When competent practice means scanning in 300 dpi...

Technology has permeated the legal practice in a myriad of ways, but the need to find and understand tech standards takes on added importance in the legal community when those standards are incorporated into court rules. Once a tech skill becomes a rule, lawyers who ignore it may not simply be risking inefficiency or losing a client's business, they may be risking their ability to practice (see, e.g., Okla. Bar Ass'n v. Oliver, 369 P.3d 1074 (Okla. 2016)). For that reason, Texas attorneys may want to familiarize themselves with the Supreme Court of Texas Judicial Committee on Information Technology Standards (JCIT Tech Standards).

As a case in point, take a look at the reference to the JCIT Tech Standards incorporated into Texas Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 21(f)(8) by administrative order of the Supreme Court of Texas (Misc. Docket No. 13-9165 pdf). Subparagraph (D) provides that "[a] electronically filed document must:"

otherwise comply with the Technology Standards set by the Judicial Committee on Information Technology and approved by the Supreme Court.

Drilling down into the JCIT Tech Standards, one finds specific requirements from the type of software used to create PDFs to the applicable ISO compliance standard for efiled documents. Regarding requirements for scanned PDF documents, §3.1(C) provides:

Prior to being filed electronically, a scanned document must have a resolution of 300 DPI.

Incorporation of these standards into the Rules of Civil Procedure strongly suggests that legal tech competency has moved from recommended to required.

Where can attorneys turn to keep up with emerging tech competencies? Your local law library can help. Public and academic law libraries can assist with research into the rules governing required tech skills. Many also collect resources covering specific software used in the legal profession, like the resources in our Legal Tech Collection that include ABA publications on Adobe Acrobat, MS Word, and more. Some law libraries even offer legal tech classes. The Harris County Law Library's Legal Tech Institute offers free CLE on a variety of topics, including MS Word for Legal Work in which attorneys can learn how to create the type of PDF referenced in the JCIT Tech Standards. Visit our website and keep following our Tech Tuesday posts to learn more!

Latest & Greatest – I Remember Atticus: Inspiring Stories Every Trial Lawyer Should Know

By Jim M. Perdue

Published by Texas Bar Books

KF 8700 .P47 2004

Taking perhaps the most famous fictional lawyer as his inspiration and muse, author Jim M. Perdue weaves together true stories that inspire trial lawyers to strive toward the attributes that Atticus Finch embodies and become the type of lawyer who commits to his clients and sees that justice is done. Perdue divides his book, I Remember Atticus: Inspiring Stories Every Trial Lawyer Should Know, into five main sections, each focusing on a different quality: faith, freedom, equality, courage, and perseverance. Using the story of Susanna from the Book of Daniel as the basis for his discussion of faith, Perdue delves into the role that faith played in the modeling of the law and how justice is a product of faith. From the Ten Commandments to the parables of Jesus, Perdue points out the lessons and morals to have come from these laws and stories. For his chapter on freedom, the author relates the story of Edward Bushell, a juror on a case against William Penn and William Mead, who refused to be bullied into giving a verdict with which he did not agree. He and several jurors were subsequently jailed for their verdict. For equality, Perdue examines the Haywood trial, a case in which the general secretary of the Western Federation of Miners was accused of hiring a hitman to kill the former governor of Idaho and yet, despite the powerful forces against him, was found not guilty. Courage is exemplified by the story and trial of the so-called Scottsboro boys, African-American youths who were accused of raping two white women on a train in Alabama. Reverend Joseph DeLaine is the author’s inspiration for perseverance for his fight to achieve equal educational opportunities for African-American schoolchildren in Clarendon County, South Carolina. Rounding out his book, Perdue offers facts that every trial lawyer should know and describes how trial lawyers can frame their own stories.

Be inspired. Read this book.

Ex Libris Juris Named "Blog of the Year" by Law Firm Librarians

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Last week, law librarians at the Harris County Law Library returned from the 111th American Association of Law Libraries Annual Meeting in Baltimore with some new hardware to display at our reference desk. The Private Law Librarians and Information Professionals Special Interest Section (or PLLIP-SIS) of AALL named Ex Libris Juris "Blog of the Year" (link opens PDF), which

recognizes a member who has made significant blogging/writing contributions to the private
law library profession, their organization, or the PLLIP-SIS and who demonstrates outstanding
potential for continued service and leadership within the SIS or the profession.

See 2018 AALL Accolades & Acknowledgements Brochure, p. 11 (link opens PDF)

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Incoming PLLIP-SIS Vice Chair and fellow Houstonian Saskia Mehlhorn, director of knowledge and libraries at Norton Rose Fulbright US, (right) was on hand to recognize avid Ex Libris Juris contributor and HCLL assistant law librarian Heather Holmes (left).

