The updated 11th edition of MSBA’s Maryland Divorce and Separation Law (2023) is now on our shelf (catalog record). You can also access the updated text on Lexis in the Law Library. As of today, Westlaw has not yet updated its content from the 10th to 11th editions.
Among the book’s updates is a new section on parenting plans in response to the laws passed in 2020 requiring these plans in custody and/or visitation cases.
In December and January, the Ask A Lawyer in the Library program provided legal advice to seventeen people. Thanks to volunteer attorneys, Steve Migdal, Jack Paltell, Saul McCormick, and Michele Manculich for providing this service to the public. In January we were happy to welcome new volunteer attorney, Patrice Clarke. Issues included student loan debt, landlord/tenant, expungement, estate planning and immigration.
The Ask a Lawyer in the Library program is a civil, non-family law, self-help program held every Wednesday, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., and on the 3rd Wednesday from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. The program is sponsored by Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service and hosted by the Anne Arundel County Public Library. You can talk with a volunteer attorney for at least 20 minutes. Registration is required. All sessions are held remotely via Zoom videoconferencing or phone. More information can be found here.
Do you have a family law matter? Family Law matters are best addressed by the Family Court Help Center.
Do you have a criminal case? The Office of the Public Defender provides legal services to eligible individuals. Information about representation in criminal cases can be found here.
New and updated titles from the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC), the Maryland State Bar Association (MSBA) and the National Business Institute (NBI) are now on our shelves covering used car fraud, custody and child support, real property, civil practice, and criminal procedure. See below:
See all NCLC titles in our catalog.
See all NBI titles in our catalog.
We now have a resource page on adoption listed on our FAQs page, where you can find relevant laws, online articles, and library materials on adoption law in Maryland.
Our FAQs page now links to our new resources page on trusts. There, you will find a bibliography of manuals and treatises on the topic, as well as links to relevant statutes, forms, and articles.
Jack Paltell, Steve Migdal, and William Moomau were the “Lawyers in the Library” this month providing legal assistance with such issues as deeds, eviction, debt collection, contracts and homeowner associations.
“Ask a Lawyer in the Library” is held every Wednesday of the month from 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. and on the third Wednesday from 4:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. (The evening program will not be held this summer and will resume in September.) You can talk with a volunteer lawyer for at least 20 minutes about your civil, non-family legal problem for free. All sessions are now conducted over Zoom or by phone.
This program is sponsored by Anne Arundel County Local Pro Bono Committee, Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service, and the Anne Arundel Bar Association. It is hosted by the Anne Arundel County Public Library.
Register online here or call the law library for help. Once you have registered, you will be sent a link to an intake sheet. Instructions for meeting with the attorney will be sent once the intake is competed.
Contact the library if you have questions: (phone) 410-222-1387 or (email) AALawLibrarian@mdcourts.gov
While it’s in no way new to the library, our FAQs webpage can now be found in our catalog. For those who have never seen it, the FAQs page provides links to our comprehensive resource pages on the most frequently asked-about topics (See the page on bankruptcy, for an example). Each individual resource page also has a new record in our catalog for those who want to search under specific topics.
These pages provide links to statutes, videos, free articles for the layperson, forms, and bibliographies of relevant print resources in the library. If you need help figuring out which resources to start with on the list, we at the law library can point you to those that would be most helpful and relevant to your situation.
It is tough navigating the court system. There are fees, deadlines, jargon, forms, paperwork, hearings, and many other details to remember. What is a lawyer-less litigant to do?
To help SRLs (self-represented litigants) keep themselves organized and get help navigating the legal process, Civil Justice and the Maryland Judiciary, with A2J Tech, have partnered to create the Maryland Justice Passport, a free online tool that allows participants to scan and upload their documents, share those documents with legal service providers, set up timelines and reminders, learn about legal topics, and connect with legal aid organizations. Litigants can use the Passport as an app on their smartphone or at the website.
Interested litigants can sign-up online, and can receive help with the process here at the Anne Arundel County Public Law Library.
With the limited access to the courts now, and the law libraries and walk-in self- help centers housed there, it is the perfect time to download the new and improved Maryland Law Help App.
New features listed on the Maryland Law Help webpage include:
This APP is your direct link to the Maryland People’s Law Library and the remote Maryland Courts Self-Help Center.
Thanks to our volunteer attorneys who assisted 20 people with issues such as contracts, deeds, estate planning, deeds, emancipation, zoning and debt collection. The program is on the summer schedule in Glen Burnie and will resume there in August. Eastport will resume in July after having to cancel due to the 2018 Primary Election since that library was also a polling place
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 (except in June and July) and Eastport-Annapolis Neck Community Library on the last Tuesday. For more information, please see http://circuitcourt.org/legal-help/lawyer-in-the-library.
AACPLL Blog: Law Library News 