I can't believe that I have to blog about this stuff over and over but it amazes me the things people decide to get offended by. Take, for example, the lady who came in the other day. Lady was confused and needed to know how to conduct basic legal research. Having taught students and lawyers for years, I walked her over to where she was needing help and asked, do you know the alphabet? Indignant, she spats out that of course she knows the alphabet (I ask because some people don't). I say, OK, let's say it together. Lady FREAKS out and makes a bee line to my boss demanding that I be fired on the spot.
I suspect the reason most anyone might get offended is because they don't the basics of the "how" of working with print legal resources. The first thing people need to know when working with print resources is the key word of the day (which is): RANGE. While "Range" is the distance between two points, it is also the means whereby a person can locate information in print (or some online) resources not readily apparent from the spine of the/a book. Let me elucidate.
Say you are using the legal encyclopedia Corpus Juris Secundum and you are looking for information about RIOT(s). Not wanting to take time to look in the Index, you look on the spine of every book and can't find the word: Riot. Frustrated, you pick up your marbles and run out of the law library vowing never to return simply because you don't know how Range and the alphabet work.
So, say the alphabet with me: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R,...OK, so we're looking for RIot. Volume 77 covers everything between RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES to ROBBERY. Is RIOT in this Range (and, thus, in this book)? Short answer, yes - because RI(ot) is after RE(ligous) but before RO(bbery).
Get it? First recite the ALPHABET and then get the RANGE. Can't get any easier!
Let's try another one. Say you are looking for information on EASEMENTS and are using the legal encyclopedia American Jurisprudence, 2d. Ready? Let's say the alphabet together. A, B, C, D, E...OK, so we're looking for EASEMENTS and EASEMENTS starts with EA. Volume 25 (pictured to the right) covers everything in the Range of DOMESTIC ABUSE AND VIOLENCE to ELECTIONS §§ 1 to 198. Is EASEMENTS in this Range (and, thus, in this book)? Short answer, yes - because EA(sements) is after DO(mestic abuse and violence) but before EL(ections).
One more? You come barreling into the law library demanding every case you can find on the subject of SECURITIES (people do it all the time). I say, do you really want every case we have on the subject of securities or would you rather read up on how securities is applied or, more to the point, how the specific securities you are using is used and/or applied. You scream out that NO, I WANT ALL THE CASES YOU HAVE ON THE WORD: SECURITIES. OK, OK, calm down, and I lead you over to Words and Phrases. Let's say the alphabet together. A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S...OK, so, we're looking for SECurities and we find volume 38A which deals with cases relating to the words SCORE to SEIZURES. Is SECurities in this Range (and, thus, in this book)? Short answer, yes - because SEC(urities) is after SC(ore) but before SEI(zures).
If the concept of RANGE and need to recite the ALPHABET is still not clear - that's OK. Just head on over to your local county law library and your local professional law Librarian can help you find what you're looking to find. Just, please, leave your angst at the front door.
Have you ever had an "alleged" murderer confess their crimes to you? Have you ever had an "alleged" pedophile tell you the sordid details of their latest conquest? Do you have people come to your place of business and tell you their deepest, darkest secrets just to get "it" off their chest (and on to yours)? I do, regularly.
You see, I'm a law Librarian and I "get to" hear it all. Thing is, no one ever told me this was part of the job. It sure wasn't in the job description! I thought being a Librarian meant to help people find resources to help them find their way out of their problems.
Turns out one of the ways to help people is to let them dump their burdens at my feet. The thing with forgiveness or seeking it is that you gotta have faith. Really believe it - otherwise, it's just words in the wind. For some of the people who come in to dump, they're just going through the motions anyway without really wanting to change or come clean.
Take, for example, the young lady who came in the other day. She was very distraught and very sorry for what she had done. Really, really!
