Author: Joan Bellistri

Law Library Director for the Anne Arundel County Public Law Library

Categories
lawlibrary Pro Bono Self Represented

Ask a Lawyer In the Library – Wednesday Wrap-Up

jack-and-mikeMike Ragland and Jack Paltell were the “Lawyers in the Library” on Wednesday, July 5. Even though it was the day after the Fourth, four people came to the library for brief legal advice on such topics as an unemployment appeal, business entities, an easement agreement and  elder law.

The Ask a Lawyer In the Library program is a civil, non-family law, self-help program sponsored by The Anne Arundel Bar Association and the Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service. Every Wednesday, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., you can talk with a volunteer attorney for up to 20 minutes. No appointment is necessary, but sign-up is required at the law library’s information desk. Sign-up begins at 10:45 a.m., and time slots are determined by a lottery. In addition to the weekly program, the Ask A Lawyer In The Library program is held monthly at two Anne Arundel County Public Library branches: Glen Burnie Regional Library on the 3rd Wednesday and Eastport-Annapolis Neck Community Library on the last Tuesday. For more information, please see http://circuitcourt.org/legal-help/lawyer-in-the-library.

Categories
lawlibrary

Court Holiday – “4th of July”

fireworksThe Law Library is closed today, July 4 2017, for the 4th of July holiday.  The Law Library will reopen tomorrow, Wednesday, July 5, 2017.  A list of Court Holidays is available on the Circuit Court’s website at http://www.circuitcourt.org/court-holidays. Except on Court Holidays, the Library is open Monday through Friday, from 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m.

Independence Day commemorates the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. A federal holiday since 1941, Independence Day, also referred to as the Fourth of July, has been celebrated in the United States since 1776.  If you are interested in learning more about Independence Day and the events leading up to the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, check out these sites.

 

Categories
lawlibrary Maryland Law

New Laws in Effect on July 1, 2017 in Maryland

Many of the laws passed in the 2017 session of the Maryland General Assembly go into effect on Saturday, July 1.  According to the  Department of Legislative Services General Assembly of Maryland Dates of Interest 2017 most laws will go into effect on October 1 but the bills that  are budgetary, tax, and revenue bills will go into effect on July 1.

Maryland public libraries are happy that there will now be a Maryland State Law Library Agency beginning July 1, 2017.  HB1094/CH338 and SB587/CH337 will make the agency governing public libraries an independent agency rather than a division of the Department of Education.

Other state agencies got new names.  There is now a Health Department instead of the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene per SB82/CH214.  HB103/CH205 renames the Department of Human Resources to be the Department of Human Services; and the Child Support Enforcement Administration will become the Child Support Administration.

An article in the Baltimore Sun, “Laws to take effect on Sat.”  also provides a good overview.  Articles in the Capital and U.S. News & World Reports cover the same list of bills.  The list includes Planned Parenthood funding (HB1083/CH28 and SB1081/CH810) and the Taxpayer Protection Act (SB304/CH379).

For a full listing of laws in effect on July 1, please see the “2017 Chapters – Effective July 1, 2017” published by The Department of Legislative Services. “The 90 Day Report,” also published by the Department, provides a review of all legislation passed in 2017.

Categories
lawlibrary Pro Bono Self Represented

Ask a Lawyer In the Library – Wednesday Wrap-Up

paul-farmer-20150826
Paul Farmer

On Wednesday, June 28, 2017, the Law Library hosted another successful Ask A Lawyer In The Library program. Thank you, Paul Farmer of Gormley Jarashow Bowman, for volunteering and providing this service to the public.  Seven people took part in the program and were able to speak with the attorney to request assistance with issues such as contracts, employment, landlord and tenant, district court appeals and real estate. The next program date is Wednesday, July 5, 2017.

The Ask a Lawyer In the Library program is a civil, non-family law, self-help program sponsored by The Anne Arundel Bar Association and the Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service. Every Wednesday, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., you can talk with a volunteer attorney for up to 20 minutes. No appointment is necessary, but sign-up is required at the law library’s information desk. Sign-up begins at 10:45 a.m., and time slots are determined by a lottery. In addition to the weekly program, the Ask A Lawyer In The Library program is held monthly at two Anne Arundel County Public Library branches: Glen Burnie Regional Library on the 3rd Wednesday and Eastport-Annapolis Neck Community Library on the last Tuesday. For more information, please see http://circuitcourt.org/legal-help/lawyer-in-the-library.

