Latest and Greatest - – Legal Research in a Nutshell

By Morris L. Cohen & Kent C. Olson

Published by LEG d/b/a West Academic Publishing (12th Edition 2016)

KF 240 .C54 2016

Intimidated by the thought of having to research a legal issue? Not sure how or even where to begin?

Well, you’re not alone. Legal research is a lot more than simply entering some keywords into the search box of a Web browser. It requires an understanding of the research process itself as well as the types of resources commonly used to locate legal information. Legal Research in a Nutshell explains the legal research process and the forms and sources of legal information. You will become familiar with and learn how to locate case law, statutes and constitutions, legislative information, administrative law, and court rules and practice. There is also discussion of specialized and nonlegal resources, such as looseleaf services, legal newspapers, blogs, statistics, and legal directories. If your research is taking you global, don’t fret because the authors also address international law and the laws of other countries.

You can access some of the great features offered by this book on its companion Website through the library’s catalog. Simply click on the “earth” icon at the end of the catalog record under the Media heading and enjoy entering the world of legal research.

Latest and Greatest – Predicates Manual 2.0

Predicates Manual 2.0

Texas Family Law Foundation (2012)

KFT 1294 .T49 2012

Assume that you are involved in a family law case and want to admit alcohol and drug treatment records into evidence. Where do you begin? What do you need to show or prove when offering these specific pieces of evidence? One of the first places to look (other than the Texas Rules of Evidence, of course) is Predicates Manual 2.0 published by the Texas Family Law Foundation in conjunction with the Family Law Section of the State Bar of Texas. With this valuable resource, you have, at your fingertips, all of the information needed, including statutory and case authority, to properly present your evidence to the court. In this guide, you can find predicates for accounting records, artist’s sketches, audio recordings, blood samples, criminal records, domestic public documents, marital agreements, payroll records, telephone call logs, and video tapes, just to name a few.

As a supplement to Predicates Manual 2.0, the Texas Family Law Foundation has also published Electronic Evidence Predicates presented in a “direct and cross in question format.” In this supplement, you will find predicates for emails, texts, Facebook and other social media posts, chat rooms, instant messaging, and websites.

Interested in finding out the answer to the question that I posed at the beginning of my post? I’m afraid I can’t reveal it to you, so you’ll just have to visit the Harris County Law Library and have a look at Predicates Manual 2.0 to find it. (Hint: The answer can be found on page 15).

Latest and Greatest – Federal Deception Law

By Jonathan Sheldon and Carolyn L. Carter

Published by National Consumer Law Center (2016)

KF 1609 .S3 2016

The Harris County Law Library has recently received the new edition of Federal Deception Law, just one of many titles available from the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC) in its Consumer Credit and Sales Legal Practice Series. Other titles in this series include Foreclosures, Student Loan Law, Truth in Lending, Consumer Bankruptcy Law and Practice, Consumer Warranty Law, and Automobile Fraud. A companion treatise to NCLC’s Unfair and Deceptive Acts and Practices, Federal Deception Law focuses on federal and parallel state rules and remedies applicable to consumer transactions. Chapters address FTC trade regulation rules and their scope, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rules, telemarketing fraud and unwanted calls, texts, and Spam, federal and state RICO requirements, the Federal False Claims Act, and much more.

Database Access

Did you know that the online versions of the NCLC materials are available at the Law Library? With the online versions, you will have access to the full text of the treatises as well as any forms and pleadings. Moreover, the online editions are updated more frequently than their print counterparts, so you will always have access to the latest information. In addition, you can print, download, or email the results of your research. To use the database, simply ask at the reference desk, and one of our librarians will gladly log into the database on the Law Library's research computers. Visit our downtown Houston location for more information.