The Harris County Law Library will be closed on Monday, July 4th, in observance of Independence Day. We will resume normal hours of operation on Tuesday, July 5th, at 8 a.m.
Harris County Law Library
The Harris County Law Library will be closed on Monday, July 4th, in observance of Independence Day. We will resume normal hours of operation on Tuesday, July 5th, at 8 a.m.
To close out Constitutional Law Resource Month here at the Harris County Law Library, we would like to highlight two titles in our collection that provide some historical insight into the drafting of the United States Constitution: The Records of the Federal Convention of 1787 and The Founders’ Constitution. Read together, these two multi-volume titles set the stage for the creation and drafting of perhaps the most important document for our nation. The Records of the Federal Convention of 1787 is a chronological documentation of what occurred during the Federal Convention of 1787. It is a day-by-day journal of the proceedings gathered from the notes and manuscripts of those present at the Convention and offers a glimpse into what occurred behind the closed doors of the Convention including the votes tallied, the motions made, the speeches given, and the resolutions proffered.
The Founders’ Constitution, on the other hand, is a topical treatment of the provisions of the Constitution, including the Bill of Rights. From the fundamental documents that provide the basis for the American constitutional model to the various acts that provided the foundation for the Bill of Rights, The Founders’ Constitution traces the arguments, opinions, and philosophical beliefs that underlie the United States Constitution and gave us the document that we have today. The Founders’ Constitution, published by the University of Chicago Press, is a five-volume collection that introduces the principles upon which the Founding Fathers relied when drafting the Constitution. The first volume focuses upon the major themes of the Constitution, such as separation of powers, representation, and rights, equality, and property while the remaining volumes concentrate on the actual articles of the Constitution and the first Twelve Amendments. Each of the volumes contains essays, letters, and articles drafted by respected historical statesmen, orators, and philosophers as George Washington, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, and John Locke.
So whether you are a legal or historical scholar or simply someone who is interested in learning more about the writings that comprise the foundation of the United States Constitution, come to the Harris County Law Library and have a look at these two titles.
The Harris County Law Library subscribes to Lexis Advance, providing on-site access to a wealth of legal information resources, including cases, statutes, regulations, and other primary source materials. Several secondary sources are also available including treatises, legal encyclopedias, form books, commentaries, legal reference sources, and, most notably, Texas Pattern Jury Instructions for civil and criminal cases.
To access the jury charges, simply log on to Lexis Advance using our computers. Select State materials, and specify Texas as your state of interest. On the page that follows, you will see an inventory of Texas legal materials. Scroll down past the primary sources and legal treatises to locate the link for Jury Instructions. Select Civil or Criminal to view the titles available for each practice area.
Civil
Criminal
All of this content is compiled by the State Bar Committee on Pattern Jury Charges, and all is current through the most recent year of publication for each title. Along with the jury instructions are several value-added features: a discussion of the legal issues to consider in drafting jury charges, a complete general charge, and special instructions for the topics listed above. Also included is an outline that "explicitly states the relevant statutes and legal definitions and then applies the law to the facts in common sense language."
If you prefer to use these titles in print, the library does own hard copies which can be requested at the reference desk for use in the library. Please stop by for a visit, and be sure to explore all that Lexis Advance has to offer.
As the country is still reeling from the recent tragedy in Orlando and as the issue of LGBT equality and civil rights continues to rise to the forefront of the nation’s conscience, the Harris County Law Library would like to draw attention to a title of importance for this subject: Sexual Orientation and the Law. Though not new to our collection, Sexual Orientation and the Law attempts to capture all of the legal issues and the changes in the law that bear upon the LGBT community. The legalization of same-sex marriage has had a profound effect on many areas of the law, but none more remarkable than those affecting the family. Courts have been looking differently at issues involving custody, parentage, and adoption in addition to matters involving unmarried partners, and this two-volume set takes a comprehensive look at each aspect of this developing area of law.
Of concern as well is the sexual orientation issue as it arises in the course of employment and military service. The authors address discrimination and sexual harassment in the workplace, strategies for obtaining domestic partnership benefits, and military discharge reviews. The authors also devote an entire chapter to the representation of transgender clients in matters such as changing identifying documents, handling employment discrimination claims, and getting protection from violence while imprisoned. They also discuss the special issues that arise when representing clients with HIV/AIDS, including health, financial, and estate planning and obtaining public benefits and insurance coverage.
Sexual Orientation and the Law is rich with practical information to assist you in understanding the unique issues faced by members of the LGBT community and how to handle them when your next client comes through your door.
On this day during Constitutional Law Resource Month at the Harris County Law Library, we remember an important Supreme Court decision, Escobedo v. Illinois, 378 U.S. 478 (1964). Today marks the 52nd anniversary of the decision and its role in reinforcing our Sixth Amendment rights.
Danny Escobedo was arrested without a warrant on January 20, 1960. As the prime suspect in the shooting death of his brother-in-law, he was held for questioning for more than 18 hours. Escobedo asked repeatedly for his attorney to be present, but repeatedly, his request was denied. It was only after being indicted that Escobedo was granted access to a lawyer, violating his Fifth and Sixth Amendment rights to due process and access to counsel. The Miranda v. Arizona, 384 US 436 (1966) decision just two years later implicitly overruled Escobedo, but it was, nonetheless, an important step in the process toward ensuring a constitutional right to counsel for the criminal accused.
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.