Do you have a family law matter? Family Law matters are best addressed by Family Law Self-Help Center which is located in the back of the law library.  For more information: http://www.circuitcourt.org/legal-help/family-law

Do you have a criminal case? The Office of the Public Defender provides legal services to eligible individuals. Information about the Office of the Public Defender is available at http://www.opd.state.md.us/.

Need help with a District Court matter such as landlord/tenant, small claims (less than $5,000), consumer matters, or return of property (replevin and detinue).The District Court Self-Help Resource Center provides limited legal services for people who are not represented by an attorney. Services are provided in-person (in Glen Burnie, Upper Marlboro and Salisbury). More information is available at .http://www.courts.state.md.us/legalhelp/districtctselfhelpctr.html

Help with family and civil questions is available by phone and online chat from the Maryland Courts Self Help Center, Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. More information and link for chat can be found here:   http://mdcourts.gov/selfhelp/index.html#maryland

 

 

 

 

Categories
lawlibrary Maryland Law

What’s new…

The following titles have been recently shelved.  Come and check them out.

ADR Collection – Purchased with funds from the Maryland Judiciary’s Mediation Conflict Resolution Office.

Children come first : mediation, not litigation when marriage ends / Howard H. Irving.  (ADR HQ814 I788)

Families change : a book for children experiencing termination of parental rights / by Julie Nelson ; illustrated by Mary Gallagher.   (ADR HV881 .N43 2007)

Mediation preparation : how to prepare for mediation / by Joe B. Hewitt. (ADR HM1126 .H4 2015)

Self-help preparation for Family Court Services (FCS), child custody mediation, child custody evaluations / Dr. Miguel Alvarez and Dr. Lori Love.   (ADR KF547.A9 A4 2009)

Maryland Titles

Using and drafting trusts in estate planning / [John P. Edgar [and others].  (KFM1340.A75 M38 2016)

Will drafting in Maryland / Danielle M. Cruttenden … [and 4 others].  (KFM1344 .W68 2017)

Maryland construction law deskbook, second edition / Joseph C. Kovars, editor ; Michael A. Schollaert, editor ; Construction Law Section, Maryland State Bar Association.  (KFM1355.8.B8 M42 2017)

Workers’ compensation manual / Theodore B. Cornblatt. (KFM1542.A62 W67 2015)

2011 Civil practice & procedure in the District Court of Maryland. (KFM1730 .C58 2010)

General U.S.

Environmental law / by William H. Rodgers, Jr., et al. (KF3775 .R59 2016)

Library

Cataloging legal literature / Melody Busse Lembke, Melissa Beck.  (LIB REF Z695.1.L3 E65 2016)

Data visualizations and infographics / Sarah K. C. Mauldin.  (LIB REF Z678.93.G73 M38 2015)

Categories
lawlibrary Legal Technology

Lexis Advance Now Available in the Law Library

The law library now offers Lexis Advance for online legal research.  Lexis Advance is the new interface for searching Lexis.  It offers Google like functionality with a search box at the top of the page where you can enter your search terms.

lexis_search_bar

You do not have to choose a database for searching.  Results will be organized by database or Lexis library.  However, you do have the option of choosing the database or jurisdiction you want to search.  The old Boolean connectors are still available, too.

The sign-in process is more involved than with the “classic” Lexis.  You will first see a page with a blue box with the words “Go to my start page.” Clicking on the blue box will bring you to the start page.  You must enter your first and last name and agree to the terms and conditions.  (This information will not be used by Lexis and does not require your contact information.)

The biggest news is the additional content that Lexis Advance brings to library users.  We now have access to all, that is just about ALL, Matthew Bender and Lexis texts and treatises.  This means there is now online access to such titles as Bender’s Forms of Discovery, Collier on Bankruptcy and Rabkin and Johnson Current Legal Forms with Tax Analysis.  For Maryland, this means online access to Turnbull’s Maryland Domestic Relations Forms, a title not available on the “old” Lexis.

Please visit the law library and give this new service a try.  We will be happy to walk you through any legal research project you bring with you.

