Oregon Child Welfare, Abuse, Fourth Amendment Case in U.S. Supreme Court

U.S. Supreme Court: Camreta v. Greene; Alford v. Greene (09-1454; 09-1478)

Oral argument: March 1, 2011

Transcript of Oral Argument

Ninth Circuit case: Greene v. Camreta (2009: #06-35333), excerpt:

“BERZON, Circuit Judge:
We are asked to decide whether the actions of a child protective services caseworker and deputy sheriff, understandably concerned for the well-being of two young girls, exceeded the bounds of the constitution. Specifically, the girls’ mother, Sarah Greene, alleges, on behalf of S.G., one of her children, that the caseworker, Bob Camreta, and deputy sheriff, James Alford, violated the Fourth Amendment when they seized and interrogated S.G. in a private office at her school for two hours without a warrant, probable cause, or parental consent. Sarah also argues that Camreta’s subsequent actions, both in securing a court order removing the girls from her custody and in subjecting the girls to intrusive sexual abuse examinations outside her presence, violated the Greenes’ familial rights under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment….” (Read full 9th Circuit opinion.)

Civil Disobedience and “Behind the [I have a] Dream” Speech

Civil disobedience, and its close cousin, civil resistance, has existed for centuries, maybe longer. The recent Gene Sharp article in the New York Times (2/17/11) had a long list of related links for further research, including a link to his Albert Einstein Institution and his e-book, “From Dictatorship to Democracy.”

We all know the most visible of the nineteenth and twentieth century peace-makers, Thoreau, Gandhi, King, but there are dozens, hundreds, thousands of others, some of whom have won Nobel Peace Prizes (as Gene Sharp may very well do next year) and most who have not.

Clarence Jones, lawyer to Martin Luther King, wrote his own book recently about a peacemaker and it is a wonderful read. It is a deeply moving account of a missing piece of our recent history: “Behind the Dream: The Making of the Speech that Transformed a Nation.”

Fear of the Internet, Loss of Privacy, and Risky Behavior

Every time I hear people panic about their addresses and phone numbers showing up “ON THE INTERNET – AGHHHH” I want to pat them on their backs and say, “it’s all right – but here is what you really need to worry about.”

Yes, you can, and should, work on those online “privacy settings” and stop answering those intrusive questions or even applying for credit cards, but, not to dishearten you further, keep in mind that even if you clear your data from one databank, most of them "refresh" their data at a bare minimum of 4x a year so even if you delete your info or "hide" it, the information will likely pop up again in a few months. Surprise!

Put yourself in the databanks' positions. They have a lot of competition and each one wants the best, most up-to-date, and, dare I say intrusive information to sell to the highest bidder or the most bidders.

There are a lot (!) of "public" records investigative books and websites, but for a (relatively) straightforward librarian approach for the person new to sleuthing, I like the King County Law Library research links.

They have classes on:

1) “Public Sleuthing on Social Networks: Learn how to search social networking sites like My Space and Facebook”

2) “Skiptracing: Finding Business and Personal Information: Learn how to do skip tracing online using free, publicly-accessible databases”

3) They also have their public sleuthing research guide up on their website.

And, then there are books like this one:

"The Cybersleuth's Guide to the Internet: Conducting Effective Investigative & Legal Research on the Internet," 11th edition, by Carole Levitt, J.D., M.L.S & Mark E. Rosch

We have few secrets anymore; could Woodward and Felt have kept their meetings secret if they tried to do so today the way they did back in the 70's? We’ll never know, but I doubt it.

Have a heart to heart, so to speak, talk with your favorite investigator who will have you sinking further and further into your chair as you listen. I remember talking to someone who worked for Kroll, in the 90's, before the web went world-wide. You didn't have many secrets then either; you just didn’t know it. Now you do.

There is little one can do about some of this, but one can still take affirmative action to protect one's truly personal info, as anyone who reads about ID theft knows. We can't eliminate all dangers in life, but we can minimize them.

