Overview of Armstrong County Legal Journal
With its inception almost 175 years ago, The Armstrong County Legal Journal (formerly the Kittanning Legal Journal), is the oldest periodical of its kind that is currently being published in Armstrong County. The Legal Journal was first published on January 3, 1845, informally with only a single column of submissions as a page filler to Kittanning’s popular predominately religious newspaper, the Kittanning Free Press. Twenty-seven years later, in 1872, the Legal Journal’s publisher started printing the Legal Journal as a standalone publication. In 1929, the Legal Journal dropped all religious asides and began concentrating primarily on submissions from local attorneys.
The Legal Journal publishes weekly on Thursdays through the efforts of its small staff of contract attorneys. The Justice Center’s attorneys personally assemble every week’s type-set editions after carefully reviewing each submission that is submitted to The Legal Journal. Once our staff attorneys are satisfied with the quality of our typeset pages, our staff inputs those pages into an electronic database for the purpose of publishing electronic copies of the journal to our website. The Legal Journal appears serious, because as a whole, the content is significant. However, as you flip through the pages you will start to see journal entries that are more akin to local government announcements and other non-legal topics. The reason for this has to do with the fact that the Legal Journal consists of two separate types of verbiage, topics of legal significance and topics of non-legal significance.
The Legal Journal does not decide what information stays in the Legal Journal and what information is removed, nor how the information in the journal is broken into columns for ease of reading. Instead, it is local law that determines the flow of the journal. The first part of the Local Publication code is The Paules Doctrine (2 Pa C.S Chapter 1) , which "requires the publication of legal notices." The second part of what drives the content in the Legal Journal has to do with how the Legal Journal has to function as an open forum where requests from local lawyers or law firms can publish legal notices, such as petitions, adoptions and divorce notices. The third part of what drives the content in the Legal Journal is the requirement that governing bodies publish official announcements such as officer appointments and official budget adoptions.
Together these three requirements mean that the Legal Journal has to publish an extremely wide variety of journal entries; however, these same requirements have also meant that the Justice Center has harvested a reputation for giving a fair shake to every notice or announcement that is submitted for publication in the Legal Journal. Simply put, every entry submitted to the Legal Journal gets published at least once, though sometimes they might have to be resubmitted again to be published a second or third time; this is what makes some legal journals so valuable. A legal entry only has to be published for a majority of the required time, not all of it, and thus it has become common practice for the attorneys desiring publication in The Legal Journal to resubmit their non-published documents for a second, third, or subsequent Thursdays; each resubmission counts as a new publication.
Anyone reading the Legal Journal online should quickly see that entries are not listed in chronological order; this is because the Justice Center allows its attorneys to pick their own preferred days to work. Each attorney has their own day, or days that they prefer to perform layout work for the Legal Journal. This means that on any given day there might be anywhere from 0 to 30 entries published; with the average on a low volume week probably being around 12 entries.
What is the Publication Schedule for the Armstrong County Legal Journal
The Armstrong County Legal Journal is published monthly on the first Thursday of each month. Notices or articles normally must be received prior to the 20th day of the month prior to publication. Any exceptions to this rule will noted on this page. Any legal professional interested in submitting a notice or article to be placed in the legal journal should review Armstrong County Rule 1060. The rules and descriptions should be followed to ensure that your submissions are accepted upon first submission and not returned for failure to follow such publication submission guidelines.
Any filing fee must be included with your submission, along with your submission that must be sent to the Director of the Armstrong County Department of Court Administration at the address below:
Director
Armstrong County Department of Court Administration 4th Floor, Court House 450 Market Street Room 404 Kittanning PA 16201
The Director will review and determine whether your submission(s) are approved for publication. If approved, the Director will usually confirm the acceptance via an e-mail acknowledgement to the individual that submitted the notice or article. If after several days you have not received an acknowledgment to your submission, it is suggested that you contact the Director to ensure that your submission was received.
What Kinds of Content Can You Expect to Find in the Legal Journal?
The Armstrong County Legal Journal publishes a wide variety of content designed to keep residents informed and engaged with the local legal community. Each edition typically includes a number of legal notices, such as probate and estate proceedings, property tax sales, and election notices. It also features timely updates on court decisions, including noted cases, opinions, and rulings that may affect local attorneys and their clients.
In addition to these regular columns, the Journal often runs special features such as:
- Profiles of local judges and attorneys
- Tips for small business owners and potential investors
- Articles that provide insight into the workings of the legal system
Lexblog assists clients in establishing blogs.
Where Can I Locate The Armstrong County Legal Journal
For those who wish to keep abreast of local legal news, there are a number of ways to access and subscribe to the Armstrong County Legal Journal, both in print and online. The main component is an annual subscription through which you can receive updates from the Journal delivered directly to your mailbox, or view them from wherever you are online.
