Celebrating Arab Americans in the Law

In recognition of Arab American Heritage Month and the diverse national and cultural identity groups that comprise the Arab American community, today’s blog post will focus on Arab Americans in the law. National Arab American Heritage Month celebrates a community of rich cultures and histories – linked together by unifying traditions, yet distinct in many remarkable ways — not only for achievements in the legal profession, but for contributions to all aspects of American society, in Houston, in Texas, and in the nation.

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Procedural Fairness Resources from The National Center for State Courts

Court procedures are complicated. Attorneys and judges are specially trained in legal procedure and practice it every day. However, most people who appear in court have never done so before and are unfamiliar with the procedure. Many litigants, especially those without attorney representation (pro se litigants), feel as if the judicial system lacks transparency, accessibility, and clarity, and often perpetuates biases against racial and ethnic minorities and those with low income. Clerks, court staff, jurists, and judges must stay informed of these issues and find solutions to ensure fair and equal access to the judicial system to everyone. This concept is referred to as “procedural fairness” or “procedural justice.”

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Civ Pro: How do I serve someone?

TexasLawHelp.org has several articles on how to serve someone with court papers, as briefly covered in a previous Ex Libris Juris post. For this post in the Civ Pro series, we would like to highlight frequently asked questions by pro se litigants who are serving court documents. TexasLawHelp and TexasCourtHelp are two excellent resources to start with when learning about civil procedure in Texas. For the complete procedure on serving someone in Texas, read Rules (99-124) of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure.

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