This
week the Stillwater Public Library is hosting two interesting and helpful
programs related to legal issues.
On
Wednesday at 6:30 p.m., Officer Tom Comstock will hold a public forum on “Police
and the Community.” The program is an open discussion about public/police
relations and is part of the SPD’s Community Outreach Program.
Comstock
will be discussing topics such as the actions community members can take to
assist the police, safe ways to respond should you get pulled over or stopped
by an officer and types of responses that are specifically be illegal.
The
program is not just about how YOU should respond, but also about how the police
do. Comstock will be discussing what to do if you witness inappropriate actions
by the police and what you would like to see from the police. What type of
community involvement and interactions would you like to see?
As we
hope you know, two of the library’s core tenets are openness and accessibility.
We applaud the police department for doing this program and for their efforts
to be transparent and open to the public. We hope you will join us in this
important public discussion.
On
Friday, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., Payne County attorneys return to the library for
the free “Ask a Lawyer” program. You are invited to the library to meet
face-to-face with a local attorney and ask legal questions free of charge.
Questions on most legal issues can be asked, including those involving consumer problems, family law, wills and estate planning, property,
personal injury and criminal issues. Participants are asked to limit
their questions to those not involving current in-court cases.
Local attorneys will provide each
participant with advice on what steps are needed to resolve the legal problems.
All questions are confidential, and
several attorneys will be on hand at once to provide a wider base of legal
knowledge. Participants are encouraged to bring a list of questions for the
attorneys, as well as any documents concerning the issue.
Why
bother attending the event? Sometimes, we have smaller legal issues that we don’t
believe warrant making a trip to an attorney.
This program is a great way to relieve those nagging legal issues you may have been carrying around all year, and
sometimes, you find out that the little, nagging issue is actually very
important and needs immediate attention.
“Ask-a-Lawyer”
is also one of the few chances you have to get access to attorneys who have
experience in such a wide variety of issues. Although attorneys do not “specialize”
here in Oklahoma, attorneys often have much more experience in certain areas. We
always try to pair you up with the attorney who has the most experience in the
area of your legal issue.
Most importantly,
it is a chance to get correct advice. As “Law Day” chairman Jimmy Oliver has
said, “The internet has changed the way people receive information. Unfortunately,
this can lead to people receiving incomplete or inaccurate information
about legal topics when searching on the Web and speaking to people who aren't
lawyers.
“With ‘Ask a Lawyer,’ citizens can speak with a licensed
local attorney to get correct legal advice from someone knowledgeable about and
trained on the topic." I highly concur. You may be able to get away with
getting an apple pie recipe off the Web, but don’t try it with legal issues!
The
event is free and open to the public on a first come, first served basis. “Ask-a-Lawyer”
is a part of “Law Day,” a national event aimed at providing the public with
access to and knowledge of the legal system, while highlighting the role of
attorneys in the community.
Last,
because of the potential for severe weather tonight, the OSU Science Café planned
for 6:30 p.m. at the library is postponed. We will send out the rescheduled
date when we receive it. Stay safe!
The Stillwater Public Library is located at 1107 S. Duck St.
(the corner of Duck and 12th Ave.).
For more information, contact the Help Desk by phone at (405) 372-3633 or by
e-mail at askalibrarian@stillwater.org
or visit the web site at library.stillwater.org.
