Legal Research is EASY

That's one way to do it

noreply@blogger.com (mrlibrarian) — Sat, 25 May 2013 15:10:00 +0000

I've been working as a professional Law Librarian for going on 10 years now and the thing that never ceases to amaze me is how quickly people in the Internet Age have forgotten what brick and mortar libraries are used for. See, I have this running battle with many library patrons who believe that everything on the Internet is true and correct and because it's free it must be useful.

Daily, I have people come to me saying they thought the complaint or injunction or response to a complaint they had found on the Internet would help them win their case and can't understand why they lost. To be clear, while most of the Internet is free, 98% of it is bunk and the phrase "you get what you pay for" is especially true. Fact is, the legal resources you really should be using are found almost exclusively at a law library. Regardless of my repeated warnings, people are still unclear on the Internet = bunk concept, so I will elucidate.

Say your buddy is looking to borrow money to help tie him over until he can find a job as a key punch operator. So, you hop on the Internet and search Google.com for "loan agreements" finding about 9,280,000 results in little under 0.42 seconds. Pretty impressive. The problem is that you don't know which of those 9 million links are 1) viable sample forms that 2) comply with laws of your jurisdiction (so that it will hold up in court when you have to sue your buddy after he decides your "loan" was actually a "gift"). Might I, instead, suggest you go to your local county law library and take a look at American Jurisprudence Legal Forms (look in the index under Debtors and Creditors) (West) and/or California Legal Forms: Transaction Guide (look under promisory notes) (Lexis).

Another one? Say your son/daughter are being bullied at school, or you are being harassed at work. So, you hop on the Internet and type "bully" on Bing.com, locating 44,600,000 results; everything from direct-to-video movies to vague references about Theodore Roosevelt. Might I suggest instead of slogging through those 44 million results, you do yourself a favor, go to your local county law library and take a look at California Practice Guide: Personal Injury (West), Your Rights in the Workplace (Nolo Press), or Personal Injury: Actions, Defenses, Damages (Lexis).

Yep, there are a whole lot of people who think everything on the Internet is the bees knees. Any wonder why they keep losing their cases? When you come to the realization that the Internet is not the repository of all useful knowledge, head on over to your local county law library and let a legal researching professional (i.e. a Law Librarian) help you find what you're looking for.

Act Now!

noreply@blogger.com (mrlibrarian) — Sun, 19 May 2013 00:15:00 +0000

The other day I had a woman come into our library at about 3:00PM in the afternoon frantically (i.e. freaked out of her mind) looking/begging for legal assistance. Seems she had been served with a complaint 30 days prior and, with the clerk's window closing at 4:30PM, she had to have an answer stamped and filed now (as in TODAY)!

In my mind I'm thinking, "Why?!" Way did you wait until the 11th hour to answer your complaint? Was it because your dog ate your homework? Was it because you had to take your kids to soccer practice everyday, all day? Was it because you had to stop to make your husband another sandwich? Was it because your mother-in-law dropped by to give you yet another #%@#!%^@# tip on how to be a better wife to her baby boy and mother to her grandchildren? Was it because you just didn't think it was all that important until your pooka casually suggested (because that's how they roll) you get on over to the law library to get information on how to file your answer?

Sad that she had to wait and start with the screaming and yelling and begging for more time; time which no court (or sane attorney) in the world would give her. Notwithstanding her desperate plight, I suggested she quickly browse California Forms of Pleading and Practice (Lexis; Vol. 3, Ch. 26; Answers). I also suggested (if she had a few extra seconds) that she take a look at American Jurisprudence Pleading and Practice Forms (West). Long story short, she didn't get her answer filed in time and left the library the same way she came in with the screaming and the yelling and the speaking in diverse (possessed) tongues.

If you ever find yourself in a similar bind, don't wait to get help - run (as in RUN FAST) to your nearest county law library and let your local county law Librarian help you find what you need LOOOOOOOOOOOONG before you need it.

...and in other news

noreply@blogger.com (mrlibrarian) — Thu, 16 May 2013 18:01:00 +0000

Normally, I publish about once a week because my posts about legal research are pretty potent stuff. Today, however, I saw an article in the Los Angeles Daily Journal that talked about Ciolino v. Hewlett-Packard Co, 2013 DJDAR 6149, which was a case just handed down by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. In Ciolino, the court stated that when a settlement in class action cases provided for coupon relief (meaning, instead of collecting cash, the prevailing party is giving coupons redeemable for goods/services), attorneys must base their fees upon the number of coupons actually redeemed. Wait, what?!?

See, in the past, lawyers who won a class action case where the prevailing party is given coupons to use to buy goods/services with the offending defendant, attorneys could collect huge amounts of cash for their fees and costs of suit whether or not anyone actually used the coupons. The problem is/was - why in blazes would anyone want to use a coupon for stuff at a company they just sued?

Apparently, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals thought that was crazy, too, stating to the attorneys, if you win a class action suit where the settlement provides for coupon relief, you (the attorneys) can't collect your fees up front but must wait and base your fees on how many coupons are actually used. What this means is that if no one uses their coupons, the representing attorneys don't get paid!

Ohhhh, that's gotta hurt but with a ruling like that I'm thinking attorneys will be re-thinking filing their next class action suit because we the people are sick of having to use those stupid coupons. Interested in filing a class action or what a class action lawsuit is? Take a gander at Newberg on Class Actions (West) or Survey of State Class Action Law (West) and with that, I'm out!

