Cool New Legal Sources Online

Mary Minow, J.D., A.M.L.S. LibraryLaw.com

Deirdre Benedict Judicial Council of California Administrative Office of the Courts

Thursday October 21, 2010

12:00 noon to 1:00 p.m

Legal Disclaimer

• Legal information

•Not legal advice!

Agenda

• Legal information, not advice

• Self help

• Searching beyond Google

• Law 2.0 and emerging tools

Legal Information, Not Advice

Legal informationLegal information

Facts about law Facts about law and the legal and the legal processprocess

Legal adviceLegal advice

Advice about the Advice about the course of action course of action someone someone should should taketake to further his to further his or her own best or her own best interestsinterests

Public Libraries and Access to Justice: What Public Librarians Can Do

Don’t advise what to do.

Legal informationLegal information Show websites, indexesShow websites, indexes

Legal adviceLegal adviceRecommend specific options,Recommend specific options,

Opinions, conjecture, predictionsOpinions, conjecture, predictions

Public Libraries and Access to Justice: What Public Librarians Can Do

Online Forms

Okay to help navigate forms.

However, patron should:

*choose form

*supply all information

*click SUBMIT

www.courtinfo.ca.gov/forms/

Locating the Law / Public Access to Legal Information www.aallnet.org/chapter/scall/locating.htm

Southern California Association of Law Libraries

Attorney ReferralsBar Associations

Bar Association referrals $$$

Nationalwww.abanet.org/legalservices/lris/directory/

Californiawww.calbar.ca.gov/Public/LawyerReferralServicesLRS.aspx

Local County Bar Referrals

Attorney ReferralsLegal Aid/Pro Bono Services

Legal Services ¢¢¢ Free legal services for those who qualify

Nationalwww.lsc.gov/map/index.php

California www.dca.ca.gov/publications/guide/legal_index.shtml

Self Help

Way to provide this assistance -

point users to reputable sources

www.calegaladvocates.org/libraries/

[placeholder for Deirdre’s slide(s)]Main “Go-To” Web Sites

• California CourtsCalifornia Courts

• Local CourtsLocal Courts

• Local Public Law LibrariesLocal Public Law Libraries

• LawHelp California LawHelp California

Supreme Court and Appellate

Court Opinions

California Court Forms

Links to All Superior Courts

California Self-Help Center/

Centro de Ayuda

www.courtinfo.ca.gov

California Courts Web Site

Free, legal assistance

from your local court for

specific issues

Workshops & document

review

www.courtinfo.ca.gov/selfhelp/

Self Help Center

www.courtinfo.ca.gov/selfhelp

Overview of the process in many

area of law in plain English

(and complete Spanish translation)

Legal glossary

Information on how to resolve

disputes without going to court

(Alternative Dispute Resolution)

Reliable search engine

Local Court Web Sites

www.sfsuperiorcourt.org/index.aspx?page=24

Local Court Web Sites

Local Court Web Sites

cc-courthelp.org/

Local Public Law Library

www.publiclawlibrary.org

Links to all county law

libraries

Extensive legal research

information

Resources and links

Ask Now! Get real time

answers to legal

questions

Local Law Library Web Sites

www.saclaw.lib.ca.us/

• Referrals by subject matter

• Covers federal issues—

bankruptcy, immigration, federal taxes

• Multiple languages

• Geared for low-income Californians

Self Help

I did time for an assault three yearsI did time for an assault three years

ago. I want to get it off my record.ago. I want to get it off my record.

How do I do that?How do I do that?

Public Libraries and Access to Justice: What Public Librarians Can Do

Self Help

My daughter is 17 and she wants toMy daughter is 17 and she wants to

““divorce” her mother. divorce” her mother.

How does she do that?How does she do that?

Public Libraries and Access to Justice: What Public Librarians Can Do

Nolo.comSearching Beyond Google

Primary Law

freelaw.classcaster.net/research-resources/secondary-sources/

The Free Law Coalition, comprised of The Legal Information Institute and Justia.com, hosted by the Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Information

Also is a good guide to secondary resources

www.nocall.org/links/california.html

Authenticity warning

www.aallnet.org/committee/eliac/AuthReportUpdate.html

U.S. Code

www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/

U.S. Regulations

www.gpoaccess.gov/cfr/

U.S. Court Cases

scholar.google.com/

Unofficial, but easy to search

dd

Ease of clickGo directly to case or article citing your case

resource.org/law.gov/

Vision for distributed, authenticated repository for all raw materials in U.S. – all three branches, all fifty states, local government

Law 2.0 and Emerging Tools

For good background, see Carol Ebbinghouse, Information TodayAug 23, 2010newsbreaks.infotoday.com/NewsBreaks/LawGov-Issues-Principles-and-Declaration-69521.asp

Court filings

www.recapthelaw.org/

www.whitehouse.gov/open/innovations

govpulse.us/

legalbirds.justia.com/

Rss Feeds (lots)

news.justia.com/cases/library/

/www.opencongress.org/

Blawgs, Tweets, Podcasts, LegalTube

www.lawsitesblog.com

Legal Research Apps

•

AALL Awards Fastcase 2010 New Product of the Year Award

UCLA Law Library tinyurl.com/24jefw3

Summary

• Legal information, not advice

• Self help

• Searching beyond Google

• Law 2.0 and emerging tools

Questions?

Thanks for listening!

Mary Minow, J.D., A.M.L.S. LibraryLaw.com

Deirdre Benedict Judicial Council of California Administrative Office of the Courts

Thursday October 21, 2010

12:00 noon to 1:00 p.m