Harris County Law Library
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Many Texans may have heard the phrase “disaster declaration” yet again last week—but what does that phrase really mean? Winter Storm Uri brought with it disaster declarations at the federal, state, and local levels for Texas, and these types of declarations are explored further in this blog post.
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Robert W. Hainsworth, Attorney
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Houston, TX (February 9, 2021) — Today, Harris County Commissioners Court adopted a resolution, introduced by Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis and led by Harris County Attorney Christian D. Menefee, to rename the Harris County Law Library in honor of Robert W. Hainsworth.
In 1951, Mr. Hainsworth filed a lawsuit challenging the “one-table rule,” which was a Law Library rule requiring African-American attorneys to use a single, designated table while working in the library. While the courts denied his call for equality, it is only fitting that the Law Library be rededicated to acknowledge the victory of his vision. Today’s Law Library is a place where everyone has a seat at any table.
“Mr. Hainsworth’s determination in the fight for equality is an inspiration for us all, especially those attorneys and self-represented litigants who so often use the Law Library,” County Attorney Menefee said. “He was a trailblazer. His work on this case and in later founding the Houston Lawyers Association shows that he was relentless.”
“I am very proud to support renaming the Harris County Law Library after Robert W. Hainsworth, especially during Black History Month,” said County Commissioner Ellis. “Hainsworth’s fight to desegregate the courthouse and law library paved the way for generations after him. It is only fitting that we would name our law library, which helps to make the legal system more accessible to all, in his honor.”
“We are planning projects with community partners to create a permanent exhibit in the library and to offer educational programs to raise awareness about Robert W Hainsworth and his work for equality in Harris County,” said Law Library Director Mariann Sears.
Today’s Law Library rededication was widely supported by local leaders and legal organizations at Commissioners Court, including the Houston Lawyers Association (HLA), the Houston Young Lawyers Association, the Houston Area Law Librarians, the Houston Bar Association (HBA), HLA president R.J. Blue, HBA president Bill Kroger, and several former HLA leaders.
About the Harris County Robert W. Hainsworth Law Library
The Harris County Robert W. Hainsworth Law Library opened its doors in 1915 as the Harris County Law Library, and it has continued to serve Harris County’s legal information needs for more than a century. After becoming a part of the Office of the Harris County Attorney in 2011, the Law Library greatly expanded its technology offerings and services to the public. Visit www.harriscountylawlibrary.org for more information.
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Don’t recall ordering those bacon strip bandages or that chicken harness from Amazon? Maybe you did place that order, but there’s a good chance that you didn’t. If that’s the case, then you just might have been a victim of a brushing scam, a practice that is illegal here in the United States. According to the Better Business Bureau (BBB), a brushing scam occurs when a third-party seller, in most cases a foreign entity, sends merchandise to a person’s address and later drafts a flattering review of the product online that appears to have been offered by the recipient of the unsolicited items.
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This week marks the second annual National News Literacy Week, a joint effort by the News Literacy Project and The E.W. Scripps Company, “to promote news literacy as a fundamental life skill and to provide the public with the tools needed to be an informed and empowered populace.”
Read moreThe “digital divide” refers to “the economic, educational, and social inequalities between those who have computers and online access and those who do not.” This divide can affect access to justice (for self-represented litigants in civil courts), education, employment opportunities, and more.
In May 2019, the Pew Research Center stated the following with regard to lower-income Americans: “Roughly three-in-ten adults with household incomes below $30,000 a year (29%) don’t own a smartphone. More than four-in-ten don’t have home broadband services (44%) or a traditional computer (46%). And a majority of lower-income Americans are not tablet owners.” As a result, “many lower-income Americans are relying more on smartphones” for internet access. Further, in August 2019, the Pew Research Center found that about “25% of Hispanics and 23% of blacks are ‘smartphone only’ internet users – meaning they lack traditional home broadband service but do own a smartphone. By comparison, 12% of whites fall into this category.”
As of October 2019, the Texas Comptroller reported that “[m]ore than 2 million Texas households don’t have high-speed internet.” In addition, the nonprofit group Common Sense found in 2020 that “34% or 1.8 million K-12 public school students in Texas do not have adequate access to the internet at home, and that 25% of Texas’ kids do not have an adequate device at home like a laptop or a computer.”
Locally, Comcast has partnered with the City of Houston on two initiatives designed to help bridge this digital divide. First, the Houston City Council “approved a $624,960 program to provide internet vouchers to low-income Houstonians,” which provided “approximately 5,000 vouchers to qualifying applicants” in December 2020. The vouchers were to “ensure qualifying applicants can continue to stay connected to the internet for education, work, and personal health reasons for one calendar year.” The second initiative involves WiFi-connected “Lift Zones” in nine City of Houston Community Centers. These “Lift Zones” are intended to offer “robust WiFi hotspots in safe spaces designed to help students get online, participate in distance learning and do their homework.” This program provides free WiFi in the designated community centers for the next three years.
Finally, even if you are not covered by these initiatives, our blog post from October 6, 2020 discusses a map of free WiFi spots in Texas, which allows you to enter your address and search for free public WiFi within a specified distance.
What’s behind the name? “Ex Libris Juris” is Latin for “from the books of law” and much of the information here will relate to the legal information collected and curated by the Law Library. Additionally, “Ex Libris” has long appeared on bookplates – labels appearing inside the front cover of books – and has acquired the connoted meaning “from the library of” to show ownership of the book. Using this connotation, the phrase becomes “from the library of law” and better describes the posts about digital resources, event announcements, and research tips that will regularly appear here.