Running with scissors

noreply@blogger.com (mrlibrarian) — Sun, 12 May 2013 03:51:00 +0000

How many times did your mother tell you not to run with scissors? Frankly, I quit counting after 1,000,000,000. Thing is, I don't know what the allure was all about. Running fast and carrying something sharp. Must have been the feeling of living dangerously. Yeah, that must have been it - knowing that at any time you could fall and poke your eye(s) out or slice off a body part. What a rush!

Strange how some people never really get over this feeling of living dangerously. For example, the other day I was talking to a person who had just lost his case in Superior Court. Seems until he lost his case (which, incidentally, never made it past the filing of the complaint stage), he thought he could prepare his case from stuff found on Wikipedia and Google. Imagine his surprise, then, when he got blown out of court in a matter of minutes because his complaint, in the words of the judge, was woefully inadequate. Inadequate?! How can that be? Isn't Wikipedia the repository of all legal knowledge? News flash - no, it isn't. In fact, it is my humble, slightly biased opinion that 99% of everything on the Internet is bunk. BUNK, I say!

Had this guy just spent some time at his local county law library, he might have avoided the embarrassment of getting rejected in court. Had he just taken the time to talk to his friendly neighborhood law Librarian, he might have been exposed to California Forms of Pleading and Practice (Lexis), California Practice Guide: Civil Procedure Before Trial (West), or even Represent Yourself in Court (Nolo Press), and he might not now be singing his own swan song.

The moral to this story might be if you need help finding things legal - DON'T rely on the Internet to save your neck. Your local law Librarian is who you want to see because, often times, we know what you need before you need it. Yes, we are that good.

Word of the Month for May 2013

noreply@blogger.com (mrlibrarian) — Sun, 05 May 2013 16:02:00 +0000

Once upon a time there were two brothers: Cain and Able. Able was a shepherd and Cain was a farmer. One day, God came a 'callin asking both brothers to provide a sacrifice of an unblemished sheep. Able went out to the field, snagged his best sheep and bada bing, bada boom, offered up the sheep. Cain, on the other hand, thought he knew better what to do and offered up a bunch of twigs and leaves because that's what he does, grows twigs and leaves! The result was that God accepted Able's sacrifice and rejected Cain's sacrifice.

The other day, as I was doing my law Librarian thing, we had a patron come into the library all screaming and yelling and stomping around. Seems he had submitted a set of legal documents to the court and the court rejected all of them because they failed to conform to the rules of court. He screams, "Who do these ##%$@#%^ judges think they are and what in blazes are the rules of court?!?!?"

Black's Law Dictionary defines RULES OF COURT as "rules governing the practice or procedure in a given court" and, as it turns out, each court (state and Federal) are governed by their own set of rules of court. The California Rules of Court govern the entire state of California and the local rules of court deal with issues for each county in the state of California. In California alone there are rules of court for the California appeallate courts (Rules 8.1 - 8.1125); there are rules of court for criminal courts (Rules 4.1 - 4.700); rules for civil procedure (Rules 3.1 - 3.2120); rules for family and juvenile law issues (Rules 5.1 - 5.830); and even rules governing the law of practicing law (Rules 9.1 - 9.61). Yep, there are certainly a whole bunch of rules which, if you don't follow them, may result in a painful judicial smackdown.

Now, back to the story. For years it bothered me that God rejected Cain's sacrifice. I mean, a sacrifice is a sacrifice, right?! Actually, no. The reason Cain's sacrifice was rejected was because Cain didn't follow procedure or, more to the point, the rules of court. God said give me an "unblemished sheep." Able did and Cain didn't. Plain and simple. If you don't follow the rules of court for the jurisdiction you are in (for example, you wouldn't use the California rules of court if you lived in Maine or Iowa, or Texas or Wyoming or the European Union, right?!), the court is going to (or can) reject your legal documents. Plain and simple.

Now, don't go out and start screaming about this. Just suck it up and accept the fact that you're going to lose on this one. If you need help locating the rules of court for your jurisdiction, head over to your local county law library and your local county law Librarian will help you out (and help prevent against your going around blaspheming against God, your least favorite judge, or whomever).

Appearances can be deceiving

noreply@blogger.com (mrlibrarian) — Fri, 03 May 2013 18:00:00 +0000

In the news today is a story about a bunch of Chinese meat producers who have found a way to cut costs by taking rat, mink, and fox meat, mixing it with gelatin and passing it off as lamb. For the full story, check out the Yahoo.com article.

The immediate problem I see here is aren't there a number of religions that won't eat certain types of animals. Being a card carrying member of P.E.T.A. (people eating tasty animals), I can see how this might be a problem since I've not yet heard that rat is all that tasty; in fact, it's pretty stringy. Another problem is that too often we the people hear of questionable products leaking into the American food supply because someone took a bribe or kickback or whatever and then a bunch of people get sick and die. Sad situation all around.

The good news is that for those who are concerned about the regulations governing their food supply here in the USA, your local county law library has a couple of excellent resources you can take a look at. For instance, the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Title 9 is all about food safety and inspection and Title 21 of the United States Code Annotated (West) deals with food for human consumption.

So, whether you're sick and dying because of something you ate, or you're afraid to eat something because it might lead you to be sick and dying, know that your local county law library has what you need to help you sleep at night (or provide fodder for your nightmares, as the case may be).

Fatherhood on the Ropes

noreply@blogger.com (mrlibrarian) — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 04:20:00 +0000

The other day I was watching a debate about the importance of fathers in the lives of their children. The show had two opposing parties, a moderator and a studio audence who could ask questions. It was apparent early on that the audience had been stacked against fathers. The questions were negative against fathers, the moderator was against fathers, and even the woman who was supposed to be in favor of father's rights, wasn't. Dang but she was uncomfortable fighting for a side in which she clearly didn't believe. Yeah, I turned it off after after a short while.

