MBA ‘WinterSmash 2005’ to benefit Multnomah CourtCare program
The Third Annual WinterSmash is slated for Saturday, Feb. 26, from 6-9 p.m. Like last year, the event will be held at family-friendly Valley Lanes in Beaverton.

The sponsor, Multnomah Bar Association, has reserved all the lanes for its members and their friends, colleagues and families for an evening of casual fun and food. Bumper lanes will be set up for children 3 and older.

The event will serve to kick off fundraising efforts for Multnomah CourtCare. CourtCare is a collaborative project between the Volunteers of America-Oregon (VOA), the MBA, the Oregon Judicial Department, and Multnomah County. It aims to provide a compassionate way to protect young children from unpleasant courtroom situations. A converted Multnomah County Courthouse jury room serves as a fully-staffed and certified drop-in childcare center for children and infants. CourtCare offers games, toys, art supplies and books for up to 100 children a month in a safe and nurturing place to play while parents or guardians tend to court business. Since 2001 when it opened its doors, over 3,300 children aged six weeks to five years have visited the center.

Before the service went into operation, children had to accompany their parents – who often had no other childcare options – into court where they often became disruptive as they witnessed upsetting and emotional scenes, according to Kay Toran, VOA-Oregon President and CEO. Nearly 95 percent of the adults using CourtCare are women; approximately 40 percent are domestic violence survivors. CourtCare staff regularly refer parents to other services, including childcare, domestic violence shelters and providers of food and clothing.

The center seeks to improve the operation of the courthouse by protecting children from potentially disagreeable court settings, by helping ease parents’ access to the legal system and, perhaps most importantly, by ensuring that the court setting allows for a fair legal process without undue distractions.

Toran points to the "generosity, spirit, hard work and long history of public service, the Portland metropolitan area legal community" has contributed to the program’s efforts.

Tickets are $35 for adults and $10 for kids 3-12 years old. Price includes food, drink, shoes, balls and lane time. Call (503) 222-3275 for more information.

New lawyers division says thanks
The OSB New Lawyers Division CLE Committee expresses its gratitude to the following speakers for volunteering their time and expertise to educate new lawyers during 2004:

Andrea J. Anderly, Stephen M. Bloom, Jeffrey Scott Cronn, Penny L. Davis, Kenneth P. Dobson, Adina R. Flynn, Mary Franklin, Bryan W. Gruetter, Thomas P. Howe, Ellen E. Johnson, Diane C. Kerns, Shari L. Lane, Jill R. Long, Lisa J. Ludwig, Melanie E. Marmion, Gregory Lloyd Maurer, Sue-Del McCulloch, Patricia L. McGuire, Christine M. Meadows, Beverly A. Michaelis, Cynthia I. Mohiuddin, Sonia A. Montalbano, Scott A. Morrill, Hon. Rudy M. Murgo, Tatiana A. Perry, Richard G. Price, Sylvia E. Stevens, Hon. Michael C. Sullivan, Laura Caldera Taylor, Philip S. Van Der Weele and Julia M. Waco.

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The Uniform Trial Court Rules (UTCR) Committee met Oct. 8, 2004 to discuss 26 proposals to amend the UTCR and to make preliminary recommendations to the chief justice of the Oregon Supreme Court. A description of the proposals and action taken by the committee can be found at: http://www.ojd.state.or.us/
programs/utcr/utcrrules.htm. This information will also be published in the Oregon Appellate Courts Advance Sheets in the near future.

Proposals of special note include: a new rule on notarized affidavits (Chapter 2); a new rule on segregating protected personal information in existing court files (2.110); new procedures and a form for reporting punitive damage awards to the Department of Justice (Chapter 5 and 5.100); various substantive changes regarding mediation (Chapter 12); and various changes to the small claims forms (Chapter 15). In addition, UTCR 2.100 was amended out-of-cycle to create a simplified procedure and forms for segregating Social Security numbers when filing documents with a court.

The committee encourages all interested parties to submit comments on these proposals. Please send your comments to: UTCR Reporter, Office of the State Court Administrator, Supreme Court Building,1163 State Street, Salem, OR 97301, or e-mail comments to utcr@ojd.state.or.us.

The committee will make final recommendations on these proposals to the Chief Justice at the next UTCR meeting, April 1, 9 a.m., Office of the State Court Administrator in Salem. Those proposals approved by the chief justice will become effective Aug. 1.