Harris County Law Library's 102nd Anniversary

October 1 is a special day each year at the Harris County Law Library. On October 1, 1915, attorneys gathered in downtown Houston for our institution's official grand opening and each year that passes gives us a chance to reflect on the progress we've made in serving our patrons and fulfilling our mission. 

Two years ago, the Law Library marked the occasion by inviting the local legal community to join us for a Centennial Celebration featuring a keynote address from Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Nathan Hecht. During his address, the chief justice noted that, throughout the centuries, great thinkers have reiterated the sentiment that "knowledge is power," including influential writers, from the drafters of the Texas Constitution to novelists George Orwell (Nineteen Eighty-Four) and Ray Bradbury (Fahrenheit 451), who make the point that access to knowledge is essential in a free society. The chief justice connected these historical themes with the Centennial Celebration by noting that "[i]t is in opposition to a suppression of knowledge, and in support of its general diffusion, that we gather in celebration of this great public law library."

Inspired by Chief Justice Hecht's words and driven by a mission to promote access to justice through access to legal information, the Law Library continues to expand opportunities for our patrons to gain knowledge. We've launched our Legal Tech Institute, which provides free training opportunities to attorneys and members of the public who might otherwise be left behind by technological advancements in our justice system. In a short time, we will further expand available legal tech training opportunities to include experiential learning with our Hands-On Legal Tech Training program, thanks to a generous grant from the Texas Bar Foundation. A legal clinic from Houston Volunteer Lawyers is now available in the Law Library 5 days per week to connect individuals with limited means with legal information for a licensed volunteer attorney.

When disaster struck, the Law Library launched the Harvey Recovery Resources page to help connect Houstonians with information on available local, state, and federal aid. In each instance, the Law Library works to disseminate knowledge and empower our patrons to participate as informed citizens in our Harris County government.

For more on the Law Library's Centennial Celebration and to view Chief Justice Hecht's speech, visit our centennial page.

Latest & Greatest – Trial Manual 6 for the Defense of Criminal Cases

HeinOnline has recently introduced a new addition to its American Law Institute Library: Trial Manual 6 for the Defense of Criminal Cases. Written by Anthony G. Amsterdam and Randy Hertz, the Trial Manual, as it is called, is designed to be a handbook for managing and handling criminal cases. Arranged chronologically, the Trial Manual takes the reader step-by-step through the criminal defense process, from the initial stages following an arrest through postconviction proceedings and appeals. Chapters covering the initial case to the arraignment address such topics as bail, case planning, preliminary hearings, grand jury, and guilty pleas. Proceedings included in the period between arraignment and trial include pretrial motions, pretrial discovery and conference(s), and suppression motions and hearings. Matters relating to the jury and the conduct of the trial itself are addressed in the trial chapters. Lastly, post-trial motions, sentencing, appeals, and probation and parole revocation are discussed in the final chapters dealing with post-trial matters.

As with resources found in other HeinOnline libraries, this full-text treatise features hyperlinks, which take the reader to the highlighted cases and law review articles cited in the Trial Manual. There are also handy flow charts detailing the procedure for cases involving felonies, cases dealing with misdemeanors, and cases before a magistrate. Moreover, there are checklists throughout the Trial Manual to ensure that the attorney has performed all of the necessary steps at a particular stage. Additionally, the authors, knowing that an important part of any trial, civil or criminal, is an understanding of the attorney-client privilege and the ethical rules concerning the practice of law, provide an excellent summary of the duties owed to the client and refer to the American Bar Association Standards of Criminal Justice, the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct (also available at the Law Library), and the ABA Code of Professional Responsibility. (Another good source on ethics that is available here at the Harris County Law Library, but not specifically referenced, is Professional Responsibility in Criminal Defense Practice.)

Incidentally, the authors stress that, while the Trial Manual is a helpful resource for the novice attorney and can provide him or her with the necessary information to competently represent a criminal defendant, criminal law remains a specialty. Thus, they recommend that those lawyers who are not well-versed in the handling of criminal matters consult with a more experienced criminal attorney for assistance. Nevertheless, the Trial Manual has been and continues to be an invaluable resource for those who are called upon to defend an individual in a criminal case. Look for it on HeinOnline at the Harris County Law Library.