Other important things to do are a) keep a healthy sense of perspective, b) fasten that seat belt, and c) read a good book or blog on the subject of why we are afraid:

1) "The culture of fear: why Americans are afraid of the wrong things," Barry Glassner, 2009

2) "Risk: The Science and Politics of Fear," Dan Gardner, 2008

3) Schneier on Security: Perceived Risk vs. Actual Risk

And remember, shhhhhhh.

Legal Citation Introduction and Guide

Introduction to Basic Legal Citation (online ed. 2010), by Peter W. Martin, is available, with all the other goodies at the ever wonderful Cornell Legal Information (LII) website.

Beer Law in the Oregon Legislature

Beer is a hot topic in this year’s 2011 Legislative Session. You can find beer bills, so to speak, by using the search engine at the Legislature’s website: I found these today:

HB2100
HB2262
HB2588
HB2644
HB2924
HB3145
HB3110

And then there is 2011 Senate Bill 444, which doesn’t pop up in the Legislature's search-engine, which is a puzzle, but not the first time we’ve noticed the problem.

A search in another Oregon bills database, using the word “beer,” also gives us SB 511 and these House Bills: 2147, 2642, 2913, 3234

There are more Oregon Beer and Brewery blogs than you can count, so just throw those words into the search-engine hopper.

For the practical side of the beer busines: Popular Mechanics “How to Bottle Beer”

I’m not sure why one would want to fill beer at break-neck pace, but Popular Science has your number if you do (and some of the Comments are very funny, which is a nice change from the usual comment-etiquette pattern).

Political Cartoonists and (Oregon) Legal Reference Questions

I was able to answer a reference question the other day with a Jack Ohman cartoon – the one about redistricting in Sunday’s (2/6/11) Oregonian – very funny. The patron was pleased.

I’m not the only law librarian who says that “reference” duty is the best job in a library. It also helps if you read widely, including political cartoons. (I grew up, so to speak, with Herblock and it’s nice now to be in Jack Ohman territory (Oregonian-home).

Political cartoonists are amazing people – political, literary, artistic, comedic, disquieting, and not infrequently sources of reference information.

The Saga of the Missing EAB Decisions

It all started with a simple citation. One of our patrons had a case from the Oregon Court of Appeals and was looking for previous history information. The first thing that should have set off my radar that this would not be a simple request was the patron’s mention that the case was affirmed without opinion. Not knowing the twisting path before me, I happily set off on my journey.

Day 1:

• I started with a LexisNexis search using the provided citation. Sadly, Lexis offered a paucity of prior history information. However, I did learn the case was an appeal from the Oregon Employment Appeals Board (EAB). Locating the original EAB decision (from 1985) was now my goal.
• I next checked our library’s collection, where I found Employment Relations Board decisions, but nothing from the EAB.
• I checked the EAB website, where you can search for decisions, but I didn’t find anything.
  So, I decided to call the EAB. They couldn’t find the decision; apparently they only have decisions dating back to 1998. However, the very helpful woman from the EAB said she would do more research and I should call back the following day.
  

Day 2:

• I called the Multnomah Law Library in the hopes they had EAB decisions from the 1980s; however, they had discarded them (just my luck.)
• I called the EAB back; they still couldn’t find the decision. While I was on the phone, they searched their database again, with no luck. It was suggested I call their imaging department.
• I called and left a message for the imaging department.
• Next, I looked on the Oregon State Archives (SA) website, with the hope old EAB decisions would go to the Archives for, well, archiving. Our trusty Blue Book says EAB records are transferred to the Archives after 20 years.
• I searched the state agency records guide on the SA website, but only found LUBA information.
• I called the SA reference desk, and they searched their database but only came up with LUBA, as well. The reference staff member gave me the number for the Employment Department Records Officer, and also seemed surprised EAB records weren’t showing up in the SA system.
• I called and left a message for the Employment Department Records Officer.
  

