legal reference service for public librarians in the internet era

Legal Reference Service Legal Reference Service for Public Librarians in the for Public Librarians in the Internet EraInternet Era

A presentation for the Ohio Library Council regional meetings, Spring 2002

Jan Ryan Novak

Director, Cleveland Law Library Association

Caution: Caution:

• Finding “the law” can be more complicated than it seems

• Interpreting, applying are tasks for lawyers

• Librarians help users find, evaluate legal information

Legal Information vs. Legal Information vs. Legal AdviceLegal Advice

• Common law marriage in Ohio

• Boyfriend moved in 15 yrs ago, etc., Passed away owning assets

• What is my share of his estate?

• Legal information

• Fact analysis - lawyer’s job!

• Legal advice - lawyer’s job!

Basic VocabularyBasic Vocabulary

• Authority

• - Primary: cases, statutes, regulations, decisions of administrative bodies - The “raw law”

• - Secondary: encyclopedias, treatises, articles, annotations, handbooks, loose-leaf services, etc

CitationsCitations

• 86 Ohio St. 3d 451

• ORC sec. 3109.11

• 24 U Dayton L. Rev. 513 (Spring 1999)

• 2000 S 180, eff. 3-22-01

• 2000 wl 1706390

UpdatingUpdating

• Citation verification - Shepards and Keycite

• Pocket parts, supplements

• Note the currency of the resource used

• Caution the user about subsequent events

JurisdictionJurisdiction

• What law governs

• Are there additional jurisdictions to consider

• Define the jurisdictional coverage of sources used

• When in doubt, find general coverage

VocabularyVocabulary

• Http://www.Nolo.Com/lawcenter/dictionary/wordindex.Cfm

• Http://dictionary.Lp.Findlaw.Com/

The Key:The Key:

• Find someone who has done the work for you!

• Precedent

• Authority

• Verification

PortalsPortals

• Findlaw http://www.findlaw.com

• LexisONE http://lexisone.com

• Legal Information Institute http://www.law.cornell.edu

Go Straight to the Horse’s Go Straight to the Horse’s Mouth: Primary Source Mouth: Primary Source

MaterialsMaterials• Unannotated codes, regulations, rules

• Recent cases, administrative rulings

• Forms

• Explanatory materials

• Contacts

Ohio Case Law:Ohio Case Law:

• Specific cases by citation

• Specific cases when only some information is available

• Cases on a subject

• The “best case”

Local Ohio Resources:Local Ohio Resources:

• Local court web pages - dockets, opinions, faqs, forms, rules, guidelines

• Municipal government resources - ordinances

Secondary ResourcesSecondary Resources

• Remember the key: FIND SOMEONE WHO HAS DONE THE WORK FOR YOU!

• Who is responsible for the site

• What are the motives for posting the information

Ohio Secondary ResourcesOhio Secondary Resources

• Legislative Service Commission briefs

• Ohio State Bar Association public resources

• Local bar association, law firm public service resources

General Secondary General Secondary ResourcesResources

• Nolo

• LII

• Findlaw

• ABA

Who Can You Ask for Who Can You Ask for Help?Help?

• “Free” advice sources - is there a catch?

• Your local law library

• Virtual reference desks

Legal Reference Avoids:Legal Reference Avoids:

• Recitations of facts, the user’s “story”

• looking at user’s personal papers, file

• unequivocal answers, conclusions of law

• sympathy, empathy

• Making further contacts on user’s behalf

• relying on your own knowledge, experience, opinion

C a l le r : M y n ie c e ’s “ fa t h e r” h a s s ig n e d ac k n o w le d g m e n t o f p a te rn it y a t t h e h o s p ita l a n d I w a s w o n d e r in g if th a tw o u ld h o ld u p le g a lly a s fa r as g o in g fo r cu s to d y fo r h e r?

L ib ra r i a n : A re y o u a s k in g if th a t g iv es h im p a t e rn a l p r iv i le g e s l ik e p a y in g s u p p o r t a n d g e tt in g v is it a t io n r ig h t s ?

C a l le r : Y es , an d a ls o i f t h a t w o u ld g iv e h is s is t e r le g a l r ig h ts to th e ch ild . W e a re g o in g th o u g h s o m e p ro b le m s w it hm y s is t e r a n d w e w a n t t h e c h ild re n b e ca u s e s h e is t o p u t it n ice ly , n o t c a p a b le o f ta k in g c a re o f th e m . T h e “ fa th e r”s ig n ed t h e b ir t h ce r t if ic a te a n d a c k n o w le d g m e n t o f p a t e rn ity th ro u g h t h e h o s p it a l.

L ib ra r i a n : H is s is t e r , a s in n o t y o u r n ie ce ?

