COMING SOON:  MARION County CourtCare

Help launch a BRAND-NEW CourtCare program in Marion County! DONATE NOW and COURTCARE WILL DOUBLE IT 

Fundraising for Marion County CourtCare has officially launched with a year-end campaign. The CourtCare Steering Committee and anonymous donors have put together a boost for the campaign. For every dollar you donate to CourtCare by the end of 2015, the Steering Committee and Friends have agreed to match you, dollar for dollar!
 
But what IS CourtCare? Like the Multnomah County program, Marion County CourtCare will establish a safe and professional child care service for litigants to use at no cost during the time they spend at the courthouse. This will benefit:

• our children -- they will have a happy and welcoming place to stay... away from scary adult problems;
• our litigants -- they can concentrate on important court business without the additional stress of shepherding children;
• our court -- no need to reschedule for child care cancellations or to ask court staff to care for children brought into court;
• our community -- attorneys speak authentically about "access to justice" by offering services that make it a reality.
  
  

"Our community desperately needs more cost effective options for all families, but especially litigants, who are often facing additional financial and emotional challenges."  -  Salem family law attorney
 
"Court Care provides a service for single parents to come to court without exposing their children to the 'criminal atmosphere.' "
- Marion County Deputy Public Defender
 
"Any time a layperson is going to court, it's stressful. Being required to take children to court because they do not have child care unnecessarily adds to that parent’s stress level. Anyone who is parent can relate." -- another Salem family law attorney
 
Your donation is tax-deductible if you itemize. Click here to donate with a card or by PayPal, or make send a check payable to the Oregon Law Foundation - Marion County CourtCare to the Oregon State Bar, PO Box 231935, Tigard, Oregon 97281.

For more information and to share your support, contact Erin Dawson (ErinNDawson@gmail.com).
 Spread the word and help Marion County CourtCare start the campaign on a great note!

People are slowly starting to realize what happens when Corporations capture the US Supreme Court majority and populate it with radical extremist lawyers who have never represented a human person and who care only about the well-being of their corporate masters. The George W Bush appointees have a radically un-American view of the Constitution and have vested corporations -- fictitious people made of money -- with civil liberties greater than those the Court gives real, flesh and blood Americans.

This is what happens when people don't vote -- corporations and the hacks that they promote for the courts are only too happy to take over the political process and see courts produce absurd decisions that enrich vampire debt collectors squeezing elders for zombie debts, in total disregard for the 7th Amendment.

                 Great news about a recent change in Oregon’s car insurance laws. This change can make a huge difference in what happens if you are in a collision involving an uninsured driver, starting January 2nd.
 
                  The new law finally lets you, as a person with an Oregon auto insurance policy, collect on all the coverage you have been paying for.  Starting January 2nd, you may get the full amount of uninsured motorist coverage (and underinsured coverage) if you are injured by an at-fault, uninsured driver. 
 
                   But it's NOT automatic!  You have to renew your auto insurance policy for the change to help you!.  The new "stacking" law goes into effect on 2 January 2016, but it applies only to auto insurance policies issued on or renewed after that date.

                   So what that means: if your six-month policy doesn’t renew until April or May, but you get in an accident with an uninsured motorist in before that regular renewal, you will not get any benefit of this new "stacked" coverage. This can mean tens of thousands of dollars that you don't get to help you recover.  
 
                 Bottom line: To get the benefit of stacking, so that you get all the coverage you have been paying for,
                       * you must call or email your auto insurance company and
                       * tell your agent that you want your auto policy reissued as of 2 January 2016!

                  Your agent should be able to help you quickly, including by letting you know if this early reissue/renewal has any downside for you (such as negative affect on other insurance, such as umbrella coverage, or disqualification for continuous coverage discounts).
 
                  I would be happy to speak with you if you need more details about this.  As a consumer attorney, I am part of several groups that helped bring about this important positive change in the law, and I want to alert you of the need to get in touch with your auto insurance agent so you can order the renewal/reissue before 2016 starts.

Great LA Times exposé is here.