Day 3:

• After not hearing back from anyone, I called the Records Officer again. She checked the retention schedule, which showed records are sent to the State Archives after 20 years (as the Blue Book promised). However, she was only seeing that hearing records were transferred; she couldn’t find any mention of decisions. So, she provided me with phone numbers for other staff in the EAB department who might know where the old decisions are kept.
• On a whim, I decided to check and see if our scanned appellate briefs happened to include this case. Sadly, it is too old to be included in our scanned collection. So, I looked in our microfilm collection, and lo and behold, there it was!
• Next, I went over to the Assessment and Taxation Department to avail myself of their microfilm readers.
• After trying the first machine, we (Chrystal joined in on the quest) discovered it wouldn’t advance the film. So, we tried the other machine, which had a lovely glare off the screen that made deciphering the images even more fun.
• The case I needed was, of course, the last one on the microfilm. So, we spent some time trying to find the start of the case, as the index was absolutely no help whatsoever. What’s the point in having page numbers in an index if there isn’t continuous pagination? So what if my case was on page 122 of the bound volume; I needed to know where to find it in the microfilm.
• We finally found my case, and by this point it was definitely “my” case, and discovered the original EAB decision was included in the appellate brief. Victory!
• However, I still don’t know where the pre-1998 EAB decisions are archived.
• The search continues...

The Death of the (print) Law Report

“Abandoning Law Reports for Official Digital Case Law,” Cornell Legal Studies Research Paper No. 11-01, Peter W. Martin, Cornell Law School

As you’ll see when you read and think about this, there are good ways to go about shifting to digital and there are irresponsible ways.

(Thank you to Legal Research Plus for the lead.)

Washington State and California Legal Research Tips

If you have a Washington or California state legal research or resource question, and especially if you’re new to legal research, check out that state’s law libraries legal research resources: websites, blogs, and maybe even just use the telephone!

1) Washington State has some excellent county law libraries.

2) Mary Whisner, University of Washington Law School librarian, keeps a list of Washington State Law Blogs up to date.

3) California Legal Research Guide: Locating the Law: A Handbook for Non-Law Librarians (fifth ed., 2009). See also the chapter about the difference between Legal Advice vs. Legal Information.

4) California has an incredible network of county law libraries.

Congress Forgets How to Pass a Bill

The Law Librarian blog posted a very funny video today from the Onion News Network titled Congress Forgets How to Pass a Law. As an added bonus, the video offers a shout-out to the Library of Congress (and mentions legislators frantically searching wikipedia).

From the Onion's website:

After years of gridlock, Democrats and Republicans have realized no one remembers how to actually enact legislation.

Sources: The Law Librarian blog, The Onion News Network.

Oregon Classroom Law Project: Be a Mock Trial Volunteer

The Classroom Law Project has loads of fun volunteer opportunities, some of which are for a few hours, a day, or every week or month.

Check the Classroom Law Project website for more information or telephone them: (503) 224-4424

You can sign-up right now to volunteer at the 2011 Mock Trial Competition.

Update to "Leaving Children Home Alone in Oregon"

In addition to Laura’s most recent post on leaving children home alone, June 15, 2009, and our newly updated Kids Home Alone in Oregon legal research guide, here are a few websites with information and resources on leaving children home alone and child care:

1) "When I'm in Charge" class from the Oregon Red Cross:

“Designed for youth ages 8 to 11, this two-and-a-half-hour Red Cross course prepares children to respond safely to a variety of situations when direct parent supervision is unavailable”

The Oregon Red Cross does not condone leaving your children home alone, in fact they explicitly state the Oregon neglect law, but they offer the class to prepare children for emergency situations. You can register for the class online or by phone.

2)Employment Related Day Care (ERDC). The Oregon Department of Human Services provides financial assistance with child care costs for working families whose income is below 185% of the Federal Poverty Level. Initially set to expire in July 2010, funding was extended to 2011. However, although the Oregon Legislative Emergency Board voted to add money to the program's funds in December 2010, enrollment is capped at 10,000 families. See the ERDC website for FAQs about the service cuts.


3)Backgound Brief on Child Care from the Oregon State Legislature's Committee Services Office. This brief, from June 2010, provides information on child care facilities, child care resources in Oregon, and staff and agency contact information.


4) Leaving Your Children Home Alone. This factsheet from the Child Welfare Information Gateway, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Administration for Children and Families, provides information to consider when deciding whether or not your child can or should be left alone.



