YOLO COUNTY BAR ASSOCIATION

P.O. Box 1903

Woodland, CA 95776
www.yolobar.com <http://www.yolobar.com>

Newsletter April 2003

APRIL BAR MEETING
April 17, 2003 Meeting, Carrousel Restaurant at 12 noon
(417 Main Street, Woodland):
"Legislative Intent Services, Statutory Construction and Legislative Intent"

Our MCLE program for this month will feature Tom Stallard, Esq.

The Yolo County Bar Association has been approved as a provider of Minimum Continuing Legal Education by the State Bar of California. This program will provide one (1) hour MCLE credit!
Advance reservations are greatly appreciated. You may RSVP right back from this newsletter for the meeting to Lisa Lance by email (another great benefit for having your newsletter delivered via email), or you may mail a check in the appropriate amount ($15) to Jim Nolan C/O Yolo County Bar Association, P.O. Box 1903, Woodland, CA 95776. Alternatively, you may phone Jim Nolan at (530) 662-2859, or, finally, you may register at the door.
The cost for the lunch is $15.
OTHER IMPORTANT INFORMATION SUBMITTED BY MEMBERS
(Please submit information to Lisa Lance no later than the first Friday of the month)

1)	Received from Leslie Knight:

Law students in UC Davis's Family Protection Clinic continue to represent

low-income domestic violence victims at contested restraining order

hearings and in family law cases. Since it's inception in July of 1999,

the Family Protection Clinic students have represented clients in over 226

hearings, 25 court trials, 6 settlement conferences, and 4

depositions. As most of you already know, the Clinic lost its Violence

Against Women Office funding last fall. The Clinic has re-applied for

funding, and the law school has tentatively put the Clinic on the schedule

for next fall; however, funds are still need to ensure the continued

existence of the Clinic. Donations may be sent directly to the Clinic at

927 Main Street, Woodland, CA 95695. Checks should be made payable to UC

Regents.

2) Received from Karen Blank:

YOLO SUPERIOR COURT RECEIVES GRANT FOR COMMUNITY FOCUSED COURT INITIATIVES (by Karen Blank)

Recently, the Yolo Superior Court was awarded the Judicial Council Grant for Community Focused Court Initiatives. The funds were given to the Court to assist the self-represented in gaining a better understanding of the legal system and access to court services. Due to the lack of space at the Courthouse, there is no centralized location available for a self-help center. The solution to this problem has been to de-centralize services for the in pro pers through coordination efforts. Currently, the Court, the Yolo County Law Library and Legal Services of Northern California are collaborating on various projects funded by the Community Focused Court Initiative Grant.

The Yolo County Law Library agreed to house books purchased with grant funds. Approximately $4,000.00 in book materials were purchased and are located in the reference area of the County Law Library. Most of the newly acquired titles are from Nolo Press. The Law Library staff is available to assist clients in using the materials. A few of the topics covered by the new materials range from family law, divorce, child custody, landlord tenant, dog law and consumer law. There are some materials available in Spanish. The Law Library staff welcome suggestions for titles of self-help books in other languages.

Legal Services of Northern California of Yolo County has agreed to assist the Court with the production of various packages on "how to fill out forms" dealing with many legal issues. These packages will be translated into several languages. Grant funds will be used for part of the production and translation costs. The goal is to have the packages displayed in the Courthouse for use by the self-represented.

A computer and printer were purchased with the grant for the use of the Court Guardianship Facilitator, as well as, a form package. This will allow the forms to be typed rather than handwritten. In addition, there are plans to initiate clinics on different issues such as dissolution and consumer law with the help of local attorneys in the future.

"We're grateful for the collaborative efforts to assist the Court in providing increased services to the self-represented," acknowledges Kathlyn Lamoure, Project Coordinator for the Court. Ms. Lamoure is appreciative of the support of the Yolo County Law Library, Legal Services of Northern California and the Yolo County Bar. If you have any suggestions, please contact Kathlyn Lamoure at (530) 666-8377 or klamoure@yolocourts.com.

YCBA 2003 MEETING SCHEDULE

Mark your schedules for the entire year. Normally, the YCBA Meetings are at Noon on the third Thursday of each month. Here are the upcoming dates:

April 17, noon @ Carrousel, Woodland: Tom Stallard, "Legislative Intent Services, Statutory Construction and Legislative Intent"

May 1, noon: LAW DAY

June 19, noon @ Carrousel, Woodland: TBA

July and August: no Meetings

September 18, noon Carrousel, Woodland: TBA

October 16, noon @Carrousel, Woodland: TBA

November 20, noon @ Carrousel, Woodland: TBA

December 18, noon @ TBA

Your 2003 YCBA Officers:

DeKristie Adams, President (530) 750-1919 or dekristi@mother.com

Barry Melton, Vice President (530) 666-8165 or bmelton@yolocounty.org

Jim Nolan, Treasurer (530) 662-2859 or jvnolan@yololaw.com

Lisa Lance, Secretary (530) 304-6111 or llance@yolocounty.org

Please contact Lisa Lance if you have not submitted your 2003 Renewal/Membership Application and paid your dues and she will send out an application to your office. This is the third newsletter sent out in email format. If you have any problems with reading this newsletter, please contact Lisa as well. For those persons still receiving your newsletter by mail, please advise Lisa of your email address if you do not wish to have her send the newsletter to you via email rather than mail. Thank you for assisting your bar association with this changeover.