June is Constitutional Law Resource Month

The Harris County Law Library is highlighting Constitutional Law Resources during the month of June. Currently on view in the Law Library lobby are three exhibits:

• Brown at 65: Explore the history of this important U.S. Supreme Court case which was decided 65 years ago on May 17, 1954.

• LGBT Legal Resources: Learn about significant federal legislation and landmark Supreme Court cases that have shaped the legal landscape for LGBT Americans in recent years.

• Magna Carta: View the Law Library’s 1763 copy of Magna Carta, the foundational document on which the United States Constitution is based.

Brown at 65

On May 17, 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court delivered its unanimous decision in Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954), in which the Court declared the doctrine of “separate, but equal” to be “inherently unequal” when applied to public schools. In honor of the 65th anniversary of the landmark case, the Law Library has created an exhibit that brings the precedent front and center for all to experience through an immersive presentation.

Walking through informative markers placed at the relevant reporters provides visitors with a vivid, undeniable sense of the pace at which school desegregation cases wended their way through the courts. For example, while many people know Brown began in Kansas in 1951 (the first opinion can be found at 98 F.Supp. 797 (Kan. 1951)), fewer realize the final opinion wasn’t penned until 1999 (the final opinion can be found at 56 F.Supp.2d 1212 (Kan. 1999)).

Visit the law library today to explore this special exhibit in person!

LGBT Legal Resources

Learn more about the following civil rights achievements for LGBT Americans:

• Lawrence v. Texas; 539 U.S. 558 (2003);123 S. Ct. 2472; 156 L. Ed. 2d508; 71 U.S.L.W. 4574

• Obergefell v. Hodges; 576 U.S. ___  (2015); 135 S. Ct. 2584; 192 L. Ed. 2d 609; 83 U.S.L.W. 4592

• Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010; Pub. L. 111–321, Dec. 22, 2010, 124 Stat. 3515

View selected resources from the Law Library's print collection including:

• Transgender Persons and the Law 

• Sexual Orientation and the Law

• Estate Planning for Same-Sex Couples

• The Impact of Marriage equality on Texas Law (State Bar of Texas CLE)

Additional LGBT legal resources are available via our electronic databases. In particular, the HeinOnline Law Journal Library contains a number of scholarly legal publications, including the Dukeminier Awards Journal, which recognizes the best sexual orientation and gender Identity law review articles of each year, dating back to 2001. A full archive of back issues is available on HeinOnline and on the journal's website at the University of California Los Angeles Law School.

Magna Carta

This month, we are also highlighting the history of Magna Carta. To commemorate the historic agreement made June 15, 1215, and memorialized by the iconic document, the Law Library has placed on display its 1763 copy of Magna Carta alongside American and Texas legal materials that show the connection between The Great Charter and the constitutional freedoms we enjoy today. Visit our downtown Houston location to view the colonial-era manuscript through the month of June and visit our digital exhibit for even more about Magna Carta.

UELMA? Why, Yes, We Do!

On May 25, 2019, Governor Greg Abbott signed HB 402 into law, making Texas the 22nd state to adopt the Uniform Electronic Legal Material Act or UELMA. The record of this hard-won achievement is forever documented in the House Journal as seen here.

The Uniform Electronic Legal Material Act or UELMA has been adopted in Texas! On Friday, May 25, 2019, Governor Greg Abbott signed HB 402 into law, adding Texas to the list of 21 other states that have officially committed to the preservation and authentication of public legal information. Further, by adopting UELMA, Texas has made clear its intention to provide trustworthy, reliable access to online legal content that is permanently available in unaltered form and offered to the public free of charge whenever possible.

