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.