Nominations sought for access to
justice award
Nominations are being accepted for the annual Benjamin Aranda III
Access to Justice Award.
The award honors one California trial judge or appellate court
justice for his or her efforts to improve access to the judicial system for poor or
low-income persons. It will be given jointly by the Judicial Council, State Bar and the
California Judges Association and will be presented next February.
The two previous recipients are San Diego Superior Court Judge Judith
McConnell and Los Angeles Municipal Court Judge Veronica S. McBeth.
Information about criteria for the award and the nomination process
are available from Mary Viviano at 415/538-2251. Nominations must be submitted by Oct. 30.
Sixth printing for popular When You Become 18
When You Become 18, a booklet designed to help teen-agers understand
the consequences of breaking the law, has been updated in a sixth printing of 100,000. The
newest version adds a chapter on the illegality of child pornography on the internet to
the topics already covered, including voting, jury duty, marriage, divorce, child support,
date rape and sexual harassment.
Produced by California Law Advocates, this survival guide for
teenagers will have been provided to 2 million California youngsters when the latest
version is distributed to schools. It is provided to
schools at the request of teachers.
The booklet is funded by CLA chapters and through grants from
foundations including the Foundation of the State Bar. Founded in 1954, CLA also provides
law-related education and community services in an effort to help young people understand
their rights and responsibilities.
CLA will host a luncheon and one-woman historical show in conjunction
with the State Bar’s Annual Meeting Sept. 16 at the Westgate Hotel in San Diego.
Information and reservations are available by calling 526/433-1347.
Information about When You Become 18 is available from CLA, P.O. Box
8905, Calabassas, CA 91372.
Kids and the Law is online
Kids and the Law: An A-Z Guide for Parents has been updated to
reflect changes in laws affecting the state’s young people and is now available on
the State Bar’s web site.
The popular booklet, first published in 1996, offers relevant,
accessible, easy-to-understand information on a wide range of laws and legal issues
involving children in Califor-nia.
The revised booklet can be accessed at www.calbar.org.
The booklet covers young people’s rights and responsibilities
and the legal aspects of a large number of topics, including alcohol, drugs, police and
school.
MCLE compliance due for last names A-M
Attorneys who are members of MCLE compliance group 1 (last names A-G)
and group 2 (last names H-M) must complete 25 hours of continuing education credits by
Jan. 31, 2001.
Members of group 1 who did not complete the previously required 36
hours by Jan. 31, 1998, have until Jan. 31, 2001, to complete a total of 61 hours. The
same deadline applies to members of group 2 who did not meet the 1997 deadline; they also
must complete 61 hours.
Deadlines were adjusted by the State Bar Board of Governors following
the California Supreme Court’s ruling last year in the Warden case.
Section backing programs which expand diversity
The executive committee of the State Bar’s Labor &
Employ-ment Law Section has approved a program to fund, with up to $10,000, projects or
events which encourage the representation of persons of color and women in the areas of
labor and employment law.
Through its diversity subcommittee, the section is seeking to provide
both economic and professional support by co-sponsoring events or projects by
multicultural organizations. Recent recipients include the Black Women Lawyers
Association, South-ern California Chinese Lawyers Association, Philippine American
Bar Association, Asian Bar Associa-tion of Sacramento and the Asian
Pacific Legal Center.
Applications are now being accepted. For information, contact Toni J.
Jaramilla, chair of the diversity subcommittee, at 310/551-3020 or tonij@earthlink.net.
Comment sought on judicial canon change
The California Supreme Court is seeking comment from trial and
appellate judges, court administrators, attorneys and other interested persons and
organizations on proposed changes to Canon 3E of the Code of Judicial Ethics, the rules of
ethics that govern the conduct of California judges.
The proposals spell out in greater detail for the benefit of the
courts and the public the considerations that a justice of the Supreme Court or the courts
of appeal should take into account in determining whether he or she should recuse or
disqualify himself or herself from deciding or hearing a matter.
Deadline for comments is Oct. 1. They should be sent to Frederick K.
Ohlrich, clerk/administrator, Califor-nia Supreme Court, 350 McAllister St., San Francisco
94102.
All courts of appeal online
The Court of Appeal for the Fifth Appellate District in Fresno is now
making case information available to the public on the internet, bringing all six
California appellate courts online.
Litigants, attorneys and the public can use the internet to retrieve
up-to-date information about court of appeal cases by logging on to http://appllatecases.courtinfo.ca.gov.
Case information is updated continuously during business hours.
Searches can be initiated by supplying the trial or appellate case
number, case caption, attorney or party. Notifications by e-mail of specific case activity
also may be arranged by providing a case number and e-mail address.
Fulbrights to study law
The Fulbright Scholar Program for faculty and professionals is
offering more than 103 awards in law for lecturing and/or doing research abroad during the
2001-2002 academic year.
Complete information about the awards, which range from AIDS-related
research for the African regional research program to industrial and labor relations in
Ireland, is available online at www.cies.org.
The award listings and application materials are downloadable, or
printed versions are available from apprequest@cies.iie.org.
U.S. citizenship is required.
The Fulbright Scholar Program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of
State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, and administered by the Council for
International Exchange of Scholars (CIES).
The council may be contacted at 3007 Tilden St., NW, Suite 5L,
Wash-ington, D.C. 20008-3009; 202/686-7877. |
