Author: Joan Bellistri

Law Library Director for the Anne Arundel County Public Law Library

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lawlibrary

National Pro Bono Week Celebration in the AACPLL

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On Tuesday, October 26, the law library celebrated National Pro Bono Week by hosting an appreciation lunch for the attorneys who volunteer for the “Ask a Lawyer” programs.  The AABA provided the food and we provided the appreciation certificates.  I hope that these volunteer attorneys  know how much their donation of time is appreciated.

Through the “Ask a Lawyer” programs, 36 attorneys have provided 181 hours to 378 clients.  Services have been offered at the Annual Anne Arundel County Homeless Resource Day,  in the Law Library and at the Brooklyn Park Branch and the Russett Branch at Maryland City of the Anne Arundel County Public Library.

John Gardner, AABA President, presented the attendees with certificates of thanks for their volunteer time with the Ask a Lawyer programs.  John also mentioned that Andy Vernick of Wharton, Levin, Ehrmantraut and Klein is Anne Arundel County’s Pro Bono Resource Center Pro Bono Star.  He will be recognized as the Anne Arundel County Honoree at the PBRC 20th Anniversary Benefit Gala on November 13.  Andy was chosen because of his work with the Asbury United Methodist Church located across the street from his office.  He offered his pro bono service to members of the church on a whim and has been busy providing his legal services on an average of 5 hours per week since.

It is hoped that beginning with these programs and the recognition of one of Anne Arundel County’s Pro Bono stars that interest in pro bono service will increase for Anne Arundel County attorneys.

Cliff  O’Connor has already shown interest in expanding the program by agreeing to coordinate the  “Ask a Lawyer in the Public Library”  program.  Through his commitment the program will be offered on a regular basis in 2011 at the North County Area library of the Anne Arundel County Public Library.  The first is scheduled for January 19, 2011.  Then, beginning on March 16, the service will be offered on every 3rd Wednesday through June.  There may be a summer break but the program will definitely resume in September and continue through December.

Categories
Maryland Law

Cell Phones Allowed in Maryland Court Facilities Per Rules Adopted October 20, 2010

The rules proposed by the 165th Report of the Standing Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure were adopted, some with amendments, by the Maryland Court of Appeals today, October 20, 2010.

New Rule 16-110 would allow cell phones and other electronic devices to be brought into Maryland court facilities.  A camera is included in the definition of  an “electronic device.”    Although electronic devices can be brought into a court facility there are still restrictions on their use.  Electronic devices can be used to send and receive phone calls and electronic messages and for any other lawful purpose.  There can be no use of cameras or recording equipment  in a court facility except in accordance with the rules and an electronic device shall not interfere with court proceedings or the work  of court personnel.  Violation of provisions of the rule governing certain uses could result in the confiscation and retention of the electronic device by security personnel.

Rule 16-109 was changed to reflect provisions of new rule 16-110.  Other rules  changed per this rules order were 1-322, 4-216, 2-242, 5-404, 5-804,  16-901, and Rule 13 of the Rules Governing Admission to the Bar of Maryland.  The rules order can be found at the Maryland Standing Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure website.

A binder containing copies of Rules Orders that are not yet in the West or Lexis rules volumes is kept on the shelf with the rules.

Categories
lawlibrary Maryland Law

Maryland Regulations for Foreclosure Procedures for Residential Property

The Commissioner of Financial Regulation proposed emergency regulations for Foreclosure Procedures for Residential Property that were effective July 1, 2010.  COMAR 09.03.12 was published in the Maryland Register on July 16, 2010.  The text of the regulations in 37:15 Md. R. 986-997 (July 16, 2010) can be found at the Maryland Register Online and on the Commissioner’s website. The regulations consist of forms for the Notice of Intent to Foreclose, a Preliminary Loss Mitigation Affidavit, a Final Loss Mitigation Affidavit, a Request for Mediation, a Loss Mitigation Application (includes hardship affidavit) and Instructions, a preprinted envelope, Notice of Foreclosure Action, and instructions provided by the Maryland Office of Administrative Hearings.

The Office of the Commissioner of Financial Regulation provides these forms on their website in Word format.  It states that the forms are provided as a convenience for mortgage lenders/servicers and that consumers should obtain the forms directly from their mortgage lender/servicer.