Leaving Children Alone in Cars:



As a Texan recently transplanted to Oregon, I appreciated this NPR report on a Texas couple whose car was stolen with their toddler in the backseat. After leaving their car unlocked and walking away:

"A homeless man jumped in [the running car] and drove off. But he hadn't bargained for the toddler. He brought it back and yelled at the couple for leaving the child in the car."

Texas does have a statue regarding leaving children alone in vehicles, a Class C misdemeanor: Texas Penal Code section 22.10. Oregon does not have a statue specifically addressing leaving children alone in cars, the neglect statute has been applied as seen in the previously cited State v. Obeidi, 211 Or App 377, but there are a number of resources with information on unattended children and vehicles:

1) Children and Cars: A Potentially Lethal Combination from the National Highway Traffic Safety Association (NHTSA)has a section on unattended children in vehicles and appendices containing state statutes related to child endangerment.

2)Never Leave Your Child Alone in a Car from Safe Kids USA and the related video Why You Never Leave Your Child Alone.

Oregon Legislature: Do Joint Resolutions Need a Governor’s Signature?

Question: Do Oregon Senate or House Joint Resolutions have to be signed by the Governor?

Answer: (with many thanks to Legislative Counsel staff):

A Senate or House Join Resolution does not have to be signed by the Governor. Only “bills” must be presented to the Governor. The Legislative Assembly uses Joint Resolutions to refer constitutional amendments directly to the people under section 1, Article XVII of the Oregon Constitution. Since Joint Resolutions and constitutional amendments are not “bills” they do not have to go to the Governor.

More information can be found at the Oregon Legislature's website.

The Lay of the Land(lording); or, On Becoming a Professional Landlord in Oregon

Are you interested in becoming a landlord? Several resources are available to help prepare you before taking the plunge and then support you after you have. To find not only landlord training and classes but also current forms, tenant screening services, updates on relevant legislation, and much more, look into the various professional associations for property owners and managers, such as the Oregon Rental Housing Association. Other Oregon landlord associations throughout the state can be found in the listing here.

In the Portland metropolitan area, two important organizations are the Rental Housing Association of Greater Portland and the Metro Multifamily Housing Association. Also, the City of Portland’s Bureau of Development offers a “Landlord Training Program” for Portland-area property owners and managers. Watch for upcoming spring training sessions, or call 503-823-7324 to provide your email contact information; they will notify you when those spring dates are scheduled.

Both potential and current Oregon landlords may find the following publications useful as well:

Handbook for Oregon Landlords by Stevens-Ness Publishing Co.

Landlord/Tenant Rights in Oregon by Janay Haas

Landlord-Tenant Law: Rights and Obligations of Landlords and Tenants by the Multnomah Bar Association

Real Estate Disputes by the Oregon State Bar

Eviction court: the vexing issues by the Oregon Law Institute

Finally, call or visit your nearest county public law library for more information, and be sure to check out the several previous OLR blog posts about landlord/tenant law in general.

What Judges Think of the Quality of Legal Representation?

Also from the excellent Gallagher Blog:

"What Judges Think of the Quality of Legal Representation"

Excerpt: "How well do lawyers represent their clients? It's a hard question to answer. One approach would be to ask the judges who observe the lawyers at work, and that's just what Judge Richard A. Posner and Professor Albert H. Yoon have done: What Judges Think of the Quality of Legal Representation, 63 Stan. L. Rev. 317 (2010)..." (Link to full blog post.)

What to do when friends and family ask for legal advice?

Gallagher Blog links us to this article:

"Counsel Over Cocktails? What to do when friends and family ask for legal advice," by Trent M. Latta

(You will also find this article at the WSBA website: "Foreign Concept: Explore working abroad before giving up on a legal career," by Arundel Pritchett)

Take Your Legal Skills and Career Abroad

People have, for centuries, followed jobs (and money) in order to feed families and pursue dreams:

From the WSBA website: "Foreign Concept: Explore working abroad before giving up on a legal career," by Arundel Pritchett

The Return of Signing Statements

I bet you thought this issue went away – hah!

Follow the Law Librarian Blog links: Researching Bush and Obama Presidential Signing Statements

How City Councils Work: Tenure, Staff, Budgets, Salaries

We all like to compare ourselves to others, don't we?

