up in Yakima, Washington where he observed first had police brutality towards workers in the Northwest. According to Justice Douglas this motivated him to seek a legal education. He soon headed east to attend Yale law school. 

Even after moving east Douglas remained a frequent visitor to the Mt. Saint Helen's Lodge at Spirit Lake in Washington State.

[Bob Karm - http://pdxretro.com/2012/05/he-refused-to-leave-his-mountain/]

He advocated for the environment on and off the court. He argued that inanimate objects in the environment should have standing in his dissent in Sierra Club v. Morton 405 U.S. 727 (1972). He also published a influential review of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring. In 1984 in honor of his commitment to the wilderness area adjacent to Mount Rainier National Park was renamed the William O. Douglas Wilderness Area.

["Old Scab Mountain 16969" by Walter Siegmund (talk) - Own work. Licensed under CC BY 2.5 via Commons]

Richard Nixon was also a significant supporter of environmental issues. He signed the National Environmental Policy Act in 1969 creating the EPA.

Here on the shelves of the State of Oregon Law Library in one volume of the Environmental Law journal is a example of the Northwest's long national influence on environmental law.

Oregon Appellate Court Oral Arguments -- Week of October 19

The Oregon Supreme Court has no cases set for oral argument this week.

 

The Oregon Court of Appeals hears oral arguments on friday 10/23 in the Supreme Court Building.

GPO's Federal Register Scan Project

The U.S. Government Printing Office recently announced that it will digitize two million pages of the Federal Register The GPO currently makes digital copies of the Federal Register from 1994 available online through the Federal Digital System (FDsys), but the Federal Register itself dates back to 1936.  The new scanning project will expand FDsys’ collection back to the first issue. The project is expected to be finished in 2016.

If you just can’t wait that long, in the meantime you are welcome to use the State of Oregon Law Library’s collection of Federal Register issues. It extends back to January 1, 1970.

What is the Federal Register and why is it the most exciting publication in government?

The Federal Register is a daily publication that is the official source of legal information from the Executive Branch of the United States Government. The Federal Register contains:

·         Federal Agency Regulations

·         Proposed Rules and Public Notices

·         Executive Orders, Presidential Proclamations and other Presidential Documents

If you are looking for federal government regulatory filings you are in the right place!

I’m looking for Federal Register issues. Where can I find them besides through FDsys and at SOLL?

Never fear, this exhilarating government publication is available from several sources!

·         Free Sources

o   Federal Depository Libraries – Most libraries in the Federal Library Depository system have a print subscription to the Federal Register (including SOLL!).

o   FDsys – PDF and Text back to 1994. Their database is not searchable as of October 2015.

o   Federal Register 2.0 – This is a non-official version of the FDsys documents.  This database covers the same materials as the FDsys database but in a searchable text format.

·         Paid Databases

o   Westlaw – Full coverage back to 1936. Issues prior to January 1981 are only available in PDF.

o   Lexis-Nexis – Full coverage back to 1936. Older issues are available in text synopsis only with full PDFs available.

Oregon Appellate Court Oral Arguments -- Week of October 12

The Oregon Supreme Court this week will hear shared oral argument in two cases on October 14th.

• Kevin Rains v. Stayton Builders Mart, Inc. - S062939
• Kevin Rains v. Stayton Builders Mart, Inc. - S062959

The Oregon Court of Appeals hears oral arguments on 10/13 in the Supreme Court Building.

California Right to Die Law Passed

On October 5th Governor Jerry Brown of California signed the  End of Life Option Act  into law. Assembly Bill No. 15 would permit Californians in certain circumstances to deliberately end their life with the assistance of a physician.

The governor issued a  signing statement explaining his support for the new law. "I do not know what I would do if I were dying in prolonged and excruciating pain," he writes. "I am certain, however, that it would be a comfort to be able to consider the options afforded by this bill. And I wouldn't deny that right to others."

The law is  closely modeled on Oregon's own assisted suicide law. In their decision, California lawmakers pointed to the 2014 decision of Brittany Maynard, a California resident with terminal brain cancer, to move to Oregon where she would have the option to take life-ending drugs. 


