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Law on the ‘Net: A Workshop for Non-Law Librarians An Infopeople Workshop

Law on the ‘Net: A Workshop for Non-Law Librarians An Infopeople Workshop. April 2004 Laura A. Cadra cadra@law.ucla.edu. Agenda. Sources of Law California Law Federal Law Finding Attorneys Legal Forms Where to Start When You Have No Idea Where to Start. What is Law ?.

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Law on the ‘Net: A Workshop for Non-Law Librarians An Infopeople Workshop

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  1. Law on the ‘Net: A Workshop for Non-Law LibrariansAn Infopeople Workshop April 2004 Laura A. Cadra cadra@law.ucla.edu

  2. Agenda • Sources of Law • California Law • Federal Law • Finding Attorneys • Legal Forms • Where to Start When You Have No Idea Where to Start

  3. What is Law? • The entire body of principles, precedents, rules, and procedures intended to assure order and justice in a civilized society. It includes constitutions, legislation, decisions – federal, state, and local, civil and criminal (Mellinkoff’s Dictionary of American Legal Usage ) • And don’t forget regulations!

  4. Reference Inquiries • Are you looking for general information about a legal issue? • Is your issue federal? State? Local? • Are you looking for a specific piece of law? • a Vehicle Code section? • a local ordinance? • Are you looking for a form? • Are you looking for an attorney?

  5. Sources of Law • Primary Sources • Produced by governmental bodies • Binding!! • Unofficial and official versions • Secondary Sources • Information about the law • Best place to start most legal research

  6. Secondary Sources on the ‘Net • Nolo Press – Our friends in any format • Cornell Legal Information Institute (LII) Law About Series • California Courts Self-Help Center • ¡Se habla español! • Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese tambien!

  7. Legal Citation The formalized legal reference to an authority and the place where it can be found (Mellinkoff’s Dictionary of American Legal Usage)

  8. Citation Formats • Cases: Vol. no./Reporter Set/Page no. (date) • U.S. ex rel. Mayo v. Satan and his Staff, 54 F.R.D. 282 (1971) • Bush v. Gore, 531 U.S. 98 (2000) • Lugosi v. Universal Pictures, 25 Cal.3d 813 (1979) • Statutes/Codes • 42 U.S.C. §1942 • CA Penal Code §187

  9. Common Case Abbreviations • CA Cases • Cal. (Cal. 2d , 3d, 4th): California Reports • Cal. App. (C.A. 2d, 3d, 4th): California Appellate Reports • Cal. Rptr. (C.R. 2d): California Reporter • Federal Cases • U.S.: United States Supreme Court Reports • F. (F.2d, F.3d): Federal Reporter • F.Supp. (F.Supp.2d): Federal Supplement

  10. Primary Sources of Law • Constitutions • Statutes/Codes • Judicial Opinions (case decisions) • Regulations & Regulatory Decisions • Local Ordinances (cities and counties) All of these work together to form The Law

  11. California Law • Constitution • Statutes/Codes • Pending legislation (bills) • Cases • Regulations

  12. California Bills on the ‘Net • 1993-94 legislative session to the present • Searchable by bill number, author, or keyword • Lots of information about the bills • Status and history • Committee analyses • Votes • Great for students!

  13. Legislative Process Bills = pending law Statutes = permanent record Codes = current version

  14. California Statutes and Codes on the ‘Net • Statutes are available from the 1993-94 Legislative session forward • Searchable by chapter number or keyword • No indication whether it’s current • Current California Code only • Updated nightly • NOT annotated (like West’s and Deering’s)

  15. California Ballot Propositions on the ‘Net • Passed propositions are incorporated into the California Codes • Failed propositions can be difficult to find • California Secretary of State Voter Information has propositions from 1996 to the present • Hastings College of the Law has a ballot proposition database from 1911 to the present

  16. California Cases • Published Decisions • California Supreme Court cases • Most California Courts of Appeal cases • Unpublished Decisions • Trial Courts (Superior Court cases)

  17. California Cases on the ‘Net • California Judicial Council • Opinions from 1850 to Sept. 30, 2003 (searchable) • Slip opinions – October 1, 2003 to the present (not searchable) • Findlaw • Opinions 1934 to the present • Must register to view the cases • CourtTV • Sensational trial court cases

  18. California Agency Materials • Licenses • Regulations • Regulatory Decisions

  19. California Agencies on the ‘Net • California State web page contains a list of agencies • Materials available vary by agency • Forms • License requirements

  20. California Code of Regulations on the ‘Net • Includes the regulations of all California agencies • Current version only • Title 24 (California Building Standards Code) is NOT available for free on the ‘Net

  21. Municipal Law on the ‘Net • City and county charters = structure of local governments • Municipal and county ordinances = local laws • Parking regulations • Leash laws • Rent control

  22. Municipal Codes on the ‘Net • Check with the city or county web site first • Institute of Governmental Studies at U.C. Berkeley • Seattle Public Library government info for non-California cities and counties

  23. Federal Law on the ‘Net • U.S. Constitution • U.S. Code • Pending legislation • Cases • Regulations

  24. Federal Legislation on the ‘Net • Bills – Think Thomas • Full-text available from 1989-90 (101st Congress forward) • Summaries available from 1973-74 (93rd Congress forward) • United States Code • Not current! Beware! Danger!

  25. Federal Cases on the ‘Net • No comprehensive web site • U.S. Supreme Court • Official Supreme Court web site: 1990 forward • Cornell’s LII: 1990 forward • Courts of Appeals • 9th Circuit web site: 1995 forward • District Courts (trial courts)

  26. Federal Agency Materials • Agency web sites • Some are filled with good information including forms • Some are not • Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)

  27. Finding a Lawyer Directories and Regulation

  28. Attorney Information on the ‘Net • Find an Attorney by Specialty • Martindale Hubbell Law Directory • California State Bar Certified Specialists • Check Out the Credentials of a Lawyer • California State Bar Attorney Search

  29. Legal Forms • Litigation Forms • Business Forms

  30. Litigation Forms on the ‘Net • California Judicial Council • Mandatory forms • Suggested forms • Local Courts • Check the court web site • Findlaw • Links to forms of varying quality

  31. Business Forms on the ‘Net • Fedforms.gov • Primarily fee-based but some are free • Legaldocs.com • Uscourtforms.com • Lexisone.com • Lawcommerce.com

  32. Where to Start When You Don’t Know Where to Start • California Courts Self-Help Center • Lots of information on common legal issues • Where to go for free and low-cost legal information • 24/7 Reference includes law librarians • Your local county law library • Locating the Law, 4th ed.

  33. Mega-sites • Hieros Gamos: If you can only have one • Jurist • Internet Legal Resource Guide • Catalaw • Findlaw

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