City Councils in Philadelphia and Other Major Cities, Feb 02, 2011, Pew Charitable Trusts report

(Thank you to beSpacific for the lead.)

Two-Feet & 10,000 pages: That's One Big Book!

I couldn’t resist this: "That's one big book: Book is 2-feet thick, has 10,119 pages," by Stephanie Wise, Iowa City Press-Citizen, January 27, 2011

Excerpt: "The University of Iowa Libraries has a new book in its collection -- a 100-volume, 10,000-page, 2-feet-thick book of poetry.

The book, "Poetry City Marathon," written by Iowa City poet Dave Morice of Dr. Alphabet fame, is the culmination of a 100-day poetry marathon this summer...." (Link to full article - or use a search engine if the link doesn't work anymore.)

(Thanks to Library Link of the Day for the lead.)

Oregon Residential Real Estate Sale: Dutch Auction

I noticed a house for sale in Hillsboro and the sign said “Dutch Auction.” It may not be the only Dutch Auction residential single-family real estate sale in Oregon, but my guess it doesn’t have a lot of company.

So, what’s a Dutch Auction?

1) Wikipedia “Dutch Auction” (and contrast with the English Auction)

2) You can see some government agency uses of Dutch Auctions with this search:
dutch auction site:.gov

3) Try this search for more interesting views of Dutch Auctions: dutch auction site:.edu


OREGON LEGAL RESEARCH BLOG: DISCLAIMERS and REGRETS

We cannot respond to most legal research questions.

Disclaimer: The information provided on this blog is for research purposes only. We do not provide legal advice, nor do we endorse any person, product, or company.

Disclaimer: It is against state law for library staff members to engage in any conduct that might constitute the unauthorized practice of law (ORS 9.160, 9.166 and 9.21). They may not interpret statutes, cases or regulations, perform legal research, recommend or assist in the preparation of forms, or advise patrons regarding their legal rights. They may, however, assist patrons in locating materials or links that would aid in individual research.

Tracking your Oregon Legislators: Email, Mobile, Audio, Video, and More

The Oregon Legislature’s website has some very nice features (although it does seem as though I always write about its flaws!):

1) Their Legislator and Committee email notification sign-up is easy to use, easy to sign up, and, more to the point, easy to sign off when you want to turn off and tune out, which we hope won’t happen until the Legislative Session is over (though we understand the sentiment). Legislators do not, in my experience at least, deluge their constituents with lots of email messages. The ones that are sent out include useful contact and public appearance information.

2) The Legislature now has a site for easy mobile access. Just click on the Mobile Website from your device.

3) Find Your Legislator tool is also easy to use and you get your state and federal elected representatives’ contact information.

4) The audio/video services are a mixed bag, but what I have found is that the staff you talk to when you phone AV with a questions are, well ... they are the best. They are incredibly helpful and cheerful. I have yet to present them with a problem they couldn’t fix or didn’t know about and were trying to fix. Good customer service makes all the difference (as Southwest Airlines knows and as Trimet managers needs to work on) because things will go wrong and it’s nice to know the “wrongdoer” cares enough to listen and talk to customers, even if there isn’t a whole lot that can be done about the problem.

5) There are other services and information at the Legislature’s website; I’ll leave you to find the ones you like – and don’t like. And, let your legislators know you are listening and participating in the civil discourse.

6) And, if you’re planning to speak in front of the Legislature, here’s my previous blog post on the subject, with links and suggestions.

7) Last, if you’re an intellectually curious sort, check out other state legislature websites. Just search the web with an easy search like this: [name of state] legislature

Oregon Ethics Investigation: Legal Fees, Audits, and Cranky Law Librarians

As one of the many professional law librarians who negotiate contracts for legal database services and who show attorneys how to use them efficiently (to save time and their clients' money!), when I read stories like this, I think almost as much about the "high costs of the ongoing investigation" and the ethics violations as I do about those high legal bills, i.e. has someone audited those legal bills?

One assumes so, but one (especially cranky law librarians) do have to ask the question (and heaven knows some of our tax-paying law library patrons ask).

I also know as well as the next law librarian that good legal counsel costs good money ....