Seems she had had a business "soliciting" hundreds of people out of their nest eggs via the Internet. Seems she was very good at doing what she was doing. Well, she was very good, until the Department of Justice got wind of her activities and she was charged with violations under:
among other things. Sorry, sorry, very sorry was she. She was very sorry for what she'd done (but not so sorry as to want to give back the money she'd heretofore acquired - having spent most of it, anyway).
Understanding the weight of her situation, I suggested she take a look at
...and off she was to craft her defense and get on with life.
Sad how far some people will fall before they seek help. Sadder, still, are their stories of woe. Good thing there are law Librarians in the world who will stop and listen when you are at your lowest and then help you get back up and at it.
Have you ever listened to lyrics to songs? I'm not talking about church hymns. Those are pretty tame. I'm talking about some of these songs that preach hatred for most everyone. Songs like Cop Killer by Ice T:
I got my twelve gauge sawed off.
I got my headlights turned off.
I'm 'bout to bust some shots off.
I'm 'bout to dust some cops off.
That's some pretty harsh lyrics coming from a guy that plays a cop on television. I mean, you're actually telling people you're going out on the town to kill police? I wonder what happens when he calls 911 for help. Do the police respond, or laugh?
How about Dean Martin's Baby,It's Cold Outside:
Her: but maybe just a half a drink more;
Him: (put some records on while I pour);
Her: the neighbors might faint;
Him: (baby it's bad out there)
Her: say what's in this drink
Him: (no cabs to be had out there)
While vaguely marketed as a Christmas song, it actually sounds like a song about spiking a woman's drink with some roofies on a cold winter night and, well, since kids read this blog, too, I won't go into details. Sufficient it to say, he could be looking at 5-10 in prison.
When you were so in love with me
I played around like I was free
Thought I could have my cake and it it to
But how I cried over losing you
I used to love to make you cry
It made me feel like a man inside
So, let me get this straight, he plays around AND loves to make girls cry? The only guys that LOVE to make girls cry are the ones what wear wife beater shirts. I swear that if my little girls brings one of those guys home to meet me, I'll gak!
Of course, this made me think of the thousands of people who file through our law library to attend the family law workshops hosted by the Superior Court. As admirable as these workshops are (as they really do help people fill out paperwork and navigate the family law court), it's sad to see so many people having to go through the divorce process. I mean, did they have in the back of their minds the thought that they would be divorced when they got married? Does anyone?!
It seems so, sometimes. I remember a while back we had a guy come in on Monday who had just gotten married the day before (on Sunday) in Vegas and was looking to get a divorce. Already!? The ink hadn't even dried on his signature and, well, there you go.
For those who are looking to break the chains that bind them, might I suggest you head over to your local county law library and take a look at:
The problem with some songs is not so much the lyrics as the fact that they get stuck in my head. Thankfully, it's only the lyrics that get stuck and not the concepts they proscribe.
If ever you find that you got the two mixed up and find you need the services of a certified county law Librarian, head on over and we'll help you get things sorted out.
I'm a member of a local online group and today, a message came across the board reading:
Yesterday, an officer responded to Main Street regarding a subject brandishing a knife. Upon arrival, the officer located and detained the subject. It was learned that the subject was on felony probation. Based on the investigation, the subject was arrested and booked into jail.
A few things here but first and foremost, the subject was not just on probation, but was on FELONY probation. What that means is that if the person gets caught doing ANYTHING against the law, like...oh, I don't know - threatening people with a deadly weapon...that they can (and probably will) revoke probation and can send that person to jail/prison for OVER a year.
While I'm not a criminal, I tend to think like one (see if you don't get this way after working with the public for over 12 years). In this case, if you're going to be brandishing a weapon, have the good sense to dispense with or hide it before the police show up on the scene. Since you did not have the good sense to hide your weapon, might I suggest you either give your local bar association a call and seek legal counsel, or have a family member go over to your local county law library to take a look at:
Yep, some people are unluckier than others. For those (or even you) who need help of a legal nature, why not head on over to your local county law library and let your local county law Librarian help you do what you need to get done.
