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lawlibrary Pro Bono Self Represented

Ask a Lawyer In the Library: Wednesday Wrap-up

Valadez
Thank you Mike Valadez!

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. For more information, please see http://circuitcourt.org/legal-help/lawyer-in-the-library.

On Wednesday, January 14, 2015, the Law Library hosted another successful Ask A Lawyer In The Library program. Thank you, Mike Valadez, 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 administrative appeals, bankruptcy, property, leasing, mortgage fraud and estates. The next program date is Wednesday, January 21, 2015.

Do you have a criminal law matter? Criminal Law matters are best addressed by the Office of the Public Defender. Information about the Office of the Public Defender is available at http://www.opd.state.md.us/.

More information about the program is available at http://circuitcourt.org/legal-help/lawyer-in-the-library. The Ask A Lawyer In The Law Library program is a limited legal advice service. The program is not a substitute for representation. If you need an attorney to represent you, you can contact the Anne Arundel Bar Association’s Lawyer Referral and Information Service.
 
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lawlibrary

About the Law Library – Daumier in the Library

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So Goes His Story

The Law Library is proud to be home to six prints by Honoré Daumier, a prolific, nineteenth century French artist, whose wide array of works include lithographs, wood engravings, drawings, paintings and sculptures. The black and white prints on display in the Law Library’s main entry hall, which include Plead “Not Guilty”, This Saintly Woman, So Goes His Story, A Respected Citizen, Such a Devoted Husband and A Sure Case, were donated to the Law Library by retired Judge Michael E. Loney (1939-2012) in 2009. These courtroom scenes satirize the law and the court.

The prints themselves have a long history at the Anne Arundel County Circuit Courthouse as they previously graced the walls of Judge Loney’s chambers during his tenure at the Circuit Court.  The prints were originally a gift to Judge Loney from H. Chester Goudy, Judge Loney’s former law partner and a retired Circuit Court judge. If you are interested in viewing these prints, please come visit the Law Library. Please stop by the service desk, and we will be more than happy to give you a brief tour.

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lawlibrary Pro Bono Self Represented

2014 – Year in Review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2014 annual report for this blog. Here’s an excerpt:  A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 2,500 times in 2014. If it were a cable car, it would take about 42 trips to carry that many people. Click here to see the entire report.

2014 was a transitional year for this blog as we moved towards a more regular posting schedule and introduced several ongoing series, including the weekly Ask a Lawyer in the Library Wednesday Wrap-Up series and the monthly Legal Research in the Blogosphere series.  We also debuted three short-term series, including our National Pro Bono Week series, New Laws series, and the Online Databases in the Limelight series, all of which will return to the blog in 2015.

This year, expect to see 3+ new posts each and every week.  We will focus on the library (e.g.,  news, resources, events), legal research (for both experienced and inexperienced researchers), access to legal information and pro bono legal service.  In addition, we will be introducing several new series to the blog, such as our Practice of Law series and Legal Research 101 series.  We are looking forward to growing and refining this blog and hope you stay tuned. We are always open to comments and suggestions. Please comment below to let us know how we can improve our blog!

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lawlibrary Pro Bono Self Represented

Ask a Lawyer In the Library: Wednesday Wrap-up

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Thank you Mike Ragland (l)  and Jack Paltell (r)!

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. For more information, please see http://circuitcourt.org/legal-help/lawyer-in-the-library.

On Wednesday, January 7, 2015,  the Law Library hosted another successful Ask A Lawyer In The Library program.  Thank you, Mike Ragland and Jack Paltell, from Bell, Ragland, Gauges & Paltell, 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 employment termination, foreclosure, property, wills and trusts.  The next program date is Wednesday, January 14, 2015.

It is helpful to prepare for your session with the attorney.  Here are some helpful tips:

  • Write a list of specific questions for the attorney.
  • Bring any paperwork and information related to the case.
  • Organize any paperwork from most recent on the top to oldest at the bottom.
  • Identify all deadlines.
  • Prepare a timeline of the legal issue.

If you would like to read up on your issue prior to your session with the attorney, please come find us at the Law Library’s information desk.  We are happy to assist you.

More information about the program is available at http://circuitcourt.org/legal-help/lawyer-in-the-library.  The Ask A Lawyer In The Law Library program is a limited legal advice service.  The program is not a substitute for representation.  If you need an attorney to represent you, you can contact the Anne Arundel Bar Association’s Lawyer Referral and Information Service.
 
Categories
lawlibrary Legal Technology

Online Databases in the Limelight

Online databases can be invaluable, time-saving tools to any legal researcher as they provide organized access to a wide array of legal resources as well as sophisticated search functions.  Many online databases, including fee-based databases, are available at the Law Library, free of charge, to library patrons.

