Monthly Features: Magna Carta & Constitutional Law Resources at the HCLL

During the month of June, the Harris County Law Library is commemorating Magna Carta. Don’t miss our digital exhibit and the exhibit currently on display in the Law Library's lobby, where you can explore the origins of this historically-significant document and its impact on both the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights, as well as its influence on the rule of law in Texas.

To complement our Magna Carta exhibits, the Law Library has adopted a theme, Constitutional Law Resource Month, which 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.

The Law Library will also feature a small display of commentaries and related examples of case law that demonstrate the connections between Magna Carta and American law. All of these resources and exhibits will be featured until the end of June. Don’t miss your chance to see them, and please feel free to ask the Law Library staff any questions about the materials you discover.

Free Online Resources from the Texas State Law Library

The promise of the Internet is free information available at the touch of a button wherever you are connected. The reality is businesses need to make money, especially on the Wild Wild Web, and paywalls are a constant obstacle for attorneys and self-represented litigants trying to find relevant and accurate legal information. In the constant struggle to find a balance between the interests of the governed to have access to the law and the economic interests of those who publish the law, the latter often carries the most weight. However, recent enhancements to the Texas State Law Library's Digital Collection have made progress toward making legal information freely available for all Texans.

As detailed in the April 2016 issue of Texas Bar Journal, the Texas State Law Library has done a tremendous amount of work in the past few years to expand its Digital Collection and bring legal research materials within reach of all Texans. New resources, including eBooks from Matthew Bender and Nolo Press, and databases from Fastcase and HeinOnline, make previously-unavailable resources accessible remotely via the Internet. The only requirement is that the user sign up for a library card, which can also be accomplished remotely through the digital portal. By expanding access to these valuable legal resource, the Texas State Law Library has done an impressive job of making legal information more widely available and expanding access to justice for all Texans.

To see all of the new content from the Texas State Law Library, visit their Digital Collection page and read about the expand of the library's digital collection in the April 2016 issue of Texas Bar Journal. If you need access to a computer for legal research or would like assistance using online legal resources, visit the Harris County Law Library in downtown Houston.

Memorial Day Hours

The Harris County Law Library will be closed on Monday, May 30, in observance of Memorial Day. We will resume normal hours of operation on Tuesday, May 31, at 8 a.m.

Memorial Day is an annual day of remembrance in honor of those who have died in defense of the United States. The commemoration began near the end of the Civil War, but it's true origins remain a mystery. Visit the Time Magazine article "A brief history of Memorial Day" to learn more about this day of observance.

Free Legal Assistance for Low-Income Texas Flooding Victims

Following the recent storms in the Houston area, President Obama issued a major disaster declaration for Harris County. In response, the State Bar of Texas, Texas Young Lawyers Association, and the ABA Young Lawyers Division have joined forces to assist low-income individuals affected by the severe weather.

A toll-free legal line is now open (800-504-7030); calls are being accepted 24 hours a day. Issues that will be addressed include:

• Assistance securing FEMA and other government benefits available to disaster victims

• Assistance with life, medical, and property insurance claims

• Help with home repair contracts and contractors

• Replacement of wills and other important legal documents lost or destroyed in the disaster

• Consumer protection issues such as price-gouging and avoiding contractor scams in the rebuilding process

• Counseling on mortgage-foreclosure problems

• Counseling on landlord-tenant problems

More details are available from the American Bar Association, along with contact information for FEMA and the Small Business Administration, and from the State Bar of Texas.
See also Disaster Relief Resources from the State Bar of Texas and National Disaster Legal Aid.

Latest and Greatest – Texas Criminal Procedure and the Offender with Mental Illness: An Analysis and Guide

By Brian D. Shannon & Daniel H. Benson

NAMI Texas (2016)

KFT 1766.6 .S52 2016

First published as an educational tool, Texas Criminal Procedure and the Offender with Mental Illness: An Analysis and Guide informed those involved in the criminal justice system of the issues and obstacles faced by persons having a mental illness. Now in its fifth edition, this book, made possible through a grant from the Texas Bar Foundation, continues its mission of promoting justice for mentally-ill individuals by analyzing some of the key issues that arise in criminal cases. The authors devote much of the book to a general discussion of the standards and legislation concerning the competency to stand trial for both adult and juvenile defendants and in cases involving the death penalty. They also examine the insanity defense as it relates to both types of defendants while also looking at various proposals for reform. Lastly, the authors focus on post-conviction issues, such as community supervision, prison or jail mental health care, and completion of the criminal sentence. The book includes detailed and extensive analysis of the pertinent legislation as well as the actual text from the statutes.