Each September, county law libraries across Washington publish their annual reports for the previous calendar year. It’s always interesting for me to look back to the previous year, especially since by the time the report is published much of what transpired seems very far back in the rearview mirror and we are on to other new and exciting projects. I thought I’d take you all with me on my trip down memory lane.
So . . . What Happened Was . . .
With much relief, 2022 brought the King County Law Library back to “normal” in-person hours of operation and services. Normal is in quotes because the operating model of the law library and of the courts, law firms, legal aid service providers, and patrons had fundamentally changed. Court procedures and library usage made an abrupt shift to online services. Prior to the pandemic we had no e-Books in the collection. With the availability of Lexis Digital, we were able to shift the bulk of the subject matter covered in our print collection to e-Books with remote checkout.
Foot traffic in the courthouse remained low for much of 2022 with the proliferation of on-line services in almost all court administrative offices. Pre-pandemic, the law library hosted three in-person legal clinics per week. All legal clinics shifted to telephone consultations during the pandemic and remained that way.
That said, many of our patrons either do not have access to technology or are not technologically adept, so it was important for us to strike a balance between shifting to online access and continuing to preserve in-person services. With that dichotomy in mind, here are the King County Law Library’s highlights of 2022:
Completion of the Public Computer Replacement Project
Astoundingly, the last time the law library was able to purchase new public patron computers was in 2002.1 The public patron computers most recently in use were installed in 2013 at the ripe old age of seven after having outlived their useful purpose as law library staff computers. The law library managed to keep them ticking with gum and string for 18 (!!) years but it was clearly only a matter of time before the wheels came off. In 2022, with a $5000 grant from the American Rescue Plan Act and a $10,000 grant from the KCLL Foundation, the law library was able to replace the public patron computers. Significant contributions by KCLL Foundation donor Eric Long were critical to the project’s success. As Eric says: “There is no justice until everyone has an equal playing field. So, I will continue to give to the law library.” We thank Eric for his incredibly generous donations to the library and his on-going support of our mission — Without access to information, there is no justice.
Planning for the Family Law Forms Drafting Law
Planning began for a new in-person service aimed at helping those representing themselves in family law matters work on their forms. The law library is partnering with the Seattle University Law School Family Law Help Center, the King County Bar Association’s Neighborhood Legal Clinic, and the King County Family Law Information Center to create a weekly program where patrons will work on their forms in a group setting (with the understanding there is no expectation of privacy or confidentiality and no attorney/ client relationship). As questions arise, they can flag down one of the law student interns from the SU Family Law Help Center who will then answer the question or send it along to the volunteer attorney. This format allows more people to be helped simultaneously and has the synergistic effect of allowing others with similar questions to benefit from hearing the answer.
Self-Help Form Packets
Outreach Services Attorney Stephen Seely had a very productive year creating self-help form packets to assist pro ses with common legal issues. The form packets include instructions and forms geared to non-attorneys. In 2022, Stephen created packets for: Responding to a Civil Lawsuit in Superior Court, Asking for a Default Judgment in Superior Court, Starting an Appeal from Superior Court to Court of Appeals, and Appealing a Driver’s License Suspension. Our biggest kudos go to Stephen for completing the long-awaited replevin packet. Several people over the years had attempted a replevin packet but were bogged down explaining a relatively complex process in a manner that non-lawyers could understand. Stephen’s How to Get Your Stuff Back by Court Order in Superior Court (Replevin) packet is truly a wonder to behold.
Young Attorney Outreach
With more court hearings taking place over Zoom and more attorneys working from home, the law library prioritized reaching out to younger attorneys who might not know the law library even exists, let alone all the wonderful services and resources we provide. Stephen Seely spoke to the UW Law School’s Low Bono Legal Research class about free legal research databases, resources, and services available at KCLL. Stephen also set up informational tables at bar admission swearing in ceremonies and attended other young lawyer social networking events.
Staff Retention Measures
In conjunction with King County’s system-wide efforts to promote employee retention, the law library adjusted staff salaries and work hours to bring them more in-line with librarian positions in the Puget Sound region.
Major Addition to the eBook Collection — ABA Treatises
The law library added the full collection of ABA’s eBook titles to our Lexis Digital Collection. The ABA collection includes over 800 titles on a far-ranging span of topics, including: contracts, insurance, administrative law, alternative dispute resolution, business law, criminal law, elder law and estate planning, government law, property law, disability law, and tort law just to name a few. In addition to the great practical content of the ABA collection, there is also a fun little series of books on quirky areas of law. “The Little Book of” series has tiles like: The Little Book of Cowboy Law, The Little Book of Skiing Law, The Little Book of BBQ Law, The Little Book of Fashion Law, The Little Book of Coffee Law, The Little Book of Foodie Law, and of course The Little Book of Elvis Law.
Return of the Expanded Self Represented Litigant (SRL) Workshop Series
After a hiatus during the pandemic, the workshop series returned to in-person classes. The law library partnered with fabulous volunteer attorney Jeff Cowan and the Seattle Public Library to host the entire SRL workshop series. We started with the 90-minute class, Civil Litigation without Tears: The Basics of Representing Yourself in Court. In the following weeks, the program continued with the 60-minute advanced classes taught in previous years: The Nuts and Bolts of Motions, Discover Discovery, and Examining Evidence. Jeff also developed an additional advanced class, Preparing for Trial: The Basics of Getting Ready for Court that rounded out the workshop series. Attendees were grateful to have in-person classes and the opportunity to ask questions face to face.
Multi-media Presentation: Alternative Facts: The Lies of Executive Order 9066
My favorite KCLL event of 2022 was the law library’s presentation of the film, Alternative Facts: The Lies of Executive Order 9066. E.O. 9066 is the law that authorized the forced removal and incarceration of 120,000 Japanese Americans in concentration camps during World War II. The film takes an in-depth look at the legal rationale and evidence that undergirded the issuance of Executive Order 9066 and Korematsu v. United States (1944), the subsequent U.S. Supreme Court Case which upheld its constitutionality. Using historical footage, documents, and interviews, Alternative Facts covers the forces and players that brought E.O. 9066 into being, the work of researchers who uncovered evidence unmasking the manipulated record submitted to the Supreme Court in Korematsu, and the work of the attorneys pursuing coram nobis cases to vacate the convictions of Fred Korematsu, Gordon Hirabayashi, and Minoru Yasui.
After screening the film, KCLL hosted a moderated panel discussion which included filmmaker Jon Osaki, King County Superior Court Presiding Judge Patrick Oishi, and attorney and law professor Lori Bannai who was one of the attorneys on the coram nobis team. A recent law school graduate at the time, Lori had the opportunity to work on the case of a lifetime. The film and the panel were presented at a CLE which included a live Q & A session with the panel. The program was also made available for on-demand viewing on the KCLL website and was run several times on the King County television channel, KCTV.
Want to Know More? We’re at Your Service!
You can find the full 2022 Annual Report along with the annual reports for previous years by visiting https://kcll.org/contact-us/annual-report/ If you have questions about any of our resources or services, please contact us at services@kcll.org or visit our website www.kcll.org. We are ready, willing, and able to serve. KCLL, reporting for duty!
1 That year, Mike Holmgren’s Seahawks played their first season at “Qwest Field,” winning seven games and missing the playoffs. I was a senior at UW relying on a 40-pound purple iMac to write my thesis. – Ed.