When is is acceptable to have sex with a minor? When you're their teacher? When you're their employer? A parent? A priest? I suspect, the answer is when they're over the age of majority (in which case, they are no longer a minor and the question becomes a moot point).
I bring this up only because I was reading a while back about a teacher who succumbed to the wiles of her 8th grade student via Instagram. Yep, Alexandria Vega was doing the tube steak tango with a 13-year old student and got caught. Basic facts are student contacts teacher via Instagram and bends her ear. Eventually teacher relents, love blossoms, teacher gets pregnant and kid's parents couldn't be happier. Happier? Really?!? Kid has to deal with child support before he's even out of puberty and the parents are happy? Sad. Really, really sad.
Being a new year, we can fix all this (or at least start to fix things). Sure, that's what resolutions are for, don't cha know. Of course, this all brings me to our word for the month: RESOLVE. According to Black's Law Dictionary, RESOLVE means to:
to find an acceptable or even satisfactory way of dealing with (a problem or difficulty). To make a definite decision to (do something); to set one's mind to (a course of action)
So, maybe our first resolution is to NOT have sex with a minor. Yeah, that's pretty definite. Don't boink students you teach; don't tango with minors who work for you; don't do the choir boy(s); don't make kids with your kid. Sounds easy enough, right? Yeah, maybe not since 80% who make resolutions fail to keep them.
How about some resolutions you can (legally) keep:
- Resolution 1: Drink more water. Did you know drinking water helps boost your metabolism (which aids in losing weight)?
- Resolution 2: Exercise more. "Studies" have shown that daily exercise helps you not be fat and lazy or develop diabetes (not that those are related but, well...uh...). Years ago I joined a club and did the treadmill three times a week. The result was I could move longer and not get tired. These days, not so much.
- Resolution 3: Eat less salt. High salt diets lead to high blood pressure and stress on the heart. Not good things. Best, then, to eat less salt. Not no salt - just less of it.
- Resolution 4: Donate all your money to your local county law library. Everyone dies. Everyone. Why not annoy the living heck out of your relations and donate all your money to your local county law library? Yeah - that way, the entire community benefits and your relations finally know what you really think of them.
So, there you go - four resolutions you can resolve to keep. Not very legal and no legal resources but all healthy and beneficial to someone. Maybe not you, but someone.
Say you are using the legal encyclopedia Corpus Juris Secundum and you are looking for information about RIOT(s). Not wanting to take time to look in the Index, you look on the spine of every book and can't find the word: Riot. Frustrated, you pick up your marbles and run out of the law library vowing never to return simply because you don't know how Range and the alphabet work. 
Let's try another one. Say you are looking for information on EASEMENTS and are using the legal encyclopedia American Jurisprudence, 2d. Ready? Let's say the alphabet together. A, B, C, D, E...OK, so we're looking for EASEMENTS and EASEMENTS starts with EA. Volume 25 (pictured to the right) covers everything in the Range of DOMESTIC ABUSE AND VIOLENCE to ELECTIONS §§ 1 to 198. Is EASEMENTS in this Range (and, thus, in this book)? Short answer, yes - because EA(sements) is after DO(mestic abuse and violence) but before EL(ections).
One more? You come barreling into the law library demanding every case you can find on the subject of SECURITIES (people do it all the time). I say, do you really want every case we have on the subject of securities or would you rather read up on how securities is applied or, more to the point, how the specific securities you are using is used and/or applied. You scream out that NO, I WANT ALL THE CASES YOU HAVE ON THE WORD: SECURITIES. OK, OK, calm down, and I lead you over to Words and Phrases. Let's say the alphabet together. A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S...OK, so, we're looking for SECurities and we find volume 38A which deals with cases relating to the words SCORE to SEIZURES. Is SECurities in this Range (and, thus, in this book)? Short answer, yes - because SEC(urities) is after SC(ore) but before SEI(zures).