Categories
lawlibrary

Annual Report FY2016

The law library is happy to announce that the Annual Report for FY2016 is ready for viewing.  The law library can provide a print copy but the online version is available here: https://sway.com/PgBY9gJix3SijZSj?ref=Link&loc=play

 

Categories
lawlibrary Pro Bono Self Represented

Ask a Lawyer In the Library – Wednesday Wrap-Up

Brian LymanOn Wednesday, June 21, 2017, the Law Library hosted another successful Ask A Lawyer In The Library program. Thank you, Brian Lyman from Hillman, Brown and Darrow, for volunteering and providing this service to the public. Six people took part in the program and were able to speak with the attorney to request assistance with issues such as procedure, employment, discovery, garnishment, and real estate.

The next program date is Wednesday, June 28 , 2017 here in the law library.

PLEASE NOTE: The evening program normally scheduled for the evening on the last Tuesday of the month (6/27) at  the Eastport-Annapolis Neck Community Library is cancelled due to a conflict with the Anne Arundel Bar Association Annual Meeting.

The MVLS Brief Legal Advice Foreclosure Clinic is now held on the 3rd Wednesday in the law library from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. More information can be found here: http://aacpll.pbworks.com/w/page/99877141/Foreclosure%20Clinic  Today one person was able to speak with an MVLS staff attorney.  This program participant was happy to have been able to use this service and said: “This is just what I needed. It was good to talk to someone that understood my situation.”  For more information on foreclosure please see the library’s FAQ page on “foreclosure.”

The Ask a Lawyer In the Library program is a civil, non-family law, self-help program sponsored by The Anne Arundel Bar Association and the Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service. Every Wednesday, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., you can talk with a volunteer attorney for up to 20 minutes. No appointment is necessary, but sign-up is required at the law library’s information desk. Sign-up begins at 10:45 a.m., and time slots are determined by a lottery. In addition to the weekly program, the Ask A Lawyer In The Library program is held monthly at two Anne Arundel County Public Library branches: Glen Burnie Regional Library on the 3rd Wednesday and Eastport-Annapolis Neck Community Library on the last Tuesday. For more information, please see http://circuitcourt.org/legal-help/lawyer-in-the-library.

 

 

 

Categories
lawlibrary

WIFI!

wifiThe law library along with other public spaces in the court like the Jury Office now has WIFI.  After waiting for years, it is exciting that we can now answer the question – “do you have WIFI?” – with a “YES.”

Many thanks to our Court Administration, JIS and the Court’s IT Department.

Registration is required as is a Username and Password:

  • Select the “Judiciary Public” WIFI network.
  • Click on the “Don’t have an account?” option.
  • Create an account by entering information in the form.
    • Fields marked with a * must be filled in.
    • Be sure to choose your cell phone provider in order to get a text message.
  • Once registered, a Username and Password will be sent via text message or email.
    • Username and Password will work for 60 days.
  • Enter your Username and Password.
  • Finally, “Accept,” the “Acceptable Use Policy” and you should be connected.

I had trouble accessing the registration form using Chrome.  Edge worked fine as might Firefox.  There are instructions at the information desk and we will be happy to help you connect in any way that we can.

Categories
lawlibrary Pro Bono Self Represented

Ask A Lawyer in the Library – Wednesday (and Tuesday) Wrap-Ups

The Ask A Lawyer in the Library program has been busy as we begin the summer season.  Since May 17, eleven attorneys have provided 57 pro bono hours to assist 48 people with a variety of issues including bankruptcy, landlord/tenant, foreclosure, guardianship, dental malpractice, and employment.

Jerry Williams
Cliff O’Connor & Alan Forman
Lauren Torggler
Carole Brown
John Bailey
Joe Gormley
Mike Ragland
Jack Paltell
Chris Boucher

Volunteer attorneys were Jerry Williams, Cliff O’Connor, Alan Forman, Lauren Torggler, Carole Brown, John Bailey, Joe Gormley, Mike Ragland, Jack Paltell, Richard Ronay and Chris Boucher.

The Ask a Lawyer in the Library program is a civil, non-family law, self-help program sponsored by The Anne Arundel Bar Association and the Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service. Every Wednesday, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., you can talk with a volunteer attorney for up to 20 minutes. No appointment is necessary, but sign-up is required at the law library’s information desk. Sign-up begins at 10:45 a.m., and time slots are determined by a lottery. In addition to the weekly program, the Ask A Lawyer In The Library program is held monthly at two Anne Arundel County Public Library branches: Glen Burnie Regional Library on the 3rd Wednesday (from August through May) and Eastport-Annapolis Neck Community Library on the last Tuesday. For more information, please see http://circuitcourt.org/legal-help/lawyer-in-the-library.