Sad how things are turning out for guys these days. Regardless of the state of affairs, most every law library has resources that can help men maintain a foothold in the lives of their kids. Might I suggest taking a look at Always Dad: being a great father during and after divorce (Nolo Press), How to Do your Own Divorce in California (Nolo Press Occidental), Building a parenting agreement that works : child custody agreements step by step (Nolo Press), and Father's rights: a legal guide to protecting the best interests of your children (Sphinx Pub).

While, the state of father's rights might seem to be in a state of insanity, regardless of what the world might think, know that your local county law Librarian has what you need to get things back on track.

Try, Try Again

noreply@blogger.com (mrlibrarian) — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 22:58:00 +0000

Most times, when people walk into my law library, they are looking for the case or code that will help them win. Funny thing, then, when I had this guy come into my library. Seems he had filed a case and, having lost, was taking his case before the Federal Appellate Court. His problem was that, as he quickly admitted, he didn't have a very good case so he wasn't looking to win so much as it was to save face.

Knowing his case didn't have a strong legal foundation, he felt that (maybe, hopefully) the court could be swayed with a silver tongue so I lead him over to Winning on Appeal: better briefs and oral argument (NITA), and Briefing and Arguing Federal Appeals (Hein). In no time at all he was off and running developing a winning argument as well as tightening up his (already sizable) appellate brief.

While I can't always guarantee a win in court if you use the resources your local county law Librarian suggests, I can guarantee you'll lose if you don't at least look.

Yeah, we got that!

noreply@blogger.com (mrlibrarian) — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 05:39:00 +0000

When was the last time you really, truly received true customer satisfaction? I mean, really?! You walk into a store, don't see what you need and attendant is within arm's reach who knows what you're talking about and wants to help you. Not, helps-you-because-it's-their-job...no, helps you because they're there to serve you, the customer. I can remember maybe three times in my life it was like that. Thing is, it's like that every day at our law library. Sure it is. I love my job and I'm here to serve you, our adoring customers. Don't believe me? Well, let me elucidate.

Say you come into our law library looking for a book dealing with motor and mobile home laws called Shepard's Mobile Homes and Mobile Home Parks (Shepard's, KF 2042 .T7545). Well, knowing my collection as I do I say, "Sure, we've got that!" and I lead you over to aisle C14B and in no time you're in mobile home bliss.

Let's try another one. Say you come into our law library looking for an obscure book that deals with common law pleading called Handbook of Common Law Pleading by Shipman (West, KF 8870 .S45 1923) and I think to myself, "Dang but this person really knows their stuff asking about the granddaddy of all books on how to plead the common counts." Again, knowing my collection as I do I say, "Sure, we've got that" and again, as it turns out, I lead you over to the collapsible shelving and in no time you're in common counts bliss.

One more before we go? Say you come to our law library with that deer-in-the-headlights look. Yeah, I know the look because I see it at least 10 times a day. So, I walk over to you and ask how I can help ('cause that's how I roll). You mumble something about getting bit by a dog and you're looking for help with filing a lawsuit against the owner. Knowing my collection as I do I say, "Sure, we've lots of those!" and I lead you over to Neighbor Law (Nolo Press, KF639 .Z9J67), Every Dog's Legal Guide (Nolo Press, KF390.5 .D6R36), Personal Injury: actions defenses, damages (Lexis, KF8925 .P4F7), and California Practice Guide: Personal Injury (West, KFC311 .C34).

Yep, you can find a whole lot at your local county law library. All you need to do is get the courage to walk through the front doors (and we'll take it from here).

Word of the Month for April 2013

noreply@blogger.com (mrlibrarian) — Sat, 06 Apr 2013 03:55:00 +0000

If you have a wife, girlfriend, mistress, boss, bossy friend, bossy boss, micro-manager, macro-manager, or even a psycho ex, you've heard it. You can't avoid it. In fact, everybody's heard it at some point in their life from someone. It's called wife-speak (although it's not exclusively used by females). While it is not a new dialect, it does take some getting used to. Heck, I've been married well over the national average now and I'm still getting used to it. Following are some simple (if not confusing) examples of wife-speak:

While I suspect there are number of wives out there who will want to contest this, the point I'm trying to get at is the word for this month which is: PREROGATIVE. Women use it all the time to get what they want. Heck, Bobby Brown sang a about it to show the world he's in control (ironic, as it was because if you know anything about Mr. Brown, his life is a seeming near-constant vortex of confusion). Anyway, according to Black's Law Dictionary, Prerogative is an exclusive right, power privilege, or immunity, usually acquired by virtue of office. Actually, this explains a lot. I mean, you meet a girl (or significant other). At what point do they start trying to change you? First date? Second date? When they move in? Married? They don't call it a woman's prerogative, for nothing.

In a legal setting, prerogative is often referred to as "discretion." Specifically, we're talking about judicial discretion - or how far can a judge go before he cross the line between what is or what is not abusive. For instance, say you're arguing a case in front of a judge and he makes a ruling that you don't really like. Did he abuse his discretion or was it a legal ruling. That's called discretion (aka prerogative). A couple of great resources that can help you get a better grasp of how discretion works include California Judicial Handbook (West) and Corpus Juris Secundum (West); look under "Judges" section 151.

So there you have it - I've offended several different classes of people in the world, appeased the Bobby Brown fans, and uncovered yet another legal "secret." Not bad for 15 minutes of writing. Now, go forth and conquer and you have a great rest of the month!