Navigating the legislative process over several Congressional sessions to finally secure the necessary votes and the signature of Gov. Abbott was long and difficult, and Texans, especially those who championed UELMA throughout this process, deserve a chance to celebrate. Passage of UELMA in Texas would not have been possible without the determination and perseverance of government relations advocates, especially the indefatigable Barbara Bintliff, Director of the Tarlton Law Library at the University of Texas at Austin School of Law, who began her UELMA journey nearly 10 years ago when the Authentication and Preservation of State Electronic Legal Materials Act, as it was originally called, was drafted at the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws.

There are many next steps to work out in the implementation of UELMA in Texas — the law does not take effect until September 1, 2019 — but once fully realized, this legislation will introduce changes to the ways we all access legal information, the ease with which we find that information, and the confidence we have in knowing that the information is official, reliable, and authentic. This is definitely a win for the people of Texas and for those who champion open and equal access to justice for all.

Constitutional Law Resource Month

May is Constitutional Law Resource Month at the Harris County Law Library. We will feature items from our collection, including treatises, reference works, CLE course materials, form books, and other practitioner tools that may be useful in conducting constitutional law research .

Latest & Greatest – Special Needs Trusts: Protect Your Child’s Financial Future

By Kevin Urbatsch & Michele Fuller-Urbatsch

Published by Nolo

KF 480 .Z9 E45 2017

Parents of children with special needs understand that their loved ones require not only special care but also special planning. In most, if not in all, cases, individuals with special needs receive benefits under governmental programs, such as Supplemental Security Income and Medicaid. However, unless arrangements are made, any funds the child will receive by way of inheritance will affect the provision of any governmental benefits. Special needs trusts (SNT) are a legal mechanism that permits the leaving of money to a loved one without jeopardizing the receipt of governmental benefits. If you are unfamiliar with SNTs or are unsure of how to establish one, have a look at Nolo’s Special Needs Trusts: Protect Your Child’s Financial Future. This book explains the nuts and bolts of how SNTs work and who can benefit from them. It also addresses how the trust funds can and cannot be used, how to create and draft the SNT, and how to and finalize and fund the trust. Of course, you also need to determine who will administer the trust and act as trustee. For this important topic, the authors use two chapters to explain how to choose a trustee and what the duties of that trustee will be. Other topics of interest include ABLE accounts, pooled trusts, and letters of intent. 

If you or someone you know has a loved one with disabilities, be sure to read Nolo’s Special Needs Trusts: Protect Your Child’s Financial Future. It could allow you to rest easy knowing that your child or loved one will be provided for when you are no longer here. You can find it in the Law Library’s Self-Help Collection.

Also, the Law Library has developed a Special Needs Legal Resource Guide with a listing of self-help resources, in-depth legal research materials, and resources available from the Texas State Law Library, the government, and Houston Bar Association.

Happy National Space Day

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As the public law library for Space City, we’ve taken a special interest in space law. And there are plenty of interesting things in Texas law about space, including the Texas Administrative Code provision pictured here on procedures for astronauts to vote from outer space! Celebrate National Space Day by taking a look at the Harris County Law Library’s accumulated knowledge of space law via the links below:

Space Laws

• The National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958, contained in the United States Statues at Large, Pub. L. No. 85-568, 72 Stat. 426-438, established NASA and marked America’s official entry into the Space Race.

• The Code of Federal Regulations, Title 14: Aeronautics and Space details the purpose, function, and organization of NASA as mandated by Congress.

• To accommodate the large number of astronauts who live in Texas, the Secretary of State adopted special rules, spelled out in the Texas Administrative Code §81.35, that authorize NASA to implement procedures for casting ballots in outer space.

• The Outer Space Treaty, the multilateral agreement that established the governance of state activities in the exploration and use of outer space, was signed by more than 100 countries. It was first proposed by the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space in August of 1966, making this the 50th anniversary of its conception.

Space Law Collection

• Latest & Greatest – Conflicts in Space and the Rule of Law

• Latest & Greatest – NewSpace Commercialisation and the Law

Further Reading

• Who Owns Space Stuff?

• Law in Outer Space

• Space Law Month - 2017