The law will take effect 91 days after the conclusion of the current legislative session , sometime in 2016. The law is set to expire in 10 years unless renewed. 

Oregon's law is titled the "Death with Dignity Act" and is administered by the Public Health Authority. You can get more information about the act on their website.

If you are interested in more information about assisted suicide, PBS ran a Frontline program titled "The Suicide Plan" that is available to watch for free through their website. They also have a excellent section where 6 experts wrote responses to the program.

Oregon Appellate Court Oral Arguments -- Week of October 5

The Oregon Supreme Court has no cases set for oral argument this week.

The Oregon Court of Appeals hears oral arguments on 10/6 and 10/7 in the Supreme Court Building.

Finding Oregon Statutes and Administrative Rules

Oregon Revised Statutes

Citations to the Oregon Revised Statutes look like this:

ORS § 123.456

or

Or. Rev. Stat § 123.456

Here 123 would be the chapter and 456 would be the section in the revised statutes.

You can find the current edition of the Oregon Revised Statutes on the Oregon Legislature's website here:

https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/Pages/ORS.aspx

The statutes are organized by subject. This means if you are looking for laws dealing with a particular subject, looking at the table of contents of the whole ORS or a particular chapter is very useful.

Oregon Administrative Rules

Citations to the Oregon Administrative rules look like this:

OAR § 123.456.789

or

 Or. Admin. R. 123.456.789 (2015)

Here 123 is the chapter 456 is the division and 789 is the section. Each chapter represents rules filed by a single agency. The division designates various topics covered by the agency.

You can view the most current administrative rules on the Secretary of State's website here:

http://sos.oregon.gov/archives/Pages/oregon_administrative_rules.aspx  

 Fastcase

You can search either the Oregon Revised Statutes or Oregon Administrative Rules using a free Fastcase account provided by the SOLL. Read about how to get a Fastcase account here:

http://stateoforegonlawlibrary.blogspot.com/2015/10/free-fastcase-access-for-all-oregonians.html

Help! 

If you need help finding or using any of these resources please contact our reference desk:

Phone: 503-986-5640
Web/Email: http://soll.libguides.com/questions

Free Fastcase access for all Oregonians

              The State of Oregon Law Library has now made access to Fastcase is available to all Oregonians without charge. Fastcase is a legal research tool that will let you search sources of law from Oregon, the U.S. Government and many other western states.  Fastcase provides advanced search tools that will help you find exactly the case or statute you are looking for. It also features the Bad Law Bot, an automated service that attempts to identify when other courts have cited a case negatively.

 

              If this sounds helpful and you are a resident of Oregon you can register for your free account today! Just click on the link below

                https://apps.fastcase.com/Research/Public/Oregon/login.aspx

Once you get to the Oregon login page just click on the “New User” link to set up your own free account.

You can learn more about using this new service using:

The Fastcase Quick Reference Guide (PDF)or,

The Complete Fastcase User Guide (PDF)

Once you are registered and ready to go use the State of Oregon Law Library’s Fastcase database to find the following:

·         Case law

o   Federal

§  U.S. Supreme Court

§  Federal 9^th Circuit

o   State

§  Oregon

§  Alaska

§  California

§  Montana

§  Arizona

§  Idaho

§  Nevada

§  Washington

·         Statutes and Session Laws

o   United States Code (2006 – 2014 HTML)

o   Oregon

§  Revised Statutes (1861 -1945 PDF) (2007 – 2013 HTML)

§  Session Laws (1941 – 2013 PDF)

o   Alaska

§  Statutes (1900 – 1933 PDF) (2007 – 2013 HTML)

§  Session Laws (1913 – 2013 PDF)

o   Arizona

§  Revised Statutes (1864 – 1936 PDF) (2008 – 2013 HTML)

§  Session Laws (2008 – 2014 PDF)

o   California

§  California Code (1853 – 1947 PDF) (2007 – 2014 HTML)