Back to the Basics

noreply@blogger.com (mrlibrarian) — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 13:48:00 +0000

The other day as I was going about my Law Librarian business, I had a person come up to me asking how to find a case using a case citation. Seems this person was a first year law student and he had not yet learned how to read a case citation (which is a pretty sad commentary on the legal studies offered at law schools; I mean, this poor guy was scrambling around because no one thought to tell him how to find the law? I mean, really!?). Because I get asked this question probably 20 times a day, let me get this one out of the way so that your legal researching can get easy(ier).

In order to read a case citation, you need to know the basics of reading a case citation: (Volume), [(Reporter, Series (if any))], (Page Number). Easy peasy, right?! So, say you have a citation of 120 Federal Reporter 323; this reads: volume 120, Federal Reporter, page 323. In this case, Federal Reporter is the name of the reporter (or the place where the case is published in).

Let's try another one: 425 Pacific Reporter 2d 100. That's (say it with me) volume 425, Pacific Reporter, second series, page 100 (where the Pacific reporter is the book in which the case was published). One thing about reading citations is that rarely are the reporters spelled out; in fact, they're usually abbreviated. Some case reporters and citation abbreviations you might come across include:

United States Reports (U.S. Supreme Court): US
Supreme Court Reporter (U.S. Supreme Court reporter published by West): SCT
United States Supreme Court Reporters, Lawyers Edition (U.S. Supreme Court reporter published by Lexis): Law.Ed, L.Ed.
Federal Reporter (Federal appellate): F, Fed., Fed.Rptr.
Federal Supplement (Federal trial court): FS, F.Supp., Fed.Supp.
California Reports (California Supreme Court): C, Cal.,
California Appellate Reports (California Appellate Court): CA, Cal.App.
California Reporter (unofficial California reporter published by West): CR, CA Rptr., Cal.Rptr.
Pacific Reporter (unofficial reporter for the pacific region published by West): P, Pac.

So, there you have it - you now know as much as most 1st year law students should know by the first week (and you didn't spend a dime to do it). Of course, law students have the edge because in about 3 years, they'll have a coveted law degree and, you? Well, you'll have this blog...which, I guess, balances things out a little bit. Just.

Good luck with that

noreply@blogger.com (mrlibrarian) — Sun, 24 Mar 2013 17:29:00 +0000

How many times have you woken up saying, "Today, I'm going to rob a bank!" Or maybe you're a little less ambitious and you think, "Today, I'm going to sue the pants of someone." Amazing what people come up with these days to generate income. I mean, what with the economy in the dumps, people are getting more and more creative with their lawsuits.

For instance, a while back I had a patron come into the library with a doozy of a plan. Seems he was looking to generate income by claiming he had been injured slipping on a banana in a supermarket so he came to the law library to frame his claim. Being an impartial 3rd party, I took him over to take a look at California Practice Guide: Personal Injury (West). I also showed him How Insurance Companies Settle Cases (James Pub), New Appleman on Insurance Law (Lexis), and California Property Insurance: Law and Litigation (CEB) and suggested he look in the index under Fraud.

On another occasion, I met with a person who confessed that while he was not presently injured, that she was going to start riding around in a wheelchair and file "a whole

bunch" of lawsuits against local businesses for alleged ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) violations. Personally, I think that really sucks - but, being an impartial 3rd party, I did my best to help this poor, misguided soul by locating Disabilities and the Law (West), ADA Public Accommodations and Commercial Facilities (Lexis), and Americans with Disabilities Act Manual (BNA). While our library doesn't have anything that might help dissuade a person from filing a frivolous ADA claim, I am hoping there are judges out there in legal-land that will see through these frauds and dismiss these lawsuits posthaste. I'm hoping, anyway.

Yep, there are sure a lot of opportunists out there looking to snag an easy dollar and I hope you're not a target of a frivolous lawsuit. In the event you are, know that your local county law Librarian is waiting to help you counter the effects of con artists and frivolous legal actions to help your bottom line stay above the poverty line.

It's a Mad, Mad World

noreply@blogger.com (mrlibrarian) — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 03:43:00 +0000

Do you know what I think about these days? Yes, yes, I think about all the legalesque resources we provide for the adoring fans of our law library but lately I have been thinking about what makes a person mentally imbalanced. We’re not talking about stubbing a toe and hopping around like mad spewing forth blue streaks in strange and foreign languages. No, I’m talking about letting those inner voices in your head have the final say in what and how you think.

Thanks to a few particularly bad decisions from those in the financial world, employed

people have become a dying breed. The result is that because there are fewer employed people around, there is more for the employed people to do (at the same rate of pay). Over time, it can really wear a person down to the point of letting those little voices in your head take over.

Now, I don’t know what your voices are saying, but just the other day my voices started saying things like “you’ve been working too hard – you need ice cream!” or “you need a break – you should go to the Law Library and do some legalesque research!” Since I’m usually already here, I asked "them" what should I be looking at? The voices replied saying, “Well, since you’re talking to us, we suggest you should be looking at Mental and Emotional Injuries in Employment Litigation (BNA), Mental Disability Law (Lexis), Disabilities and the Law (West), Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (ABA), and/or ADA Public Accommodations and Commercial Facilities (Lexis).

So, if you're ever feeling like someone (or something) is trying to take over your mind, why not take a break and head over to your local county law library for some perspective. If nothing else, you'll be able to finally prove to everyone you are crazy and get that Section 8 Corporal Klinger always wanted.

