Harris County Attorney Ryan unveils Digital Education Nook at Law Library

The Law Library was pleased to welcome Harris County Attorney Vince Ryan to unveil the latest addition to our digital outreach initiatives —the Digital Education Nook. We were also joined by Gabe Baker, Community Outreach Specialist for the Office of Lina Hidalgo, Harris County Judge, to introduce the Law Library’s latest effort to promote digital inclusion.

“The Digital Education Nook is a section in the Law Library where visitors can sit down and watch on-demand video content,” said County Attorney Ryan.  “These videos cover a wide range of topics relevant to both the general public and to practicing attorneys.”

With content like a self-help collection, which is made available in collaboration with the Texas Office of Court Administration, self-represented litigants in Harris County can now have access to short tutorials on legal processes, such as “How to file a case?” and “How to appear in court?”, regardless of their ability to afford computer equipment or pay for home broadband or mobile data plans.

Attorneys can watch, learn, and earn Texas continuing legal education credit for free via videos of experts who visit to share their knowledge at live programs in the Harris County Attorney Conference Center.  The programs are recorded and then made available for viewing through the Digital Education Nook.

“We’ve found that recent graduates still struggling with student loan debt and small firm attorneys without a big budget benefit tremendously from the free opportunities to stay up-to-date with the latest technology,” said Sears. “Since these are the folks who frequently serve individuals who might otherwise have to represent themselves, we try to focus on expanding training opportunities for small firm attorneys.”

See the Harris County Attorney’s Office press release to learn more and visit the Law Library’s webpage for details about the Digital Education Nook.

Introducing the Digital Education Nook!

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Harris County Law Library’s newest learning opportunity brings on-demand video content to all within steps of the Harris County courthouses in downtown Houston.

A Digital Content Access Point for Everyone

The Digital Access Nook is an access point for digital collections from the Law Library’s Legal Tech Institute, the Harris County Attorney’s Office, and the Texas Office of Court Administration. Content covers a variety of topics, from self-help videos to help you work with your attorney or represent yourself in court, to legal technology videos on cloud computing and artificial intelligence. Bring your headphone or use ours and immerse yourself in one of more than 40 videos focused on legal topics. With a variety of content in a fully accessible space, there is something for everyone in the Digital Education Nook!

Visit the Digital Education Nook webpage for details.

Happy National Space Day

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As the public law library for Space City, we’ve taken a special interest in space law. And there are plenty of interesting things in Texas law about space, including the Texas Administrative Code provision pictured here on procedures for astronauts to vote from outer space! Celebrate National Space Day by taking a look at the Harris County Law Library’s accumulated knowledge of space law via the links below:

Space Laws

• The National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958, contained in the United States Statues at Large, Pub. L. No. 85-568, 72 Stat. 426-438, established NASA and marked America’s official entry into the Space Race.

• The Code of Federal Regulations, Title 14: Aeronautics and Space details the purpose, function, and organization of NASA as mandated by Congress.

• To accommodate the large number of astronauts who live in Texas, the Secretary of State adopted special rules, spelled out in the Texas Administrative Code §81.35, that authorize NASA to implement procedures for casting ballots in outer space.

• The Outer Space Treaty, the multilateral agreement that established the governance of state activities in the exploration and use of outer space, was signed by more than 100 countries. It was first proposed by the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space in August of 1966, making this the 50th anniversary of its conception.

Space Law Collection

• Latest & Greatest – Conflicts in Space and the Rule of Law

• Latest & Greatest – NewSpace Commercialisation and the Law

Further Reading

• Who Owns Space Stuff?

• Law in Outer Space

• Space Law Month - 2017

Law Day 2019 - Free Speech, Free Press, Free Society

Today, we celebrate the rule of law.

Today is Law Day. Law Day was established by President Dwight Eisenhower in 1958 and subsequently codified by Congress in 1961 (see 36 U.S.C. §113) as a day for celebration of the rule of law. Each year, the American Bar Association establishes a theme to help focus our attention on an area of law that is timely and pertinent. This year, the theme is “Free Speech, Free Press, Free Society.”

Free Speech: A view from the bench

To honor this year’s theme, the Harris County Law Library has created an online exhibit entitled Free Speech: A view from the bench. Visit the exhibit to learn about different factors judges take into account when reviewing issues concerning freedom of speech under the 1st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

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Houston Bar Association Law Week Poster Contest

Each year the Houston Bar Association holds a poster contest and encourages area K-12 students to express the meaning of Law Day artistically. The Harris County Law Library is proud to partner with the HBA to display award-winning entries throughout this week-long celebration of the rule of law.

The Mueller Report

Today, the U.S. Department of Justice released the much anticipated Mueller Report, or Report On The Investigation Into Russian Interference In The 2016 Presidential Election. A copy of the Report may be downloaded from the Department’s Special Counsel’s Office webpage along with documents related to the special counsel’s appointment, expense reports, and prosecutions related to the investigation.

The Report is presented in PDF format. A free download of the Acrobat PDF Reader is available on the Adobe website.