Categories
lawlibrary Maryland Law

Maryland Court of Appeals Adopts Emergency Foreclosure Rules

The Daily Record reported that the Maryland Court of Appeals approved the foreclosure rules changes in the 166th Report of the Maryland Standing Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure yesterday, October 19, 2010.  The report can be found on the Rules Committee website.  The rules were proposed at an emergency meeting on Friday October 15, 2010.  The report proposed new rule 14-207.1 and amended rules 14-207 and 1-311.

The rules changes are necessary in light of the recently revealed problems with affidavits in foreclosure actions.  New rule 14-207.1 deals with court screening of pleadings and papers filed in an action to foreclose a lien, the reviewing of affidavits and the designation of special masters or examiners to screen pleadings and papers.  Rules 14-207 and 1-311 are amended to reflect language in the new rule.

Categories
lawlibrary Maryland Law

New Maryland Cell Phone Law and More — effective October 1, 2010

Most laws passed during the Maryland legislature’s 2010 session will go into effect on October 1, 2010.   Just a few are highlighted below.

CELL PHONE USE WHILE DRIVING

The law prohibiting hand-held cell phone use while driving except to “initiate or terminate a wireless telephone call or to turn on or turn off the handheld telephone” has been getting a lot of press as the deadline nears.  The new law enacted per CH538/716 can be found at MD. CODE ANN., TRANSP.  § 21-1124.2.

NEW CHILD SUPPORT GUIDELINES

Child Support Guidelines have not had a major revision since being adopted in 1989.   The child support schedule found at MD. CODE ANN., FAM. LAW.  § 12-204 as enacted by CH262/263 now has a higher upper income  limit.  However, not all amounts have adjusted upwards.  Some at the lower income levels have actually decreased.

COUNTY CODES WILL CONTINUE TO BE PRESERVED IN PRINT

Print copies of county codes will no longer have to be distributed to the county’s legislative delegation if an electronic version is available.  However, print copies will still have to be distributed to the Maryland State Archives, the Maryland State Law Library and the State Department of Legislative Services.  This was a great relief to Maryland librarians as the bill, as first introduced, would not have required the distribution of any print copies.  It is hoped that print versions of important sources of primary law not be eliminated unless the online version can be authenticated and provisions are made for permanent public access.  Changes to  Art. 25A,  §7 and  Art. 25B,  §12 were enacted by CH 654.

MARYLAND LEGAL SERVICES CORPORATION FUNDING

CH. 486 made changes to MD. CODE ANN., CTS. & JUD. PROC. §7-202 and §7-301 as well as to MD. COD ANN., HUM. SERV. §11-208 . The law increases the maximum filing fee in civil cases used to fund the Maryland Legal Services Corporation.  As the funding from IOLTA funds has dropped dramatically for the MLSC the demand for MLSC funded services has risen at a great rate as well.  This increase in the filing fee surcharge is intended to address the shortfall.

MORE 2010 SESSION INFORMATION

These laws are obviously just a few of the many laws passed this last session.  The 90 Day Report – A Review of the 2010 Legislative Session prepared by Karl S. Aro, the Executive Director of the Department of Legislative Services, provides a detailed overview of the last session including a discussion of the legislation that passed and the bills that did not.  Additional information can be found at the Maryland General Assembly website: http://mlis.state.md.us/

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lawlibrary Uncategorized

Free Online Law School Course on the Health Care Reform Act

A recent article at Law.com reported that the University of Iowa College of Law is offering a course on health care reform law online and free to the public.  Participants have the option of viewing the sessions live or the videos and PowerPoint presentations later.

The weekly classes of the Innovation, Business & Law Colloquium: Health Care Reform Act began on August 26, 2010 and will continue through December 2.

The text for the course is CCH’s Law, Explanation and Analysis of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (2010).  Supplementary readings will be available online.  A link to the act is also provided at the course website.

Categories
Maryland Law

Proposed New Rule to Allow Cell Phones in Maryland Courts

The 165th Report of the Maryland Standing Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure was submitted to the Court of Appeals on August 24, 2010.  Included in this report is a new proposed rule, 16-110, that would allow cell phones, cameras and other electronic devices to be brought into Maryland circuit and district courts.  However, their use in certain areas of the courthouse may still be controlled.  Adoption of the rule would result in a uniform policy for all of Maryland’s circuit and district courts.  Currently, some counties such as our Anne Arundel  allow cell phones to be brought in to the building but many other courts do not allow it.

The report also included proposed amendments to Rules 1-322,
4-216, 4-242, 5-404, 5-804, 16-109, and 16-901 and Rule 13 of the
Rules Governing Admission to the Bar of Maryland.