No surprises here

noreply@blogger.com (mrlibrarian) — Sat, 09 Mar 2013 19:50:00 +0000

This might come as a surprise to some, but as part of my law Librarian reference duties, I also teach rank and file non-attorneys how to do their own legal research. For most of these people, the closest they've ever come to the legal arena is to watch Perry Mason on television. Sad thing, though, is some people need to have life smack them upside the head a few times before they get what I'm preaching. I had a lady in my class a while back who, even after sitting in my class, didn't understand why it was important to know how to do legal research or why anyone would need to use a law library. The fact is people are faced with hardcore legal questions every day and don't even know it. Here are a couple of easy examples to show you what I'm talking about.

Say you're driving along and a car cuts you off. Did you flip them the bird or scream at them? Did they get out of their car and threaten you? Well, right there are a bunch of legal issues all inside of 5 minutes. Fact is, if you head over to your local county law library, you can see for yourself by looking in California Jurisprudence, 3rd (West). Be sure to look in the index under intentional torts (battery, assault, false imprisonment) and negligence. Once you get in the swing of things, you'll see lawsuits all over the place.

Here's another one. Maybe you've been wanting to get your own living trust drawn up (to avoid probate) and maybe you saw a roadside sign for living trusts and dpa's for only $199. Thinking you're getting a deal of a lifetime, you head on over and they draw something up that looks like a trust. The question is, will it hold up in court. Did the attorney/paralegal follow the law when they drew up that "legal" document or were you just another mark to help pay for their new toy? Only one way to find out: go to your local county law library and look at West's California Codes General Index and look for "durable power attorney" or "trusts". You might also want to look in LARMAC for the same thing. Might I also suggest you take a look at The Law of Trusts and Trustees (West) and Page on the Law of Wills (Anderson Publishing).

Life is sure full of surprises, isn't it? You can either hide your head in the sand or go to your local county law library to see what you can do to protect yourself. So, whether you're the potential suer or suee (no, not as in the hog call), know that your law Librarian has what you need to help protect you and your interests.

Word of the Month for March 2013

noreply@blogger.com (mrlibrarian) — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 19:34:00 +0000

Recently, my, now three-year-old, daughter has begun to say, "I'm sorry" whenever something happens. She drops something, "I'm sorry." She spills something, "I'm sorry." Toys all over the place, "I'm sorry." Doesn't matter how many times we say it's ok, no problem, it's always, "I'm sorry." Don't know where she got this but funny how it dissolves the situation. A three-year-old taking responsibility. How many problems in the world would be eliminated if adults had the same perspective - specifically, to take responsibility for their actions. Shoot someone, "I'm sorry." Rob a bank, "I'm sorry." Lie on the campain trail, "I'm sorry."

Of course, all of this leads up to our word for the month of March 2013 which is INTENT. According to Black's Law Dictionary, intent is the state of mind accompanying an act; intent is the mental resolution or determination to do an act. In the case of my three-year-old, I seriously doubt she intended to do wrong when she spilled the milk; it just happened. But some acts are out and out intentional.

To elucidate this concept, the other day a rather vivacious young woman came up to me. Seems she had a young son of about 10 years of age. Seems young son was at a party and as the birthday boy was sitting down, her son pulled the chair out from under him and party boy fell breaking his coccyx. Now party boy's parents were seeking to sue this young woman's son for a variety of causes of action including battery.

The reason I mention any of this is because Battery is an intentional act and carries come hefty damages if proven. So, theyoung lady's question was, does the act of pulling out a chair equate to an intentional act? To help her answer it, I directed her over to California Jurispridence (West) and suggested she look under Battery. I also suggested she take a look at California Forms of Pleading and Practice (Lexis) as well as California Civil Practice: Torts (West), California Affirmative Defenses (West), and the Judicial Council of California Civil Jury Instructions (Lexis) to look at how she might defend against this potentially expensive lawsuit. Sad to say, this young lady was looking at an uphill battle and while I suspect a simple "I'm sorry" might not have immediately fixed the problem, it might have gone a long way to assuage the angst of party boy's parents.

So, whether you're looking at suing or being sued, know that your local county law library is open and waiting to help you in your hour of need.

It Boggles the Mind

noreply@blogger.com (mrlibrarian) — Sun, 24 Feb 2013 18:37:00 +0000

Lately, there has been a number of cases in the news about divorced parents killing their kids (and their estranged spouses). In addition to that, I've been seeing an up-tick on the number of child abuse cases flowing through the courts. What I want to know is when does beating on a little person get fun? I mean you really have to think about that one. It's your kid, for goodness sake. Picture it, a thug of a guy (or a woman) sitting at the kitchen table looking over at their kid thinking...yep, I'm going to pound that kid until s/he snaps. Forget that you're 5 times the size of the kid. Forget that your kid loves you unconditionally. Forget that, well, he's YOUR kid! Yeah, I don't get it.

The thing is, there are more ways to abuse a child than just beating them. Studies exist which examine children in orphanages. In another study looking at children in Romania, scientists examined the institutional nature of orphanages and it's toll on the child mind. Then there is the unsubstantiated story about the Russian Baby Experiment. Seems a

bunch of social "scientists" took a bunch of kids at an orphanage. The first group they nurtured them and the other group they didn't - basically ignored them. Yeah, they were fed and diapers changed but that's about it. Doesn't take a "scientist" to figure out that the second group didn't live long or prosper.

Want information about child abuse (in all it's ugly forms), head on over to your local county law library and take a look at Legal Rights of Children (West), Handling Child Custody, Abuse, and Adoption Cases (West), and Children and the Law in a Nutshell (West). Yeah, they're a real eye opener.