C a l le r : N o - th es e a re m y s is t e r ’ s k id s , a n d w e h av e th e ch ild re n w it h u s r ig h t n o w , b u t t h e fa t h e r o f th e b a b y is th eo n e in q u e s t io n a n d h is s is te r w a n ts t h e b ab y .

L ib ra r i a n : I s e e

C a l le r : I h a v e t h e o ld e r o n e w it h m e an d th e fa th e r o f th e b a b y is n o t t h e fa t h e r o f th e o ld e r o n e , a n d h is s is te r , th efa t h e r ’s s is t e r , h as t h e n e w b o rn w it h h e r . N o w , w h a t I a m t ry in g to a s k , is i f s in c e h e h as s ig n e d th e p a p e rs , if th efa t h e r ’s s is t e r h a s a n y le g a l r ig h ts to f i le fo r cu s to d y o f th e b a b y

L ib ra r i a n : I u n d e rs ta n d . H as y o u r s is t e r o r h a v e y o u d o n e a n y le g a l s o r ts o f th in g s in t ra n s fe r r in g th e ca re o f t h ec h ild y o u h a v e r ig h t n o w ?

C a l le r : N o t y e t , b u t s h e is in s o m e s e r io u s t ro u b le w it h c h ild re n ’s s e rv ic es .. . I ju s t w a n t to k n o w if th e fa th e r’s s is t e rc a n l e g a lly f il e fo r t h e b ab y . I h a v e a n e w b a b y an d re a lly c an n o t ta k e h e r , t o o . I h a v e h ad p rev io u s cu s to d y o f th eo ld e r o n e , h e is fo u r , b u t th e b a b y is o n ly t w o m o n t h s o ld a n d m y b a b y is s i x m o n th s o ld , a n d I a m lo o k in g fo r a na lt e rn a t iv e fo r t h e b a b y a d to s t ill b e ab le t o p la c e h e r w it h fa m i ly

L ib ra r i a n s : Y o u w o u ld h a v e t o c h ec k w it h a la w y e r , b u t o n th e s u r fa c e it s o u n d s l ik e th e fa th e r ’s s is t e r w o u ld b e in are l a t io n s h ip t o t h e c h ild re n co m p a ra b le to y o u r o w n .. . .

Legal Reference Dos:Legal Reference Dos:

• Encourage the user to objectify or depersonalize the question

• provide multiple authoritative resources

• disclaim, disclose, caution

• Emphatically refuse to give advice

• offer suggestions for expanding information provided

• suspend judgment

I a m a re s id e n t o f W yo m ing a nd th e le ga l fa th e r o f a 1 5 y e ar o ld da u g hte r w h o res ide s in O hio . Iw o u ld lik e to k no w if she ha s t he le ga l rig ht to c ho o se w h ic h p a re nt sh e w a n ts to l ive w it h. S heis c u rre n tly liv in g w ith he r m o th e r (de s ig n a te d th e c us to d ia l p a re nt) a n d n o w c ho o ses to l ive w ith m e p e rm a n e n tly . W ill th e s t a te o f O hio le ga lly a l lo w h e r to do th is w it ho u t he r m o th e r'sc o nse n t a nd c a n sh e d o th is w it ho u t im m e d ia te le ga l a c tio n suc h as t ra nsfe r o f c h i ld c u s to d y? M yd iv o rc e d e cre e s ta te s th a t he r m o the r a n d I h a ve jo in t c u s to d y. M y d a ug hte r is co m in g th is w e ekv is ita tio n a nd do e s no t w a n t to go b ac k . P le a se ad v ise .

Question:

Answer:

We cannot give you legal advice. We can show you Ohio’s custody statutes in Revised Code chapter 3109 and you might be interested in looking at case law which construes these statutes, which you can find in an annotated Ohio Revised Code. See especially RC 3109.04’s provisions on modification of custody. There are some case annotations in the annotated code showing how courts have addressed the age of the child in the case of modifications. We cannot decide if these statutes cover the issues in your fact situation. Only an attorney can do that.

Question:

Caller: Can I file a law suit against my father for abuse that occurred during my childhood, even though I am now 32?

Librarian: Are you asking about Ohio’s laws?

Caller: This happened in Texas. He lives in Ohio.

Answer:

We cannot advise you on whether you can successfully file such a lawsuit or where the best place to file it would be. You should consult an attorney for that. We can, however, try to find you some information on the issue of the statute of limitations in cases of child abuse, generally.

Question:

Can I serve alcohol to my son’s underage friends?

Additional ResourcesAdditional Resources

• Web based legal research tutorials

• Kozlowski, Internet Guide for the legal researcher

• Ohio Legal Resources