The subscription rate is $25 per year, and covers quarterly issues for a total of four issues. For those who subscribe for two years at $50, they receive a discount for that service. Subscribers receive a postcard every year which provides information on how much they owe, and a payment slip which they can send back with a check. If readers miss this postcard, subscriptions should be sent to Henry A. Shaffer, 133 E. Market St., Suite 101, Kittanning, PA 16201.
Those unable to check the mail often or who live further from Kittanning might prefer the online option, which is available to individuals, businesses, and organizations. Individuals can pay a $25 subscription fee for access, while businesses and organizations pay $75 for two years. Users log in and are able to view and download issues of the Journal for viewing whenever they like.
For individuals and organizations not currently subscribed to the Journal who wish to access past issues of the Journal, the process for obtaining copies of previously published Journals does not differ between the print version and digital version. Readers can either go to the office of the Armstrong County Court Administrator, 500 E. Market St., Suite 104, Kittanning, PA 16201, and request them, or request that they be sent to them. It costs $1 per issue to have items mailed, up to a maximum of $5 for four or more issues.
Past issues are also available through by searching for the specific date of the issue in the Pennsylvania Legal Periodicals database. Items cannot be downloaded through the database, but articles can be printed out on an individual basis.
The Role Of The Journal Within The Local Legal Community
The Armstrong County Legal Journal was created under a mandate from the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to provide a public forum for the dissemination of legal information and to promote the rule of law. For more than a century, the Journal has met that mandate for the benefit of the people of the region.
For attorneys, the Journal offers several ways to connect and learn about the modern practice of law. It publishes announcements of local bar association meetings and informs the community about continuing legal education opportunities. The journal contains notices of dockets, list of jurors, and other information relevant to court schedules only available elsewhere from the Courts.
The Journal exists to bridge the gaps in communications between legal professionals and the community. The Bar Association hosts events to support and serve the entire local community. The Journal is an extension of those efforts, offering a place for local legal professionals to launch a new practice, find a job, discuss new ideas and even make a split in custody or divorce . Most importantly, the Journal keeps people informed on what’s happening in their local legal community.
One of the most important functions of the Journal is to inform state lawmakers and judges about the needs of local communities in regard to the law. Information from the Journal can and does play a part in decisions at the state level. Having local decision makers connected to the local community is critical to preserving an awareness and appreciation for local issues at the state level.
The Journal is read not only by local legal professionals and areas businesses, but also by students attending local colleges. At the local level, the legal journal provides valuable research for the review papers, reports and essays. Many area law students are currently working as interns with local attorneys and businesses, so the Journal serves as an introduction to how local practice differs from law schools, and how to transition from students to professionals.
What Articles Have Been Published Recently and Which Ones Are Considered Significant
• "Anatomy of a Mortgage Foreclosure Action and Deficiency Judgment," authored by Timothy P. Kivler, Esquire, a partner at the Pittsburgh office of Marshall Dennehey Warner Coleman & Goggin, demonstrates how a secured creditor can obtain a foreclosure judgment against mortgaged property in the event of default. The article details, among other things, what documents and pleadings need to be averred to in order for the secured creditor to prevail in obtaining a judgment granting the creditor the right to foreclose on and sell the property to satisfy the debt. Additionally, the article provides practical advice on how an attorney representing a secured creditor should approach the foreclosure action from the onset and the steps that must be taken to ensure compliance with mortgage foreclosure requirements. This is particularly important since mortgage foreclosure rules and requirements differ depending on which county in Pennsylvania a property is located and in what court the mortgage foreclosure action is pending, as this article emphasizes.
• "Animal Abuse: A Brief Overview of the Law in Pennsylvania," authored by Matthew J. Hasselberg, Esquire, a member of the law firm of Byers McAuley, LLC in Pittsburgh, is focused on the legal obligations of pet owners under Pennsylvania law as well as the obligations of law enforcement officials, shelters, rescue organizations and veterinarians in the event of observed animal abuse or neglect. The author provides a detailed review of pertinent laws relating to animal ownership and responsibility, discusses the lawful duties of citizens to report animal abuse and the authority of law enforcement officials, veterinary facilities, shelters and rescue organizations to intervene and take custody of animals in certain situations involving animal abuse or neglect. While the author expresses the intention of providing pet owners, animal rescuers and shelter managers with an overview of the laws relating to animal abuse and neglect, this article is not intended to serve as a substitution for legal counsel. Accordingly, the author cautions pet owners, animal rescuers and shelter managers to seek guidance from legal counsel before acting on any information contained in the article.