You usually find what you're looking for

noreply@blogger.com (mrlibrarian) — Sun, 17 Feb 2013 04:58:00 +0000

The other day as I was doing my Librarian mambo, I had a guy come into the library all banged up. Seems he used to be the proud owner of a motorcycle. Turns out as he was riding his bike up the freeway down between the lanes (you know how cyclists do that) some psycho opened their door resulting in a crashed bike and extensive injuries. A personal injury attorney's dream come true!

The reason this story is on my blog is because this particular cyclist noted that this is the first time he had been in a "law" library. He noted that never in his wildest dreams did he ever think he'd have to visit in a law library. Chuckling under my breath (because I hear this about 50 times a day), I lead him over to and had him reading Motorcycle Accident Reconstruction and Litigation (Lawyers & Judges Pub.), California Tort Damages (CEB), and AmJur Proof of Facts (West) in mere minutes.

Yep, people everyday don't realize how important "law" libraries are until they need one and we'll be ready when you do, too.

It's only going to get worse

noreply@blogger.com (mrlibrarian) — Sat, 09 Feb 2013 07:03:00 +0000

There are sure a whole lot of misguided people in the world today. Like those people who believe the email saying some guy in Africa will give them $10,000,000; or people who believe that you can look like a super model and still drink kegs of beer; or people like those who believe that the politician who lied to you last election to get elected won't lie to you again; or people like those who believe that you really can get a living trust drawn up for $100. Pipe dreams, all.

Most of the scams I see deal with people who paid thousands of dollars to an attorney only to have said attorney not do anything. Just the other day I had a lady come into to our library. Seems months before her father passed away, he had gone to a lawyer who had advertised that he could draw up a will, trust, and durable powers of attorney for only $150.

Problem is, when it came to enforcing provisions in the trust, the court rejected the whole thing and the estate went to probate.

Maybe you are asking yourself, "How can I protect myself from unscrupulous, opportunistic lawyers and legal types?" Might I suggest you take a look at your state or county's bar association website? Since I live in California, I might look at the California Bar Association's website (www.calbar.org) and look for an expert in estate planning.

Another great website that can help you find expert attorneys is Hieros Gamos (http://www.hg.org/index.html). HG.org is great for searching, among other things, lawyers and law practice listings in over 260 areas of practice!

Finally, another great resource for finding attorneys is the pay-for-play site Martindale.com (www.martindale.com). Martindale.com is helpful because it is a peer-reviewed resource (meaning, good attorneys don't want to be associated with dead-beat attorneys so, if the attorney is no good, their peers will give them a low rating).

So, next time you find yourself in a legal bind, take a deep breath and go talk to your local county law Librarian before you lay your money down. You can bet we'll help get you going in the right direction.

Word of the Month for February 2013

noreply@blogger.com (mrlibrarian) — Sat, 02 Feb 2013 04:37:00 +0000

I can't count the number of people who come into our law library looking to sue someone. Someone slipped on a banana peal and was suing a supermarket. Someone breached a contract. Someone scammed an old couple out of their retirement nest egg. Someone rammed into a new car. Someone's kid beat up another person's kid at school. Lots and lots of cases. The problem is that 99.999% of the potential plaintiffs (i.e. the people who file the lawsuit) don't realize is that merely suing someone is not the end of their troubles. Nope. The trouble starts when they win their lawsuit. It is the conclusion of the lawsuit that brings us our word of the month.

The word of this month is COLLECTIONS. I remember years ago when I was working as a clerk for an area attorney. We would win lawsuit after lawsuit but we could never collect because the defendants were often destitute deadbeats, or bankrupt businesses, or guys who owed money on spousal/child support. We could never catch a break - until this one case which we won against a prominent local restaurant supplier and the best part was that

they had money. Lots and lots of it. We just had to get at it.

Back then, as a clerk for a lawyer, I was not the prominent, infinitely knowledgeable, mind-blowing law Librarian you see before you now. No, I was a lowly law clerk struggling to learn the business of law. What I did know is that I could go to my local county law library for help on darn near any topic imaginable. So, with that bit of knowledge, I asked my local county law Librarian what resources they had on collections and he suggested I take a look at California Practice Guide: Enforcing Judgments and Debts (West), Debt Collection Practice in California (CEB), How to Collect when you win in a Lawsuit (Nolo Press), American Jurisprudence, 2d (look in the index under Executions and Enforcement of Judgments) (West), Collection Actions (NCLC), and AmJur Proof of Facts (look in the index under Collection of Debt) (West).

Yep, I may not have always been a wizened law Librarian but I've always known that I could rely on my friendly neighborhood law Librarian to help direct me to the right path (and now, you know it, too).

Just another day in paradise

noreply@blogger.com (mrlibrarian) — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 04:34:00 +0000

The other day I had someone come into our library. Over the course of our discussion, this patron noted that he thought Librarians (and the Librarian profession as a whole) must be the most boring job on the planet. Boring, huh?

Fact is, I've see it all (or a whole lot of it) as a law Librarian. There was the arsonist who was only trying to scare his ex-girlfriend; the bank robber who just needed some extra cash to tie him over until Friday; the domestic violence where she beat him because she thought he was just so cuddly; the double homicide because she didn't know the shotgun was loaded; the drunk driver who thought he should get a pass because he got schnockered on his birthday; the computer hacker because he was only 13; the securities fraud because his wife made all the trades; the adverse possessor because he built a dog house on the property; the guy who thought if he filed bankruptcy he could avoid paying back child support; the couple who incorporated themselves so they could buy illegal fireworks (and avoid prosecution); the tax fraud because she thought she was her own country; and the sex offender because she looked 21.

