Harris County Law Library
This blog post is the first in a new series from Ex Libris Juris highlighting common topics in civil procedure (Civ Pro). This series is meant to provide general information and further resources to help you prepare to represent yourself in a civil lawsuit in Harris County.
In Texas, there are three basic phases of a civil lawsuit: Pretrial, Trial, and Post-Trial. One of the most important parts of Pretrial preparation is Discovery.
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On March 18, 1963, the United States Supreme Court ruled in Gideon v . Wainwright that the Sixth Amendment’s guarantee of counsel in criminal cases is a fundamental right, essential to a fair trial, as provided by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The court battle leading up to this ruling was truly a case of David v. Goliath. In recent years, there has been a push to advocate for a “Civil Gideon” – the right to legal counsel in civil cases. If Civil Gideon should ever come to pass as a universal Constitutional right, the legacy of Clarence Earl Gideon, whose own case was decided on this day 59 years ago, would be fulfilled for all so that “justice should be the same, in substance and availability, without regard to economic status” and irrespective of the type of offense.
Read moreBe honest. How many of you have considered, or at least thought about, writing the next great American novel, or perhaps documenting your life and experiences in a memoir? If so, it has probably crossed your mind that you need some way to protect your creative effort from unwanted copying. This is the point where the law of copyright steps in and where confusion surfaces. Attorney Stephen Fishman, a recognized expert in the field of copyright, has created The Copyright Handbook: What Every Writer Needs to Know to help would-be writers navigate this somewhat puzzling area of the law.
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Go beyond the basics of legal research using Westlaw.
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March 12 marks the 100th birthday of literary legend, Jack Kerouac. Though he died in 1969, his legacy as “King of The Beats” lives on. Today, his estate is worth millions, and the complicated fight for his fortune more than 70 years after his death is still unresolved. It’s fraught with familial infighting, righteous desperation, and outright greed, as well as an allegedly suspect signature on Kerouac’s putative will.
Read moreWhat’s behind the name? “Ex Libris Juris” is Latin for “from the books of law” and much of the information here will relate to the legal information collected and curated by the Law Library. Additionally, “Ex Libris” has long appeared on bookplates – labels appearing inside the front cover of books – and has acquired the connoted meaning “from the library of” to show ownership of the book. Using this connotation, the phrase becomes “from the library of law” and better describes the posts about digital resources, event announcements, and research tips that will regularly appear here.
