Starr Hoffman28 November 2011

• Golden Rule of Legal Resources• How a Bill Becomes a Law• Local (City/County) Resources• State Resources• Federal Resources• Finding Case Law• Legal Forms & Other Resources• Conclusion

Never give legal advice!

• Sample patron questions & appropriate responses:• What does this phrase mean (in a bill, law, etc.)?• I’m sorry, I can’t interpret that for you. I can help you find a

resource that explains legal terms, or I can help you find a list of local legal professionals.

• I’m trying to write a will / get a divorce / adopt a child without hiring a lawyer. What do I do?• Here are some helpful legal guides with guidelines, some legal

forms for the state of Texas, and I can show you how to look up laws on that topic. Unfortunately, I can’t help you with the process itself.

• GPO PDF poster: How Bill Becomes a Law• includes steps in the process & details the GPO (Government

Printing Office) publication titles for each stage (see next slide)• http://www.fdlp.gov/component/docman/doc_download/1966-h

ow-a-bill-becomes-a-law-poster

• Ben’s Guide: How Laws Are Made• simple but detailed look at the law-making process• http://bensguide.gpo.gov/6-8/lawmaking/

• Similar guides from U.S. Senate & House• http://www.senate.gov/reference/resources/pdf/legprocessflowc

hart.pdf• http://www.house.gov/content/learn/legislative_process/

• Legislative process in Texas• http://www.tlc.state.tx.us/gtli/legproc/process.html • chart: http://www.tlc.state.tx.us/gtli/legproc/diagram.html

• How to follow a bill in Texas• http://www.legis.state.tx.us/resources/FollowABill.aspx • where to look for information on a bill at every stage of

the process

• City of Denton• e-government services & info: municipal court, city attorney,

utilities, codes, economic development, etc.• http://www.cityofdenton.com/

• National Center for State Courts• http://www.courtstatistics.org/ • state court structure charts: • http://cspstage.ncsc.org/Other-Pages/State_Court_Structure_Charts.aspx • http://cspstage.ncsc.org/Other-Pages/State-Charts/Texas.aspx

Each city website will vary. They often have only minimal information available online.

• Denton County• e-government services: tax office, voter registration, birth

certificates, passports, social services, and more• http://dentoncounty.com/ • district courts, criminal courts, probate court• often don’t include info online besides hours & contact info• may need to call or email courts for further information

• Denton County has a Law Library webpage:• http://dentoncounty.com/dept/main.asp?Dept=18

Each county website will vary. They often have only minimal information available online.

• Texas Legislature Online• search for bills, current statues, Texas Constitution• full-text searching• full-text of bills/laws back to 1989 • (previous years in print at UNT Libraries)

• shows bill status• http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/

• State of Texas• access to e-government services, state agencies, & more• http://www.texas.gov/• Agency Finder:

http://www.texas.gov/en/Discover/Pages/agency-finder.aspx

• Vernon's Texas Statutes and Codes Annotated • in print at UNT Libraries• online through Westlaw’s Campus Research database

• General and Special Laws of the State of Texas• in print at UNT Libraries• online through Westlaw’s Campus Research database

• Texas Senate• http://www.senate.state.tx.us/• find your senators:

http://www.senate.state.tx.us/75r/Senate/Members.htm#FYI • see what bills will be voted on (calendar):• http://www.senate.state.tx.us/75r/senate/CalSys.htm

• Texas House of Representatives• http://www.house.state.tx.us/• find your representative:• http://www.house.state.tx.us/resources/frequently-asked-questions

/#who_rep • see what bills will be voted on (calendar):• http://www.house.state.tx.us/schedules/house%2Dcalendars/

• Portal to Texas History @ UNT• Texas Senate Journals• http://texashistory.unt.edu/explore/collections/TXSJ/

• Texas House Journals• http://texashistory.unt.edu/explore/collections/TXHRJ/

• Texas Register (1991 – on, retro issues coming soon)• weekly publication of state rules, regulations, etc.• http://texashistory.unt.edu/explore/collections/TR/

• Texas Reports (Texas Supreme Court decisions)• http://texashistory.unt.edu/explore/collections/TXRPT/

• Texas Laws & Resolutions Archive (78th legislature - on)

• http://texashistory.unt.edu/explore/collections/TLRA/ • Gammel’s Laws of Texas (1822 – on)• http://texashistory.unt.edu/explore/collections/GLT/

• U.S. Code (compiled current laws)• http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/browse/collectionUScode.action?collectionCode=USCODE

• also in print at UNT Libraries• annotated version in Westlaw’s Campus Research database

• THOMAS.gov• U.S. Congressional bills: full-text, status, sponsors, resolutions• Congressional Record: record of each day’s activities in Congress• http://thomas.loc.gov/

• Congressional Sessions by Year• lists what congress was held in what year• http://www.library.unt.edu/govinfo/browse-topics/government-and-politics/politics/years-and-s

essions-of-congress

• US Senate• http://www.senate.gov/ • find your senators:

• http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

• calendar:• http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/legislative/d_three_sections_with_teasers/ca

lendars.htm

• US House of Representatives• http://www.house.gov/• find your representative:

• http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/

• calendar:• http://www.house.gov/legislative/

Track Current Legislation: http://www.govtrack.us/

• US Supreme Court• http://www.supremecourt.gov/• opinions:• http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/opinions.aspx

• current justices & bios: • http://www.supremecourt.gov/about/biographies.aspx

• docket (search for cases):• http://www.supremecourt.gov/docket/docket.aspx

• LexisNexis Academic• front page: look up a case by citation, party name, or

topic• or use the link for Federal & State Cases• easiest way to find a specific case (also available in print

at UNT)

• Landmark U.S. Legal Cases• high-profile cases like Roe v. Wade, organized by topic

• Shepard’s Citations• choose “browse” to decode citations

• Supreme Court Briefs• Law Reviews• various legal reference materials

• Stevenson's Texas Legal Practice Forms• in print at UNT Libraries: KFT1268 .S85 1993

• Nolo Legal Guide Series• do-it-yourself guides for wills, divorce, citizenship, and more• guides to special topics like LGBT issues and renting a home

• Black’s Law Dictionary• in print at UNT Libraries• online through Westlaw’s Campus Research database

• FDsys from the Government Printing Office (GPO)• free online access to variety of federal government documents• http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/browse/collectiontab.action

• Need help?• ask Julie• ask the UNT Government Documents Dept.• if it’s a really complicated reference question, post it to a

relevant list-serv like GovDoc-L (for documents librarians)• http://govdoc-l.org/

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:

http://www.library.unt.edu/govinfo/http://www.library.unt.edu/research-tools/guides/law/contact: govinfo@unt.edu

Starr Hoffmanstarr.hoffman@gmail.com http://geekyartistlibrarian.com