“Treasurer Ted Wheeler says legal costs of ethics investigation waste public money,” Lex Zaitz, The Oregonian, Friday, January 28, 2011

Excerpt: “The Oregon Treasury Department has spent more than $100,000 on lawyers to defend state investment officers against ethics violations that now have narrowed to allegations about $428 in travel costs.

Legal costs continue to mount as three officers face full investigations into their travel by the Oregon Government Ethics Commission. That investigation could stretch on for as long as six months.

Treasurer Ted Wheeler disclosed the costs in a letter Friday to Gov. John Kitzhaber.

"I assume taxpayers will be as outraged as I am about the high costs of this ongoing investigation," Wheeler said….” (Link to full article.)

Legal auditing is a profession:

1) Legal Fee Auditing (Wikipedia)
2) National Association of Legal Fee Analysts (NALFA) and their blog.

(Note: Lawyers know that their law librarian clients expect good legal research skills and won’t pay for lousy research – in fact, some lawyers will ask their law librarian clients to do their own research in order to save money. But I bet law librarians are easier, or maybe just nicer, clients than other lawyers :-)

Oregon Scam Alert: Fake Debt Collectors

The Oregon Department of Justice is alerting everyone to this:

Scam Alert: Fake Debt Collection Scams

Excerpt: “The Oregon Department of Justice has received several complaints regarding phony debt collection calls. Scam artists pose as debt collectors or law enforcement officers calling about an outstanding debt from an online payday loan. They frequently use fake phone numbers and official sounding business names. They also do their research. Some Oregonians have been tricked into paying nonexistent debt because the scam artist knew personal information about them, including their Social Security number, home address, e-mail, and names of family and personal references.

The majority of debt collectors abide by the rules of fair debt collection practices. Not only are these phony debt collectors stealing from Oregon consumers, the tactics they are using are illegal….” (Link to full press release.)

Visit the Oregon DOJ website or:

For consumer-related matters, call the Attorney General's Consumer Hotline between the hours of 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.:

(503) 378-4320 from Salem
(503) 229-5576 from Portland (toll free)
1-877-877-9392 elsewhere in Oregon (toll free)
email: consumer.hotline@doj.state.or.us

Where the Money is in Law

One possible future of law?

MyShingle had this excellent, and startling, post where you need to follow the links, and not just the money … but it really is all about the money:

Where the Money is in Law

Are You a Librarian (and Lunch Box) Superhero?

Gale Cengage is running a contest: Are You a Librarian Superhero?

Your librarian can turn into a cartoon, which to some might not sound like such a good deal, but to many librarians, We Love It!

You can read the Contest Rules and the Press Release for more information.

Justice Bedsworth Tells the Wondrous Tale of Jon Alexander, Lawyer and Fighter

Be prepared to be mesmerized: there are lessons aplenty for us all in the tale of Jon Alexander (Californian and Oregonian) as told by Justice Bedsworth:

The February 2011 Orange County Lawyer brings us:

Getting Up, by Justice William W. Bedsworth

Excerpt: "The middleweight champion of the world from 1907–1910 was a fella named Stanley Ketchel. They called him the Michigan Assassin, and a few years ago Ring Magazine named him the fourth best middleweight of all time.

That information is not going to get you MCLE credits. And if, like most Americans, you watch boxing once every decade or two, it’s probably not even interesting to you....
….

After law school he went into criminal defense. Worked with Gary Pohlson for awhile, and if you can’t learn from watching Pohlson, you can’t learn. Then he opened his own shop. He was born for jury trials and was doing well until he got hooked on meth.

Yeah, you read that right. It said, “got hooked on meth.” He was a meth addict. It chewed him up and spit him out....
....

It’s too soon to predict the end of this rags-to-riches-to-rags-to-riches story. But I’ve seen this guy take all the punishment life can dish out and refuse to stay down. As they once said about Stanley Ketchel, “The sonofabitch just keeps getting up.” My money’s on Jon.

I wish you all a wonderful 2011. But if it goes south on you, if you get knocked down this year, if your life turns into an adversary who knows more about boxing than you do . . . I wish you the resilience and fortitude of Jon Alexander. May you just keep getting up." (Link to full article.)