It makes you wonder, sometimes

Sad the lengths some people will take to get attention. Take the young lady who was recently arrested for smoking meth in front of her baby AND THEN POSTING A PICTURE OF IT ON FACEBOOK!!  I mean, can I get an epic face palm?!?  Either she's bragging or just doesn't realize that these pictures go to EVERYONE on the planet (including the police who subsequently arrested her and took her kids away)!

This, of course, reminds me of a young couple who came into our library a while back.  Seems they had filed a personal injury action against a company.  Couple had done some research through Google.com, found a complaint resembling something they had seen on L.A. Law and, using the sample, filed against company.  Company demurred to the complaint and the court granted couple a chance to file an amended complaint. 

Couple does a little more research on the Internet, refiled their 1st Amended complaint. Company demurred and court granted the couple a chance to file a 2nd amended complaint.  

Couple does a little more research on the Internet and filed their 2nd amended complaint.  Company demurred and court dismissed couple's case with prejudice.  In an act of desperation, couple came to the law library asked what they did wrong.

Things they did wrong:  

• FIRST, they relied on the Internet for their legal research.
• SECOND, they relied on the Internet to look for a complaint that looked kinda like what they were looking for.
• THIRD, they relied on the Internet to advise them on how to proceed.
• FOURTH, they relied on the Internet.
• FIFTH, they relied on the Internet.
• Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, Tenth - they relied on the Internet for their legal information.  

See a trend here?  If you don't, it's that because they relied solely on the Internet for they're legal research needs, they didn't stand a chance in the legal arena.

The reason they didn't stand a chance at success is not because they relied on the Internet, per se, but because they were litigating in California, they did not compare what they found to the California Rules of Court, the California Codes, the California Regulations (all of which can be found for free in a local county law library), nor did they try to seek assistance from their local county law Librarian at local county law library in the State of California!  They were doomed from the start. DOOMED, I say!

Had they, in the very least, gone to their local county law library BEFORE they started with the litigation thing, I could have shown them (like I did) a template that would have addressed their specific causes of action in:

• California Forms of Pleading and Practice (Lexis)
• California Civil Practice: Torts (Thomson Reuters)
• California Causes of Action (James Publishing)
• American Jurisprudence Pleading and Practice Forms (Thomson Reuters)

Now, because couple was behind the 8-ball with the dismissal with prejudice, I was having to show her a Motion for Reconsideration as well as information on how to Appeal the judgment using:

• California Civil Appellate Procedure (CEB)
• California Civil Practice: Procedure (Thomson Reuters)
• Corpus Juris Secundum (Thomson Reuters)

I guess the moral of the story is, if you want to lose your case, rely on the Internet for all your research needs. If, on the other hand, you want to have a chance at success, then I suggest you head over to your local county law library and talk to your local county law Librarian who knows their collection and what resources are best for darn near any situation. Yeah, we are that good.