§  Session Laws (1850 – 2013 PDF)

o   Idaho

§  Statutes (1875 – 1940 PDF) (2011 - 2013 HTML)

§  Session Laws (1863 – 2013 PDF)

o   Montana

§  Montana Code (1872 – 1989 PDF) (2007 – 2013 HTML)

§  Session Laws (1864 – 2013 PDF)

o   Nevada

§  Nevada Revised Statutes (1861 – 1945 PDF) (2007 – 2013 PDF)

§  Session Laws (1861 – 2013 PDF)

o   Washington

§  Revised Code of Washington (1881 – 2010 PDF) (2008 – 2014 HTML)

§  Session Laws (1854 – 2013 PDF)

·         Court Rules

o   Federal 9^th Circuit

o   Oregon

§  Oregon Rules of Appellate Procedure (2009 – 2015)

§  Oregon Rules of Civil Procedure (2009 – 2013)

§  Oregon Uniform Trial Court Rules (2010 – 2014)

·         Regulations

o   Code of Federal Regulations (2011 – 2015)

o   Oregon (2009 – 2015)

o   Alaska (2013 – 2015)

o   Arizona (2013 – 2014)

o   California (2009 – 2014)

o   Idaho (2014 – 2015)

o   Montana  (2013 – 2015)

o   Nevada (2013 – 2015)

o   Washington (1888 – 2015)

·         Attorney General Opinions

o   Oregon (1901 – 2014)

o   Alaska (1897 – 2014)

o   Arizona (1915 -2015)

o   California (1854 – 2015)

o   Idaho (1891 – 2014)

o   Montana  (1891 – 2014)

o   Nevada (1875 – 2015)

o   Washington (1888 – 2015)

Banned Books Week: September 27-October 3, 2015

Every year at the end of September, libraries, bookstores and other reading aficionados celebrate our freedom to read during Banned Books Week. According to the American Library Association, a challenge to a book is “an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group. A banning is the removal of those materials.”

In Oregon, the Intellectual Freedom Clearinghouse collects data on challenges and bannings in the state. For 2014-2015, there were 14 challenges to books, magazines, sound recordings and videos in public and school libraries, only one of which resulted in material being removed from shelves. Some of the more frequently challenged books since the OIF started collecting data in 1988 include Daddy’s Roommate by Michael Willhoite, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz, In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak, Annie on My Mind by Nancy Garden. Check out the full list here.

Want to learn more about the legal background of banned books? Check out the ALA’s list of notable First Amendment court cases, or stop by SOLL to peruse our resources on censorship and freedom of speech.

Oregon Appellate Court Oral Arguments -- Week of September 28

The Oregon Supreme Court has no cases set for oral argument this week.

The Oregon Court of Appeals hears oral arguments from 9/28 to 9/30 in the Supreme Court Building.

Oregon Appellate Courts Style Manual 2015 Update

If you are writing for the Oregon Court of Appeals or the Oregon Supreme Court you are confronted with a multiplicity of formatting and style decisions. Everything from line spacing to citations must be precisely and correctly drafted. Rule 5.20(4) of the Oregon Rules of Appellate procedure directs attorneys and judges to look to the Oregon Appellate Courts Style Manual for guidance.

Today is your lucky day! The Oregon Appellate Courts Style Manual 2015 update went into effect in August. This is the first major update since 2002 and incorporates suggestions and improvements in technology since 2002. It clarifies more topics with expanded examples and gives guidance regarding citations to electronic sources.

The 2015 Oregon Appellate Courts Style Manual is available for download on the OJD Publications Website

·         Appellate Courts Style Manual – Web Version With Hyperlinks (PDF)

·         Appellate Courts Style Manual – Printer Friendly Version (PDF)

·         Appellate Courts Style Manual – EPUB for reading devices

·         Appellate Courts Style Manual – MOBI for reading devices coming soon

·         A Summary of changes to the Style Manual

The Manual is brought to you through the hard work of Mary Bauman, Lisa Norris-Lampe, Julie Smith, Mary Yunker , Pat Zolllner and Barkley the library guard dog.