Comments on the rules changes should be made by or on October 12, 2010.

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AALL Conferences lawlibrary

AALL Annual Meeting Roundup: Authentication and Preservation of Online Legal Material

“It’s all online.”  We hear that often in the law library here.  The problem is that it is not true.  The truth is that “it” comes and goes quite quickly.  What was online yesterday may not be there today.  Other problems with  “it’s all online” is that it is difficult to be sure that information found online is even a reliable source.

These are issues addressed in the program, “A Vision for the Future: Authenticated and Official Online Legal Resources.”  Mary Alice Baish, executive director of  AALL’s Government Relations Office, began the program by reviewing AALL’s vision: “to ensure equitable and permanent public access to authentic legal information.”  Through advocacy efforts AALL strives to “ensure the authentication and preservation of official digital legal resources” and AALL will advocate that government information must be in the public domain, and that information on government Web sites must be permanently available to the public at no charge.”  Mary Alice outlined components of a solution:  “Protect the official original as produced by the official publisher, without changing the file in any way and regardless of file type, protect the official copy made publicly available, and have easy an easy method for public to verify and warrant the chain of custody between the official original and the official copy, and have an easy for public to verify.”

Mary Alice reported that AALL State Working Groups are on the lookout for attempts to eliminate print and replace with online only without a means of authentication and for preservation for permanent public access.  These State Working Groups are taking on a large national project as well: the National Inventory of Primary Legal Information.  When completed information such as cost, copyright, official status, permanent public access, digital authentication and preservation will be known for all of the states, counties and municipalities in the U.S.

Handouts for the program included AALL issue briefs which contain more information on these topics of significance to AALL.  “AALL Leadership on the Authentication and Preservation of Online Legal Resources” and “AALL State Working Groups to Ensure Access to Electronic Legal Information” can be found at http://www.aallnet.org/aallwash/reports.asp

The program included an update on the “2009-10 Updates to State-by- State Report of Online Legal Information” and the status of the draft of the Uniform State Law “Authentication and Preservation of State Electronic Legal Materials Act.”  (Since the meeting Joyce Janto reported in the July AALL E-Newsletter that the Committee of the Whole of the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (NCCUSL) accepted the draft on July 15.)

At the GD-SIS program, “FDLP Law Libraries in the 21st Century” I learned of the preservation efforts of the Chesapeake Digital Preservation Group (www.legalinfoarchive.org) “to preserve our digital legal heritage for generations to come.”  Already they have found that as time progresses more URLs are disappearing at a great rate illustrating the urgency of this project.  It is comforting to  now that our Maryland State Law Library is a member of this preservation group and that the MSLL is preserving Maryland’s digital legal information.

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AALL Conferences lawlibrary

AALL Annual Meeting Roundup: Summit News

It seems I have been traveling all summer.  I haven’t been home or in the law library.  Still, I am determined to finish my summary of  my AALL Annual Meeting experience.  As a I prepare for one more trip I am providing a link to the final edition of the Conference newspaper containing “Golden FCIL Nuggets from Denver” (on page 5).

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/customnews/aall2010_wrapup/#/0

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AALL Conferences lawlibrary

AALL Roundup: The future of libraries and/or librarians discussed in keynote address

I know there are those who see the library only as a place where books are stored and that the librarian’s job is to  see that all of the books are shelved correctly.  And so, if  “everything is online” there is nothing left for the librarian to do.

In his keynote address, “Take a Right at the Obelisk,” David Lankes stated  that the future of librarianship is bright and that it is the librarian that makes the library.  He stated that  “the best days of librarianship are ahead of us.”

Lankes puts the emphasis on the librarian rather than the library and the books contained there.  He speaks of the mission of librarians which is “to improve society through facilitating knowledge creation in their communities.”  Knowledge creation does not lie in books and materials or online resources in the library.  As information professionals, librarians must be active in the communities that they serve.  Librarians must know what its community is doing and how we can facilitate that endeavor.  Librarians cannot just sit at the information desk and wait for the next question to be asked.  Librarians must take an active role in their community and become a vital part of that community.

Lankes speaks of knowledge creation through conversation where we seek agreements as to facts or opinions.  Memory of these conversations allow us to not repeat the process in the future.  It is the librarian’s value and ability to create this  knowledge that will allow more information to make their communities better.

I highly recommend taking advantage of the link to David Lankes’ presentation to hear the entire address.  I found it energizing and challenging and of course, hopeful for the future of librarianship.