• "The ABL Law News Update – New Rules for Federal Trial Court Document Review", authored by Stephen LD Marcinko, a principal and trial attorney at Murtaugh Meyer LLP, introduces the new E-Discovery model orders recently adopted by the United States District Courts for the Middle and Eastern Districts of Pennsylvania. The Model Order in these districts contains several important changes from earlier versions, which may lead to increased costs for parties engaging in patent litigation. The author explains that documents that are usually simply produced during discovery will now be made available for review to in-house counsel in some cases only if particular conditions are satisfied. In the northern district, the court has stated that each party submitting a document depository must provide "secure remote access access via the Internet". The statute goes on to state that "No copies of any documents shall be made from documents obtained from the depository."
How To Submit an Article or Information to The Legal Journal
One of the many great benefits to being a member of the Armstrong County Bar Association is the opportunity to publish your own articles in the bar association’s very own legal journal, the Armstrong County Legal Journal ("the Legal Journal").
The publication of articles throughout the Commonwealth in legal journals such as the Legal Journal is not only a privilege that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court allows for legal journals of bar associations, but such publication is also a necessity. Lawyers and judges need to reference and cite to case law for minor jurisdictional issues or key legal concepts, especially for those issues that may not have been decided by an appellate authority. However, it is often impossible to identify such legal issues in a timely matter through an electronic legal database search (and certainly whenever no appellate authority is available). The solution is instead to refer to the reports from legal journals of bar associations that publish cases or to the legal journal itself. The Legal Journal publishes the opinions of judges within Armstrong County with respect to all civil and criminal matters, all briefs, pre-trial motions, jury instructions and post-trial motions, and all notes of testimony from hearings, jury trials, and bench trials. For civil matters, these opinions are published with all pending motions and orders. For criminal matters, these opinions are published with the indictments, sentencing orders, and probation requests. The Legal Journal therefore allows every lawyer and judge throughout the Commonwealth to quickly find and be informed of any relevant case in Armstrong County. Such an academic network saves the time and resources of everyone involved in a case. Every published (i.e., accepted) article in the Legal Journal is also indexed in Westlaw and Lexis, the two most well-known electronic legal databases. The citation of an article to Westlaw and/or Lexis greatly improves the exposure of your work to lawyers throughout the Commonwealth. Indeed, for legal professionals who may be unfamiliar with the Legal Journal, the thought that their article could be viewed in Westlaw or Lexis is often enough to encourage them to both read and cite to the article. So, it is easy to see therefore that publishing an article in the Legal Journal increases your authority among other legal professionals in the Commonwealth and improves your reputation. Although an author’s name is not provided with an article in the Legal Journal so as to allow for the objective citation of the article, the article will nevertheless be indexed under the author’s name in Westlaw and Lexis. Therefore, any lawyer will be able to read and reference an article and also know who authored it. The Legal Journal welcomes the submission of essays and articles of any kind, including legislation summaries, legislative updates, local court rule amendments, and regulations. The only requirement is that the submission be of legal significance to the county community and of the quality that meets the expectations set forth in the criteria below. Every article that is published in the Legal Journal is subject to review by at least two members of the Legal Journal Committee. It is often best to focus on the publication of a handful of articles than to constantly have an article submitted. Since the Legal Journal is always free to its readers, the Legal Journal expects to feature the work of a small group of dedicated people rather than a large group of indifferent people. If you wish to submit an article for consideration into the Legal Journal, please ensure that it is typed double-spaced in an easy-to-read font such as Times New Roman or Arial. Please provide the article to the Legal Journal Committee, which is currently the [email protected]. Moreover, any previously published article from the Legal Journal should be cited as follows: "Published by the Armstrong County Bar Association at [insert issue date], Vol. [insert volume number], No. [insert issue number], [insert page number]." Any questions about articles that can be submitted to the Legal Journal are best directed to the Legal Journal Committee at the [email protected].
Contact Information and Additional Resources
The Armstrong County Legal Journal is administered by the Armstrong County Prothonotary’s Office. Those seeking further information can contact the Prothonotary’s Office at the following:
Armstrong County Prothonotary
1022 Market Street – Room 106
Kittanning, Pennsylvania 16201
Tel: (724) 548-3207
Fax: (724) 548-8601
The Official Armstrong County Legal Journal is available to the public in the Prothonotary , both on the Public Access Computer as well as on microfiche rolls.
If you are looking for additional information regarding the Local Rules of Armstrong County, you might want to check out the following links:
Armstrong County Home Page
PA Courts : County Court Rule Links
Armstrong County Bar Association
Form for Submission of Advertising to the Armstrong County Prothonotary