Many thanks to all who read our little blog and have contributed to its success!

Exhibit: Summertime and the Law

During the month of July, Harris County Law Library is celebrating summer! Our exhibit, Summertime and the Law, will be on display all month long. On your next visit, pause for a moment in the Law Library lobby to view the exhibit and take a whimsical look at law and some of the hallmarks of summer -- sunshine, swimming, theme parks, barbecue, swimming, and more.

Featured items in the exhibit, along with a few additional sources, are listed here:

Cases

Gabriel Gomez v. The State of Texas, Unpublished

Gabriel Gomez appealed his conviction for aggravated assault asserting that he was denied a fair trial. In his complaint, Gomez described the State’s closing remarks as childish, improper, and prejudicial, and “an embarrassment to the legal dignity of the Court.” A portion of the prosecutor’s closing statement, which referenced various Disney characters, including Mickey Mouse, Peter Pan, Snow White, and the Seven Dwarves, is quoted in the opinion. See pages 6 and 7.

Animal Legal Defense Fund v. U.S. Department of Agriculture, 789 F. 3d 1206 (2015)

Living in captivity at a Florida theme park called Seaquarium, an orca named Lolita was exposed to persistent ultraviolet radiation from the sun. Seaquarium tried to combat the harmful UV rays by applying a black-colored zinc oxide to Lolita’s skin, the physiological effects of which were untested and unknown. Plaintiffs argued that the park should be denied renewal of its operating license for violating the Animal Welfare Act. 

Kingsford Products Company v. Kingsfords, Inc., 715 F. Supp. 1013 (1989)

The plaintiff, a manufacturer of charcoal briquettes, brought action against the similarly named Kingsfords, Inc. seeking to enjoin the defendant’s further use of the Kingsford mark on their barbecue sauce product. The District Court held that, despite the plaintiff’s aspirations to one day produce and sell a barbecue sauce under the Kingsford name, they were not entitled to trademark protection. The defendant had already established its product, developed from a family recipe, and the associated brand, so the plaintiff’s arguments went up in proverbial smoke.

Federal Regulations

Code of Federal Regulations, Title 21 - Food and Drugs, Part 135 - Frozen Desserts, Subpart B, Section 135.110

Code of Federal Regulations, Title 7 - Agriculture, Part 58 - Grading and Inspection, Subpart B, Section 58.649

State Statutes

Amusement Ride Safety and Inspection and Insurance Act, Vernon's Texas Code Annotated, Occupations Code, Chapter 2151. Regulation of Amusement Rides

Patents

Water Wings (1918), Patent No. 1,262,296

Water Wings (1928), Patent No. 1,677,083

Latest & Greatest – Fastcase: The Definitive Guide

By Brian Huddleston

Published by American Bar Association Law Practice Division

KF 242 .A1 H833 2018

In 2017, Fastcase released Fastcase 7, a new version that promised greater ease of use with its new features and tools, including an overhauled interface. For those of you who may not know, Fastcase is an electronic legal research service providing users with access to cases, statutes, and regulations and secondary sources like treatises and law reviews. If you are new to Fastcase or just want to search more efficiently, Brian Huddleston’s book, Fastcase: The Definitive Guide, is the book for you. From the basics of searching to downloading and printing documents, Huddleston demonstrates how to get the most out of Fastcase and your time. With this book, you will learn how to:

• Search for cases using official reporter citations or natural language or keyword searching;
• Search across different jurisdictions;
• Narrow search results with filters or through the Tag Cloud;
• Perform authority checks using the Bad Law Bot;
• Print, email, or save documents or copy and paste text; and
• Perform legal research using the Fastcase mobile app

Fasctcase isn’t simply limited to finding relevant case law. As the author explains, users can search statutes, consult Statute Annotations Reports, and look at historic statutes and session laws. They can search regulations and administrative law resources for most states and the federal government. Based upon their subscription, users can also access secondary resources, such as treatises, law reviews, bar journals, practice guides, and forms. No matter what the search, the author provides ample illustrations throughout the book demonstrating how users can find the desired information.

Fastcase: The Definitive Guide is just as its title implies. It provides all of the information you need to know to use Fastcase 7 like an expert. You can find this book at the reference desk in our new Legal Tech Collection.

Did you know that as a member of the State Bar of Texas, attorneys have free (yes, free) access to Fastcase? If you are a member of the State Bar of Texas, you already should be taking advantage of this membership perk.

If you would like additional training using Fastcase, Harris County Law Library can help. Come to our Free Legal Tech for Legal Professionals course offered by our Legal Tech Institute.