Yep, life never gets dull at the law library. You ever get the hunkering to know what it takes to be a law Librarian, take a look at http://www.bls.gov/ooh/education-training-and-library/librarians.htm or just go talk to your local county law Librarian and be prepared to be amazed!

They're Gunning for You

noreply@blogger.com (mrlibrarian) — Sat, 19 Jan 2013 03:09:00 +0000

Many moons ago, I served as a paperboy for a local newspaper. Every day I would deliver upwards of 75 papers all around my neighborhood. I did this for a few years and was pretty good. Heck, dogs feared me, mailboxes revered me, and old folks used to sit around campfires and tell stories about the paperboy with a wicked side arm. Thing is, I really liked being a paperboy and I got to know a whole lot of people - nice and otherwise. Which brings me to the point of this posting.

One day as I was out and about doing my paperboy thing, I came upon a group of people. Seems they were drunk and were walking around the neighborhood shooting things with a .22 caliber rifle. Soon I became their target of choice. Apparently they thought shooting at the paperboy was riotous fun up - until I got shot - and they scattered. Yeah, it's always funny until someone gets hurt.

While the perpetrators were caught, plead out and subsequently spent time cooling their heels in jail, it was the person(s) who actually committed the crime who were to blame for my injuries. Not the guy next door who owns a few guns in a private collection. Not the manufacturer who makes guns. Not the random person who roams around a gun show (and maybe buys a gun or two or three or twenty). Nope, it's the people who roam around drunk, aren't right in the head, are flying high their drug of choice, or who have an axe to grind that go and abuse the rights afforded them under the 2nd Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and shoot up the place. Those are the people who should be prohibited from owning/purchasing a firearm.

Maybe you want to get smart on all things civil rights and related litigation. Might I suggest you head over your to local county law library and take a look at California Civil Practice: civil rights litigation (West), Civil Rights Actions (Matthew/Bender), Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Litigation (West), Treatise on Constitutional Law: substance & procedure, 5th ed.

(West), and The Bill of Rights and American Legal History: rights of assembly, petition, arms and just compensation (Garland Publishing).

While I don't own a gun (would probably shoot my eye out if I did), I suspect that if guns were ever taken away from the law abiding citizens, then only the criminals will have them. Stand back and let your President ram through another executive order without any check or balance limiting your right as a law abiding citizen and you lose yet another freedom afforded We the People of the United States. Just remember that unlike taxes, once a freedom is taken, it never comes back. Anyway, my two cents.

Against All Odds

noreply@blogger.com (mrlibrarian) — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 07:10:00 +0000

Once upon a time I lived in Havre, Montana (which is about as far north as you can get in Montana). All along the top of Montana is a two-lane road called Highway 2. One day, three of my buddies and I were flying along HWY 2 and up ahead we see this prairie dog sitting on its haunches in the middle of the road. At the behest of my cohorts, I straddled both lanes, increased velocity, and bore down on the poor creature. For all intents and purposes, that animal should have been road kill. However, we noted, after passing over the animal at roughly 9,000 mph, that it was still sitting on its haunches in the middle of the road. Talk about a ballsy rodent! I bet his friends bet him a million nuts to pull off that stunt! There couldn't have been more than a centimeter clearance between his head and my muffler and yet, there he sat - a monument to unflappability!

Turns out there are lots of people in the world like that prairie dog - and some of them use our law library on a daily basis. Some of them are embroiled in criminal actions. Some are fighting custody battles. Some are fighting the IRS and then there are some who are fighting civil appeallate cases. The thing that ties them all together is the fact that not a one of them allowed the fact that they don't know anything about law to not try to win their case. Not a one of them said, "I don't know how to do legal research so I'm not going to try!" Nope, ALL of these people stood their ground, faced against their adversary and said, "Bring it on!"

Maybe you're like one of those who laugh in the face of staunch adversity. Maybe you're of those those who, while you don't know anything about law or legal research, you're looking for some direction and are willing to learn. If so, might I suggest you go to your local county law library and start with Witkin Summary of California Law (West), or Locating the Law (SCALL), or Represent Yourself in Court: how to prepare and try an winning case (Nolo Press), or even Primer on the Analysis and Presentation of Legal Argument (West).

So, next time you find yourself facing incredible opposing odds and you feel the entire world is against you (or out to get you), know that your local county law Librarian has what you need to help you dodge that proverbial bullet. Yeah, we are that good!

New Years Resolutions

noreply@blogger.com (mrlibrarian) — Sun, 06 Jan 2013 01:05:00 +0000

I suspect for every resolution there are 50 people complaining that they didn't keep it. Last year the only resolution I made was to resolve to eat chocolate every day. Dang but if everyone made resolutions they could keep, everyone would feel the bliss I feel right now. Actually, this feeling of bliss got me to thinking about how I can help my readers achieve this degree of bliss and I believe I've found a way. Following are three easy resolutions you can all use and easily achieve (you can thank me later).

Resolution #1: Go to the Librarian first. I've been a "professional" Librarian for 9 years and the one thing that amazes me is how long it take for people to ask the Librarian for help. They'll come in the front door; I'll ask if they need help; they'll decline, meander around for a while and then, come up and say, "Yes, I do need help." Save yourself a heap of stress and just walk up to the Librarian as soon as you walk in the front door. We won't bite your head off and you'll be congratulating yourself in no time because of all the time (and headaches) you've saved.