Throughout the month of December 2014, this blog featured a series on online databases available at the Law Library for patrons’ use.  The featured databases include Bloomberg BNA, HeinOnline, LexisNexis, VerdictSearch and Westlaw, which are all subscription-based databases that the Law Library offers to its patrons free of charge.  However, this is just a small sampling of the legal databases that may be available for your use.  If you are interested in learning more about online legal databases, including databases that are available without subscription, please contact us!

Many other law libraries also provide their library patrons with access to online legal databases free of charge.  For other local access points to online legal databases, you can check out these libraries.

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lawlibrary Maryland Law

The 2015 Edition of Michie’s Maryland Court Rules is available!

photo 3The 2015 Edition of Michie’s Maryland Court Rules is available at the Law Library!  The 2015 edition includes amendments adopted through November 7, 2014.  The Maryland Rules are the rules of practice and procedure followed by Maryland courts and apply to all Maryland courts unless noted otherwise.  Annotation sources include Maryland case law, the Maryland Law Review, the University of Baltimore Law Review, the University of Baltimore Law Forum and Opinions of the Attorney General.

The current Maryland Code and Rules (without annotations) are available online, free of charge, through Lexis Nexis and Westlaw.  In addition, you can access the annotated Maryland Code and Rules online in the Law Library’s computer room through the Law Library’s subscriptions to Lexis and Westlaw legal databases.  If you are new to the Maryland Rules, the People’s Law Library has an online video tutorial on reading the Maryland Rules through Westlaw, which is available at http://www.screencast.com/t/My0FU44NZbwL.

The 2015 edition supersedes and replaces all previous editions and supplements.  Note that the Law Library maintains copies of the superseded Maryland Rules in its collection, so if you ever need to reference the superseded rules, please drop by the Law Library’s service desk, and we can assist you in locating the appropriate rules.

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lawlibrary Maryland Law

New Maryland Laws Took Effect on January 1, 2015

Laws of MDHappy New Year!  New Maryland laws took effect on January 1, 2015, which impact laws relating to trusts (House Bill 83, Chapter 585), residential leases (Senate Bill 345 / Chapter 488 and House Bill 249, Chapter 489) and real estate appraisers (Senate Bill 1106, Chapter 79). These new laws represent just a small sampling of the new laws enacted by the 2014 Legislative Session.  To learn more about the laws resulting from the 2014 session, check out the 90 Day Report – A Review of the 2014 Session, which is published by the Department of Legislative Services of the General Assembly of Maryland.

If you have any questions or want to learn more, you can always reach us via email at lawlibrary@aacounty.org, via phone at (410) 222-1387 or via fax at (410) 268-9762.

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lawlibrary

The Law Library is closed today.

The Law Library is closed today, January 1, 2015, and tomorrow, January 2, 2015, as both days are Court Holidays. The Law Library will be open on Monday, January 5, 2015. 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 Law Library is open Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. We are located on the third floor (main floor) of the Anne Arundel County Circuit Court at 8 Church Circle, Suite 303, Annapolis, Maryland.

If you cannot make it to the library in person, you can always reach us via email at lawlibrary@aacounty.org, via phone at (410) 222-1387 or via fax at (410) 268-9762.

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lawlibrary Pro Bono Self Represented

The Ask a Lawyer in the Library Program is cancelled today.

The Ask a Lawyer in the Library Program is cancelled today.  The program will restart on Wednesday, January 7, 2015.

 

Categories
lawlibrary Legal Technology

Online Databases in the Limelight – Bloomberg BNA

Online databases can be invaluable, time-saving  tools to any legal researcher as they provide organized access to a wide array of legal resources as well as sophisticated search tools.  Many online databases, including fee-based databases, are available at the Law Library, free of charge, to library patrons.  Each Tuesday of this month, this blog will highlight one of the many databases available at the Law Library.

The Law Library provides library patrons with free access to the Bloomberg BNA (Bureau of National Affairs) legal database.  While there is a great deal of overlap between the resources available on Bloomberg BNA and Westlaw and LexisNexis, which we highlighted earlier this month, Bloomberg BNA materials are only available on Bloomberg BNA.  These BNA materials include the following.

  • United States Law Week provides searchable access to Supreme Court opinions, Supreme Court Practice and Federal Appellate Practice.
  • Family Law Reporter provides a weekly roundup of family law developments and trends.
  • Criminal Law Reporter provides an overview of trends, development and issues in criminal law.
  • Lawyer’s Manual on Professional Conduct provides news and guidance regarding attorneys’ ethics and professional conduct.

Law Library patrons may access Bloomberg BNA’s database  in the library’s computer room free of charge.  If you have any questions regarding how to use the database, please come to the Law Library’s service desk.

For more information about understanding legal research, including the difference between primary and secondary legal resources, check out these research guides.