Legal Reference Service
for Public Librarians in
the Internet Era
A presentation for the
Ohio Library Council
regional meetings,
Spring 2002
Jan Ryan Novak
Director, Cleveland Law
Library Association
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 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 Vocabulary
• Authority
•
- Primary: cases, statutes,
regulations, decisions of administrative
bodies - The “raw law”
•
- Secondary: encyclopedias,
treatises, articles, annotations,
handbooks, loose-leaf services, etc
Citations
•
•
•
•
•
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
Updating
• Citation verification - Shepards and
Keycite
• Pocket parts, supplements
• Note the currency of the resource used
• Caution the user about subsequent
events
Jurisdiction
• What law governs
• Are there additional jurisdictions to
consider
• Define the jurisdictional coverage of
sources used
• When in doubt, find general coverage
Vocabulary
• Http://www.Nolo.Com/lawcenter/dictiona
ry/wordindex.Cfm
• Http://dictionary.Lp.Findlaw.Com/
The Key:
• Find someone who has done the work
for you!
• Precedent
• Authority
• Verification
Portals
• Findlaw http://www.findlaw.com
• LexisONE http://lexisone.com
• Legal Information Institute
http://www.law.cornell.edu
Go Straight to the
Horse’s Mouth: Primary
Source Materials
•
•
•
•
•
Unannotated codes, regulations, rules
Recent cases, administrative rulings
Forms
Explanatory materials
Contacts
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 court web pages - dockets,
opinions, faqs, forms, rules, guidelines
• Municipal government resources ordinances
Secondary 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
Resources
• Legislative Service Commission briefs
• Ohio State Bar Association public
resources
• Local bar association, law firm public
service resources
General Secondary
Resources
•
•
•
•
Nolo
LII
Findlaw
ABA
Who Can You Ask for
Help?
• “Free” advice sources - is there a
catch?
• Your local law library
• Virtual reference desks
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
Caller: My niece’s “father” has signed acknowledgment of paternity at the hospital and I was wondering if that
would hold up legally as far as going for custody for her?
Librarian: Are you asking if that gives him paternal privileges like paying support and getting visitation rights?
Caller: Yes, and also if that would give his sister legal rights to the child. We are going though some problems with
my sister and we want the children because she is to put it nicely, not capable of taking care of them. The “father”
signed the birth certificate and acknowledgment of paternity through the hospital.
Librarian: His sister, as in not your niece?
Caller: No - these are my sister’s kids, and we have the children with us right now, but the father of the baby is the
one in question and his sister wants the baby.
Librarian: I see
Caller: I have the older one with me and the father of the baby is not the father of the older one, and his sister, the
father’s sister, has the newborn with her. Now, what I am trying to ask, is if since he has signed the papers, if the
father’s sister has any legal rights to file for custody of the baby
Librarian: I understand. Has your sister or have you done any legal sorts of things in transferring the care of the
child you have right now?
Caller: Not yet, but she is in some serious trouble with children’s services... I just want to know if the father’s sister
can legally file for the baby. I have a new baby and really cannot take her, too. I have had previous custody of the
older one, he is four, but the baby is only two months old and my baby is six months old, and I am looking for an
alternative for the baby ad to still be able to place her with family
Librarians: You would have to check with a lawyer, but on the surface it sounds like the father’s sister would be in a
relationship to the children comparable to your own....
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
Question:
I am a resident of Wyoming and the legal father of a 15 year old daughter who resides in Ohio. I
would like to know if she has the legal right to choose which parent she wants to live with. She
is currently living with her mother (designated the custodial parent) and now chooses to live
with me permanently. Will the state of Ohio legally allow her to do this without her mother's
consent and can she do this without immediate legal action such as transfer of child custody? My
divorce decree states that her mother and I have joint custody. My daughter is coming this week
visitation and does not want to go back. Please advise.
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 Resources
• Web based legal research tutorials
• Kozlowski, Internet Guide for the legal
researcher
• Ohio Legal Resources