Resolution #2: Listen and trust the Librarian (we actually do know what we're talking about). The other day, I had a person come up to me (after they had meandered around the library for 45 minutes). Right off, this person said they were looking for information on how to incorporate a business. Quick as a flash, I walked this person over to How to Form Your Own California Corporation (Nolo Press), Fletcher Corporation Forms Annotated (West), and Selecting and Forming Business Entities (CEB). Apparently, that wasn't what the person wanted. Nope, after much discussion and a few "false" starts, turns out what was wanted were books on how to sue a corporation...which leads us to Resolution #3.

Resolution #3: Tell the Librarian what you're looking for the first time. A game many people like to play with Librarians is to come up with a couple dozen different stories. Of course each story is only slightly related and all of them leave out, at least, one crucial detail. Sadly, none of the stories have anything to do with what the person really wants. I say "sadly" because what happens is that the Librarian is left to running all over the library pulling hundreds of books and spending scads of hours

scouring the Internet or the various legal databases like WestlawNext or HeinOnline. Why not save everyone a whole lot of grief and just tell your friendly neighbor Librarian what you want the first time. I realize that this may not be as easy as all that since many people think while they talk. But, if possible, could you at least try to keep the rabbit hunt to three stories? Pretty please???

Well, there it is - three reasonably attainable resolutions. This time next year you can honestly say to anyone in earshot - I made and kept my resolutions this year. Your significant other will be proud of you. Stories and songs will be written extolling your virtues. In the very least, you will have a sincere sense of accomplishment and bliss having finally kept your resolutions.

Word of the Month for January 2013

noreply@blogger.com (mrlibrarian) — Tue, 01 Jan 2013 08:04:00 +0000

One of the problems with being a Law Librarian are some of the restrictions placed on how we do our job. The one that many people seem to get confused and frustrated with is the fact that while we work in the legal arena, we are not lawyers and cannot provide legal advice. The proper wording is "unauthorized practice of law." In California, the law of UPL is governed by California Business and Professions Code section 6126. We can get you to the book, the website, sometimes even the page on which to find an answer, but we can't tell you what you should do or how to fill out a form. Maybe a couple scenarios can help you understand what I'm talking about.

Let's say life has hit you up side your head a few times and you don't have the cash to pay rent. Say your landlord (who wants the rent) hands you a three-day notice to pay or quit (i.e. pay or move out). Say you go to your local county law library looking to avoid being evicted. Say your local county Law Librarian hands you California Eviction Defense Manual (CEB), California Practice Guide: Landlord Tenant (West) or Every Tenants Legal Guide (Nolo Press). Then you're local county Law Librarian directs you to the California Judicial Council Forms online and shows you where you can locate a form to answer the three-day notice to pay or quit at which point you ask, "How do I fill out the form?"

Uh, right... Remember that little thing called UPL? That's where this kicks in. See, your friendly neighborhood county Law Librarian knows a whole lot about all stuff legal - but what we can't do is help you fill out legal forms because filling out legal

forms constitutes legal advice. Yeah, I know - it can be a real bummer...especially when you're behind the eight-ball and you needed that form filled out yesterday!

Let's try another one. Say you've been laid off from your job and you've been living on credit card debt for the last 3 years. Say your bank wants it's money and it sues you for (among other things), breach of contract and money had and received. Quick as a flash, your local county Law Librarian takes you over to California Forms of Pleading and Practice (Lexis) and (the granddaddy of them all) Handbook on Common Law Pleading by Benjamin Shipman (West). Of course, you're going to ask, "What do I do now?!"

Yeah, about that... Well, pursuant to Section 6126 (which, I suspect, was the result of significant lobbying by the legal industry), that's as far as your local county Law Librarian can go. I guess the moral to this story is, if moral there be: your local county Law Librarian can show you where to go in and around your local county law library; we can help you locate resources to answer to your most pressing legal questions; we can show you the books you need to use - we just can't tell you what to do with them. Sorry.

Be A Good Neighbor

noreply@blogger.com (mrlibrarian) — Sun, 30 Dec 2012 17:35:00 +0000

The topic for today is dogs. Thing is, I don't have a problem with dogs, per se. I mean I always wanted a dog as a kid but all I could ever squeeze out of my dad was a cat - and they had to live outside. What that meant was that my dad's allergies didn't act up, I got a pet, and the local communities were kept in check. (i.e. gopher, rat, mouse, pigeon, occasional crow...)

Anyway, we're talking about dogs because it seems that currently we are the only house on our block that doesn't have a dog and after last night's "concert" I felt this article was appropriate. See, we have 2 dogs to our right, about 5 dogs behind the house, and depending on the time of day (and if she's watching her sister's dogs) another 6 dogs to our left. That's about 13 dogs all around our place and the couple dozen, or so, cats, squirrels, raccoons, and other wildlife absolutely love it. LOVE IT! Thing is, when we were in the process of buying our house we never heard any dogs barking. Not a one. I drove by the house during the day, at night, on weekends and one holiday - not a single barking dog. The day after we closed on the house, every #!@^@@&!)(!@&)%$&_#*_* dog in the neighborhood started barking Handel's Hallelujah Chorus!

Anyway, the point to all this is if you have a dog, please have some consideration for those that don't. Put an anti-bark collar on it. Get one of those high-frequency sirens that sound off when a dog barks. Send your dog to obedience school. Keep Rover indoors. Go to your local county law library and take a gander at Every Dog's Legal Guide: A Must Have For Your Owner (Nolo Press). I don't care what you have to do, but just please, please, PLEASE keep your dog quiet(er) for the sake of your neighbors who don't enjoy the nightly canine serenades.